AstronautfromFL Reviews

Nightcrawler (2014)

The anti-script bucking the trend of protagonist masturbation.

[10/10 · 19 February 2015]

In a Hollywood where everything is glossy and plastic, finally, a shot of gritty reality to help us remember what great storytelling is, even if a body or two had to moved onto the mark for the proper frame.

This script is crisp, tight. Every scene, every shot. It's the anti-script bucking the Hollywood trend of protagonist masturbation.

The acting fulfills the vision. Jake G in his best career effort, it appears Donnie Darko was just practice for this role. I love that this director wrote the role of her life for his wife Russo (who I have rarely enjoyed prior to this film). Bill Paxton jumps back in the van from Twister in another role he hits right on the pole.

COLLATERAL or TRAINING DAY's LA style now appears aged and dated compared to this DRIVE-esc action combined with an innovative LA look we haven't seen since the Rodney King beating.

The underlying tones are spot-on, the NETWORK like revolt screams at the system, shattering mirrors in the process.

I loved this flick.

Helio (2015)

Very well executed.

[10/10 · 3 February 2015]

I caught this in Miami during their Sci-fi film fest. There is a reason it won best short and audience favorite.

This film is epic in both execution and scale. This couldn't have been cheap, but they did everything right.

In dystopian future sci fi, a lot of times the technology is unrealistic and over done. This movie used a minimalistic take on future technology and it worked.

The ominousness of the world slowly unfolds and is a healthy reminder of classics like 1984. Moving through the film you see that there is an entire world filled with detail. I particularly appreciated the The scale of this movie can be seen during the well executed fight scenes and lastly, when the hero accomplishes his journey, the human element of the authoritarian military soldier is exemplified. It gave the end of this picture a warm, terrestrial element that was a nice payoff. I won't spoil the final shot but it gives incite into the vast universe the director created.

This is built to be a feature, I would love to see it.

Valiant (II) (2014)

Great production, questionable execution.

[3/10 · 3 February 2015]

I recently saw this film at a film festival screening.

This film left such a taste in my mouth, I felt the need to create an account and leave my first ever IMDb review.

It's obvious whoever made this spent an arm and a leg. Production value was insane. I did a brief check and it appears some of the SFX were crowdfunded. Great for you guys.

Now to the film. The script for this was like a first draft for Indiana Jones the video game. The characters were unlikable. They possessed no real distinction between one another and the story was very, eh.

The acting was decent enough but fell completely flat due to the lines uttered. The grand chancellor of England actually did a great job with his lines, but again, so unlikable, so unrealistic(I understand it's a steampunk world, but people do not behave this way).

The locations in this were amazing! They shot at an actual air base. The chancellors palace was amazing! The shot of the lighter falling was awesome.

The sound design was a key issue, hokey. It was like roadrunner and Wiley Coyote sound design. Killed whatever redeeming value this movie may have had.

Lastly, certainly not least, the movie ended, phew. But, it didn't. The credit reel on this movie starts with a detailed cool looking map sequence. Then more credits start. With no exaggeration, they must have listed 5000 names in the credits, maybe more. This was the longest credit sequence I've ever seen(keep in mind this is for a short), Mr. Director, you didn't make Casa Blanca, give us a break. Half way through the credits, the audience started laughing. Jokes continued for another 5 minutes until we were put out of our misery.

It's hard for me to leave a negative review. I realize how hard it is to make something of value, particularly a short for an up and coming director, but sheesh. This vision was poorly executed considering the resources. Somehow, this film keeps getting into festivals so maybe my review is way off.

3 stars for completing this with awesome production value.