Inner-City Filmmakers Day 11-30, Week Three & Week Four

From Day 11-19 I don't remember what happened to be completely honest.

DAY 20, Week Three
Today was boring. An Assistant Director came in and told us how to schedule.


DAY 21, Week Three
Today was cool, we got to direct actors in the first section and they said I did well because I gave them the "subtext" of their characters! Woot! Brownie points! I also got to act a bit and Ivan gave me props.

Camera Class was fun too. Again, I got to be an actor ... with Whoopi. I've sworn to him I wouldn't say what kind of scene we did though ;)


DAY 22, Week Three
We watched Volver for writing class which I didn't like. We were deciphering how a feature film is really like six short thirty minute films compiled together where the first two sets are Act 1, the second four sets are Act II, and the final two sets are Act III. Pretty cool, I'll be sure to think about that while I'm writing the feature to Whoopi vs. SilentBat III: The Corruption which I still need to do a treatment for.


DAY 23, Week Three
Today we went to Universal Studios which was ultra great! My group went to the preservation/reservation center where they maintain and reinvigorated all the old films. Then we came back to see how they did the sound for The Incredible Hulk.

Then we had an amazing guess speaker who was in charge of marketing for films. He could predict how much money a movie would make and could remember the money a movie got ten years ago! Good fun! We kept asking him unrelated questions that he kept answering though.


DAY 24, Week Three
This day actually started with CSUN registration which was extremely boring. Never again, never again. I'm already not liking the school.

When I got to Santa Monica my team was editing. We did some more editing but I can't believe how boring our professor makes editing seem :(


DAY 25, Week Three
Casting Sessions! Well, today wasn't my casting day but I did enjoy seeing people coming in and auditioning for other roles, especially Brian's film: Let it Out.


DAY 26, Week Four
MY CASTING SESSIONS WERE BRILLIANT! For a short time I had a delima though because there was an Asian girl who came in that I liked more than this other person I thought I would pick but I had no asian daddies. Lo and behold, a hispanic daddy who could pass for a mixed Asian comes in and auditioned and was fantastic! Whew!

Actually, here is the cast:

Desiree

Buddy



Alan


Father

Day 27, Week Four
I can't believe we did our group presentations of our films today! It was close to call. We weren't exactly ready but we pulled through.

Day 28, Week Four
WE WENT TO WARNER BROTHER'S BACKLOT, and we got to shoot on it! ... enough said.









Day 29, Week Four
Don't remember what happen this day.

Day 30, Week Four
Final prep for our shoot went better than I thought it was. Erick's film Triumph was first up the next day.

Peace

The Dark Knight Review

Honestly, I think this review will be pretty superficial, I really have to see it a second time to give my full review. But until then (tomorrow, I think) this will be a first impression review. To be quite frank, the film was a near masterpiece. Why it isn't a complete masterpiece and why I didn't give it a full ten will be explained further in my review. Essentially though, the acting was superb, that could be given a perfect and the story was grand but some of the effects and the choreographer were a bit lagging. Heath Ledger and Aaron Eckhart rocked Joker and Harvey Dent/Two-Face. Their performances outshine even Christian Bale's second-take on Batman but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The villains just heightened the character that is Batman.


The Good of The Dark Knight
As I stated before, the acting is probably the best part of The Dark Knight experience. First I'll go over Christian Bale and his performance as Batman. He did great in his return. Usually with sequels the main character are plagued with their familiarity. Bale, however, is not. Instead of a similar performance to what he did in Batman begins, he gives a fantastic expansion to the character. Batman is goes through a huge emotional character arc in this film. Gotham City doesn't know what to think of Batman, is he friend or is he foe? Bruce Wayne himself doesn't even know if he wants to continue as Batman and in fact is using Harvey Dent as a means to get out of the superhero business which creates much conflict within Wayne/Batman and creates a dynamic character.

Heath Ledger was the Joker. Heath Ledger is the Joker. I don't believe anyone can top what he did because he honestly was everything the Joker is. Unless the fiction character could be taken from the comic books then there is no way anyone can top his performance. That is how good he did with the role. Everything to his walk to his breath patterns to his psychotic methods never showed a hint of Heath Ledger because he was completely cloaked and extinguished by the Joker. I don't have much more to say except his performance was an 11/10. He did beyond the work needed to bring the character to life.



Aaron Eckhart also gave a brilliant performance. I haven't seen him in anything else so I can't base his performance on anything else. I couldn't tell if he truly was Harvey Dent or Aaron Eckhart but he did do a great job, especially when he was Two-Face. Usually in films where there is a love triangle I would root for the protagonist and his love interest but in this I was rooting for Harvey and Rachel. They had great chemistry and Harvey Dent was a likeable character before he did the whole villian thing.

Gary Oldman as Lt. James Gordon was great. He did for the character what was exactly needed. I'm glad he did not play the comic relief in some parts of this film because I didn't think it worked for him in the last one. He still was the tentative character he was in the previous film but he definitely was more confident in the role. Oldman really does put the SUPPOURT in suppourting actor. He never outshines any of the others but merely performaces with them, enhancing the protagonists and their struggles. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman also did well with their suppourting roles.

I did not like Maggie Gyllenhaal as much as I liked Katie Holmes as Rachel Dowes. I'm not saying she did bad, she did very well, I just liked the way Holmes played it out better. I did feel her struggle between Harvey Dent and Bruce Wayne but a few of the moments she had I though could have been better performed if Holmes was still around.

The story was great but I think I'll get more into that in the next review as well as other aspects of the film.


The Bad of The Dark Knight
Not much bad, except a few effects and the fight choreography. I thought the sticky bombs looked pretty fake and the scene with Bruce Wayne and Lucious Fox was clearly green screened. The fight choreography also looked very fake at times, especially when Batman battled with more than one foe.

Like I said before, I liked Katie Holmes as Rachel Dowes better. I would have loved to see her in that pivotal scene near the end, I would have felt a lot more if she was still in the role, I think. Plus this new gal looks way to old to be playing the character.

Conclusion of The Dark Knight
A fantastic work of art. It's more than just a comic book adaptation but its own franchise within itself. The acting was superb, the story was even better but it did lack with some choreography issues and fake special effects.


Story: Sheer brilliance, perfect. (10/10)
Acting: Even better. Heath Ledge is the Joker. Christina Bale really is Batman. And Aaron Eckhart does very well as Harvey Dent. (10/10)
Action: Good but the choreography was clearly staged. (8.5/10)
Special FX: A few of them were a tad fake. (9/10)
Pacing: Kind of slow in the beginning. The Acts were very lengthy but it picked up at the end of Act II and into Act III. (9/10)
Recommended: Yes, for teens and above. Comic book enthusiasts and regular movie goers.

TOTAL: (9.9/10)

Terminator: Salvation Trailer

Peace

Inner-City Filmmakers Day 10, Week Three

Okay so day 10 seems to be my cap for business with ICF. I know pretty fast huh? Check out the grand entry later on to see what's been going on :)

Peace

The Wackness Review

Wow, where did this Sundance Audience Choice Award 2007 film come from? This film is a fantastic coming-of-age story set in 1994 about a marijuana-selling, New York teen, who's infatuated with the daughter of his shrink who he sells weed to for private session. His name is Luke Shapiro and he's played by Josh Peck who you might remember from Snow Day or Drake & Josh. And let me tell you, he is neither of the characters he played in those silly things. For once, I've seen Josh Peck somewhere where he can flex his acting muscles. The whole film is weighted on him and his character's change and he does it very well. Veteran actor Ben Kingsley also does very well as Luke's mentor/best friend and Olivia Thirlby does very well as the love interest who's mildly interested in Luke.


The Good of The Wackness
The acting was really great in this. I'm still thinking about Josh Peck's performance. In every role I've seen him in he's played an overly cheesy and comedic character but I never expected this from him. He pulled off a '94 New York kid flawlessly and the audience definitely empathized with him when he went from first love to heartbreak. He has some great moments, especially the first phone call he makes to Stephanie after the big upset. I don't know Ben Kingsley, but he did a fine job. I looked him up but didn't find anything I recognized him in and I think that's good. Usually with veteran actors you associate them with previous roles and to me he's just the crazy, drugged-out Dr. Squires. The relationship Dr. Squires has with Luke is more of a friend then a mentor and a psychiatrist, which is really great. Olivia Thirby does very well as the pivotal love interest. Her chemistry was phenomenal with Peck and the moments she has with him are some of the best in the film.

The story was also very well-written and although set in the 90s with a lot of references to the period, it was timeless. Or perhaps I'm being biased because I lived in the 90s and I remember Nas and the Notorious B.I.G. on the radio. But beyond that I just love the arc the characters have, especially the protagnonist Luke. Of course we've all seen coming-of-age stories and we generaly know how they work. A young boy or girl goes through a journey in their live where they grow and change in the end. That is what The Wackness is at its core but there are different elements to it that really drew me in (aside from it being a period film). What really stands out in my mind is the last thing Luke says to Stephanie when he is leaving. (MAJOR SPOILER ALERT STARTS HERE, you must highlight to see) Before he goes down the elevator she comes out and asks him to wait and he says, "Stop, just stay right there and don't say anything to me, I want to keep this" she of course says, "What?" and he says, "I've never gotten my heartbroken before, I want to hold on to this" and just walks into the elevator and leaves. I may have gotten the quote wrong but that was the gist of it and it was really well-written. (MAJOR SPOILER ENDS HERE)


The Bad of The Wackness
The only major issue I had with this film were some of the editing choices (especially when they get busted) and one lighting problem during a night scene.

Also, I did not fully understand why Luke was not accepted by his peers. He seemed cool enough with them when he sold them marijuana but during the party scene he's sitting alone watching them enjoy themselves. This could have used a bit more development. We as the audience really have to understand why he's an outcast and why it would be so unlikely for him to hook up with such a popular and hot girl.


Conclusion of The Wackness
A great coming of age story we all can relate to. Aside from a few nit picky editing issues and story problems, it's a great and entertaining film with a lot of heart.

Story: Great, just a few small problems. (9/10)
Acting: Some great casting and great chemistry between Luke > Stephanie & Dr. Squires. Josh Peck does a fantastic job. (9.5/10)
Entertainment: Some really fantastic and classic moments. (9.5/10)
Editing: I just wouldn't have done some things they did (8/10)
Pacing: Little slow at times. (8/10)
Recommended: Yes, but only for those looking for some 90s nostalgia, some sex scenes and a good time :)

TOTAL: (8.5/10)

Peace