Joystick Films Presents....."Early Retirement"

I thought I posted my review but I don't see it?

First off, I think this is your best, most complete entry yet.
I loved the look of it and was fine with the close shots. The acting was great, especially the older guy. I won't gripe on the drink thing since you yourself have commented on that.

Sounded pretty good as well. Great editing, very smooth film.

I'll be surprised if you don't make the finals.

MAH
 
Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
I thought I posted my review but I don't see it?

First off, I think this is your best, most complete entry yet.
I loved the look of it and was fine with the close shots. The acting was great, especially the older guy. I won't gripe on the drink thing since you yourself have commented on that.

Sounded pretty good as well. Great editing, very smooth film.

I'll be surprised if you don't make the finals.

MAH
Click to expand...

Thanks MAH! I don't have to tell you how great it is to hear you say that. I greatly apprecitate it.
 
Marlon Ladd said:
Man, what can I say! This was awesome and just like Matt said, this film was right up my alley too. I dug the style, the color (or lack of), the actors, the music and the story. I really liked the way you shot it and I wouldn't change a THING about that. I've seen that some people have a problem with only the younger guy taking the drink, if you fixed that, that's great, but to me that was easily explained when the older guy told him that he was always an idiot. Him taking the drink without seeing the older guy take one proved his point. The whole gun duel thing was something I really liked and thought it was original and unique. Your last three films have really stepped up your game! Your films have shown so much improvement that I have to give you big props. Keep doing what you're doing! Out of the films I've seen so far, this is definitely one of my top picks.
Click to expand...

Wow! Thanks Marlon. I so appreciate the comments. The mean a great deal! Hopefully you will be back next fest...ahem.

Matt Harris said:
good review marlon, i agree with everything you said. rich has become a really consistently good filmmaker and i totally recognize his style the second his movie starts.
Click to expand...

Matt thank you! As I am a fan of your work as well. Hopefully I will continue to get better. The feedback just pushes me harder to get to level some of you are on.
 
i'd have to agree with Charli about the other guy not drinking...or the younger guy even drinking in the first place without old dude drinking. could have had them both drink and revealed some twist in the plot that revealed the old guy somehow making it look as if he drank. that bugged me, just not believable that guys of this caliber would make such an error. He can still look like an idiot even if they both drank...cuz he should have just shot him and be done with it :D

other than that it was pretty nice :)

btw when these fest come around ur film is one of the first for me to watch. (3rd one to watch this time around)
 
jambredz said:
i'd have to agree with Charli about the other guy not drinking...or the younger guy even drinking in the first place without old dude drinking. could have had them both drink and revealed some twist in the plot that revealed the old guy somehow making it look as if he drank. that bugged me, just not believable that guys of this caliber would make such an error. He can still look like an idiot even if they both drank...cuz he should have just shot him and be done with it :D

other than that it was pretty nice :)

btw when these fest come around ur film is one of the first for me to watch. (3rd one to watch this time around)
Click to expand...

What's up Jam?! Thanks for the review. I forgot a shoot a key reverse that would have solved that problem and I was devestated when I looked through my footage and it wasn't there. It really changed the road it went down. I do have an alternate version though where we the glass being picked up an put back down. I knew I would catch hell with that. I had to call Chris and apologize for that one. But I'm glad you enjoyed and next time check me out early again!:Drogar-BigGrin(DBG)
 
Hey Richard... on my thread you said your swas "last minute" like mine. I don't think it felt too rushed other than a couple of things mentioned above. I liked the story and you cast the movie well... I dig the b&w with some nice shots too.

Keep up the good work!
 
stinkpot said:
Hey Richard... on my thread you said your swas "last minute" like mine. I don't think it felt too rushed other than a couple of things mentioned above. I liked the story and you cast the movie well... I dig the b&w with some nice shots too.

Keep up the good work!
Click to expand...

Thanks stink! I will never jump in with 5 days left again that's for sure.
 
Your lead actor is fantastic, though his retirerer(?) unfortunately couldnt be any less convincing, I also struggled with the way over the top dof which left me feeling like I had something in my eye. I also found the setting way too overlit and lacking in detail and atmosphere.
On a more positive note though, everything else stood up and was elevated by the editing and the awesome silver haired man and the fact you did the whole thing in 5 days is something to be proud of.
 
dwyz said:
Your lead actor is fantastic, though his retirerer(?) unfortunately couldnt be any less convincing, I also struggled with the way over the top dof which left me feeling like I had something in my eye. I also found the setting way too overlit and lacking in detail and atmosphere.
On a more positive note though, everything else stood up and was elevated by the editing and the awesome silver haired man and the fact you did the whole thing in 5 days is something to be proud of.
Click to expand...

Thanks for checking it out dwyz. I really appreciate the feedback. We only used practicals so I can see how you would say that. Thanks agian.
 
I liked it a lot, I think all your close-ups really confine us but that benefits the story I think, since it traps the audience in this space. Putting the gun together for a dual, that was intense, just a little more "oomph" in the score could push it over the edge. The older actor was quite good but the other hitman pales in comparison which is unfortuante. Sure the drinking needs to suspend a little belief to really go with it but it's a minor flaw in an overall great entry. Nice work, keep it up!
 
MrKilloran said:
I liked it a lot, I think all your close-ups really confine us but that benefits the story I think, since it traps the audience in this space. Putting the gun together for a dual, that was intense, just a little more "oomph" in the score could push it over the edge. The older actor was quite good but the other hitman pales in comparison which is unfortuante. Sure the drinking needs to suspend a little belief to really go with it but it's a minor flaw in an overall great entry. Nice work, keep it up!
Click to expand...

Nice avatar Kill. And thank you for checking it out! That was the first time I worked with Brian and he was a true professional as was Paulie.
 
No reason to cheer for either character though this is not a result of acting so much as storytelling. The acting was actually very good. Great score, good end shot choice but it would have been stronger if you had made the gun shot the end shot, maybe it would have been under 6min10seconds too. Simple story which is always a plus, too many people try to cram too much into their shorts and fail simple is safe. All in all a descent submission and I look forward to seeing more of your work.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top