LAWLESS - A Marlon Ladd film

[jemduff]

Great Stuff... keep the high quality works flowing!! Best in show so far ( halfway through)

 

[Bigmagic]

Marlon, this one left me wanting to see more. I did not want it to end when it did. I thought the actor that played "Bass Reeves" was very good the other two not so much but the story grabbed me and I was hooked. I enjoyed "The Jones" and I thought it was good but this was much better and more believable. Very good job!

 

[mentatDUKE]

I really enjoyed this. Educational too. I'm really surprised there was a black marshall. I'll have to wiki him. His name almost sounds made up. It's that good.

Great costumes. Loved the editing and sound effects for the gunshot. Good acting esp w/ Bass who I'm assuming you played. Well done.

 

[ChrisHurn]

Really enjoyed this film. I was hooked from the beginning with the music, love the score there, with the guitar. Excellent opening sequence with the shooting – nice colour grading there, bringing us to the title – a great opening sequence.
Acting was great, enjoyed the performances a lot. All your characters were compelling – excellent. Nice script too, very good. Loved the tension, the build up, the deliveries, all good.

Sound was good – clear, crisp, never drawing attention to itself. Good job.
Cinematography was good, some very good shots in there. Enjoyed the grade too, had a good tone to it.

Memorable Moment – “You choose” – 5:18. Great little push in there. Great shot, great actor. A true moment of cinema right here at DVXUser.

The thing I loved about this film was it really was that – a film. You’ve got a script, a great story, great actors, all tied together with good direction, camerawork, sound, and music. It’s all there in this one. Congratulations. One of my favourites.

 

[Norm Sanders]

Marlon, LOVED the film, but confused all over the place ... mostly about minor stuff, like who's that awesome actor (the black guy)?! Great look, deliveries, etc. ... would LOVE to cast him in a film sometime. Your poster looks like you may be one of the starring characters, but then when you list the credits below (on the 1st page), you're not listed in the cast section.

Also, when I clicked on the "discuss" link, it took me to "The Jones", so had to do some looking around to get here.

Anyway .... really enjoyed the film, my favorite I think I've seen from you yet, and certainly has feature ability all over it, making sense since you said it's based off a feature. Great idea ... really dug it.

This fest is going to be possibly the most difficult to choose from yet, as there have been SO many solid works! Nice job, man. :thumbsup:

 

[ZazaCast]

Marlon...WOW! I just love your work. This is a very solid film and sure to do well in this (and any other) fest. Really great work! What else can I say.

Congrats to the cast & crew.

 

[Marlon Ladd]

Fantastic everything. I loved it. That black guy really needs to be in LA somewhere. :happy: But I'm dead serious. Real talk, Great effing job Marlon.

Thanks, Rich. Glad you got in the first review. Yours was also one of the first ones I watched. Thanks for the compliment on the acting. I'll be there (LA) one day.

Didn't expect any less than greatness from you Marlon. Thoroughly enjoyed it, even better being based on an actual person.

Great work.

Thanks, Chris. Looking forward to seeing your film too. Hope you're getting good reviews.

I've seen several western style-shorts and this is the first I've seen that really works despite being (I'm assuming) low budget.

Great acting and story all around. Visually it works very well and sets the style.

Thanks, man. I'm a big western fan and I wanted to revisit the story that got me motivated to get into film in the first place.

I enjoyed watching your short Marlon. Great job! Really like some of the lines of dialogue and the acting.

Thanks for stopping in GL!!!

Marlon,

You consistently make some of the most ambitious films for these fests, and they keep getting better and better.

Everything was very well done, but I particularly like how you handled the issue of race in the old west. Great surprise twist! Your lead really played the part with quiet strength and dignity and was totally believable. In lesser hands, the Marshal might have gone all badass and Shaft like. Your restraint really worked in this case.

Shaft in the old west... Now that's another story! lol.

Great job!

LOL!! Yeah, Shaft in the old west would be. . ."shut yo' mouth!" LOL. I'm glad you could appreciated the angle I took. I really can't take the credit though, it's just how Bass Reeves was based on everything I know and have read about him. A fun-loving, confident, but not cocky type of guy. Thanks so much for the review and compliments.

 

[Marlon Ladd]

Story: I'm a big fan! I loved just about everything in this. The pacing was great and the ending was perfect. You could have went so many ways with this but I'm very happy with the direction that you took. This might be the first one for me that has a lot of heart and soul in it. The ending was moving. Well done.

Acting: Great all around. I especially like the older guy. Casting him was a great choice. Seems to be a lot of great acting this fest.

Technical: Very good. I think the sound design could have used a few more touches here and there. especially the background ambiance. Very good though. The music also seemed to fit right in.

Great film here.

MAH

Thanks, Mike. Your reviews are always spot on and always anxiously anticipated when I enter these fests. I'm glad I could make something that had heart in it. These are the types of films that move me and I want people to feel that same thing when they see the things I've done. I know if you felt it then other people will too. Thanks again for the great review. Now get your a** in the next one.

SPOILER ALERT!

This was a great film. I love good westerns and this didn't disappoint. I actually looked up Bass Reeves. Love how you incorporated a real historical figure into your short. I didn't see it coming that we was a US Marshall.

There are a couple shots where the color correction didn't match, but that's really the only problems I saw with this.

Great job!

Hey, Mike. I'm so glad you looked up Bass Reeves. My intent in making this film was to bring that type of awareness, so that means alot. Many people have a big misconception of how it was in the old west. There were actually alot of black cowboys (1 in 3 cowboys in the old west were black), but you never hear about them. Bass Reeves was a great lawman and we don't hear about people like him as much as we should. Thanks for dropping in.

I really liked this one. One of my top films so far. But you made one of the common mistakes when dealing with revolvers. They didn't have any bullets. You can see the bullet when you are looking down the chambers. Hell, no one ever notices this though. Great Job!

Yes, you're right about the revolvers, Chris. It was mostly one where I had some shots where you could see right down the barrel. Most people won't notice and that's why I thought it would be okay. When you have blanks in them for safety reasons you always point the gun to the right or left of the actor in front of you and I didn't really want that. So, I went with it knowing full well CHRIS KEATON would catch it! LOL!! Good work. I knew somebody would though. Hope it didn't detract from the film in your eyes. Thanks for the fantastic review. I'll be checking out some of your stories too.

1. Loved your movie!
2. Really loved your movie!
3. It was nice

Now that's a compliment or compliments that are straight to the point! I like that!
1. Thank you so much.
2. Thank you so much more.
3. I appreciate it!!!!

Thanks for stopping in.

 

[4100xpb]

Very nicely done! A western with a very unique perspective, based on a sharp short story.

While I’m sure it’s not quite perfect, nothing ever is, I can honestly say nothing occurred through the film that distracted me – I was fully engaged the entire time. The dialogue was authentic, the acting was solid, technical work was on.

Okay, thinking back one thing did distract me a little – the tingling from the chain the robbers found. The tingling constantly reminded me it was there, so I was expecting to see something more come of it in the end.

[FONT=&quot]You built the tension wonderfully. The short reminded me of the gas station scene from No Country for Old Men in the way somewhat innocuous conversation built towards a (potentially) violent conclusion. Great job, thank you for putting this up.[/FONT]

 

[Rodney V. Smith]

No surprise that this movie came in firing on all cylinder. Soild film Marlon. I mean really freaking solid. It's good to see your constant growth like this and this film shows a lot of maturity to your style of storytelling. Also your acting was pretty damn good so I'm glad you were able to focus so well. I would still like to shoot one of your movies so we'd better make this happen at some point.

I wasn't familiar with Bass Reeves and your particular tale was refreshing to see. COmign from you Ithis was a different level of badasserty that I just wasn't expecting. I really was expecting a little more over-the-top violence but that may still be residual effects of THe Jones lurking in my brain.

If anything was off at all it was that the outlaws could have been a bit dirtier and sweatier. It would have made it all the more real. But you blocking, camera angles, shot choices.. everything came together well.

Excellent damn movie. Definitely in my top 10.

 

[hoz]

marlon!!!


this so far is one of my favorites! i am a sucker for westerns and a western with an actual history behind it is even better!

love the cast, the acting, the shots, the pacing, the story!

" head splitter ..." heavy!!

you delivered big time!!

congrats on a great film!

 

[pborghee]

Marlon, I just want to say how proud I am of how well we did on this film. It seems like every fest we bump up a notch. You have been a great friend and producer to work for and hope I can continue to work with such a bad ass now that your the **** of westerns. Congrats on the great film and thanks for everyones positive remarks. We worked hard so you guys will enjoy this.

^^^^------This **** sounded like I was your father telling you congrats on a good game. Now i really feel like brokeback mountain.

 

[Chris Messineo]

Great film.

It's got to be so hard to do a Western and you totally pulled it off. Your cast was great and I loved learning the story of Bass Reeves. I could totally imagine someone turning this into a feature.

Anyway, this was really a lot of fun. One of my favorites in the fest. Very well done.

 

[Vince K]

that was a great film! I really loved the editing in the final shootout sequence...
Acting was spot on and the camera movements were nicely executed too....
this is absolutely one of my faves in this fest...congrats!

 

[Tunnelmen]

Marlon, I remember writing a review on this, but I mut not have posted it? Anyway, I really enjoyed your film. love the dude that chose not to die...feel like I've seen him in other westerns. I think there was a line that he dropped his dialect, but all around believable. You've obviously got the chops! You should get to LA like previously posted. You photograph really well. Great film dude.

 

[killacam]

I really enjoyed the shootout at the end. There was a lot of tension in building up to the standoff. Nice work all around.

 

[jambredz]

2 words....BAD ASS!

luved everything about this.

couple shots where the cc threw me for a millisecond.

Luved the shootout...i rewinded it possible 10 or more times to see how many shots u got in that quick amount of time. And i actually think the "jello" worked there

very good job.

 

[chriscurl]

Really enjoyed this, I noticed how "right" most of the shot selections were, just some really nice framing, good performances, you most of all. The first time I watched I thought everyone seemed a little clean but I can see that really isn't the case, just doesn't come across well in the small format. Anyways, excellent job!

 

[Blaine]

Marlon, you've made some good stuff in the past but you've just topped them all with this. I really enjoyed it. I loved the score, too. It hooked me right at the beginning. Really fine job on this.

Okay, the only small nit I have with this is the revolvers. If you're not going to have them loaded, don't get too close, letting us see no bullets in them. But you did such a good job on this that I forgive that small problem.

 

[Marlon Ladd]

Great Stuff... keep the high quality works flowing!! Best in show so far ( halfway through)

Thanks, Jeremy! I'll take it!

Marlon, this one left me wanting to see more. I did not want it to end when it did. I thought the actor that played "Bass Reeves" was very good the other two not so much but the story grabbed me and I was hooked. I enjoyed "The Jones" and I thought it was good but this was much better and more believable. Very good job!

Thanks for the compliments Bigmagic. I'll definitely take comparing "Lawless" to "The Jones'" as a big compliment. People are still talking about that film. They'll be talking about it even more since I'll be starting on the feature soon.

I really enjoyed this. Educational too. I'm really surprised there was a black marshall. I'll have to wiki him. His name almost sounds made up. It's that good.

Great costumes. Loved the editing and sound effects for the gunshot. Good acting esp w/ Bass who I'm assuming you played. Well done.

Thanks, mentaduke. Yes, I did play Bass and thanks for taking the time to review. This man's story in nothing less than incredible and I'm just happy I was able to do a good enough job to bring his story out and make it good enough to resonate with people.

Really enjoyed this film. I was hooked from the beginning with the music, love the score there, with the guitar. Excellent opening sequence with the shooting – nice colour grading there, bringing us to the title – a great opening sequence.
Acting was great, enjoyed the performances a lot. All your characters were compelling – excellent. Nice script too, very good. Loved the tension, the build up, the deliveries, all good.

Sound was good – clear, crisp, never drawing attention to itself. Good job.
Cinematography was good, some very good shots in there. Enjoyed the grade too, had a good tone to it.

Memorable Moment – “You choose” – 5:18. Great little push in there. Great shot, great actor. A true moment of cinema right here at DVXUser.

The thing I loved about this film was it really was that – a film. You’ve got a script, a great story, great actors, all tied together with good direction, camerawork, sound, and music. It’s all there in this one. Congratulations. One of my favourites.

Thanks alot, Chris! Excellent review. Everybody did an excellent job on this film and Hamza Lee is my composer and he did the score for the film. He's great and has got some mad skills. He also really enjoyed the movie and that was extra motivation to make the score even that much better. Thanks for stopping in!

Marlon, LOVED the film, but confused all over the place ... mostly about minor stuff, like who's that awesome actor (the black guy)?! Great look, deliveries, etc. ... would LOVE to cast him in a film sometime. Your poster looks like you may be one of the starring characters, but then when you list the credits below (on the 1st page), you're not listed in the cast section.

Also, when I clicked on the "discuss" link, it took me to "The Jones", so had to do some looking around to get here.

Anyway .... really enjoyed the film, my favorite I think I've seen from you yet, and certainly has feature ability all over it, making sense since you said it's based off a feature. Great idea ... really dug it.

This fest is going to be possibly the most difficult to choose from yet, as there have been SO many solid works! Nice job, man. :thumbsup:

Glad you enjoyed the film, Norm. Okay, I'll clear up your confusion for you. LOL. Yes, I did play Bass Reeves and thanks for the compliment. I don't always list myself in the credits or put my name out front because I want peoples honest opinions on my acting and I think that's the only way to get it (is if people don't know I'm in the film). I think we've got the link fixed now too, but thanks for letting me know on that. And by all means, you got a great film going, cast me, man! Cast me!

Marlon...WOW! I just love your work. This is a very solid film and sure to do well in this (and any other) fest. Really great work! What else can I say.

Congrats to the cast & crew.

Thanks, Zaza. Always look forward to your reviews as well. Means alot!