Mark Harris
Pain in the ass
As always, you rule the school. Awesome and Fun.
MONSTERS BEWARE - A film by J. Anthony Gonzales
- Thread starter cinealma
- Start date
cinealma
Veteran
joshreluctant
Well-known member
This movie seems to have absolutely no story. She traps monsters like Poke'mon? Is that it? Not really sure what was going on there. When she got into the car with the zombie and the "re-animated" guy, I thought to myself, "Hmm... must be some alternate reality where monsters have replaced people?", and then spent the rest of the movie being insanely confused. Didn't get why she was using childrens toys to catch them.
Catching monsters is a cool idea, I just think you went a little haywire with the story and added way too many elements, and lost me in the process.
Shot wise, very basic, and there were 4 or 5 cuts where the color grade went way darker for some reason, then ramped back up for the next shot. Like you pasted it over all of them, without realizing that several of them already had it on them.
One thing I did really like, was the make-up effects on the zombie guy. Big fan of zombies.
Catching monsters is a cool idea, I just think you went a little haywire with the story and added way too many elements, and lost me in the process.
Shot wise, very basic, and there were 4 or 5 cuts where the color grade went way darker for some reason, then ramped back up for the next shot. Like you pasted it over all of them, without realizing that several of them already had it on them.
One thing I did really like, was the make-up effects on the zombie guy. Big fan of zombies.
cinealma
Veteran
Our make-up artist, Cat Elrod, did a fantastic job. She appreciates your comment.
Thanks for watching!
Susanne G.
Well-known member
I laughed throughout the film. This was a absolutely super enjoyable remake of films from the sixties. The actors did a fantastic job, especially Tom - I adore the make up - the scar in his face. The film reminds me a bit of the british tv series 'The Avengers' - your actress seems like the character Emma Peel. This film took me really positively by surprise. Compliments!
Susanne
Susanne
lawriejaffa
Veteran
This film is an enjoyable romp - i say film, but as a few have suggested it does feel really more like a skit on a comedy chatshow etc. Perhaps...
But i think theres enough going on here to warrant a more complete experience as one might find in a sketch alone. The story or lack there of - is playing obvious second fiddle to style and gags. I think more effort could have been made (and to be honest without huge effort) to make a basic storyline more apparent.
This would lend more crediblity to this as an actual complete project - a full film in its own right. This is important as any filmmaker can pimp out a truncated scene or promo like piece of media and call it a film (in a festival like this) where we're kind of in the multi-media jon measuring um... exposures (phwoar) but for public view, would this be in a short film festival? (Perhaps actually!!! But only because its so funny, but it plays with fire in that regard.)
Annnyway, the performances are amusing, and i love the exchanges in the car. I think its a shame that period consistency wasnt maintained with the vehicle however.
Special mention to Tom Marshall (who particularly amused me with his performance.)
Overall this is a slick, and amusing piece, that could have done with more story as is said, and better production consistency. But overall its a fun flick and very professionally made.
But i think theres enough going on here to warrant a more complete experience as one might find in a sketch alone. The story or lack there of - is playing obvious second fiddle to style and gags. I think more effort could have been made (and to be honest without huge effort) to make a basic storyline more apparent.
This would lend more crediblity to this as an actual complete project - a full film in its own right. This is important as any filmmaker can pimp out a truncated scene or promo like piece of media and call it a film (in a festival like this) where we're kind of in the multi-media jon measuring um... exposures (phwoar) but for public view, would this be in a short film festival? (Perhaps actually!!! But only because its so funny, but it plays with fire in that regard.)
Annnyway, the performances are amusing, and i love the exchanges in the car. I think its a shame that period consistency wasnt maintained with the vehicle however.
Special mention to Tom Marshall (who particularly amused me with his performance.)
Overall this is a slick, and amusing piece, that could have done with more story as is said, and better production consistency. But overall its a fun flick and very professionally made.
cinealma
Veteran
Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it.
Thanks for the detailed review. I'm glad you found the humor in it. I know, I know, I wish I would have been able to nail down an old car, but just didn't work out.
Thanks for watching!
Chris_Keaton
ScriptFEST Mod
Yeah, sorry about that. I thought some one for sure would follow through.
xxrotinivol2
Active member
love the world of wolfmen who run around in fear, zombies who don’t know what just hit ‘em, and spaceships that randomly appear in the sky. The make-up was awesome, the story imaginative, and I enjoyed the performances by everyone. It’s a hilarious other world, so great work.
The movie worked for me.
Congrats on your top-13 finish, and I look forward to seeing how the final ratings shake up.
The movie worked for me.
Congrats on your top-13 finish, and I look forward to seeing how the final ratings shake up.
Ben Sliker
Pain In The Ass 2.0
John,
Charli was very persuasive in dragging me back on to DVXuser to review your film, ending my self-imposed ban while I concentrate on writing feature scripts. When in reality, all she had to say was "Ben, there's a naked dude running around in the beginning of the film, WATCH IT." That being said, I haven't read a bit of your thread, so i'll make the proverbial "sorry if someone's already said this" right now.
First off, very entertaining film. That's the most important part for me. I wasn't ever staring down at my QT timeline, wondering where the marker was. I was completely into the film for the duration. That said, I think the car ride in the middle dragged a bit, perhaps switching to a different location (like a gas station or something) and then back to the car would have solved that.
The sound effects, music, special effects all worked very well with the tone that you were trying to set. I would have rather seen this film shot in 4:3 with SLIGHT amounts of film clutter/elements integrated into it. Like a 50s PSA about how to protect yourself from a nuclear bomb. I think you were REALLY close to nailing the whole effect stylistically, but those small changes would have taken it over the top for me.
Acting wise, solid performances all around, I felt everyone who was playing a monster was, for the most part, natural in their role. As for the lead, I know the film is supposed to be camp-tastic, and the dialogue fit that tone, but I felt the lead bounced around a bit between acting campy, acting normal, and a bit of overacting. It wasn't as natural as the monsters. (of course, her character has more layers, obviously the toughest of the roles)
All in all, a very solid flick, and like I said at the beginning of my review, I was entertained throughout. Thanks for sharing and congrats on getting to the second round!
-ben
Charli was very persuasive in dragging me back on to DVXuser to review your film, ending my self-imposed ban while I concentrate on writing feature scripts. When in reality, all she had to say was "Ben, there's a naked dude running around in the beginning of the film, WATCH IT." That being said, I haven't read a bit of your thread, so i'll make the proverbial "sorry if someone's already said this" right now.
First off, very entertaining film. That's the most important part for me. I wasn't ever staring down at my QT timeline, wondering where the marker was. I was completely into the film for the duration. That said, I think the car ride in the middle dragged a bit, perhaps switching to a different location (like a gas station or something) and then back to the car would have solved that.
The sound effects, music, special effects all worked very well with the tone that you were trying to set. I would have rather seen this film shot in 4:3 with SLIGHT amounts of film clutter/elements integrated into it. Like a 50s PSA about how to protect yourself from a nuclear bomb. I think you were REALLY close to nailing the whole effect stylistically, but those small changes would have taken it over the top for me.
Acting wise, solid performances all around, I felt everyone who was playing a monster was, for the most part, natural in their role. As for the lead, I know the film is supposed to be camp-tastic, and the dialogue fit that tone, but I felt the lead bounced around a bit between acting campy, acting normal, and a bit of overacting. It wasn't as natural as the monsters. (of course, her character has more layers, obviously the toughest of the roles)
All in all, a very solid flick, and like I said at the beginning of my review, I was entertained throughout. Thanks for sharing and congrats on getting to the second round!
-ben
Robbie Comeau
Como's back. back again
Holy, at first I was gonna say how the driver looks like a mix between Francis from Malcolm in the Middle and Neil Patrick Harris from Harold and Kumar.......Then I looked at the credits, and realized it was TOM MARSHALL!
Good film. Nice shots, and a nice feel to the old films...Had the right tone and music for it!
Robbie
Good film. Nice shots, and a nice feel to the old films...Had the right tone and music for it!
Robbie
Marlon Ladd
Veteran
WTF?? Tom was in there? Nice!!
cinealma
Veteran
I did get some leads, but nobody ever really followed through. That's just the way it goes sometimes in the crazy world of indie filmmaking. :cheesy:
Cheers!
Thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Believe me, I had many thoughts of sticking a lot more in it, but it's tough with 6 minutes. There's another thread around asking "where's the giant monsters"? The thought crossed my mind more than a couple of times in putting the story together. :happy:
cinealma
Veteran
Oh, God. Well, I hope it was worth it.
:grin:Thanks for taking the time out to check out the film and for leaving some detailed feedback. The comment about never staring at the QT timeline really makes me happy. After watching your own film a gazillion times while editing, you never know if it's just flowing because you know what's going to happen every second or if it's REALLY flowing. So that's good to know.
Some definite points in there that I'm thinking about as I expand on the film in a "non-6-minute-dvxuser-fest-cut" version (which I KNOW a lot of people have on the project board with their films).
The point about the actors might have a lot to do with the editing. Given the time crunch, I think the direction wasn't up to 100%. Each take tended to vary a bit through the spectrum. Probably needs to find a "voice" to maintain.
Welp, again, thanks for coming out and watching!
cinealma
Veteran
Thanks, Robbie. I think you nailed it with Tom! :grin: Too funny!
Thanks for watching. Glad you liked it.
THE one and only Mr. Tom Marshall in the driver's seat. We took him off his meds and got some great results. :happy:
Yeah, I'm a sucker for those 50's style B&W Z-graders... so I watched it all the way. The famous indie bugaboo, bad sound, was sadly in evidence, to me - some of the convo in the car was hard to make out, but whatev. Apart from that, it was technically OK for what it was trying to do. Cute idea, probably could have gotten a bit more out of it (f.ex. a bit more involvement from the girl in capturing the monsters - face to face interaction is more dramatically engaging rather than toys thrown). Decent writing, not bad overall - would watch more from the same crew!
Gord.T
Still "Senior Member"
Disagree Corpse, but, whatev
And it was more than 'technically OK'. It was ABOVE technically 'OKAY'.
and
Good for you. Sorry they took up so much of your precious time as you suggest.
Not to me, in fact it was perfect. I loved it. It fit perfectly.
Really? hmmmph. You got me there. Prehaps English isn't your first language?
How do you think it's cute? I didn't find it cute. I don't think anyone else found it cute. Can you elaborate?
Matter of opinion, and in this case, I don't respect yours. I loved the idaa of the toys being tossed in.
And it was more than 'technically OK'. It was ABOVE technically 'OKAY'.
Please, for my sake alone, don't bother.
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