Josh Berry: Before I start off this review, I'd like to say that I greatly admired the creativity and the individualistic thought process that Reitman put into this short film. This is not to say that I haven't heard of any ideas that are similar to this, but the delivery/presentation of this film captivated my interest from the beginning to the end. I liked the way that the text "In God We Trust" on the quarter was significant in the plot of the film. He did a nice job at tying the meaning of the quarter together throughout the film. My favorite part of the film, as far as film-making is concerned, is the beginning. I'm sure that the hand that moved the globe was symbolic of God's hand, and I like how the camera zoomed in from the hand of God, to the Earth, to the city, to an overhead view of the street, and finally ending up on the actual quarter in hand. One minor scene in the film that like how they executed was the ice cream scene. It was quite creative. I like how the use of slow-motion and the close-up shot enhanced the heat as the ice cream dripped. It was also creative how they configured that whole scenario. Overall, the film was great. If I had to rate it on a scale of 1-10, I'd have to give it a 9.
Absolutely hilarious. I loved how first off the film came full circle to really make it even more powerful. I liked how there were some already well known faces in the film like Shelley Berman, which was a funny and good surprise. The use of humor was great while the message was to do good deeds for others. I felt the editing was very well done and even with the car hitting Bobby scenes. The scene with the Latin dancing was a great touch as well as smashing the Ricky Martin Boombox. I have watched it three times now and is still funny and powerful.
Gwen Gardiner: Overall I thought the movie was very funny and had a good message as well. The film was clearly well thought out, both visually and with regards to plot. Specifically I thought there were many moments of originality with the camerawork, which helped maintain interest in the story and convey a message. Character depth was mainly confined to visual stereotypes in order to establish a character, which can be helpful when making a short film with limited time. For example, the main character had the look of a carefree yet careless attitude who would believably commit “minor offences” throughout his lifetime. I liked the various points of humor throughout the story, although I feel like the timing was off a bit for a few of the jokes. I really liked how the story came full circle in the end with him picking up the coin again. And having the elevator symbolize his rise to heaven was a creative ending, much more powerful than huge special effects and music sometimes associated with the afterlife. I feel like this film leaves the viewers with a good message as well that they can carry with them after they are done watching it.
Andy Barksdale: The first thing that struck me about the film was how polished it seemed. From the transitions at the beginning with the earth, the overhead of the streets, and the coin, to the seamless effect of the lead character getting hit by the car, it was all really impressive. The general aesthetic of the movie was slick too, with its bright colors, interesting locations, and some really cool shots - my favorite being the shot around the 5:30 mark when the lead character runs down the alley toward the camera and it then tracks with him as he runs into the building off to the side. The story was easy to get hooked with, because, at least for me, it's easy to get onboard with stories about a guy who is trying to do more good with his life, especially when he knows that he doesn't have much time left. I also thought that the use of music helped add to the humor in parts (the Ricky Martin joke, but also "Tainted Love" as he runs down the alley), and the dialogue was really funny. If I have any complaints, it's that some of the lead character's "good deeds" after he escapes purgatory seem to happen almost by coincidence, especially the first one where he runs into the would-be-burglar. It kind of cheapened the idea that he was trying to make his remaining time count, but maybe those coincidences were kind of the point - maybe the film is trying to say that "good" and "bad" deeds happen by chance a lot of the time. I don't really know, but I do know that this was a fun film to watch and overall I really enjoyed it.
KristineBarclay: I was suprised how much I liked it because I usually don't like that theme but I think they did a good job with the small moments of humor with the smoothie and Ricky martin. The Ricky Martin part was my favorite. I noticed though that when he was being chanced by the Asian gangsters and ended up in an alley to the left was a fire and to the right was the gangsters so he jumped threw a window. But the young man who came out of the window went left---so I take it he is fire proof. The car crash was intense-It was amazing and perfect in slow motion, I cringed at the sound of his bones breaking. But I don't think that he was trying to do good things-- I think he was just preparing for hell and he was feeling more generous because he knew he didn't have very much time left and had to make the most of it. In life he might have ignored the little girls with the ice cream cones but after his experence he was more helpful. Like in life he wouldn't go visit his dad and share a smoothie or care much about his health but once he sees he may not be around for more than a few minutes he was more inclinded to do so.
Jake Fabian: I can really only say good things about this. First of all, the lightning-quick pacing is executed excellently. This really throws you into the heat of things without giving you much of a chance to gain your bearings, but it never feels rushed or incomplete as a result. It's perfectly paced; that was definitely the fastest 17 minutes of my day. The humor is so sharp. Everything is witty, from the small gags like him getting ecstatic from the snow mistake and running into the diamond thief to the hilarious ice cream scene. I think a lot of the humor really benefited from the quick pace as well, as a lot of jokes relied on rapid timing like the great Ricky Martin boombox scene. It was pretty interesting visually as well, particularly the zoom-in on the globe and the surreal car accident in the beginning. The film's light on its theme, which I guess is "do good things because you'll feel kind of nice and won't go to hell." Also, it plays on a somewhat tired concept, but both of these things are forgivable because it's pulled off so well.
Megan Dillard: I thought this short was fantastic. It kept my attention the whole time with the fast pace of the plot and dialogue. There is a clear arc for the story and a substantial goal for the protagonist: Don't go to hell. The zoom in from the sky down to the coin that happens at the beginning and the end helps to bring the story to a close and the climax drags out longer than most other elements of the film. You're not clued into whether he succeeds or not until you hear the ding of the elevator, at which point he can do nothing else to save himself. I really enjoyed it and it didn't feel as long as it was because I was so immersed in the story.
I thought this short was great. the acting was very good considering it was an independent film. In my experiences with independent films the acting tends to be sub-bar (granted I have not watched many independent films. The plot was excellent and very well thought out and the dialogue sounded natural. The film did a good job of balancing suspense and humor. I loved the part with the angel intern trying ,and failing, to kill the the main character. The special effects were very well done, and the ending was perfect. this was a very interesting film and it never had a dull moment, so in my opinion this movie gets 2 thumbs up.
I really liked this short film. The acting wasn't bad and the plot was clearly planned out well. The slow-mo car crash was pretty cool. The film was very creative and original.
I saw this film in Schartz's class. I thought it conveyeda good message on how much the little things we do, can have a big impact on others. I also thought that the graphics and cinimatography was also well done!
Josh Berry:
ReplyDeleteBefore I start off this review, I'd like to say that I greatly admired the creativity and the individualistic thought process that Reitman put into this short film. This is not to say that I haven't heard of any ideas that are similar to this, but the delivery/presentation of this film captivated my interest from the beginning to the end. I liked the way that the text "In God We Trust" on the quarter was significant in the plot of the film. He did a nice job at tying the meaning of the quarter together throughout the film.
My favorite part of the film, as far as film-making is concerned, is the beginning. I'm sure that the hand that moved the globe was symbolic of God's hand, and I like how the camera zoomed in from the hand of God, to the Earth, to the city, to an overhead view of the street, and finally ending up on the actual quarter in hand. One minor scene in the film that like how they executed was the ice cream scene. It was quite creative. I like how the use of slow-motion and the close-up shot enhanced the heat as the ice cream dripped. It was also creative how they configured that whole scenario. Overall, the film was great. If I had to rate it on a scale of 1-10, I'd have to give it a 9.
Absolutely hilarious. I loved how first off the film came full circle to really make it even more powerful. I liked how there were some already well known faces in the film like Shelley Berman, which was a funny and good surprise. The use of humor was great while the message was to do good deeds for others. I felt the editing was very well done and even with the car hitting Bobby scenes. The scene with the Latin dancing was a great touch as well as smashing the Ricky Martin Boombox. I have watched it three times now and is still funny and powerful.
ReplyDeleteGwen Gardiner: Overall I thought the movie was very funny and had a good message as well. The film was clearly well thought out, both visually and with regards to plot. Specifically I thought there were many moments of originality with the camerawork, which helped maintain interest in the story and convey a message. Character depth was mainly confined to visual stereotypes in order to establish a character, which can be helpful when making a short film with limited time. For example, the main character had the look of a carefree yet careless attitude who would believably commit “minor offences” throughout his lifetime. I liked the various points of humor throughout the story, although I feel like the timing was off a bit for a few of the jokes. I really liked how the story came full circle in the end with him picking up the coin again. And having the elevator symbolize his rise to heaven was a creative ending, much more powerful than huge special effects and music sometimes associated with the afterlife. I feel like this film leaves the viewers with a good message as well that they can carry with them after they are done watching it.
ReplyDeleteAndy Barksdale:
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that struck me about the film was how polished it seemed. From the transitions at the beginning with the earth, the overhead of the streets, and the coin, to the seamless effect of the lead character getting hit by the car, it was all really impressive. The general aesthetic of the movie was slick too, with its bright colors, interesting locations, and some really cool shots - my favorite being the shot around the 5:30 mark when the lead character runs down the alley toward the camera and it then tracks with him as he runs into the building off to the side.
The story was easy to get hooked with, because, at least for me, it's easy to get onboard with stories about a guy who is trying to do more good with his life, especially when he knows that he doesn't have much time left. I also thought that the use of music helped add to the humor in parts (the Ricky Martin joke, but also "Tainted Love" as he runs down the alley), and the dialogue was really funny. If I have any complaints, it's that some of the lead character's "good deeds" after he escapes purgatory seem to happen almost by coincidence, especially the first one where he runs into the would-be-burglar. It kind of cheapened the idea that he was trying to make his remaining time count, but maybe those coincidences were kind of the point - maybe the film is trying to say that "good" and "bad" deeds happen by chance a lot of the time. I don't really know, but I do know that this was a fun film to watch and overall I really enjoyed it.
KristineBarclay:
ReplyDeleteI was suprised how much I liked it because I usually don't like that theme but I think they did a good job with the small moments of humor with the smoothie and Ricky martin. The Ricky Martin part was my favorite. I noticed though that when he was being chanced by the Asian gangsters and ended up in an alley to the left was a fire and to the right was the gangsters so he jumped threw a window. But the young man who came out of the window went left---so I take it he is fire proof.
The car crash was intense-It was amazing and perfect in slow motion, I cringed at the sound of his bones breaking.
But I don't think that he was trying to do good things-- I think he was just preparing for hell and he was feeling more generous because he knew he didn't have very much time left and had to make the most of it. In life he might have ignored the little girls with the ice cream cones but after his experence he was more helpful. Like in life he wouldn't go visit his dad and share a smoothie or care much about his health but once he sees he may not be around for more than a few minutes he was more inclinded to do so.
Jake Fabian:
ReplyDeleteI can really only say good things about this. First of all, the lightning-quick pacing is executed excellently. This really throws you into the heat of things without giving you much of a chance to gain your bearings, but it never feels rushed or incomplete as a result. It's perfectly paced; that was definitely the fastest 17 minutes of my day.
The humor is so sharp. Everything is witty, from the small gags like him getting ecstatic from the snow mistake and running into the diamond thief to the hilarious ice cream scene. I think a lot of the humor really benefited from the quick pace as well, as a lot of jokes relied on rapid timing like the great Ricky Martin boombox scene. It was pretty interesting visually as well, particularly the zoom-in on the globe and the surreal car accident in the beginning.
The film's light on its theme, which I guess is "do good things because you'll feel kind of nice and won't go to hell." Also, it plays on a somewhat tired concept, but both of these things are forgivable because it's pulled off so well.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMegan Dillard:
ReplyDeleteI thought this short was fantastic. It kept my attention the whole time with the fast pace of the plot and dialogue. There is a clear arc for the story and a substantial goal for the protagonist: Don't go to hell. The zoom in from the sky down to the coin that happens at the beginning and the end helps to bring the story to a close and the climax drags out longer than most other elements of the film. You're not clued into whether he succeeds or not until you hear the ding of the elevator, at which point he can do nothing else to save himself. I really enjoyed it and it didn't feel as long as it was because I was so immersed in the story.
Joel Powe
ReplyDeleteI thought this short was great. the acting was very good considering it was an independent film. In my experiences with independent films the acting tends to be sub-bar (granted I have not watched many independent films. The plot was excellent and very well thought out and the dialogue sounded natural. The film did a good job of balancing suspense and humor. I loved the part with the angel intern trying ,and failing, to kill the the main character. The special effects were very well done, and the ending was perfect. this was a very interesting film and it never had a dull moment, so in my opinion this movie gets 2 thumbs up.
I really liked this short film. The acting wasn't bad and the plot was clearly planned out well. The slow-mo car crash was pretty cool. The film was very creative and original.
ReplyDeleteI saw this film in Schartz's class. I thought it conveyeda good message on how much the little things we do, can have a big impact on others. I also thought that the graphics and cinimatography was also well done!
ReplyDelete