Film Review: They Came From Planet Sexy 7

The title really says it all. The viewer should be well aware of what they’re getting into when they see “planet sexy 7″ in the title. Smithee’s opus to all that is bad science fiction is realized in this 7 and a half minute gem.

Jimmy (Mike Heil) is the average American boy, with a little bit of a bad streak. He and Doctor Hatchburg (the brilliant David James) create a device that can communicate millions of lightyears away. But what happens if a negative message is sent through the cosmos. Jimmy inadvertently sends Rock and Roll music through the Intergalaxial Communications Array, which is intercepted by the 3 sexy space aliens from Planet Sexy 7. The rock music “excites there bodies” and now they are threatening to destroy the world unless Jimmy premaritally mates with them. Will Jimmy choose to sin over being a saint? Will the space beings succeed in taking over the world? Will the tiny string holding up the UFO hold together?

 

Smithee brings his trademark crapiness to his latest work. Awkward camera angles, bad lighting, campy acting make this film so bad its good. The special effects bottom notch with the climax of the film being the giant crancor beast that “lays waste” to the town. Heil shines as the dorkasaurus rex and naive bad boy with his goofy delivery and great facial expressions. Julia Gallagher as the beautiful Lieutenant Della steals the spotlight as the monotone moxy space babe.

 

While James does a great job, he occasionally gets caught in his words. Smithee’s choice of the word “Intergalaxial” may have been a great idea, but it’s hard to understand when James says it. A few audio levels, while may have been intended, don’t exactly work out, as buzz from the air conditioner.

Overall, Smithee’s “They Came From Planet Sexy 7″ is a hillarious suckfest and earns the title of best wost movie of the year. “TCFPS7″ is destined to become a cult classic and will definitely be hit in the toy and retail market.

 

Final Project: They Came From Planet Sexy 7

I definitely think I’m improved as a filmmaker this semester. I feel like my aesthetic perspective has changed and I see things in my head differently which causes them to come out differently on the screen. I truly feel I put a lot of effort into my projects this semester. I feel like my work ethic has improved a lot and I enjoyed doing films again. I dabbled a lot in special effects this semester which I feel like I improved in. I just recently got After Effects so i’m excited to use Lynda and learn how to use it.

I think a lot of my improvement has just come with knowing myself better. I learned that I work better with projects that are more tense and exciting than the new wave of indie minimalist. I have stories that tell what happens next and keep the emotional subverted, where as many people are all about emotion and keep the plot subverted.

I learned a lot on how to work with people, especially my friends. Sometimes I have a tendency to just want to get things done and if an actor or helper has input, I get annoyed. Most of the time I’m open to suggestion, but sometimes I know what I wanna do and I shut people out. I’m learning on how to relax on set and know that it will all get done and that sometimes people have cool ideas.

This semester was tough on me from a work standpoint because I was taking three comm classes instead of the recommended two plus running a webcampaign and taking creative writing. I f0elt spread thin occasionally and I know my work suffered for it but ultimately I’m glad I did it. I learned how to manage my stress better and pick the right things to focus on. I learned what was important and when I needed to just take a break to enjoy life a little before i went insane. Overall I just learned that being a hardworker means learning about yourself and where your limits are.

Final Film Review: Gran Torino

The name Clint Eastwood will forever be associated with film greatness. His unsurmountable and unstoppable film success and career will be written about in history books. At the age of  80, Eastwood appears as if he will be making movies till the day he dies. “Gran Torino”, one of Eastwood’s recent films, adds to his long legacy that will not soon be forgotten.

“Gran Torino” is old racist war veteran Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) who is the classic old coot. An asian family moves in next door which annoys Walt to no end. He forms a friendship with the kids Thao (Bee Vang) and Sue (Ahney Her). A gang has challenged Thao to steal Walt’s Gran Torino which he is caught doing and therefore fails. As reciprocation, Thao begins helping Walt do oddjobs around his house. The gang finds out that Thao has failed his initiation and muggs him on the way home from school. Walt retaliates and beats up the gang members and tell them to leave the family alone. The gang then does a driveby shooting at Thao’s house, leaving Thao shot in the neck and his sister Sue raped and beaten. As a last resort, Walt confronts the gang and is shot dead and the gang is thrown in jail.

It’s hard to watch this movie without thinking that Eastwood isn’t really acting. He seems like the kinda guy that would be reacting in the same way as Walt so you occasionally forget you are watching him play a character. It’s a thrill to see Eastwood playing an old badass because, in essence, he’s an old badass. Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull really showed Harrison Ford’s age whereas Gran Torino shows that Eastwood’s still got some Dirty Harry in him. Ahney Her does a great job at being a charismatic girl who really cares for Walt but at the same time being naive enough to get caught up in the gang violence. Bee Vang’s performance starts off a bit cliche but really comes into his own when he begins to come into his own as a man and yell back at Walt when he’s being a scrooge. Scenes have a slow build but are never boring by any means. Walt loves to stereotype different races and people without realizing he’s the “get off my lawn” grumpy old man stereotype.

 

Gran Torino is a coming of age story in many respects. A boy learns to stand up for himself and become a man. An old curmudgeon realizes there are good people left in the world and becomes a man in some regards. Overall, it’s a story of acceptance and growth that breaksthrough the mundane blockbusters that hollywood seems to put out and is able to keep you well invested in the characters without being bored.

Film Review #8: Sex Drive

Teen sex comedies seem to come in waves. From “Animal House” to “American Pie”, teenagers latch on to a movie that pushes the boundaries of crudeness. “Sex Drive” tries it’s hardest to be the sex comedy of our generation, but strange casting and poor directing can’t keep it from surpassing mediocre.

“Sex Drive” follows the awkward exploits of Ian (Josh Zuckerman) and his two best friends Felicia (Amanda Crew) and Lance (Clark Duke). Ian’s a high school virgin who has decided he wants to have sex with a girl he met on the Internet. The trio set out on a “cross country” (nine hour) roadtrip that has them fighting off hobos, running from rednecks, and getting boners on stage at an abstinence seminar. Love triangles ensue: Ian hearts Felicia while Felicia likes Lance while Lance likes anything with breasts.

The surprising thing about the mediocre “Sex Drive” is that the script is actually quite good. They aren’t breaking new grounds by any means: Ian=Jason Biggs and Ian’s big brother Rex (James Marsden)=Stiffler. The jokes were actually written really well. My two problems were the casting and the directing. Clarke Duke as Lance felt an odd choice for me. He was able to pull off the suaveness and dickness that the character required but he didn’t look like he could be the lady killer the movie tried to make you believe he was. The directing was also mediocre. Stagnant shots and slightly awkward blocking made it look like amatuer hour.

While I loved the jokes and some of the characters in Sex Drive, this movie will not live in the same vein as Weird Science or the American Pie franchise. Cliche moments keep it from classicness

Project #4: Unsaid

Luke Gunn, Will Sanborn, and Meggie Reeves were our actors. Overall, they did an awesome job. They were really helpful and ready to go when they got there. They brought their own clothes and all had their own scripts. They were really receptive to critiques and bared with us during setups.

 

Will was our main character and therefore was with us most of the time. I thought he really brought good life into the character. He made sure he wasn’t creepy and that we really felt for this guy who lost someone he didn’t even know. Will was willing to do pretty much anything and everything we asked him too and wasn’t bothered when we asked him to make changes. He seemed to have a general interest in film which helped out a lot as well. He made sure he knew what his motivation was before he made any move on screen which was great for us.

Luke played the roommate character. Even though Luke only really ever said “SUP” he definitely brought humor into the otherwise bleak story. He was great at acting disinterested in us and interested in his video game. He was there 5 minutes early and was completely memorized which was really helpful in the filming process.

Meggie was our last actor in the film who played the attractive girl. I have worked with megan a bunch so I know she would be very prepared. The best part about having Megan as an actor is that she’s completely okay when you don’t need her. She always brings a book or magazine to read and has her own water so we don’t feel bad when we don’t need her.

Our one major hitch that happened was that our camera battery died and we had to go back for another one. I was really worried the actors would be mad but luckily they were really cool with it while we ran to get the other battery. This made them late for a performance but they never once were mean or yelled at us. Overall they did a really awesome job and were very easy to work with.

 

Film Review #6: Pretty in Pink

No Writer/Director personified high school in the 19080′s more than John Hughes. Creating some of the most memorable characters and scenes, Hughes made an impact on an entire generation of horny, frustrated teens. While “Pretty In Pink” can’t hold a candle to other John Huges classics, the worries and frustrations of the characters still hold true today.

“Pretty In Pink” follows the story of Andie Walsh (Molly Ringwald) and Pil “Duckie” Dale (Jon Cryer) through dating, divorce, and dances. Andie is a lower middle class hipster who makes her own clothes and takes care of her out of work father (Harry Dean Stanton). Andie meets Blane (Andrew McCarthy) who she quickly falls for but Blane’s family is wealthy which makes Andie self concious. Duckie is a fast talking weirdo who has been vocally in love with Andie since they were little and quickly becomes jealous of Andie and Blane’s budding relationship.

The best way to describe Ringwald and McCarthy’s chemistry is “minimal”. McCarthy plays it boring and Ringwald never really seems interested in him. Cryer steals the show with his fast mouth, goofy lines, and outgoing personality. Annie Potts does a wonderful job with Iona, Andie’s stylish boss who took just a few too many drugs in the 60′s. First time director Howard Deutch never manages to capture the frustration and craziness that Hughes does while directing. Some scenes fall flat and if it weren’t for the goofyness of Potts and Cryer,”Pretty in Pink” may have been forgotten amongst better movies such as Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club.

While still considered a classic, “Pretty In Pink” is definitely most tame of the brat pack movies. Blah performances and boring scenes keep this film from other John Hughes greats.

 

Project #2: “We Are All Made Of Stars”

Stars by Robert Frost

How countlessly they congregate O’er our tumultuous snow, Which flows in shapes as tall as trees When wintry winds do blow!–  As if with keenness for our fate, Our faltering few steps on To white rest, and a place of rest Invisible at dawn,– And yet with neither love nor hate, Those stars like some snow-white Minerva’s snow-white marble eyes Without the gift of sight.

I knew I wanted to do something about stars so I found this poem by Frost and sort of used it as a starting block. Frost poem compares stars to snow so I used the bubbles from the stream to create a white/star-like appearance that flowed “in shapes as tall as trees” in the first black and white shot. I looked into Minerva and discovered she is the goddess of wisdom and magic so i took that and sort of melded it into a storyline where the world is gonna end and only Minerva with her powers can save it but in saving loses her life. I used the “invisible at dawn” line to shoot the sunset and moon rising which morphed into the colors of the dots so i added a shot of green. In the end we see minervas snow-white marble eyes amongst the color dots over white. I love the concept that we are all made up of elements created inside stars so in essence, we are all made of stars.

Film Review #5: Wallstreet

Oliver Stone’s “Wallstreet” is a fast paced-rise and fall story that created one of the most iconic characters of all time, Gordon Gecko. While it’s aged fairly well, moments of mainstream pull this movie back from being perfect.

In Wallstreet, Budd Fox (played by Charlie Sheen) is a stock broker at a decent firm with his eyes set on greatness. His biggest idol: Gordon Gecko (Michael Douglas). Gecko is a power hungry bussiness man who breaks the rules for his own greedy desires. After months of trying, Fox finally makes it into Gecko’s inner circle and begins doing detective work, breaking the laws of insider trading. When Gecko’s greed hits too close to home with Fox, he sets out to save his father’s job (played by Martin Sheen) and take Gecko down.

Wallstreet gives the viewer an inside look into the intense and often times illegal innerworkings of the New York stock exchange. Stone’s fast paced dialogue keeps the story flowing and moving faster than a New York minute. Although I know nothing about the stock market, I was able to follow the film easily. Stone takes odd moments to highlight with lighting which are interesting yet feel like they don’t belong in the grand scheme. Charlie and Martin Sheen have great chemistry as father and son and their relationship is a great metaphor for old world/new world clash. Gecko is the love-to-hate kinda villain and Douglas pulls him off with just enough vulnerability to keep him from being pure evil which makes him much more accessible as a character.

The biggest flaw in this movie comes during the second and third act when Darien Taylor (played by Darryl Hannah). Darien is the typical love interest for Bud that really adds nothing to the story and causes the film to meander a bit. If I wanted a lame romance and an campy 80′s sillouhette love scene, I would be watching Top Gun. If Stone had ignored typical story elements, Wallstreet could have been something original but it Hannah manages to shave a star off an almost perfect movie.

4/5

Project #2: Animation

Film Review #3: Waiting For Guffman

“Waiting For Guffman” is writer/director/actor/comedian Christopher Guest’s third film that lives up to his reputation. Bringing together a cast that became staples of his more recent movies, Guest dishes out another heavy dose of improv comedy.

“Waiting For Guffman” follows the story of Corky St. Claire (Guest), a theater director living in Blaine, Missouri who has been given the challenge to direct a play about the town’s history. Corky along with his cast and crew (Fred Willard, Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Parker Posey, Bob Balaban, Lewis Arquette, and Matt Keesler) are informed that the great Broadway producer Mort Guffman will be attending their play with the possibility of taking it to Broadway. The cast must overcome their social ineptitude to bring on the greatest performance Blaine, Missouri has ever seen.

Guest and crew bring an exceptional performances to the table. Willard and Levy’s improv is at the top of their game, making you wonder where the script ends and their imaginations begin. Posey is hilarious as the midwestern teen who hopes acting will be her ticket out of working her job at Dairy Queen. The cinematography/mockumentary style is nothing to write home about but Guest’s movies are never meant to be “pretty” by any means. The play is the climax of the film where the comedic timing and awkardness hits full stride.

At 84 minutes, its a quick watch but a film that will definitely stick with you. From Corky’s “wife that is out of town” to Levy’s lazy eye in the middle of his performance, the cast will having you rolling on the floor with their comedic talent. The film is 13 years old and while Guest films like “Spinal Tap” haven’t aged well, “Waiting For Guffman” comes with a 100% laughter guarantee.

4/5