Nanowrimo 2015 (Or Zero Draft Thirty for us screenwriter types)

Alright. So, you may have heard of Nanowrimo, an annual event utilizing the internet to bring novelists together in the effort to write the first draft of a novel in 30 days (the number of days in November.) Speaking of which, Nanowrimo is an acronym of sorts, it stands for National Novel Writing Month. But I am not a novelist, but why let that stop me from participating?

Exactly. I just saw a Facebook post from a friend of mine talking about Zero Draft Thirty, the same concept but for screenwriters. Now, I am not a screenwriter either, however I am a filmmaker and would love to explore more about the screenwriting process, as, after all, scripts are really important for film making. Like, really, really, really important.

So, if I'm going to make a film, I need a script, so why not start one this November for Zero Draft Thirty? Yes, this seems like a great idea. Oh, right, I need to think of a story. Shoot, this might be more difficult than I thought. Anyways, I will try, and we'll see what happens! I will be making some videos on my YouTube channel on this topic as well, so feel free to follow my progress over there as well. (I will post the first video as an update to this post once I have filmed it.)

For more info on this project, check out: https://gointothestory.blcklst.com/2015/10/zero-draft-thirty-write-a-script-in-a-month-challenge.html

Thanks all! Talk soon :)
- David

Review: Imitation Game (2014)

Breaking the unbreakable German code in World War II might seem like an impossible feat, but Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) is up for the challenge. Playing a socially awkward and misunderstood incarnation of the real man, Cumberbatch leads the cast of stellar characters that make up this film. While being predictable at times, the film still managed to throw me some twists that I didn't see coming, and entertained me through the entire movie.

The Imitation Game is about the life and work of British mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing, and follows his journey of attempting to break the "unbreakable" German code during World War II. The film explores his childhood, as well as the events after the war, and also looks at the personal relationships Turing built while building a machine that he hoped would be able to crack the code.

Turing's machine is considered to be the first mechanical computational device, and as such he is considered to be "the father of theoretical computer science and artificial intelligence." (Beavers, Anthony 2013)

The film is a period piece, of course, and the sets and costume design was beautiful and, from what I can discern, fairly accurate. In addition, the overall production design was well done, and I really believed that the action was unfolding in mid 20th century England.

The acting was superb. By far the best part of the film, in my opinion, and Benedict Cumberbatch truly did an amazing job - not to over shadow the other actors in the film, however. Keira Knightly did a fantastic job as well, as did really the whole primary cast.

While the shining moments of the film are the highlight of the film, there were a few things that I was not as thrilled with, like the somewhat predictable plot (though some parts of the film did catch me by surprise) and the decent (but not amazing) score detracted a bit from the film, but not enough to prevent my recommendation.

Is it, as some have said, the "best British film of 2014?" Maybe, I'll be honest, I haven't seen that many British films this year. But is it good? Yes, yes it is. I would say that, despite the minor issues, and they are minor, this is well worth the watch.

The verdict?
7 out of 10 - Heartily Recomend

My Review of Forev (2013 Film)

Forev is a film that was released more than a year ago, but for me, it recently came across my radar. I have been aware of, and a fan of Noel Wells since she was a cast member of Saturday Night Live for the 39th season. However I was not fully aware of her non-SNL work until recently. After finding out about this film, and then discovering that she was the lead character, I just had to watch it!

All things being considered, I feel like this was an all around good film. Not great, but not bad either. The story was good, and while introducing some original ideas and concepts, at its core I feel like it was a rather typical love story. Was it unique enough to keep me watching? Absolutely. But I could not help thinking about how I felt like I had seem much of it before, in one form or another. That is not, however, to say the story was bad. In fact, I found it quite charming, especially when combined with the acting, which I will get to in a moment.

The main concept is that a guy and a girl find themselves engaged after only a few hours as they embark on a road trip through Arizona. I will not go into detail here, both to avoid spoilers and to preserve the overall story for those of you who decide to watch the film after reading this, and also to prevent those of you who have already seen it from becoming bored or disinterested. Suffice it to say that the story was engaging enough to keep me interested, but was also generic enough that I saw just about every turn coming, and clearly at that.

Now for either the best or worst part, depending on your own taste; the acting. I found it charming and, for lack of a better word, "real," however I could also see it coming across as either fake or forced, as there were certain characters who were a little hard to believe.

That being said, I found the interaction between Sophie and Pete to be charming, believable and, at times, extremely funny. I think that all three leads, Noel Wells, Matt Mider, and Amanda Bauer all did fantastic jobs, and I cannot think of a better casting selection for this film, as all three worked so well together on screen, and their characters were believable and endearing.

On a more technical note, I think the editing, cinematography and production design were spot on. I have lived in Arizona, and I can appreciate the production team creating the look and feel of that area of the world. Granted, the likely filmed much of it on location in such areas as these, but still, well done. I also enjoyed the editing style and the overall atmosphere of the film. At times a tad loos in the editing, but for the film it worked, as a faster cut would have come across much more urgent than the film was.

And, it's an independent feature, which for me is a bonus. I find myself more and more enjoying films made independently of a major studio, and while such films can be a tad difficult to get your hands on, they are often well worth it, as in my experience, independent films are often the incubators for major changes and developments in the industry as a whole, and as such deserve and need our support so that filmmakers can continue to make advancements in an industry that is currently so focused on solely making money.

So what is the verdict on the film? That depends on you. For me, I liked it a lot. While there were flaws, such as a somewhat generic love story and a few missed opportunities for experimenting a little more, the film, as a whole, worked well, and told a story well, which is really all one can ask of a movie.

Was it the best film ever, no. It was a good attempt at a new approach to a love story that just fell a little short. I do recommend it, however, as a good film that tells a good story, with good acting and good production design and execution. Get my general feel for the film yet? Yah, it was good. Simple as that.

At the end of the day, all one can really ask of a film is that it tells a story in an entertaining and engaging way, and Forev does just that. It is an overall well made film that kept me watching throughout, even if I could often tell what was about to happen.

The verdict?
Pretty damn good / Recommend Heartily

7 out of 10