xxsilverrevolverxx

Certainly one of the better drama-shorts out there! All the performances are pretty strong, and do feel authentic compared to the dreary Hollywood trash you see on display these days. As someone who comes from a background in horror, it's very rare for me to see a drama in this style and actually enjoy it. It's so hard to find something like this that actually makes you think and causes you to WANT to do a second viewing. Franky, Frankly succeeded.

One of the things I really liked was cinematography. The picture quality was definitely intriguing and really added to the overall experience without becoming distracting. Likewise, the costuming was pretty fun to look at, but it did have a distracting quality which we'll get to in a moment. The sets were great and the filming was done in a way that I could feel the warmth of the bookstore, the chilly air outside, and the tension in the cafe.

Some things to note - the costumes, while mentioned before to be fun to look at, felt somewhat unrealistic. Ms. Dayne is quite beautiful, but I couldn't help but start a mental commentary on how her outfit just seemed to stand out too much. Likewise, an unfortunate casualty of being such a beautiful and deep drama is that the plot itself might be hard to follow. It's definitely a cerebral short, and I don't know if the director's intention is to leave the deciphering of the plot's meaning up to each individual audience member, but I definitely had to go over it a couple times before I finally understood exactly what was going on. A filmmaker can do whatever he wants with his/her film, but to share your message with the world you need to make it accessible, and I feel like "Franky, Frankly" doesn't do that.

All in all, everyone should check this out; people who don't enjoy dramas or cerebral films (i.e. Memento... uhm, that's all I got. Netflix 'cerebral', stuff'll pop up) beware. If you get the opportunity, watch it a couple times and LISTEN to the monologue. Good stuff. 4 / 5

The Secret Life of Jonathan Sky is one of those shorts that grabs you from the very beginning. It does this not through unnecessary "artsy" shots of two individuals making love or an out-of-place act of violence, but by introducing a suspiciously well dressed individual by the name of Jonathan Sky (sporting a Reservoir Dogs type tie, which should give any viewer pause) who pulls over to the side of an abandoned highway and makes up his car to appear as if it's having trouble. Our new friend then leans against his car and... waits. For what? For whom? Saying any more would spoil all the fun, and trust me when I say that the impact of Kevin Slee's newest production is best going into with a blank slate.

As you watch SLJS you'll realize that there was a lot of behind-the-scenes action that had taken place to culminate in what would make this the "climax" of the story (or the beginning, if you're creative enough). It's interesting to note that this in no way harms the sequence of events, and in fact may help it since it's so short - again, it's best to know as little as possible. Regardless, the story is straight to the point and is easy to follow going in. As the plot thickens, you'll find yourself relating with Amir Malaklou's (The Haymaker) character and situation (an understatement), because the background story between he and the beautiful Lexi Sakowitz (Election Day, Study Date) is one that almost any adolescent finds themselves envisioning in one way or another at some point in their life... fantasy or reality.

There were a couple parts that surprised me during the short 14 minutes. For one, Slee wasn't afraid to take the emotional arena to a place that is rarely seen on the student circuit - or at least in such a mature, thorough, and emotionally impacting manner. You can tell that our director, although already talented, is becoming quite the risk taker and already has no qualms in presenting the audience with some "taboo" material (I use quotes because nothing is really taboo anymore. For example, incest and abortion were once taboo subjects in the world of broadcasting... but are now explored in almost all genres of filmmaking and television broadcasting, without consequence. That's just to give you an idea of what I mean). While many viewers may have become desensitized to violence and sex due to such films as SAW and HOSTEL, the Eli Roth's and Quentin Tarantino's of Hollywood should really be looking to filmmakers such as Slee to get an idea how audiences can be affected once again.

Vijay Venkatesh and John Snyder return to compose for The Secret Life of Jonathan Sky, with slow keynotes really working to pull the viewer in and then low beats to underscore the darker parts. Music really works in a short like this, and the final product of Venkatesh and Snyder are anything but average. The main actors Sakowitz and Malaklou are decent enough, but it's the attitude that Malaklou channels in his character, reminiscent of Casey Affleck's Lou Ford in THE KILLER INSIDE ME, that REALLY gets the juices flowing. This short is worth viewing, if only because of this personage.

Everything in this short works - however, ironically enough, it's simply too short and the ending leaves something to be desired.

I recommend this to anyone who wants to spend a good 12 minutes watching an intriguing story. There's talent in Slee's shorts, and anyone who can, SHOULD jump on the bandwagon - there's something in this for everyone.

8 out of 10

INK is a crazy fantasy film, focusing on a world where dreams are determined by two sects who are continually fighting for our souls - at least that's what I got from it. Many say that INK is a cross between The Matrix and several other films... but I cant help but think coming of age story mixed with The Matrix and Scrooge. Sounds horrible, right? During the course of this movie, I found myself continually struggling for the first 35 minutes on whether to just stop watching (and I hardly ever have that issue). The acting, for the most part, is mediocre, the plot is so-so, and an educated person (not intelligence, but perhaps someone who watches a lot of fantasy films) might see the plot twist coming from a mile away.

That being said, the visuals and soundtrack are utterly astounding. There were 2 or 3 scenes in particular where I found myself getting slightly emotional at how astoundingly beautiful the cinematography looked. Except for maybe one or two fight scenes, the choreography is amazing as well... and you'll find yourself really getting into it during the last battle.

Many may complain that the story itself doesn't make sense, that there are too many loose ends... well, this is a film that was meant to be watched more than once. Everything comes together at the very end, but you have to be patient. Also keep in mind that this film was an extremely ambitious project on a modest $250,000 budget. That's a lot of money, but once you see what kind of effects were attempted you'll see some shortcomings. This is truly a film to be watched if you have the time and there aren't any particularly amazing films in your Netflix queue. Go into it with an open mind and you'll be okay.

Before we begin, let's go over the synopsis. Harry (Harry Karp, DISPATCH) works at the Travel Inn delivering towels to residents. One day, he delivers towels to a room, host of the slightly off-kilter, Johnny Keller (Andrew Parkhill, ELI & THE GOLDEN FISH). So why is today any different? Johnny's covered in blood.

As the years of the 21st century seep through our fingers, we find that Hollywood has been in quite the awkward position when it comes to finding any sort of 'new blood' to keep the generic Rom Coms from taking over society. Who knew that production execs need not look any further than to the student population at Chapman University, specifically a young man by the name of Kevin Slee (ELI & THE GOLDEN FISH, DISPATCH). Privy to the drama genre, Slee's first steps into the thriller genre - or drama-thriller, I suppose - have been just as successful as everything else he's touched. Very.

Let's start with the good stuff. Having seen a few of Artistic Analogies other productions, I had a pretty good idea what I was going to see when I clicked the link to view this. What I didn't realize was that the following 8 min and 30 second would be a surprising hit to the gut. Harry Karp was PERFECT for this, nailing his part as the nervous towel boy realizing he probably shouldn't have gone to work that day. When he spoke, I listened. I almost sincerely believed that was really sweat on his forehead, he certainly didn't f*** around, and you can tell his took his role very seriously. Andrew Parkhill, playing our sadistic murderer, does a good job at playing the role of a bad guy who has clearly lost his mind. He does a good job at making the audience want to know more about him. Kudos to the production team as well - the sound, lighting, and continuity was spot on. Also, a high five to whoever decided there should be a pr0n video playing in the background. Very classy in smudging out the nudity, yet leaving the audio to really set the tone for the seedy hotel.

Now for the bad stuff. I don't have much to say, but it's certainly worth taking note. The story, for one thing, is an interesting, well done screenplay, but you can see how it's going to end from the moment Harry opens the door. The blood effects were only minorly distracting, but there was a major continuity issue concerning them when it came to Parkhill's character at about halfway through the 7 minute mark. It kinda took me out of the story a little bit, but only very briefly. Some of the dialogue needed work - I was led to believe that Johnny and Harry knew each other several times or that perhaps Harry knew more about Johnny than we're led to believe... only to be thrust in the opposite direction. It was a little rocky in that respect.

Overall, this film truly was well done and I wish it'd been longer. I would've liked to know more about Parkhill's character, he seems so interesting! We can all only hope that Slee decides to delve even deeper into the world of thrillers, and perhaps even one day do a horror film - but perhaps that's just me :p

Check out this film short if you get the chance, you won't be disappointed. 8/10

Let me start off by saying that I hate hate hate HATE drama-genre films. I'm getting a lot better at being more accepting, but more often than not they bore the crap out of me.

Not so with Steven Sprung's film DISPATCH. I had the honor of being invited to a special film premiere, where myself and a few hundred other people had the opportunity to watch the story of a man who doesn't follow his dreams to become a writer and how that plays out. The story all takes place in the garage/office of the dispatch office of a limousine company, named Utopia. We follow company manager Nick, who embarks on a journey of self-discovery through a series of tumultuous events in an evening filled with snobby celebrities, aspiring writers, and enough twists and turns to keep the audience interested throughout.

First the good stuff. The audience never leaves the Utopia garage, hardly ventures outside, and is confined to the same jail-like office that Nick spends most the night in. Barely does a film ever do that without causing half its audience to fall asleep. Dispatch not only keeps us on the edge of our seats, but does it while literally keeping the story confined to this small office. Throughout the night, Nick is communicating with his drivers, his clients, and his wife. Although we know what the drivers look like, we never see them making their stops but the way the film was directed you can see it in your mind's eye with extreme clarity. It made the film somewhat suspenseful because you as the audience start feeling the claustrophobia, panic, and stress that Nick conveys throughout much of the movie. Being able to successfully do this truly does shows Mr. Sprung's skill. Likewise, even though you hardly see the wife of Nick (except in some photos), you can feel the tension sadness in her and Nick's conversations.

Bad stuff time! Hardly much, but there was a little. I found that whenever Nick was talking to his wife, it kind of took me out of the film because the conversation just felt a little forced. The acting overall was amazing, but there were a few lines that Nick spoke where I cringed because they felt forced and rushed. And.... that's it.

Overall, Dispatch was a pretty amazing film. I'm more of a one-time film kind of guy, but I would recommend this to anyone who loves drama-genre films. It's evenly paced, with a fantastic ending that will leave you satisfied. Check it out! 9/10