GamerZ

Do not confuse this title with the movies "Gamers" and "The Gamers" (one of which is a good geek movie). This movie was made in Glasgow Scotland and most of the stars have thick accents, which can make it a little hard to understand them at times for us non-UK viewers. The movie is a low budget but relatively well written story about a dysfunctional group of gamers (which might be redundant) going through an interpersonal crisis and love triangle. It's a story of obsession, losing the line between reality and fantasy, and a coming of age story for kids who happen to be gamers.

Visually they have created a very cool looking movie for the budget they had to deal with, and the use of shadow plays with a mix of CG and painted background was a great way to show what was going on in the main character's imagination. It allowed a very strong separation between the game world and the real world, while not making them feel completely separate. The sound and music mix could have been a lot stronger, but again it works fine for the low budget they had to deal with.

The acting is where you have the biggest problem with the movie. Although not exactly bad, you can tell these are mostly amateurs or student actors. The characters become larger stereotypes because of this, which can actually work for certain styles of movies but this isn't one. The sets are mostly "found sets" but used very well and the set dressing they did do worked fine (again, for the budget). The story gets a little convoluted and meanders towards the middle and end, but can still be followed.

The DVD is fairly simple, with a couple of interesting behind the scenes featurettes, but has a number of technical problems. Several of the tracks on the DVD (including the movie itself) like to hang up at the end, not going back to the menu on most players. One of the "next" buttons on the select a scene section doesn't actually go to the next screen but jumps into the middle of the movie.

GamerZ is the sort of movie that could only come from a country like Scotland, and only from a city like Glasgow. The movie is, simply put, one of the freshest comedies to emerge from this isle for as long as I can remember. From the innovative 'shadowplay' to bizarre, wonderful characterisation, the movie manages to carry off a wonderful sense of involvement on what must be a meagre budget.

On first glance, the movie may seem to be pushing at the 'weirdness' card a bit too much. A cynic may look to point at the possibility of caricature in some of the characters, or even the plot itself, which almost seems orchestrated to produce as much overly bizarre humour as possible. But that's kind of missing the point. GamerZ is not some Loachian social melodrama, nor is it a Coen Brothers-style exercise in complex, surreal comedy. GamerZ carves its own niche, thanks to an involving script and the deftly-handled direction. Whilst it's not complex in the sense of deep philosophical themes, or complex social issues, it finds its own distinctive, immersing style- and gleefully runs with it until you can't help but fall in love.

Maybe i'm biased. I live in Glasgow and attend the University where GamerZ is set- heck, i'm even a member of a similar society. Even so, I would urge everyone to see GamerZ- despite the setting being very specific, the inventiveness and hilariousness of the film ensures that even those who've never seen six-sided dice (or couldn't pick out Scotland on a world map) are nigh-on guaranteed to be choking on their popcorn and quoting chunks of dialogue for days afterwards.

'Pure Magic' has never been such an appropriate tag-line.

What a fantastic movie! Great characters you can't help but love, a quirky upbeat soundtrack and 100 minutes of pure fun! You really go on the journey with these characters and are excited by their relationships and antics. Excellent performances, fantastic cinematography and loads of laughs (fabulous writing and direction). GamerZ shows the comic side of Gaming and has characters everyone will recognise. Dungeons and Dragons took itself too seriously - this takes us back to the fun element of role-playing games and you really get involved with the game young Ralph has created. This is a film for everyone, we all know these people and it's interesting to see how a single interest can connect such different people. They may well be pariahs but you can't help but like them. Although the film is set in Glasgow it could be anywhere, any university campus with any group of people with a single interest. It's truly a universal film. There are some fabulous comedy moments which really do have you laughing out loud. I urge everyone to see this film. You don't have to have been a Gamer to enjoy this film, I'm not and I loved it. Give us more, Pure Magic Films - PLEASE!

GamerZ tells the story of a D&D campaign and the relationships between its players. Its charm is multi-faceted, the idiosyncratic (and mostly very geeky) central characters are treated with a gently mocking affection, appealing both to roleplayers (who will have a whale of a time spotting the in-jokes and laughing at the stereotypes) and the general public. There are hidden treats in almost every minor role, generally superbly played, and the Glasgwegian setting is pitch-perfect, from the slang used to the contrasting influences in the main character's life. GamerZ is also technically interesting - rotoscoping (or 'shadowplay') techniques are used to evoke the fantasy game world the characters enter.

All in all, a great laugh, and an excellent job in making a film about a minority interest appealing to the general public.

On one level GamerZ follows a group of people for whom reality has two meanings: Their own persona, and that of their role-play game character. The film slowly twists one persona into the other - both on screen and in the mind of the viewer. Ultimately it blurs the line between genius and insanity, fantasy and reality, in quite a thought-provoking way.

At a second level, it attempts to create interesting dialogue between characters that are socially inept outcasts, whose prime activity is sitting round a table rolling dice. This could have created a very boring script indeed, but with a few exceptions, it doesn't. Instead GamerZ revels in its freedom to jump from the horrific to the sublime, from the lucid to the inane. Often in the same shot. The failure of the characters to interact 'normally' makes some exceptional comedy. Unfortunately GamerZ's screenplay is weakened by its meagre special effects budget. While attempts to convey 'in-game' actions using silhouettes almost work, there are a few moments when the cardboard cutouts on screen seek only to remind the viewer that Hollywood would never make a movie like this.

Down at level three GamerZ is underscored by some quite familiar themes of love, envy and growing maturity; not to mention fetishes, joyriding, and a few other things. These themes meld well with the earlier levels, but probably won't hold the film together on their own.

I suspect that if you find yourself stuck at level 3 of the dungeon, you'll walk out disappointed. This film isn't for everyone. But open your mind a little and GamerZ achieves something quite rare. It entertains and challenges. And it does both in a quite unexpected way.