Blockbusters

I had the chance to watch this in a theater a couple months ago. I really enjoyed it, but at times, it was predictable and cheesy. Though, all the credit in the world goes to the film makers, who put SO MUCH detail into the film, some of which probably cost them a lot of extra money.

While the first 8 minutes or so is good, it eventually gets too cheesy for its own good. I give it a 7 out of 10, mostly for the effort. GREAT directing, and mostly good acting. The comedy just seemed too forced and the story made it feel like i was watching a bad fan film, when really, the directing, cinematography and production design was superb.

These two talented filmmakers have managed to capture and celebrate the rise of the modern blockbuster in this satirical fantasy short. The audience symbolically travels back in time, especially those children of the 80's, to relive classic audio and visual moments of an era that has given way to more special effects and less character development and intelligence. Trevor and Luke managed to make a blockbuster of their own in terms of film school shorts. I'm looking forward to their next venture, whether they collaborate again or take on the industry independently. Hopefully these guys can rescue us from Hollywood's barrel scraping and bring back the goods.

This film was envisioned by two Los Angeles Film Students, who came to LA from somewhere in the Midwest, with a load of cash in their bank accounts and a dream to create an outstanding short film. Originally, they wanted to create a unique motion picture, entirely written from their owns minds, using original ideas and concepts. After they had experimented with their own ideas, they decided to drop it all together and create 'Blockbusters', a cornball comedy that throws back to the great movie age of the 80's that brought us films like Batman, Superman, and various other classics including Back to the Future.

What they created turned out to be something beautiful. The production quality is unlike any other student film you will ever come across, mainly because they spent thousands upon thousands to make it. There are so many tiny references to classic movies that really bring you back in time. It is definitely not the greatest student film of all time, being that all the ideas are ripped from other writers. What they did broke many copyright laws, but, since they never released 'Blockbusters' for profit, there was no way anyone could sue them for their work. This movie was an act of a selfless group of individuals, sacrificing hard earned money with no intention of earning a penny back.

That being said, it may be hard to give the respect that is due to these filmmakers. But I, for one, completely enjoyed the film to the fullest extent. The music (also ripped from the classic films) syncs perfectly with the presentation of each classic reference as we skate through them in the course of fifteen minutes.

And, the greatest part of it all?

You can view the film right here on this link, courtesy of The Los Angeles Film School:

la film.edu/flash/index.HTML?degree=film

Click on the student films icon and you will find it in the selection box to the right.

Enjoy.