The Waiter

I am not one to watch a film several times, especially within the same night, but I had to watch it twice. Watching this film through very conservative eyes with a military and oil industry background gives me a fairly different perspective from most film festival viewers. But I agree with most of the previous comments in that it is a must see.

I personally know several people involved in the creation of this film. I have heard about it for quite a while, but never saw any footage or really understood the films premise until I saw it.

I was really impressed with the high quality of the filming as well as the acting for considering the budget. The film has many levels of thought, as well as a significant entertainment value.

The director/writer has created a strong foundation for future cuts and sequels. I am looking forward to seeing what can be done with more time and resources...as long as the production is able to maintain the depth and quality of this artistic film.

Props for doing what you love to the writer, director and lead but to be perfectly honest, this effort totally stinks. Bad acting. Bad editing. Bad writing and a bad movie. I can't believe I'm still watching it after 45 minutes. There is no story and the lead is flat. Very flat. Even the camera work stinks. I wish I could find one redeeming quality but I can't. Waste of $1,000,000. Sigh. At least the rental was only .50 cents. Ok, here's one good thing to learn from this. How not to make a movie.

In the past 3 years I have heard a lot of hype about several Houston local low budget films. Due to the hype I had to check them out! All of them didn't live up to the hype, but finally this one did. Now keep in mind when you go to an indie and there is hype it still is an indie with no money. A lot of people hear hype about an indie and they expect Lord of the Rings.

I saw "The Waiter" at WorldFest Houston along with about 5 other films. It was really cool to see parts of Houston used. Other parts of Houston I didn't recognize, but it said it was entirely filmed in Houston. Before I saw the film I really didn't hear much about it. The plot was cool, but the main thing was IT LOOKED LIKE A REAL MOVIE!!! I was like wow, this is a real movie. I heard the budget after the film and was pretty impressed. The acting was really strong and I recognized almost the entire cast from other stuff, including the priest from EveryOne Loves Raymond. There were a couple cool effects that you don't expect on the budget and all in all I would say if you are an indie film buff it is a must see!

After the film the director thanked us all for coming, and shook my hand. He seemed really nice and humble. Which none of the other directors I have met seemed to be. I would highly recommend this film. Don't expect a huge blockbuster action film, but you get a lot of bang for your buck!

I attended a private screening of this film in Los Angeles last week. The screening went very well and the director took time to talk to everyone that was willing to talk to him. I was very impressed with the overall production of this film. Many of the people attending were a bit over the top with praise of the film. However, this is not to say that I think they were wrong in this level of praise. The film was a good film, very deep yet still entertaining. The most remarkable aspect of the film was the budget and the conditions by which these filmmakers completed this monumental task. I have been in production for nearly 15 years and the only comparison I could draw would be that of El Mariachi. I would say that this film wins out in acting performances and level of talent they were able to attract for little money. The look and production value also were outstanding. With that said, the film had the typical low budget production flaws. The lighting was good, the picture the camera gave was great, sound was good (however they said it hadn't been completed yet so I expect it will be very good), coverage could have been better, however the shots were at times very captivating. The thing that struck me most about the film and the reason why everyone seemed to be jumping on the band wagon was more about the charisma of the director. The film at times was vague and obtuse and demanded the audiences full attention. Many attendees I literally saw light bulbs appear above their heads during the Q&A. The director had a very strong vision and was extremely articulate in his answers. All in all, I would say that this film will probably have a strong DVD release, there is some dark humor so maybe even a cult following. I do think that the director and his partners will be very successful given the projects to come that he presented at the screening. I recommend any aspiring film makers or students rent this film, or buy it, it will show you a lot about how to do it right the first time.

Several months ago an article caught my eye in the Chronicle, it was a showcase of Charles Durning and being a huge fan of Attica and Dog Day I read on. From this article an interest in a locally produced independent film spawned and I have followed that film for quite some time. I am a student of cinema and often I take great interest in the beginning works of directors. I was able to view the film and converse with the director and found it quite refreshing for the budget. He asked that I not repeat the budget, so I will honor that request. However, I will say that the accomplishment of producing this film is in relevant terms one of brilliance. Yes, the film has some faults, but I would have to give many of them a pass due to the limited funds. To those true cinephiles and beginning film directors I would highly recommend you view this film.