Westender

I watched this last night with my family. While I appreciated the fact that most of the acting was pretty good, the setting was beautiful and the cinematography was nice, I did not enjoy watching a movie with half of the movie being a silent film watching a down-n-out knight wander about the desert. A lot of the scenes could have been considerably shorter, and on one of the sideways shots, when they rotated it up to right-side-up, they didn't get it all the way. :D It needed a prequel and a sequel to really explain the storyline, the story just was really lacking.

I liked Glim, but the kind of cut him out in the middle of the movie with no real explanation.

This movie was not up to par, get a new screenwriter, and it would be considerable better.

The swordplay choreography, costumes, and weapons I thought were very good, except for the fact that all the girls were practically losing their shirts. :D

The scenery is beautiful, and many times you'll be thinking to yourself, "Where is this place??" In particular, there is a scene with a waterfall that just cries to be walked to and explored.

So far as an actual film, it would have been better served as a series of postcards, as you get breathtaking vistas with only little snippets of storyline on the back to figure out what is going on. And while the acting is pretty atrocious, it is both good and bad to note that the dialog is thin and minutes pass without any words being spoken. A little voice also appears in your head after about 20 minutes whispering in your ear, "Come on, something has to happen to move the story forward". But it never comes, and you're just watching, plodding along waiting desperately for the next ill conceived plot device taking set in overwhelming scenery shots.

If you're looking for anything remotely interesting, stay away.

Many people say that this movie was bad. Its something more. Its pointless. There is no case, there is no climax. There is a guy dressed in a period costume wandering in slow pace through forest and desert. There are some phrases heard every 15-20 minutes and then walking again. Sorry but period/fantasy films require by definition budget. If its a students work they should stick to a comedy or a cult horror b-movie.

The reason why i write this review is not only because i just watched it as a late night show (4am)and left with a ''that was it?'' in the end. Mostly i write because i see an absolutely crazy propaganda from some people that write extremely good reviews for that thing. Propably most of those people are friends of the creators if not the creators he he he. People don't mind those critics. These are not real. The movie is horrible.

If we are to judge this movie by Hollywood blockbuster standards, then it deserves it's average 5/10 stars rating that it has here on IMDb. This is not a great movie, but I have paid to see many out of Hollywood that are worse.

That said I am mightily impressed with the quality of result that was achieved with virtually no budget. This was largely shot with volunteer work, on a shoe string budget most of us could come up with by begging from parents and friends. This movie stands as an example to all of us that we really could make movies ourselves if we really put our minds to it.

Considering the film was done with a very small budget by a first time film-maker, "Westender" is a noble effort and has many quality bits. There are a few snags here and there, but most of these will fade with experience.

The story follows a down on his luck knight in a medieval fantasy world. After a night of hard drinking and gambling, Sir Asbrey of Westend bets and loses a precious ring. The movie follows his journey to reclaim his ring, and of course along the way rediscover himself and what truly matters.

To get the negatives out of the way, "Westender" felt much longer than the hour and forty-five minutes it was. Many scenes, while beautifully shot, could be tightened. There are simply too many long environment shots that do not movie the story forward. A few of the actors, mostly first timers themselves I imagine, that are a bit wooden in acting and line delivery -- some less than stellar dialog surely contributes to this. As long as the movie felt, it left several plot lines dangling without closure.

On a more positive note, as I mentioned earlier, the film is visually beautiful. It proves that a quality director goes further than a big budget. Scene composition, lighting and movement are all handled really well. The score to the film really helps to compliment the wonderful shots.

Overall, a strong premiere for a new director. There is certainly room for improvement, but many of the fundamentals are here and very strong. I look forward to future films.