Film Geek

I wanted to like this movie, but I didn't. It was simply too low budget to be enjoyable. The acting was generally pretty bad and the story was relatively formulaic.

There was a smattering of funny one-liners (most of which involved the word "basically"), but not nearly enough to get me through the 70 minutes without checking my watch.

Of course, as a film geek, I appreciated the references to lesser known directors and films. In fact, I would have loved it if that aspect of the film was played up. Instead, we get to see a corny pseudo-romance unfold and watch countless "Napoleon Dynamite" wannabe jokes fall flat.

The film doesn't work because the acting and storyline are subpar and the protagonist is a caricature who is far too one-dimensional to be even remotely believable. However, the cinematography is decent for a movie that seems to have been made for about $1000. The music wasn't too bad either.

If someone edited this down to only the obscure film references (which would probably run about 10 minutes), it would be funnier and much more digestible.

I wouldn't even recommend this one to cinephiles.

3 out of 10

Film Geek is a film that comes around once in a lifetime. Director James Westby's grasp of Cinema is overwhelming. The film is everything that Napolean Dynamite should have been. The lead is a dork, loser type, but played to brilliance by Malik Malkasian. If the distributor of this film has a brain, they will roll it out on a grand scale. The movie is short, only 75 mins. But in that time frame, I laughed, I cried, and I was so deeply drawn into Westby's world, that I hoped the movie would go on forever.

If you get the chance to see this gem on the big screen, don't miss it. Westby and Malkasian could be the next Scorsese/De Niro.

5 Stars, A+, A perfect 10!!!!

Film Geek (2005)

*** (out of 4)

Extremely uneven but slightly entertaining look at film buff Scotty Pelk (Melik Malkasian) who finds his life going nowhere when he's fired from his video store job. Things start to look up when he meets a young woman (Tyler Gannon) who appears to have a love for movies as well. FILM GEEK, by the title alone, is a movie that film buffs are going to want to check out and while there are some nice ideas scattered throughout, there's no doubt that a much better movie could be made on the subject. With that said, there's no question that I found a lot of it to be charming and even got a couple nice laughs out of it. I'm sure most film buffs will laugh when they see Scotty trying to explain "black bars" to someone who doesn't care or seeing him trying to talk two teenage girls into checking out foreign films. I think the nature of Scotty's knowledge is rather ordinary as far as a film buff goes but it's still fun just seeing someone with a love for film. Throughout the movie we get some text on the screen showing off some of Scotty's favorite directors and their top five movies. With that said, there's no question that there's more heart in the film than actual greatness. The lead character is extremely nerdy to say the least and he certainly has a lot more problems than just his love for movies. They probably could have toned this down some but at the same time Malkasian is extremely good in the part. The supporting cast doesn't feature any great performances but they all fit their roles nicely. FILM GEEK isn't a complete success but considering its budget, the thing kept me entertained.

i can't say enough good things about this movie. It reminds me of Napolean dynamite except i liked it even better. Partly because its got a more complicated story,and people who are more weird and screwed up in it. i loved all the characters and excuse me for saying so but scotty is hot!! i thought it was so adorable how he knew so much about the movies and everything. The actor who plays him lived in Portland well I guess he's going to be famous now since the movie is gonna play at more theatres then in portland soon. i wanna see the next movie hes in I can tell you that! What a hottie. long live the film geek! there should definitely be a sequel.

This a really low budget film, like say Primer style low budget. But like Primer it's executed perfectly for what they have to work with and it comes out really entertaining and feels more real and personal this way. This is a very cute film. Melik Malkasian is just perfect as the film geek and although not of equal caliber actor, he really reminds me so much of Rami Malek from Mr. Robot. He plays this role with just as much conviction as Rami in Mr Robot. (See I didn't even notice that their names were also similar til now)

This film is kinda embarrassing at times because Scotty can be so socially awkward but it's never pushed like in other bad films to levels that are overly uncomfortable like say Jim Carey has done in the past or the Wayan Brothers do in virtually every movie they make. Its just the right amount to seem realistic. Even Napoleon Dynamite did this a bit too much and made it hard for me to enjoy that film. If your a fan of movies like Revenge of the Nerds, you will really like this one even though its low budget, the message of the movie really comes across well. That message being that even though you may be outside what's considered "Normal" by society; if you're a good person, passionate, and good at something, eventually you'll find a niche of people to appreciate what you can do.

The world is full of different kinds of people and there's a place for everyone. Very well done movie!