stedrazed

Obviously heavily influenced by Meyer films, especially FASTER, PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL!, this is one of the most accurate tribute films I've ever seen. The performances are especially on point, right down to the leading lady, a Tura Satana lookalike. The dialogue is hilarious, especially the "horse cock" bit and director John Ervin's memorable cameo. Definitely a film that would have benefited from a (slightly) bigger budget, but one I would love to see again.

ABBY SINGER is the best and most extraordinary film I saw during my week at the film festivals in Park City, Utah. Besides the fact that is an extremely well-acted, -shot and -edited film, the way it was made is an amazing, anomalous achievement. The film was shot for under $1,500 entirely on Canon XL-1 mini-DV, with no script, and it features 23 big-name celebrities including Brad Pitt, Robert Redford, Patricia Arquette, Jeff Goldblum, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jodie Foster, Roger Ebert, Don Cheadle and many more. Lead actors Clint Palmer and Ryan Williams, the latter of whom also directed, shot and edited the film, both turn in brilliant, fearless performances. The film, though entirely improvised, has great dialogue and an intriguing storyline. The cinematography and sound are great, especially taking into account the very limited budget for which the film was made. Thanks to the support of Pitt, Gyllenhaal and Ebert, the film may get widespread distribution soon. I encourage everyone to see it as soon as possible.

I remember the first time I saw the trailer for this film, at a midnight screening of THE MATRIX RELOADED (which, I must admit was far more disappointing). I happily took in the beautiful Japanese landscapes and Samurai action in the beginning of the trailer, then became disappointed, and even mildly outraged, at the appearance of Tom Cruise onscreen. Seeing the film tonight was much the same experience. I found myself really enjoying the first act of the film, then my enthusiasm kind of dropped off steadily from there on in. I guess it was because I already knew from the trailer where this portion of the film was leading, so predictability was no complaint. The sequence in which Cruise remorsefully ponders his so-called heroism is honestly moving. Also, I really liked Ken Watanabe as the Samurai leader. But the dialogue and denouement are too typically cliched and predictable, much like John Logan's most well-known screenplay, GLADIATOR, and the score is awful. The main problem with the film, though, is its triteness, trading heavy orchestral chords by Hans Zimmer for real emotional moments of magnitude, and nicely choreographed battle scenes for an original story. I mean, come on, this is basically just DANCES WITH WOLVES in Japan, complete with voice-over diary entries. Oh, and also not as good. Sure does look pretty though.