baba44713

What can I say... the movie just isn't good.

Let me preface this with the fact that while I can never call myself a true AVGN "fan", I did follow the series from its roots. Like James, I also grew up in the 8-bit era so it was really great to see someone actually create a show which revolves around those ancient games. Also, back then, watching someone act angry at the video game was yet to get old.

So yeah.. good old days when the series was nice and simple. AVGN digs up an old game, demonstrates its flaws, chugs beer and gets more and more p*ssed off. The formula was simple, yet enjoyable. But bit by bit, the show was changing, James started adding more and more to it, characters, special effects, even story lines, and to me personally it never really clicked. While the earliest episodes strongly catered to the 20-30 somethings, folks that actually played the games the Nerd was talking about, and could relate, the later shows started more and more to revolve around swearing and bodily fluids rather than anger-fueled nostalgia for the old games. Finally the show become something that only younger teens can really enjoy ... and anyone older than that perhaps just watch secretly as a guilty pleasure.

And now we have the movie... which, being a continuation of above trend, has practically nothing in common with what the AVGN series was initially like.

First and foremost, the Nerd character in the movie could not be more different than the Nerd in the series. If you expected a movie about a lovable curmudgeon unwillingly getting involved in a crazy plot which made him increasingly p*ssed off - something which would be in line with the show and have actual comedic potential - look elsewhere. The movie version of AVGN is basically James Rolfe himself, a person famous within his niche, tame in spirit and filled with unbridled love for his fans. Yes, the Angry Video Game Nerd is completely missing from his own movie. In fact, the movie would maybe work better if the main character was simply James wearing his regular clothes. Or at least it would feel less jarring.

Then, it's the secondary characters. If you expected Justin, or Mike, or someone even remotely familiar to have a major role.. again, look elsewhere. Not only does the movie pull a horrible cliché of introducing a new character while pretending he has always been around, this fresh new AVGN's sidekick and best buddy Coop is little more than a Jar Jar Binks of the movie. He is naive, dumb, occasionally involved in unfunny slapstick and adds utterly nothing to the movie. As for the rest of the supporting cast.. less said, the better.

Third - the plot. It's needlessly ludicrous, convoluted and difficult to follow (if one is expected to follow it at all). I know James and Kevin wanted to be ambitious and overblown and everything, but you could probably still do that and have a coherent script. As such, the movie is all over the place and Nerd's motivation for everything he does is completely impenetrable. He loves his fans and doesn't want them to play bad games.. I guess. It's hard to tell, because the movie has huge troubles explaining what it is that the Nerd actually wants, or why he does anything he does (except because the script says so). Again - why couldn't the movie be about the Nerd just being.. well, himself? Couldn't he had reviewed E.T., accidentally uncovered something sinister and got involved in a crazy plot? Why couldn't the movie let him be actually angry and dismissive like he has been in the show since.. always? Oh, right. Because this is not AVGN movie.. this is a self-indulgent and misguided love letter from James to his fans. Bah.

Finally - the humor. It's just... not there. I know these things are subjective, but still.. While the old AVGN shows almost always made me laugh, especially the old ones. I didn't laugh once during this movie. Not. Once. Maybe a desperation chuckle or two, that's it. I don't know whether it's the writing, the timing, the direction.. but I just felt that almost every single joke felt flat, and sometimes I wasn't even sure if something was supposed to be funny. For example, there is one early scene when Coop out of the blue starts talking about stuff he believes in, and we suddenly start seeing a cartoon rendition of that. I still cannot understand whether that bit was just a horribly incompetent bit of exposition/foreshadowing, or whether this was supposed to be funny, but it definitely was one in a huge series of baffling moments which made me heavily question my decision to keep watching.

So all in all, I was rather heavily disappointed. I really didn't expect much, but I at least thought I would find the movie tolerable. Then again, maybe this movie is not for me. Maybe if I was 12-15 I would find it absolutely hilarious. So.. I guess take this review as an opinion of an old fart, and freely double or triple the stars if you are under 16 or so, since apparently you, not me, are now James' main target audience.

P.S. I still respect you James, and I admire how far you've gone with your silly little web series. I really really wanted to like this movie, and I wish I could have written a better review, if only as thanks for years of free entertainment.

P.P.S. If you want to see a "movie based on popular internet series" done right, I suggest you check out "Ashens and the Quest for the Game Child". At least it actually stars the main character from the web series. Oh, and it's free, which definitely doesn't hurt.

I went to see this movie honestly not knowing what is it about. I've played through the "trailer" which came with the Portal 2 computer game, so I knew that the movie is set in 80s and that includes a train accident. That's about it. Oh, and that Spielberg and Abrams have their hands in it somehow.

For the first hour or so I was enjoying myself immensely. Sure, the movie was flailing around seemingly not knowing whether it wants to be E.T., Goonies, Predator, Jurassic Park or all of the above, but who cares, it was fun. The setting was cool, the kids were interesting, the wooden father wasn't in too many scenes and action was, well, actiony.

Then Act 3 came along and the movie pulled a Lost (there, I said it). I don't want to spoil anything but... let's just say that it is pretty disappointing and leave it at that.

All in all, this movie feels like it had a chance of being really great but something somewhere down the line went horribly wrong. Dangling plot lines, forced resolutions, character arcs that turned out to be completely redundant and worst of all - out-of-place clichés that seem to come from nowhere and from some completely different movies. Ultimately, you should go see it for the great train accident scene, and if you have the strength of character - leave half an hour earlier and imagine a better resolution.

Sorta like what you should have done after the final episode of Lost Season 3.

The best thing that can be said about this movie is that it is completely unlike anything filmed in Croatia so far. Croatian cinematography is almost without exception old-fashioned, clichéd and just plain awful. "Forest Creatures" (or "Šuma summarum" which is its original title) is something completely different. It's a horror/thriller/dark comedy/allegory in certain aspects very similar to typical slasher movies and in others a rather peculiar oddity. It's exciting, it's funny, it's full of surprises and it's probably one of the most politically and ethically incorrect movies you will ever see. The movie literally has no constraints, and often you will catch yourself thinking "come on... they will not go there, surely" only to see that they will not only go there, but go a few steps beyond, too.

The story? Well, it shares a few superficial similarities with "Severance" and "Southern Comfort" but then again the way the situation is dealt with is unlike anything seen in those movies. Anyway, staff of a marketing agency goes on a rafting/paintball team-building weekend... and things go somewhat wrong, to put it mildly (and avoid spoilers). The movie literally throws the viewer headfirst in the plot from the get-go - certain part of the story has already happened, relationships between characters are established (but will gradually be uncovered to the viewer) and the director is not above throwing a few brilliant red herrings on the way. A few times movie will fake that it will now from that point onward follow a more normal, conventional course - only to throw you another curve-ball from the left field. Do not expect the movie to follow established Hollywood rules, too, there are no taboos to be avoided or clichés to be followed here, literally no one is safe and everything is fair game.

Not all is great, though. It might be said that the movie really goes *too* far occasionally, and that it often reaches the realm of exaggerated absurdities. It also often seems to have one plot thread or one character too many. But if you decide not to take it seriously, odds are you will enjoy it, even if you are watching a subtitled version in which a certain portion of the humor will be lost in translation.

The problem is, however, that odds are you will NOT see this movie. Sadly, Croatian national television has pulled the funding when they realized what kind of movie this is, and the creators barely scraped up enough funds to finish the movie and create a measly amount of theater copies. There was no money for almost any marketing whatsoever, and the movie played so briefly in local theaters when the word-of-mouth started to spread it was already gone. There are no plans for a DVD version, too, also due to severe lack of funding, which means that this little gem of Croatian cinematography could conceivably be lost. Which is a terrible, terrible shame.

Anyway, if you are a fan of slasher movies, of dark comedies, enjoy daring politically incorrect humor or simply like to be shocked, try to find this movie any way you can. You will not be disappointed, or if not that, you will almost definitely not be bored. Just try not to take it too seriously.

9/10