Dreamland

I am surprised in this day and age that Dreamland has been picked up by a distribution service like Hulu. I found this film to be a nearly unwatchable low-end indie production with very little for casual viewers to enjoy. If anything - its value is for students as a case-study in problems shooting under-financed - covering both the technical AND creative side of film-making.

I won't focus on the problems that others have nailed, but the major lesson for students is that no matter what your budget (or credit card limits) - you need a strong script, a cast that gels and all of the support details needed to make them look good or at least interesting (they are supposed to be "stars" right?).

As far as looking for that "break-out" indie film, unless I am at a festival, I always use IMDb and scan reviews before buying a ticket. If there are a small number reviews and they are mostly 10's - those are likely family and friends so beware (it is very hard to get a general audience to shill for a bad film). More honest reviews will usually have lower ratings with solid reasons for those numbers.

As far as Mr. Lay and his team - it is a minor miracle when ANY film actually gets made and distributed so a major tip of the hat. Hope his next film is over the top!

I watched this film last night and really liked the non traditional story. However If you looking for an simplistic film to understand I'd say look else where, this film is full of moments that offer insight into what is going on with the time travel aspect of the film but if you miss that, which as far as I can tell is only spoken about in the restaurant scene once, well you'll just be lost. I think this director might have trusted too much in the ability of people to stay tuned in by all the pretty frustrated and angry reviewers on here

For instance as I read in one of the internet reviews that was pasted in one of other user comments, I loved that the director used Patsy Cline's "Crazy" to indicate that all the experiences of the lead girl may or may not actually be happening, it was a bit of black comedy right in the middle of sci fi flick and it added a new layer of texture. I do see the Lynch comparisons as this director steps out into the ether with all the bizarre events giving the audience flashes of clues to what is going on. Not to give anything away and I hope no one marks this as a spoiler but there is the biggest clue to what the whole surprise is at the end of the film early on when the couple leave the restaurant and cross the paths of the three men coming in, if you look at the middle man carefully i think the director is giving the audience the chance to "get" the film in that moment alone. I did not see anyone of the reviews yet, especially the negative reviews, ever catch that. I am not trying to show you how smart I think I am but I think this is why the critics have given the film good reviews, I think they see so many films that when one comes along that you have to pay attention to they like the challenge, that's my opinion at least.

There are some moments of over acting but I still was drawn into the story and didn't feel that it was too bad, watch any Asylum film if you want to see some really horrible acting. I especially liked that they stayed away from blood and guts stuff and made an entertaining film more about thought than violence, sex or killing. great job.

I never comment on a film, but I have to say that this was one of the worst films that I have ever seen. I feel it was made by a beginner film student and not to put down talented film students, but this was horrible! I did not buy the lead actress and felt I was in acting class with her while she was on film. Her decisions were very safe and I feel she was mimicking other actresses in films and not acting and making her own decisions. The direction was very confusing and the sound was louder than the actors themselves. The end may have made a little more sense if there was someone narrating the events and not a song. I love Patsy Cline but she her songs appear quite frequently in films. Maybe the song selection could have been a little more original. The song "crazy" was such a cliché. As I said before I never comment on films and have seen my share of good and bad, but this was the worst. Sorry.

It was intriguing. It would have been better with a Pink Floyd score. It wasn't so much a movie as a Twilight Zone without Rod Serling to make it seeem important. I think I would have understood it better if I'd watched it again, but I somehow feel that understanding it is missing the point. This movie is dada revivalism. Also, why would I want to sit through it a second time? It was hard enough to sit through it once.

I'm giving this movie three stars, because I've seen movies that are much, muich worse, and more than two because the bartender was quirky, but really, some movies invite speculation and others invite somnabulism.

I'm a big fan of sci-fi and try to watch everything even remotely connected to the genre. This film however was so bad I couldn't even bring me to see it till the end. OMG! One of the worst films I've ever seen! The plot, the actors, the lack of logic...I'm lost for words! Actually - I could make a better movie myself for just $100.

I don't understand the people giving this a good review - are you joking or is your taste in films so bad that you actually think this is good? What is wrong with you? This film is pure crap, a total waste of time and should be buried and forgotten for eternity.

Avoid this sorry excuse for a film. The good reviews for this film actually made me so angry that I had to register here, just to write this review!