Four Eyed Monsters

I managed to watch Fourteen minutes deep into this movie.

First and foremost...

I had a hard time distinguishing the ugly androgynous girl and boy.

Just because you slap a bunch of Lousy video clips together does not make it art. Probably somebody out there has no taste and will like this garbage, and for whatever reason manage to watch it longer than I have.

Taking a dump and eating a bagel was a lot more exciting than this movie.

I don't know how this movie ended up in my stack of bootlegs.

but..

IT SUCKED HARD.

What brought my attention to this movie, honestly? I read it got "some awards". I told to myself it's going to be good most probably... But it wasn't. Sorry.

I liked creativity in expressing of authors feelings (I mean it in using media, photos, drawings, etc. way). They told their story in an interesting way (that deserves some stars). They indeed had few interesting ideas. But... This story... it is, what every single teenager and growing-up person in the World goes through... and it's not interesting to anyone around, except a person who is in it! We all have those moments in life and once you're older - you smile at them, because you know it was just an "imaginary-pubertal-hormonal-bullshit" plus "wanting to get laid" (especially 1st part of a movie) and "feeling lonely in society".

Now, you may say. "Yes! but this is life! and this movie is about life!" but, please, remember about one thing: we're having now "internets" and millions of youngsters are expressing themselves online in a very similar way: you need to do much more to be original with your "arts" and self-expression.

It's also too long! It may be a tribute to your love, but a spectator doesn't necessary want to see your faces from many different angles for 40 minutes (each).

After a while I was more annoyed with personalities of those two, rather than interested, how it will follow. Truly a "four eyed monster" it was...

I would love to see instead a movie from an author, who has reach personality, uses it to do interesting, useful things in life... and shares great - maybe even Utopian - ideas. An "art for an art" itself is not working anymore...

P.S. American way of expressing feelings on every possible occasion is so annoying! You guys can talk for 30 minutes about a fact that you're nervous, because you have to visit a dentist. OMG!!!

P.P.S. Oh, one more thing: perhaps I am just a bit allergic lately when I see a picture about people, who tell a story (document?) ONLY about themselves: "me, me, me, me, me... I am... I would like... I wish for myself this and that...I, I, I..." Blehhh.....

I recently saw Four Eyed Monsters at the South by Southwest Film Festival and out of the nearly 30 films I have seen at the fest I believe this to be the best.

I was amazed at how emotionally honest this film was. It was able to really get to the core of human desire and its battle with reality in a way that few other films do (I'm sure the fact that the movie is extremely autobiographical helps in this matter).

Arin Crumly and Susan Buice really need to be commended not only for their amazing job at writing an incredibly touching an honest story but for making a film that was very experimental without ever being pretentious. They mix their fictional story with real-life interviews, animation, different filming and editing techniques, and a bold and fantastic ending that could have been a disaster but instead adds a whole new layer to the movie and makes an already moving film that much more so.

I caught this film at the Waterfront Film Festival in Saugatuck, Michigan. Going into the film, I really knew nothing about it, but I felt I owed it to the filmmakers to go see it, since they interviewed me, a struggling college student, the day before. Well, I'm glad I saw it.

Four Eyed Monsters, Directed (along with a lot of other things) by Arin Crumley and Susan Buice is an experimental film that works on a lot of levels. It's about a couple that meet on an internet dating service and decide to continue their relationship using only artistic mediums so they don't fall into the trap of a traditional mundane relationship. Throughout the film they communicate through notepads, emails, video letters, and other things.

Watching the film I thought a lot of it was based on their own history together (and the filmmakers confirmed this, though I don't know how much). I really enjoyed the style of the film, they tried new things and experimented with different shots and things, sometimes it didn't work but a lot of the time it did.

I won't lie, I'm a dedicated festival goer, throughout the weekend I didn't get much sleep because I watched movies all day, and Four Eyed Monsters was one of the last movies I saw, so unfortunately their were moments I struggled to stay awake (not because the film wasn't good). The ending seemed a little out of place to me, and the directors mentioned that they continue to tinker with the film throughout the festival circuit, so it would be interesting to see what previous versions of the film are like.

So, to sum it up, I'm sure people that only go to mainstream films in theatres with huge budgets and huge stars won't appreciate this film. But anyone that knows what independent films are like should check this movie out if they can. It's a helpful film for aspiring filmmakers, and I congratulate Susan and Arin for that, and I'd love to see what they're working on in the future.

Four Eyed Monsters follows the relationship of a shy, reclusive videographer and an equally estranged struggling artist, who, both living in the Big Apple, develop an unlikely romance with the help of an internet dating site. This in itself is not so unusual, but what is, is their method of communication. Foregoing the verbal, they take to writing notes and later communicating through video.

The film is based upon the creator's (Arin Crumley & Susan Buice) own relationship, who besides writing and directing, take to acting as the lead characters as well. With elements of avant-garde, anti-plot, and docudrama, the film scatters itself to the wind with an undecided structure nestled neatly between narcissism and self-indulgence.

As the movie wears on, a brief separation and deterioration of their once intriguing form of communication grow old as the couple face the hardship of reality. Focusing solely on inner conflict, or the woes of relationship, the film struggles through a stagnant narrative that is neither original, nor poignant. This could have been easily circumvented with the addition of subplot and external conflict, and a third act, to which there is none - just a montage of melodrama that leads nowhere.

What is even more aggravating is the film's descent from story into reality that abruptly concludes with an open ended and unsatisfying finish. This would have been all fine and dandy, but there is no question asked and no meaning to be discovered or pondered.

(On a side note, the film contains beautiful animation and a vivid and moving soundtrack, one of the more interesting aspects of the production.)

But as always, watch the film and decide for yourself.