Atom (1st Jul 2009 07:07)
First off, sorry for getting back to all of you guys so late. Been busy! So here we go:
Jabooza wrote:
The only real criticism that I have would be, as Sollthar mentioned, the acting. Not that it was
bad, but it definitely wasn't up to par with your other stuff.
Besides that, this is nearly technically perfect... just not my kind of thing, if you know what I mean.
Thanks, Jabooza- yeah, the acting wasn't up to par with some of our other efforts, but we're still generally happy and impressed with our actors- especially considering you can get away with less acting gravitas in a movie like this.
Sorry you didn't like this- kinda odd, most people we've talked to have the best reaction to this as far as 'liking' any of our movies.
And thanks for finally taking a look at this, Richard III- I'm glad you semi-liked it and were willing to watch it, even with a little bit of stubborn principle.
Richard III wrote:
But one thing I didn't understand; who was the guy who shot the protagonist? The boss?
No no no, this was supposed to be the 'kid' character, from the beginning. The point of establishing him in the '16 hours ago' scene was to show his stressing of the plan having structure; then his conscience when they killed the manager which causes him to desert the whole operation.
He's the one who kills Jimmy in the end; a bit of cruel irony and justice there. If you notice, that's where the name really comes from as there truly is, in the movie, 'no rest for the wicked'. Hopefully the ending music playfully and cool-y plays into that, too.
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The grading was good and fitting in with the film, except the green tint that made me think of the Matrix, especially in the urban setting. I think the green could have been left out altogether and been replaced with a cold blue or maybe gritty grading. I've heard that the green is your signature "atomic" thing, but it might well get a bit tired. Maybe if it doesn't fit with the story, you could stick it in the intro and leave it out for the rest. Just a suggestion.
I'm sorry, but I can't agree with you here. Although we're somewhat notorious for having 'green grading' I want to make it clear it's not simply a filter or anything, we're known for
good grading, too. It's a choice that goes with the tone of each movie, and I hate it being labeled as 'green'. Specifically in this movie, I went with a corporate-y set of
blue and orange tones that I never do. Likewise, in our movie now in the cinema, 'Exodus', I've gone with a more desaturated, bleaker color palette that builds up to more golden tones throughout the movie. Hopefully you can note some of these things.
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Technically it was really nice. One thing I disliked was the lack of blood, when I think a few shots of wounds would have fit in well. Maybe blood pooling around your "hero"'s body when he was lying there. It might have added another element of grit to the story. Muzzle flashes were great.
Sure, turn it off the first sound of some coarse language, but bring on the blood!
No, really. Thanks for watching, seriously.
And thanks for the comments, Max! You're absolutely right about the movie being 'stale' at that point, kinda loses its momentum that it tends to build the rest of the movie. I agree, but woe is time, you know? Hopefully, as I realized this, pushing more into the ending as far as style and intrigue helped the viewer, you, to forget about that point or at least get past it- as I think all successful movies do and/or should do. If you can't sell the bridge, make sure you've got a strong beginning and a memorable end- and that's generally what I went for here.
Also I'd like to note, that we're moving forward likely with a prequel to this movie currently titled 'Let Sleeping Dogs Lie', which we'll make in the coming weeks and center around Trevor's character Jimmy- who kills everyone off- and his 'mob son screwup' beginnings. Looks to be a lotta fun, especially coming off of the momentum of 'No Rest', 'Exodus', and the movie I made this past weekend, 'A Love Not Standing'.
swintonmaximilian (21st Jun 2009 21:36)
Hi, just got round to watching this today. I thnk that you did a good job with it, the camera work is nice, the handheld stuff works well and has a good, adrenaline fueled feel to it. The dolly shots are good too, at the part where the team is arguing over the job, the movement of the camera away from the group creates a nice sense of forboding, and you really start to anticipate the coming story. I think that for the most part the acting is solid from all concerned, this is not a criticism of you actors or directing, but I think that the timescale you were working too hindered you in the acting department. Obviously this is part and parcel of having such a tight deadline, and I have no doubt that, with more time, you could pull off a very engaging character based film. I think that the tone of the film overall works well, and the mild comedy keeps the whole thing from becoming stale. Thre is one part I really don't like, and that is when Ray is shot. It looks lazy, no offense, and it looks like time was the problem, again. My other major criticism, I feel bad for doing this because it's so obviously time related in each case, is with the gun fire. It just looks fake, and it takes me right out of the film. I'm aware that this sort of criticism is perhaps annoying, because you were working to a deadline, but as a viewewr watching this film as it stands by itself, the points I have mentioned impair my enjoyment. I really want you to make something that takes you a really long time, because then you could you would give your film making talnts room to breathe. It's admirable that you tried for so much in such a short space of time, and it's exciting to think what you could do with more time. I enjoyed this film, and I want to see you working without such limitations. Technically it's solid in most places, a little shaky in others, but again, there is almost no point in me saying this because you know it I'm sure. So, I look forward to your next film chaps, there is a lot of potential here.
All the best,
Max
Richard III (20th Jun 2009 00:11)
I'll start by saying that though the plot was obviously very small, I thought the story was good as far as it went. You didn't try to do anything complex in the five minutes of the story, which made it harshly clear exactly what was happening. I thought it was funny in a twisted way how the protagonist was so clever, killing everybody off, but in the end too clever for his own good. It was kind of a master stroke, all his conniving left him groveling on the floor dying. I think this particular part was very well done. But one thing I didn't understand; who was the guy who shot the protagonist? The boss?
The grading was good and fitting in with the film, except the green tint that made me think of the Matrix, especially in the urban setting. I think the green could have been left out altogether and been replaced with a cold blue or maybe gritty grading. I've heard that the green is your signature "atomic" thing, but it might well get a bit tired. Maybe if it doesn't fit with the story, you could stick it in the intro and leave it out for the rest. Just a suggestion.
Acting-wise, I didn't mind it at all. Not much to say on this, since the range of emotion is limited, but what I saw was pretty good. Gung-ho and all that.
Technically it was really nice. One thing I disliked was the lack of blood, when I think a few shots of wounds would have fit in well. Maybe blood pooling around your "hero"'s body when he was lying there. It might have added another element of grit to the story. Muzzle flashes were great.
I'll give NRFTW a 4/5, just because it's too short.
