Dr. Strangeman Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Plant the Bomb
------------------
Rating: 7.5/10 "Good"
------------------
Review:
------------------
BEFORE VIEWING:
Kubrick, Hitchcock, Coppola, they're all legends. It's a challenge to successfully emulate their skill in cinema. Machinima is at a stage where it could be used for a feature length film, and there is a lot of new quality machinima around that can rival the success of other, smaller machinimas. I always see it as quality over quantity. Back in the Quake days, there were so many 2-3 minute demo's of people killing each other. Today, there aren't a lot of those out anymore, but instead, there are quality machinimas that make you think. Even so, these are flawed. The only close to perfect machinima I ever saw was The_Family_God's Militia II back in 2002. Most machinimas claim they are "like seeing a movie in the theater," though many of these have mediocre camera work, audio-design, body acting, editing, and so on. Most machinimas are twice as long as they need to be, and I'm hoping this 39-minute one won't be one of them.
DURING VIEW:
The titles were fine, though I thought you could've gotten a better logo for your studio. The famed Kubrick quote was well-placed, and covers the transition of the scene well. When the combine attacks the skull, it kind-of flies off on it's own. It could've been better timed. The rest was well-done and funny, though you could've gotten a better font for the title.
Onto the actual movie now. Narration was well-done, and I don't have any criticism for the establishing shots. However, when the characters start conversing, the viewer may feel lost. Next time, try to keep both characters in picture, so we know where they are relative to each other. There was also useless space around both characters that could've been compensated for with a closer shot. The combine/box scene was funny, though I've noticed every time you try to show happiness, stupidity, or dancing, the characters just jump up and down out of sync and shoot around. UberDonut needs a better mic. That's all I have to say about him. Now, the next scene is a good example of what I was talking about. You can feel more involved in the situation if the viewer can see both characters. Like I said before, the "took all the ammo" scene was priceless. The music and the alarm should have had lower volumes, or the chatter could've had higher. It's difficult to hear them over the music.
I'm pretty sure you know this, but try to keep some motion of the camera in the shot. Have it move to the side slowly, zoom in, and the like. The scene with the gate was funny, but it was missing this. The shot before Ripper turned around was held for too long, and was too far away, making the viewer feel as if they are witnessing the act, not participating in it. Naturally, the plane scene was great. The tic-tac-toe thing was hilarious, and the movement was great in the rest of the scene. The GMod cameo thing was good, though the zoom in at the end was pretty choppy. You could've zoomed in more in the scene with the pod. The 2D scene was funny, but would've been more so if you have had made it a continuous shot.
When the rebel was attacking the combine as the others were listening, more nozzle flashes would've been effective in creating the moment. The puppeteer thing was laugh-out-loud funny. Well done. Another well-done scene. The radio scene was good, though could've used more action in part of the characters. The next scene's camera work was pretty bad. I was surprised. Shots were held for far too long, zooms were fast and ineffective, and the camera was in some cases too far away. "Epic lulz." Rules 1 & 2, Xanatos. The war room scene was awesome. No complaints. "...That guy who sounds like James Earl Jones." Best line in the movie. Glad to see Super-Leet-Killa Cap-a-Cop back. Wasn't he a Leet Crew, though? I noticed another reference to Kubrick in there. Nice egg. The driving in the next scene was well done. The shot with the half-first-person half-camera was good. Unless it's necessary, showing actors reload breaks emergence. A reference to Nipper, eh? I wonder how many people would get that...
The later scene had some bad shots that could've easily been edited out or corrected. The shot of the crane lowering into the scene was too fast. The shaky camera in the next fight scene looked unprofessional, though I don't know if you intended for that to happen or it was just an unseen error. It also had some questionable camera shots and some fast transitions that reminded me of Requiem for a Dream. A-Team references are always a plus in my book. The rock music was pretty unneeded in the scene. When the combine blew himself up, the camera zoom-in was blocky. Try spacing the keyframes further in Vegas so that doesn't happen, or closer if you want to make it a sudden, quick zoom in. The Wilhelm scream was well-placed, but the shot itself transitioned into the next badly. Yes, the bomb scene. Finally. Gordon's fuck-up scene was surprising and funny. Another reference to Odyssey, eh?
Taking a break from the movie for a second since my eyes hurt. Recall the thing I said about machinima being twice as long as it needs to be. Well, so far, I think it doesn't need to be longer than 26-30 minutes. The progression was awkward at times, but exampletary at others. The trouble with film is that it's not like a book where you can go back and read the last paragraph again without losing interest. Usually in a situation where you have to return to a moment in a movie is when you know you've lost the audience. This is also partly due to the fact that the average audience sees machinima as just another "game movie," and not as an established genre like we do. Quoting something I read from the web here, the average attention span of a viewer towards machinima is anywhere from 2-5 minutes, so you have to hook your audience there and keep them hooked. It's a challenge, but it's also a way to effectively grab your audience. Going back to the movie now. Hope you're happy giving me permanent eye problems, Xanatos.
Nothing much to say about the scene where they find the recall code. The technical blabber in the scene where they are talking about switching targets was unneeded, unless it was supposed to be a joke. In either case, it wasn't effective. Ah, Dr. Strangeman. Finally. Nice hoverball wheelchair thing. The PowerPoint presentation was unexpected and hilarious. Nice. Didn't Hitler leave with the others? I guess you needed him back for the line which I'm expecting at the end. The scene with the airboat was pretty good, but were they all supposed to duck at the same time? They seemed to each have their own little thing going. Also, I heard another Wilhelm scream in there. Yet another Odyssey reference in there. Finally the bomb scene. Great reference to Strangelove there. I like that he stabs himself. The nuke explosion was well-done. Whoever was trying to do Peter Seller's voice was pretty bad at it. It becomes pretty prominent at this moment where he is presenting speeches. "Mein Fuher! I can walk!" Would've thought you'd have ended it there. Alright, it's over. Finally.
AFTERTHOUGHTS:
Well, it definitely wasn't bad, but it wasn't insanely good either. Most of my complaints were about the camera work, so work on that before you shoot your next movie. Congratulations on 39 minutes, though like I said, it needn't be longer than 30 minutes for the whole movie. Now if you don't mind, my back is killing me.
Author
Topic: Shaken's review of Xanatos' Dr. Strangeman (Read 12192 times)