*Announcing The Fan Film* SPIRITS OF THE FORCE

My review. For all my reviews visit THE FAN FILM MENACE


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A great-looking logo leads to a fine crawl (though they didn't need to call Jaina Solo a Jedi when they established in the same sentence that Jedi are being discussed? and I'm not sure "unknowing" is used correctly). I'm impressed that we're going to see EU characters here. That's a bold move.

Gorgeous pan down and planet, followed by a wipe to a neat shot.

We meet two Jedi with great costumes and poor acting. (I like how Jaina's clothes mirror a costume worn by her grandmother in AOTC.) A third comes, who also does not do a good job acting. But I like seeing the "arrogant" Jedi's nonchalant swipes at the remotes, a fine way of establishing character visually.

A ship enters, and I loved the design of it, but something about it didn't seem quite in the scene. It seemed like a toy on strings had come in. The same problem results in the next shot when we see a temple from far away. I expect Terry Gilliam to pop up and say "It's only a model".

I do like the location of this film. I'm guessing right now it's a university somewhere (and so it is, Arizona State)?from the colors, I'd say it's in the Southwestern United States. It's a good choice though.

I also like how Kyle's eyes dart back and forth.

Does anyone actually ever say "Well, if it isn't ______"? I don't know. And if Kyle says people are having dreams so dark they don't remember them?well, it's nice description, but then why has anyone reported having a dream? Seems to me he needs to think about his metaphors.

I'm enjoying how we hear bits and snatches of lessons we learned in the SW films repeated by other characters, having been taught long ago. Jawa juice is a bit too much of a throwback though, as are pallies. That's got to be the first reference ever to pallies in a fan film, though.

You know, Jessica Bishop really looks right for the role of Jaina, but her performance distracts me a lot. When she runs after Kyle and tells him to come quickly I'm completely taken out of the story.

Ah, a lightsaber duel. That took long enough. When the nefarious villain emerges, unfortunately, it reminds me too much of Bugs Bunny or Road Runner stepping out from behind a tree. And I'm not a huge fan of the time-honored fan film device of Deepen Someone's Voice And They Are Evil.

Okay, stop with this camera circle, guys, I'm getting dizzy.

Holy crap. The shot beginning at 13:28 is one of the coolest I've seen in a very, very long time. An absolutely flawless effect. I rather like the ghost effect we see later, at least for creativity's sake. But either the costume or the expression on the ghost's face ruins the moment for me. But hey, now we know why the film got its title.

I also have to give this film major points for being the first I've seen to thank an upholstery establishment.

There's enough neat things in this film to make it worth a watch, and, in the end, that's what's important. The filmmaking craft is clear enough, and while admittedly I'll probably not remember much about this dream tomorrow, it held my attention for the course of its run.

B-
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Rick McCallum loves you!

 

congratulations, guys!

the girls said that you guys had the cutest Jedi seen so far!!!!

-blueworlds

[image=http://www.blueworldsfanfilms.com/alien00008.jpg]

 

^I'm the guy who played Master Bendeen in the film. I know you're not talking about me, but I'll pretend you are.

All top notch. well, except maybe the ginger guy with the beard. His eyes were scary. In fact, I dont think he blinked once.

Hm. Apparently, I still frighten people. I don't know what that is, I really don't.

As for sequelly goodness, I'm actually co-writing the 2-part sequel--"Spirits of the Force II: Fool's Errand" & "Spirits of the Force III: Peaceful Resistance"--with Joel Cranson (the writer/producer of the 1st "Spirits of the Force"). In fact, I came here because I felt like taking a break from working on the ending of Part III.

Now, I'm gonna try not to say too much because if I let myself, I could spoil the entire plot of the sequels right here. But basically, what LORDPARSEC said here before is true. Joel Cranson will be returning as Kyle Katarn (much to everyone's delight). I will be returning as Master Bendeen in an expanded role (much to some people's disappointment it seems). The guy who played Kit Parson has lucked out since his minor cameo in Part I is being parlayed into a major role in Parts II & III. Brenda Glen will be introduced in this next film as Jan Ors. Jessica Bishop will probably only be returning for about 2 scenes as Jaina Solo. Nathan Blaine (Spince Larrin) will probably also have a role in the sequels as a different character. That's pretty much all I can say for now.

BTW, good thinking to the guy who suggested the 1st film could use a scene of a sweaty Jaina tossing & turning in bed. Hey Joel, Special Edition?

One last thing, since it was just brought up, on the subject of accents, I think Ewan McGreggor in "Big Fish" has one of the best southern accents I've ever heard. (And it's just a brilliant film.)

 

"I also have to give this film major points for being the first I've seen to thank an upholstery establishment."

You'll never guess the business Joel's family runs...

 

Hey, don't I have any say in the sweaty nightmare scene??

 

^No. If you refuse, we'll just have Webb doctor your face on in post.

 

This is true.









Alright. Go for it. I'm in.



hehehe.

 

sweaty nightmare scene

I was worried someone would pick up on that notion. Clearly an evocative image. Hopefully you're flattered m'lady.

Anyhoo - I keep visiting this thread hoping to see Chris' review.

-Spiff

 

Thank you, m'lord, for the compliment. 'Twas *most* appreciated.

 

MY favorite thing about this movie is that everyone it is on the poster, even the other guy working on the communicaitons console that doesn't say anything is there.

 

Good ole Darth_Rinku.

 

Who is Darth_Rinku?

 

The non-speaking Jedi.

 

HE HAD A NAME???

I'm sorry, I must get a hold of myself...

He was terrific, great, very good... good.

That's not meant to sound rude, its paraphrasing a line from 'The Great Dictator'

 

That's cool.

His *real* name is on the poster... Kevin Ward.

 

Yeah. I don't think that 2nd technician was in the script or was even intended to be in the film at all except that we wanted a background Jedi for a scene or 2 @ the Jedi temple. I think he only appeared in that comm. room scene since he'd been such a good sport to hang around all day. (Funny thing, last time I talked to Kevin, he mistakenly thought he DID have a line in that scene even though we never even filmed him saying a line.)

Of course, now I feel obligated to find a minor speaking role for him in one of the sequels, which is hard when you have absolutely no control over casting. (It's just like real filmmaking. The producer & director don't have to listen to a thing the writer says. )

 

The Bad: Acting is typical fanfilm quality. Especially the hug at the end ... just wasn't believable at all.

You have no idea how many takes it took to get that hug even remotely right. Why 2 people are so completely incapable of hugging correctly is beyond me. (This was especially annoying since we started filming at ASU @ 7am. We then spent the next 9-10 hours filming without a lunch break. The hug scene was the last scene filmed in the entire movie. We'd already finished the major lightsaber stuff in the big training circle, so everyone else was lifting all of our stuff back to the cars and starving for McDonalds the entire time while these 2 took 10 takes to hug properly.)

 

Master_Byrd

Oh I thought you meant in the fanfilms

Ewan's is a strange one though, it's like he's trying to sound like Alec Guiness more than trying to sound English (if that makes sense)

But fair enough I'll give you that one, who else are you thinking of?

 

Actually, that scene was the last scene we shot at ASU. After that, we had dinner, then finished at Alan's shop.


That hug. LP and I used to be able to hug just fine over a year ago. Oh well. I guess people forget things...

 

"Anyhoo - I keep visiting this thread hoping to see Chris' review."

Has he been asked? I seem to recall him saying he could do a detailed one if it was asked for . . . but never saw it asked for.

(I've got a somewhat vested interest in anything Kyle-related right now, but I'm holding off my own review until later.)

 

ChrisHanel - I'd be very happy to hear your review of the film.

Yup - he's been asked... I just like reading reviews - I'm just as happy to learn from other people's successes and failures as I am from my own.

Hm. I don't think I've ever been called a lord before! Kinda has a nice ring to it.

- Lord Spiff

 

I would like to comment:
Light sabers have shadows. Yes, it denies physics, but so does force throwing. There still seems to be some contreversy here. The authority on saber shadows is good old Uncle George. Watch the films, folks: SHADOWS.

 

I'd like to see some enterprising person with talent come up with a kick butt movie poster for this fanfilm. The one they have is fine, but just take a look at some of the fan made ones for movies like "Broken Allegiance."

 

I think I actually did ask what Chris thought of it...

 

Alright, doing a review from beginning to end.

Quick note: It's been said before, but i'm throwing it in again. I am *NOT* on the submission committee for Fanfilms.com. My opinions are not their opinions, and vice versa. These are mine and mine alone.

I'm not going to dwell on this too much, but one thing that automatically sets you back, as has been discussed many times before, is trying to use canon characters from the Star Wars universe. It automatically sets you back because people already have seen these characters or have planted their own image of them in their mind. You set yourself up for people to say, "Hey, that's *nothing* like what Kyle Katarn should look or act like!"

Just a note.

Okay, first live action scene: The buildup is nice, but the editing is slow. The fighting is better than i've seen in most fanfilms, but still looks like no effort is being put into some strikes.

I'm going to try to be kind about this, but the acting just TOTALLY takes me out of this film. It's just too jarring.

Cinematography note: The slow push-in on Jaina's line is something that should be saved for lines with very heavy weight to them, something that you REALLY want the audience to pay attention to.

Plot note, and this is more for humor value... Any Jedi that reminds another Jedi of Han Solo should NEVER be allowed to walk around freely with a lightsaber.

The whole scene between Jaina and the guy at the top of the stairs is, well, painful. The master's delivery is very monotone and unemotional, in a way that doesn't say "Jedi", it just says "Bad delivery".

Kyle's entrance is nicely done. Good use of the settings. People have mentioned many times before how well you used your set, and i do have to agree with that.

The first scene with Kyle and Bendeen is going better acting wise, but drops off once they start talking about Kyle's 'cold feeling'. I don't think the music was the best choice, either. A bit too strong... dropping the volume helps a bit, but not enough.

"Welcome home, Kyle...." Yeah, here's another example where the editing could definitely be tightened up. The last shot hangs too long. You don't have to wait until Kyle goes around the corner to cut... in fact, just fade to him in his room without bothering to have him walk anywhere. We'll understand it's a passage of time and everything's good.

The whole first shot of the next scene should just be cut. It's a nice attempt at giving Kyle more character, but just drags everything and gives us plenty of time to stare at the set.

A better choice would have been to have Jaina walk in, have her say her first line, and Kyle can toss off his joke as, "Jaina Solo. With your ties, i don't suppose you could help me find a bigger room?"

"Pretty big fort... sure you can manage?" Okay, props for the delivery of that line. Nicely done. The cameraman is doing that slow push-in again... argh.

Okay, Kyle's getting very creepy all of a sudden with a QUICK push-in, and it doesn't fit the tone of what we've seen at all. I mean, you can tell he's trying to get her to talk about things, but would he do it by scaring the crap out of her?

Now, with the conclusion of this scene, we're halfway through the movie. At this point i have to assume i've met all the characters i really need to care about, and the characters have spelled out the plot and why the students are having nightmares. From this point forward, i'm going to be able to predict the rest of the movie.

"Sure it's him who needs calming down?" I don't buy that she'd get THAT offended by such a line. These two have already established that they can dish it out at each other and take it. Now he throws something that innocent, and she looks like she wants to slap him. It's not consistent characterization.

Kyle's... still... eating.... please...cut... to....something....quick....

And now here's my biggest beef with the directing aspect of this movie. This was a huge HUGE opportunity that was passed up on fixing the pacing of this movie. Jaina comes running back, tel