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Uncharted Review – Film Reviews

Uncharted Review

Welcome back to the Tribe! In this post we dive into our Uncharted film review! Be careful! There are some spoilers below if you have not seen the film yet!

Uncharted Review

Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) works in a cozy New York bar, where he periodically robs customers, mainly young and wealthy women. However, since childhood, Drake did not dream of cleaning glasses or making a good Negroni, as he was always attracted to finding ancient treasures and uncovering their mysteries.

Together with his older brother, from a very young age, they dreamed of finding the treasure of Ferdinand Magellan that he left behind during his famous expedition around the world. But their dreams weren’t destined to come true: Nathan and his brother went their separate ways, and ever since that day, Nathan just keeps getting postcards from his brother from different countries.

Uncharted film

One day in a bar, Nathan meets with a fit middle-aged man Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg), who offers a very tempting job – to help in the search for, you guessed it, the Magellan treasure. Drake initially refuses, but Sullivan mentions meeting his brother, and the protagonist changes his mind. Anyway, even in the company of a shady character, treasure hunting is much more inviting than tending the bar.

Video Game To Film

So much has been written, said, or filmed about video game adaptations in recent years. Therefore, I do not see the point of rehashing it all over again. In short: Hollywood filmmakers have been trying to learn how to make movies based on video games for more than 30 years, and not everyone has succeeded, to put it mildly.

But despite the sad statistics, the quality of recent movie adaptations of video games has slowly begun to grow. Neither “Sonic the Hedgehog” nor “Pokémon Detective Pikachu” would not dare to dream of Oscar nomination or universal critical acclaim. But these examples already are quite watchable movies that may spark interest among not only fans of the original video game franchises, but movie fans in general. And while “Uncharted” is full of goofiness and action-movie problems, it deserves to be part of a club of successful video game adaptations.

Production Hell

The history of production is remarkable. “Uncharted” has been in production hell for almost 15 years.

The adaptation was announced way back in 2008. The number of directors that were at the helm of production is incredible! Initially, the action-adventure was supposed to be shot by David O. Russell (“Silver Linings Playbook“). Then, for a limited time, the director’s chair was occupied by: Neil Burger (“Divergent“), Seth Gordon (“Horrible Bosses“), Shawn Levy (“Night at the Museum“), Dan Trachtenberg (“Cloverfield, 10“) and Travis Knight (“Bumblebee“).

Merry-go-round

And only in 2020, this merry-go-round was stopped by Ruben Fleischer – the director of “Zombieland” and “Venom“. There were also many suitors for the lead role. Ten years ago, Mark Wahlberg was cast as Nathan. Although, as the years passed, he transformed into a more mature role of Victor Sullivan. Nathan Fillion (still a perfect cast in my mind) and Chris Pratt might have played Drake also, but it was no more than a rumor floating around.

The fact that “Uncharted” has been in production for so many years is evident upon viewing.

This fact is the main problem of the movie. If individual episodes are effective or look solid at the very least, and some scenes are a blast, then the transitions between the scenes are hard to justify. The main characters are hopping around the world (cue dramatic eye-rolling) to combine action episodes into a coherent narrative or drive the plot forward.

The funniest and the most revealing moment of stitching the plot together is the episode near the end of the movie when villains realize that they have gone on the wrong trail, only because Drake accidentally swims literally in front of their boat in the other direction.

uncharted Chase

But if you do not pay much attention to such nonsense, which is a common thing of every big-budget blockbuster, then it is difficult not to get guilty pleasure from this movie.

Action Action … and More Action

You can see that, despite the production hell, many characteristic things of the original video game were transferred to the big screen. There is a lot of parkour, sophisticated Dan Brown – like puzzles scattered across different continents, and spectacular fights, and the cherry on top is the final helicopter chase. I don’t think I’ve ever seen an episode in the adventure genre that was as impressive and ridiculous at the same time.

Uncharted Film Review

Nonetheless, the movie has the bad qualities of video games also. For example, completely faceless and caricature villains that the game was famous for, and excessive love for rock climbing.

But the main complaints from fans of the flick will be towards Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg. Neither looks like their video game prototypes. Using the exaggerated value system of die-hard fans of any popular gaming franchise, this is like playing with fire. But I must admit, at the risk of getting angry fan tweets, Holland and Wahlberg did a great job.

Yes, Tom Holland plays another variation of Peter Parker. But, this time with deep knowledge of history instead of web-slinging abilities. Wahlberg (spends almost the entire movie without a mustache) portrays an adventurer with no personal attachments, so you won’t see a charming mentor with the rich life experience that Sally was in a video game.

But it’s not that important. There’s tangible chemistry between the two, which is fueled by a comically written dialogue that actually works. The movie somewhat squanders the opportunity to explore personal relationships – the very basis of all “Uncharted” game series. But, let’s just say, there are hints that a possible sequel might fix this problem.

Film Rating

Overall, I would give this film 3 stars out of 4!

“Uncharted” is a bright, funny, and exciting adventure movie. It is not without its problems, given the decade-long production path. Although, it is a rather successful adaptation. In addition, we have been missing a big adventure on a big screen for some time now. The movie respects the original source, but at the same time, it is a universal movie that might be enjoyed by anyone. But most importantly: “Uncharted” is like any noisy and electrifying blockbuster, which will help us to disconnect from reality and its problems for two hours. And in the context of an ongoing pandemic, and uncertainty about the future, this is already a great victory for all movie fans out there.

Uncharted Review Post

Thanks for reading our Uncharted Review post! Please understand that these are just our opinions! Hopefully you will watch the film to come to your own rating!

Make sure to follow our Twitter to keep up with everything happening at the Tribe!

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Moonfall Review – Film Reviews

Welcome back to the Tribe! In this post we are going to be doing another film review over Moonfall!

This movie was released in the United States on February 4, 2022.

The movie had an overall estimated budget of $150 million and grossed around $25 million.

After theaters you should be able to purchase this movie on platforms like: Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, YouTube, and Vudu

Moonfall Review

No matter how tough the last few years were, Hollywood movies are fast to remind us that everything could have been much worse. In “Moonfall“, humanity is on the verge of complete extinction for a very unpredictable reason: the traitorous Moon suddenly falls out of orbit and is about to drop onto the Earth. People panic and hide in vain from meteor showers and tsunamis – but no one knows how to prevent the catastrophe.

By an incomprehensible coincidence, three unalike heroes are sent for dubious “negotiations” with a raging satellite: an astronaut Brian (Patrick Wilson) who got falsely accused of a death of a crewmate, and fired because of it, Joe (Halle Berry), a former astronaut and now serving NASA Deputy Director, and eccentric K. C. Houseman (John Bradley), a wannabe scientist and conspiracy theorist who’s convinced that the Moon is an artificial structure created by (drumroll) aliens! 

Roland Emmerich

Roland Emmerich made a lot of movies, but primarily he is known as the creator of disaster epics: “Independence Day“, “The Day After Tomorrow“, “2012“. His last work “Independence Day: Resurgence“, was released back in 2016 – therefore, it’s time to destroy the Earth…again! You have to be in agreement with yourself: if you want to watch a big-budget disaster movie with a whacky plot, you will get exactly what you expect with “Moonfall”.

Although hints of the involvement of some evil cosmic forces were already in the trailer, it is important to indicate that “Moonfall” is probably the most ridiculous movie in the director’s filmography.

It begins as a pretentious story about a heroic deed of astronauts, almost like “Armageddon”. However, as soon as the heroes finally go into space, everything that happens on the screen rapidly moves into the camp of self-parody pseudo-blockbusters like “Sharknado” (yes, like sharks plus tornado, and yes, this movie exists).

If you take a step back from the eternal threats to the tranquility of our planet, “Moonfall” is a kind of an ode to all the geeks and dreamers who will be noticed one day. Emmerich glorifies people who are in love with their work in every movie he directed. Where corporations, government, and sophisticated scientists miss red flags about something essential, Emmerich’s dreamers never cease to believe assumptions and invent new patterns of the universe.

The movie is divided into two approximately equal parts.

No questions are raised about things happening on Earth: gravitational tsunamis and snowstorms, earthquakes and floods, long-haul trucks flying in different directions and crumbling water towers, and other victims-and-destruction scenarios follow the structure of the classic disaster movie.

Scenes look insane, impossible, without excessive naturalism, and most importantly, it is a perfect spectacle for IMAX screens. 

Second Part

The second part that happens in space is less impressive. If Emmerich wanted to give the audience something that they have never seen before in this act, well, I have to admit the movie has nothing new to offer, you have probably seen this part of the movie somewhere else. The heroes fly into labyrinths of the lunar womb as Luke Skywalker did inside the Death Star. It comes to no surprise that the movie picks its ideas from the most obvious sci-fi fragments of the classic experiments of Kubrick, Villeneuve, and Wachowski. 

But no one proposes to take seriously the offered concept of the structure of the Moon: Emmerich is not Nolan, science is not needed here. Despite the absurdity of the main threat itself (I won’t even try to describe this), the movie has its own working internal logic: each new attempt to control the gravity gradually caused my inner child to clap in excitement.

This naivete casts aside any skepticism. Emmerich seems to still be living in 1995, and I envy him in a good way. The same patriotic values and family problems, the same altruism and the same jokes: no real-life pandemic, but an end-of-the-world fantasy – so far-fetched that it is impossible to believe that the Earth may indeed face an apocalyptic end one day. 

Film Rating

In the end, I would give this remake 2.5 out of 4 stars!

In the end, Roland Emmerich almost openly admits: yes, I’ve made something completely absurd, but that’s the way I wanted it to be. I just hope this recognition will occur early for a moviegoer, or else one might have a chance to earn a headache, trying to rationalize and comprehend everything that is shown on the big screen. And I have to admit for myself that there’s something about today that makes Emmerich’s movies affectionately nostalgic and makes you miss the good old the end of the world.

Moonfall Review Post

Thanks for reading our Moonfall Review post! Please understand that these are just our opinions, and hopefully you will watch the film to come to your own rating!

Make sure to follow our Twitter to keep up with everything happening at the Tribe!

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Ghostbusters Afterlife Review – Film Reviews

Welcome back to the Tribe! In this post we are going to go over our Ghostbusters Afterlife Review!

This movie was released in the United States on November 19, 2021, after being delayed four times from an original July 2020 release date due to the COVID.

The movie had an overall budget of $75 million and grossed around $150 million so far.

After theaters you should be able to purchase this movie on platforms like: Amazon, iTunes, Google Play, YouTube, and Vudu

Ghostbusters Afterlife

The Ghostbusters is a beloved franchise that has been revisited many times for more than three decades, and even Paul Feig’s controversial reboot didn’t ruin the love of the fanbase. The key to longevity seems to hide in the surprising appeal of the plot, a good mix of reality and supernatural, and the killer charisma of the blockbuster quartet of actors Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson.

This time it’s different, not only because at the helm of the project is Jason Reitman who gave us tender movies like “Juno” and “Tully“, but he is also the son of the director of the original dilogy, Ivan Reitman. This continuity becomes the driving force of the movie, and to my mind, the long-time fans of the franchise will get the most kick out of it.

Ghostbusters Afterlife Review

Afterlife has an undeniable feeling of longing for the past. Even children here do not spend their time on smartphones. Instead, they assemble devices with their own hands and get to know each other the old-fashioned way in a fast-food restaurant or at school.

We even have a boy named “Podcast” who records his show about mysticism and conspiracy theories on a tape recorder. 

Fanservice is at all-time high here. Get prepared to drown in homages, easter eggs, and different nods to the original dilogy. There are so many that YouTube content creators compete on finding as many references as possible.

On top of that, you won’t meet a single new ghost or villain here. It’s not bad nor a good thing just so you might lower your expectations on that front. We have met all of them before in one form or another (there are hundreds of marshmallow sailors).

Main Plot

The main plot is also somewhat borrowed from the classics. Thankfully, Reitman is a director with a clear vision, and you just have to give him his due: Afterlife does not look artificially made. On the contrary, it hits the right balance between looking true to the original and developing new characters.

Casting Mckenna Grace who plays Phoebe was a delightful success. She plays a cute nerd, who endlessly makes up awkward jokes (in fact, quite hilarious ones). Mckenna simply crushes it and easily outmatches the rest of the cast.

Phoebe’s character is so organic in this story that you do not stop believing her for a minute. And even when she understands the device of the proton gun quite easily and guesses about the principles of how the ghost trap works, she’s the granddaughter of her brilliant grandfather and grew up with science in her blood after all.

Interesting Duet

Paul Rudd and Carrie Coon formed an entertaining duet of adults who are embarrassed by their own feelings. Rudd yet again pleases with decent comedic talent as he’s been doing it for two decades. Coon’s character is an example of a progressive mother looking for ways to get along with her children and not let her own resentment towards her father affect her as a parent.

The interconnection of generations and continuity are the movie’s central themes, and Reitman managed to tell a very touching story, not forgetting to put the main characters on a mission to save the world from evil ghosts.

Where Are The Ghosts?

If there’s anything negative to say about the new Ghostbusters, it’s that for its impressive two-hour runtime, strangely enough, there’s not a lot of ghosts. Afterlife wasn’t able to achieve the same dynamic as the 1984 original does. Instead, we mostly get a charming mix of a well-written script and excellent cast.

Subconsciously, the viewer understands that sooner than later “Ecto-1” will jump out of the garage and the sky above Summerville will be illuminated by positron lightning, but these moments have to be waited for and waited for again, and you almost have to beg the director to show them to you.

Overall Feel

However, the lack of ghosts does not affect the overall mysterious atmosphere and the delight you get from the copious amount of fanservice. The movie does not become too boring, it juggles multiple genres and tonal shifts effectively: from the comedy genre to a family thriller, and even to horror in some scenes.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife is a paradise for fans of the franchise and the 80s nostalgia in general. In many ways, the effect of Ghostbusters will be directly proportional to your expectations: the less you imagine what the movie should be, the more likely it will become a great nostalgia trip.

Film Rating

In the end, I would give this remake 3 out of 4 stars!

The only question remains, whether it will be as touching for younger generations as it is for the older generation who knew who to call when there was a ghost in their neighborhood.

Ghostbusters Afterlife Review Post

Thanks for reading our Ghostbusters Afterlife Review post! Please understand that these are just our opinions, and hopefully you will watch the film to come to your own rating!

Make sure to follow our Twitter to keep up with everything happening at the Tribe!

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Home Alone Remake Review – Film Reviews

Welcome back to the Tribe! In this post we will be going over our Home Alone Remake Review! Here are our thoughts about the film, and what you need to know before you see it!

Home Sweet Home Alone

Moviegoers don’t usually have the same opinion as critics. But it can happen when a masterpiece or a total failure hits the movie theaters.

Unfortunately, Dan Mazer‘s remake falls into the latter category. The script for the new film “Home Alone” wasn’t written by Mazer, but by little-known comedians Mikey Day and Streeter Seidell. That doesn’t excuse the mediocre directing by the two-time Oscar nominee for best screenplay.

Home Alone Remake Review

You can start by saying that the movie is entirely unfunny, which is as terrible as it is for horror to have zero chills and thrills. It seemed like a good idea to invite Devin Ratray to play the supporting role of Buzz McAllister once again, but this time as a policeman, yet, the writers could not come up with a single funny line to his character or develop his arc at all. The scenes with Buzz will make you cringe at the very least, just like almost everything else in this movie.

Young Archie Yates is a good actor, but he’s just not suitable for the reincarnation of Kevin McAllister. 

He is more like a cliché nerd from a generic family comedy, but that’s not the main problem. At the whim of the writers, Max became an obnoxious character that resembles a villain than a savvy victim of two incompetent house burglars. So here we are, a married couple with money problems trying to penetrate Max’s house to pick up their belongings, which the lousy young man might have stolen from them when he visited their house for sale. 

Well, I wonder, how many viewers will empathize with Max Mercer? 

Movie Issues

And this is the biggest problem of the movie: how should we evaluate the dramatic trick of the writers, who twisted the main antagonists of the franchise? The remake was stripped from the magic of the collision that the original had. What we are left with is simply a slapstick comedy with two uninvited visitors versus an inventive child and traumatizing pranks that take too long. 

By the way, parents’ characters are poorly written too! The boy’s mother, who pops up often enough, completely blends with Max’s many relatives. The only highlight might be Ally Maki as Mei. At least she looks good and does not show herself as a complete idiot. I can barely remember at least one textured or layered character, nor can I point to a funny or a bizarre sketch of human behavior.

It doesn’t matter whether we see supporting characters or the main ones: viewers get bombarded with poorly written jokes. It’s as if the writers searched “Joke of the day” Twitter accounts for inspiration. 

Remakes

It seems like all the movies are remakes or sequels these days. Everything is being reshot, remade, and repackaged. Almost all of these remakes distort the original meaning of the movie.

Fortunately, this remake does not have fans on both sides of the ocean. I guess a few doubted that Kevin McAllister’s story would not fall a victim to a modern remake machine. And it is not entirely clear who needs this movie, an audience full of nostalgia for Christmas classics or the new generation? In the end, Generation Z should also have its own inventive defender of the house that uses only natural ingenuity and the capabilities of modern gadgets. 

Film Rating

In the end, I would give this remake 1 star out of 4 stars!

I cannot help myself but imagine Dan Mazer meeting the same disgusting character, in which he turned naughty, yet good-hearted Kevin McAlister to experience all of these exceptionally funny jokes and pranks by alarmingly low standards of the director.

Home Alone Remake Review Post

Thanks for reading our Home Alone Remake Review post! Please understand that these are just our opinions, and hopefully you will watch the film to come to your own rating!

Make sure to follow our Twitter to keep up with everything happening at the Tribe!

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Writing a Movie You Love

Writing has always been my Achilles heel of filmmaking. I love directing, cinematography, lighting, and editing, but writing has always been difficult for me. I always strive to be original and creative, but when I sit down to write, I either end up writing a movie that already exists or something i’m not even interested in. Therefore, I want to point out a few tips that could help in writing a movie you love.

Recently I have been working on a short film script and I always get to a point where I’m disinterested in what I’ve written. However, I think I’ve finally created a checklist for writing something I love while also making something worth watching. It’s simple, but it’s worth checking over when you’re writing your next film.

Entertaining Theme

Movies have always been about entertainment. Making something you and your audience want to sit down and enjoy.

It seems obvious to say but when you sit down to create something it’s easy to get lost in the process of making it, how its going to look on camera, and who you’re going to cast. Although, when you take a step back and look at it from an audience members point of view, you have to ask “is this entertaining?”. If it is, then carry on and make your movie, if not, maybe take a second to see what you could change to make your audience happy.

Theme Design

Now that you’ve catered to your audience it’s time to cater to yourself. Look over your script and make sure it touches on themes you care about. What message are you trying to convey with your film? What do you want the audience to learn from watching your movie?

These questions will help you come up with a story that you are passionate about. This step is vital in my opinion. Because, there’s always a point in a project when I think to myself “why am I doing this?”. If I don’t have an answer, I throw the script out. If I have a message I want other people to hear that I genuinely care about, then that pulls me through the doubt I have about the project.

Film Budget

Budget, of course, controls everything. It can be difficult to write a story within your budget, so what I suggest doing is writing your story however you want. Afterward, start to scale it down to something that is doable with your budget. Don’t sacrifice your message, but keep in mind that a well done, low budget movie is better than a poorly done big budget film. It’s all about quality.

This part in particular is something I struggle with when writing. I would love to make sci-fi movies, but at the moment, I don’t have the resources to make them convincing.

As I mentioned, when you’re writing, let your mind flow free. Create whatever you desire, but when it’s time for draft two, start to scale down to something you can realistically make. There’s nothing wrong with shelving a project either. If you have a script you absolutely love but can’t make it at the moment, then hold onto it. Make something else before hand and work towards making your next film a reality when you have the time.

Short Film Making

It’s easy for me to get caught up in an idea only to realize that I either don’t like the script, or I’ve rewritten a movie I already like by accident. So, when you’re sitting down to create your next script, keep yourself in mind, remember your audience, and write within your budget.

Over the past few months I have been working on writing my own short film. These steps have helped me stay on track and create something I love. Hopefully, these steps can help you in writing a movie you love as well.

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What Happened to Acting in Atlanta

Every time I watch The Godfather I think to myself “What happened to acting in Atlanta?” Marlon Brando and Al Pacino absolutely destroy their roles as Vito Corleone and Micheal Corleone respectively. Then you compare them to the biggest actors today, and I can’t help but wonder when we stopped caring about acting.

Everyone is type cast to play themselves or to draw in their following. People who aren’t even actors are crossing over into the film industry because they can. Truly great performances are few and far between. Which is why I want to recognize actors that are keeping their craft alive and discuss the importance of acting in films.

Acting in the Old Days

We are currently living in a very strange time in film. Gone are the days of the best actor getting chosen for a role. In their place we have celebrities from all forms of media. Anybody that has a large following or fan base can get a role in Hollywood now. This means that movies are moving away from performance based films in favor or more fans and tickets sold. There are several problems with this trend, one of them being sacrificing art for money but the big problem is studios are finding ways to cut corners even more than before.

The studio’s goal has always been clear, make money. Although, the relationship between director and studio is clearly becoming more strained because directors are going to have a lot less to work with. You might have to dumb down a scene because the Instagram model with 8 million followers can’t pull off the same sort of performance as Ryan Gosling could have. This all leads to the major problem which is less good movies getting created and more big budget, skin deep movies are saturating the market.

Actors Make Movies

You might be thinking to yourself, “maybe all movies don’t need to have the best actors, you’re just overreacting” and you might be right, but consider this, take your favorite movie and imagine that the lead actor is The Rock. The movie is probably still good, but it could be great with the right person in the role. That’s the point I’m trying to make, movies can still be good with A list stars that don’t have much background in acting, but they could be better.

Better actors leads to better performances, and better performances lead to the audience identifying with that character more. All of which leads to a better end product. You reap what you sow, in most cases.

Favorite Actors

The saddest part of this epidemic is that worse actors are overshadowing some of the best actors to ever grace the screen. Some of my personal favorites are Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal, Amy Adams, and John David Washington. These actors, while still working in quite a lot of movies, could always use more work, they are completely underutilized. Not only that but if we keep using people from other media as actors we’ll never find the new up and comers. Those still lining up for auditions only to be overshadowed by those with millions of followers.

So this is my challenge to you, work with actors that will blow their performance out of the water. Work with those dedicated to your craft, and if you are an actor yourself, keep on trucking. No matter how many models or wrestlers Hollywood hires, we will always need talented artists.

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The Upcoming Renaissance in Film

The film industry is reaching a breaking point. Action films at the box office have completely flooded the market to the point where they are almost indistinguishable from one another. I saw John Wick 3 recently, and I went in expecting an ok story with some amazing action sequences. My bar was already not that high, and I was still disappointed. The story was exactly as I expected, simple. The action was repetitive and even boring at times, and John Wick is not the only film to fall victim to this.

Too many action films of the past few years have been mindless and unentertaining, and audiences are catching on. My prediction is that we will experience a renaissance of filmmaking within the next few years.

Action Movies at the Box Office

Now action movies aren’t exactly failing at the box office, but more people are showing up for story driven films. This year alone we’ve had films like Queen and Slim, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and most importantly, Joker. These are all stand alone films, not sequels that have done extremely well at the box office. Joker is the most profitable film of all time and although it is based on characters from a comic book, it is not part of a cinematic universe or anything of the like.

Audiences of all types are showing up to these films, old and young, male and female, everyone is showing up to watch it, which I love. These films are the beginning of a new wave. Audiences are recognizing quality film more frequently. They’re not condemning bad films, but they’re making the effort to see good movies.

Film Market is Changing

I think this change in taste has come from action films putting in less effort. I’m paraphrasing Alton Brown here but in his “Hot Ones” interview he said that once a location thinks they have something on lock, they start slipping in quality. I think this applies to a lot more than just food, in this case, I think the action film industry thinks they have the box office on lock and now audiences are noticing other genres of film.

Since the Marvel Infinity Saga has come to a close people are branching out and trying other things. The market is essentially in limbo, no new trends but once audiences find the new genre they fall in love with, that will dominate for the next few years.

Action Films are Safe

Now, all action films aren’t bad, Skyfall is one of my all time favorite movies, it’s an incredible action film all around. The problem is, every action film can’t be Skyfall. It has story, incredible cinematography, and it took risks, which is rare for a sequel film. Let alone the 23rd in a series. Most films shy away from risk because if someone dies they can’t make a sequel, which in turn makes the studio less money.

This has led to action films actually being quite safe, which makes the ending much more predictable. The hero wins and no one dies, and like I said before, people are catching on.

Mindless Films

Action films aren’t going anywhere soon. They’re mindless fun to watch when you want to turn your brain off and relax, but I don’t think they will be as dominant in these next few years. The decade of the story driven film is among us and I could not be more excited. This opens the door for more creative directors and storytellers to get their chance at the big screen. The future’s looking bright and I’m ready for my shot.

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All Atlanta Film Jobs on Set

When I started film school, I couldn’t tell you the difference between a producer and a director. Many of my fellow classmates were in the same boat and they did not know all Atlanta film jobs on set. Actually, one of the best things film school did for me was clarify the responsibilities of each role. If you haven’t gone to film school it can be embarrassing to ask what each job does, so here’s my list of important jobs on set and what they do.

Film Producer

The producer is the be all end all of the project. They are there from day one until the project wraps. They are in charge of securing money, hiring the crew, and making sure the project goes smoothly. Almost all of the producers work is before production. Once the shooting starts the producer should be able to take a step back and let the film happen. Ultimately, however, the producer has the final say on everything with the project because they are the ones who control the money, and if they don’t want to pay for something or want to cut something out, it is completely their call. The producer and director should have a close relationship or at least an understanding for each other because they both want the same thing, a good movie.

Set Director

The director is in charge of making the movie. They are in charge of the story and creative aspects of filmmaking. In pre-production, they create the shot list, storyboard, overheads, and script breakdown. Then, they meet with the first A.D. to create the shooting schedule based on all of the paperwork. The director’s vision is what drives the movie forward. Whether they wrote the script or worked with a writer, they are there to make their own movie with their own vision. On set, they work with the actors to shape their performance, cinematographer to create a stunning shot, and the first A.D. to make sure they are on schedule.

The only person that is above the director is the producer because the producer controls the money. Once filming has wrapped, the director works with an editor to create the final project. The director, much like the producer, sees the project through to the very end.

Set First A.D.

The First Assistant Director is the right hand to the director, if the director says something needs to get done, the first A.D. will get it done. They are in charge of making sure the production is on schedule, they have a list of every shot that needs to be filmed that includes the actors, props, and locations of each. They film everything in the most logistical way possible because time is money, especially on set. While the director is meeting with the actors or talking to the cinematographer about the next shot, the first A.D. has everyone already moving equipment there so that when they’re ready to shoot, everything should be set up.

Film Cinematographer

First things first, the cinematographer does not touch the camera. They create the shots and control the lighting and make it look how they want but the camera operator is the one that executes the shot. The cinematographer is in charge of the entire camera department, whatever they say goes, but if you want to work with the cameras and actually do the shots, then camera op is right up your alley. On smaller sets of course the cinematographer is also the camera op. Near the end of pre-production, the cinematographer will meet with the director and go over the shot list to collaborate on what they think each shot should look like.

Set Production Assistant

Some of you are probably very familiar with this job but for those who are just getting started, a P.A. does whatever they’re asked whenever they’re asked to. If someone needs coffee you’re going to grab their coffee. If something needs to get picked up for later, you’re driving to pick something up. You are the workforce that the first A.D. will call upon to make sure everything gets done. When I first started doing P.A. work, I worked on very small sets. I was the only P.A. which meant I did everything that needed to get done, but this also meant I was able to work closely with everyone on set like the director and D.P. This was extremely valuable to me because I was able to learn about every job on set. If you can find a job like that I would recommend taking it.

Atlanta Film Jobs on Set

In the film industry there are many titles and slang terms. They can all be very confusing, especially if you never ask what they mean. I hope this list has been helpful in clarifying some of the important job titles on set. If you you learned something new from this make sure to check out my other articles on Atlanta film!

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Why Kids Movies Are Bad

When I was younger, I used to watch movies all the time, arguably more than I watch now. Something I’ve been doing recently is going back and watching all of my favorites. Many of them held up over the years and some of them didn’t, but something I realized while watching these movies is that kids movies today can’t even hold a candle to the kids movies that were made ten to twenty years ago. They don’t address important topics or themes, they feel like they are made just to sell toys. It’s unfortunate because I learned a lot of important lessons from movies and T.V. shows when I was younger.

My Favorite Kids Movies

When I was growing up, some of my favorite things to watch were Avatar the Last Airbender and The Iron Giant. Avatar covered topics like death, nonviolence, sacrifice, relationships, and even veganism. The Iron Giant covered sacrifice and nonviolence as well, but the important thing is these movies and shows are still great today, they don’t shy away from dark topics, they don’t beat around the bush, and if you go back and watch either of these, they’re amazing stories in their own right.

As much as we don’t want to expose kids to dark things, it has to happen at some point. I might argue that it’s best for them to get exposed to that through their favorite show or movie. They might listen more to a character they like than their own parents; that’s definitely how I was. I modeled myself after the characters I looked up to. I even learned how to use sarcasm from Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. It’s a shame kids today won’t have the same experience. I think the key thing kids shows and movies lack today is depth, there’s no meaning behind the story and there’s no subtext to be found.

New Kids Movies

Newer movies for kids really don’t have much to offer other than toys. They seem hollow and lifeless. There are the occasional gems like How to Train Your Dragon and most Disney movies. Other than that they really don’t teach kids anything. They all follow the same formula, design the main character to be relatable, design a cute animal/creature to be the main characters friend, get an up and coming musician to do a single for the movie, and when it’s all done sell toys.

That’s every kids movie today. They’re all easily forgettable because there is no passion behind them. I feel truly blessed to have grown up on movies where the director clearly loved what they were doing. They took it seriously and wanted to teach kids. Kids now have shallow movies made by people who just want money. That may sound like the cliche answer but I have a feeling it’s the truth. I haven’t seen many kids movies that feel like they were made with any other intention.

Bring Back Positivity

I wish this could have been a more positive post, but unfortunately, I don’t see this trend changing anytime soon. It’s not just happening to movies and shows either, it’s everywhere. Everything is becoming watered down, lifeless, and stupid. Companies are pandering to the children’s market because it will always make money. I hope this trend reaches its breaking point soon because kids need better idols to look up to. Whether it’s the characters in the movie or the people actually making those movies, because in the current state we’re in, no matter where you look the only thing you’re supposed to care about is money.

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Why Animation Is Not Just For Kids

Animation in Movies

The stigma surrounding animation in movies is that they are made for kids. Adults watch “real movies” and kids watch “cartoons”. However, many animated films tackle adult themes and are sometimes more graphic than live action films. I recently watched Princess Mononoke for the first time, and it really inspired me to tackle this topic. That movie is the furthest thing from a “kids movie”. It’s message covers important topics for kids and adults alike. The imagery is stunning and sometimes even violent, but most of all, these movies are made to speak to everyone and bring people closer together through ideas.

Where is the Story

A topic I am always ranting about is story. Stories in movies are lacking these days because people only want to see action films with stunts and explosions. The reason animated films haven’t fallen into this trap is because they take much more effort to create. Every single thing in frame somebody draws. Someone takes the time to design and draw every person, every location, and absolutely anything you see on screen. The dedication it takes to create these movies can only come from a true passion to tell the story.

The creators want to sit down and draw something that looks cool and that’s it. They want to express how they feel and tell the story in a unique and creative way. While watching Princess Mononoke, I could feel the passion that Hayao Miyazaki felt for the environment and his dedication to preserving it. He wanted to spread an awareness for something he believed in, that’s why he animated almost 200,000 individual frames to create this movie. It is way too easy to just film something blowing up, it’s something else entirely to draw that. I believe this is why we get far more lazy live action movies and more creative animation films, that take passion to complete.

Creative Freedom in Animation

Animated films offer more creative freedom than live action movies. With live action, there is a limit to what a person can actually do on camera or you have to use CGI. With animated movies you have a completely blank canvass. Anything you can think of, or draw, could be in your movie, you have complete creative freedom. To give an example, if you wanted to create a giant monster in a live action movie you would have to make it look photo realistic because it has to match the environment and characters around it. With animated movies as long as it matches the art style you can have anything you want in the film. This gives the filmmakers the opportunity to create anything they want to tell their story and it makes it easier for the audience to believe your story and get lost in your world.

Truth Behind Animation

Animated movies have long been called kids movies because of the way they look, but if you dive deeper than that you can see that these films are directed mostly at adults. Princess Mononoke addressed industrialism and deforestation, The Iron Giant talks about nonviolence, The Incredibles opens with a suicide attempt. These movies are not just flashy colors and cute music to appeal to kids and sell toys. They are just as meaningful as “real movies” if not more. The point of a good animated movie is to bridge the gap between people. If Princess Mononoke changes someone’s mind about how they care for the environment then it has made a difference. These movies can bring generations together and help us understand each other. Animated movies might look like they’re made for kids but clearly these films are meant for everyone.

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