Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Connianatu How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Jody Bruchon Due to the nature of the film, I must explain prior to my review that I am not in any way a "fan" of Brad Jones or Cinema Snob. My introduction to his work came very indirectly through his ties to Nostalgia Critic and Channel Awesome. I do not have the experience needed to fully appreciate a "made just for fans" movie; this is my introduction to the work of Brad Jones.There are some negative aspects that I feel must be discussed upfront. The cinematography is very much amateur-grade: lots of hand-held camera shake, camera shake where there was no excuse for not using a tripod such as stationary establishing shots of houses, complete failure to add proper lighting, select shots that are poorly framed, and continuity errors across cuts between different viewing angles of the same shot (bottles changing position on tables and a hand that vanishes are the most egregious errors that come to mind.) The sound design leaves A LOT to be desired as well, from the audio levels in the same conversation being significantly different between speakers to the ambient sound of traffic suddenly cutting in when the POV changes. The movie is two hours long but probably could have been executed in 90 minutes if some of the unnecessarily slow parts were cleaned up. There are some instances where the acting is unconvincing. If this was even a "low-budget film" by the industry definition, this would be enough to earn it a review that boiled down to "what is this crap?"Fortunately, this isn't such a film, and I didn't go in expecting anything with apparent high production values. This film was obviously a labor of love and provided something for a bunch of like-minded friends to work together on. The great thing about this film is that it doesn't even try to take itself seriously. It's obviously made to appeal to people who are "in" on Brad Jones' previous work, but despite being an "outsider," I found myself able to enjoy it. Being able to appreciate the "WTF? factor" is crucial to enjoyment of this film, because that's what makes it amusing. On the surface, it's littered with flat, minimally expressive dialogue, but that's what makes the more ridiculous parts so worthwhile. You find yourself caught off-guard and suddenly laughing at what seemed like a contrived, knuckle-dragging story just seconds earlier.I can forgive amateur production if the story is decent and the execution is clever. This film was hard to watch in the beginning since I was not used to the "flat" dialogue and sneaky subtle humor, but by the time the credits rolled, I found myself wanting to watch it again, if for no other reason than to pick up on the subtle humor I missed. I also appreciated the special effects; they can be quite a treat, and it's fun to stop the video and try to figure out how they pulled them off.If you'd like to see a no-budget film that's executed pretty well, this is definitely a good choice. It's not a very serious film, but it isn't supposed to be, and while I am certain that some people would never be capable of appreciating it, you owe it to yourself to give it a chance.-----EDIT/UPDATE: I've seen this film many times over now, and having done so brings some new perspectives. I've watched some key Cinema Snob reviews that get referenced in this film and realized that I would have enjoyed it more had I seen these episodes first. There seems to be a plethora of in-jokes and references to Cinema Snob episodes. This is both understandable and acceptable, but as a newcomer to the works of Brad Jones it detracts from the enjoyment of the film a bit due to not understanding the meaning behind these seemingly random utterances. I've also noticed that enjoyment of the story drops sharply as it transitions away from snarky comedy halfway through. As with Brad's previous film Paranoia, the later parts of the film have issues relating to continuity, transitions, and too many scenes dragging on for far too long. Audio and lighting problems are still present and obvious when they happen...and dear lord, SO MANY of the supporting characters are NOT convincing actors at all!All of that being said, each watch of The Cinema Snob Movie has become more and more enjoyable to watch every time I see it, especially as I look up the incredible number of actors and films name-dropped throughout and better understand what they're talking about. The cringey moments of really bad acting start to become funny as well. If you want a movie that can both feed into a MST3K/RiffTrax mocking session with your friends and give you a bunch of genuine laughs as well, you'll definitely appreciate this one. As far as no-budget feature-length films by amateurs goes, it's very hard to find much better, and if you have an interest in making your own films, you can learn a lot by watching it, especially from the commentary tracks on the DVD.

Tom_Cruises_Testicles The Cinema Snob Movie is a non-canonical origin story to "The Cinema Snob" series. On the surface it does appear that way. But like an artichoke, when the layers are peeled back and the heart is exposed we realize the film has a much darker tale underneath.So let's peel back those layers and expose what is at heart here.Clue #1 the DVD artwork done by David Gobble. At first glance, it may not seem out of place. But does it capture the tone of the film? Not really.Or does the image of Brad's face jutting out of the shadows, his head rest on his fist like Rodin's The Thinker, impart a message to the viewer? Perhaps its hinting at a darker, more thought-provoking story lying deep within.The Lloyd Approved DVD describes the plot as: "When small time exploitation filmmakers Craig (Brad Jones) and Neil (Jake Norvell)are denied filming permits by the snooty head of the local film commision (Note: their spelling mistake), Craig's only option is to go undercover as a pretentious film snob. But once accepted by the group Craig finds himself thrust into a strange and deadly mystery surrounding the very secretive club." On the surface, this does appear to be what the film is about. And after watching it you would say "But of course, that is exactly the movie I just watched." Except it isn't.Clue #2, the film's lack of logic and reality. Now this is a big one. Some of the actors come off like they are in a different movie. Craig has normal reactions to things. However Neil, and most of the other characters, do not. There are murders occurring and yet (spoilers) never once do the real cops show up. Is there an explanation for all this? Yes.You see Craig Golightly is the killer. The film we are watching is his reconstruction of reality in order to alleviate guilt from himself.When viewing the film from this angle, it's amazing how much sense everything makes. It's classic Freudian Wish fulfillment, where Craig is now the hero who saves the girl.Clue #3 "Craig's Serial Killer" is Det. Ted Adams. Why does he do it? For revenge. Does this make any sense at all? Not a bit. The only way Ted could have the knowledge to pull this off is if he is actually Craig.When does the first murder occur? When Craig joins the film club. You see, Ted Adams is Craig's version of his evil self. He's overweight, whiny, misguided. The story about his father- that's Craig's father and this fuels his insecurities about his own filmmaking.Why did Craig kill all these people? If the events in the film are a reconstructed reality then Craig has the ability to re-arrange the order of the murders.In reality Dan Phillips, Nancy's husband, is the first one to die. All the other murders are done by Craig and Nancy to prevent the police from learning about their affair.Clue #4 Identity issues. Craig Golightly sounds like a fake name. Perhaps it's a pseudonym being used by the killer. The contrivance of making Craig into a pretentious film snob is actually a storytelling technique used to clue us in. For after that, he takes on the persona of Vincent Dawn. In one revealing moment, the "cops" even point out that Craig mistakenly told them his name was Vincent. Why did he lie? Because he forgot his real name wasn't Vincent. Something seem a little off about that excuse? Now, let's break the story down to it's brass tacks.Craig, along with Neil, is trying to make a film called Black Angus. But they are having troubles putting it together and on top of that, Craig is insecure of his abilities because of his father's career.He joins a local film club, headed by Dan Phillips, in order to boost his confidence. However he is looked down on by everyone because of his taste in films. Phillips himself is the worst offender.There is only one person in the group who respects and encourages Craig. And that's Nancy, Phillips' wife. Soon the two start having an affair. At some point, Dan learns about the affair and confronts Craig. Craig loses control and suffocates Dan. He tells Nancy what he did, and she helps him cover up the murder.But soon others in the film club become suspicious. The affair had already been gossip and now with Dan's death, the group suspects foul play. Nancy and Craig start to bump off people one by one in order to protect themselves. Nancy seems to get turned on by it, while Craig is both repelled and excited by the power.Unfortunately the cops do catch on. Only they don't suspect Craig. They arrest Nancy thinking she acted alone. Nancy maintains her innocence and doesn't rat on Craig. Craig, in order to save Nancy from the police, enlists the help of Neil and an actor but their efforts prove unsuccessful.Neil ends up helping Craig find a Lawyer. The lawyer is Gene (Noah Antwiler). Gene is rich, knows everybody, and seems to be Craig's last hope for freeing Nancy. Gene is unsuccessful and Nancy ends up getting the death penalty. She dies, never incriminating Craig in their crimes. Craig walks away from the whole thing a free man.In order to remove the guilt he experiences following this, Craig constructs this new reality: a reality where he becomes the hero, where he saves Nancy from the cops, and where he is finally able to make his film Black Angus.I highly recommend this brilliant thriller. See it twice. Once for the story told on the surface. And the second time what's buried beneath the layers; the story at the heart of the artichoke.

patrickwlangille I finally received my copy in the mail, it was a sort of Christmas present to myself I guess.Based off the character of the same name from the internet show, Brad Jones delivers a solid film that his fans would appreciate. Though it is a problem if you are not familiar with the type of movies he reviews or the humour you might find yourself a little lost. Having some knowledge of exploitation movies really is a must when it comes to anything the Cinema Snob related, not like other "ThatGuyWithTheGlasses" critics who review more mainstream bad movies.What I like about The Cinema Snob show is that I learn about movies I would have never known existed and could see that when a film was mocked there was some level of passion for the film even when it was being riffed (Though not all movies, ones of the Nukie variety). The movie is set up as an origin story for the Snob who is really an exploitation filmmaker posing as a pretentious critic in order to secure permits to film "Black Angus", an exploitation flick set in the 70's. I could relate to dealing with the struggles of making an independent film and having to deal with a lot of red tape.I did find the performances funny, they worked for a film of this size. Without giving too much away there is a murder plot that happens almost an hour in that is darkly funny and works well with the film's subject matter, it begins to turn into an exploitation movie (One character gets stabbed with a cellphone but the killer gets a little carried away and doesn't stop there). Brad's friends make appearances of course including Noah Antwiler better known as Spoony, Jake Norvell plays Neil the director, this movie's answer to Brad Pitt from True Romance but with an arc. Also there is Mr.Jones' wife and an actor from the the movie Parenthood which I was convinced wasn't true because it was listed on IMDb but you'll have to see for yourself.If you are expecting it to be like his other movies that were more run and shoot like Midnight Heat or Hooker With a Heart of Gold you might be disappointed (You do get things like good lighting and cinematography though). It's too bad Black Angus isn't a real film because when I go see Django Unchained and it ends up sucking I can't say, "Well, it was no Black Angus"

kuijiblob So this movie is the movie that finally usurps the shawshank redemption in the IMDb top 250 ratings? Interesting to say the least. After watching paranoia and all of Brad's other "quality" films i can say without a doubt that this movie Isn't THAT good. At least this movie has commentary tracks from 3 different sources which is more than most homemade films offer. Also it's good to see that it was handled by a more professional team than most of the other Brad Jones films. But still this fanboy-ism (not a word but should be) needs to stop. We all seen this when the dark knight rises came out as well which was only really an OK flick. I'm not even sure if all the people in that excited category are real people on this page. Like when you look at independent films and all the comments and threads on release day are obviously people who worked on the film itself. Not saying Brad would do something like that to draw attention to his film cause i'm sure that type of stuff irritates him as well but at least two of them are probably people making multiple accounts. Still as a whole the lighting was good and scenes really work when they work, except for some over saturation in the park scenes this was excellently shot. But come on now? A perfect 10? Be serious now people cause that stuff just ain't right. Didn't hate it but also felt amateurish but like I said it is still miles above "hooker with a heart of gold" or "paranoia" which is the only one i should be comparing it to since it was the only one that was actually sold on DVD as well. This is miles above all Brads other movies and deserves to be watched if you are a fan. Well done script that could have been executed better but did not disappoint with technical prowess far above and beyond anything seen in paranoia. I like that it tries to be not just for fans and tries to be it's own self contained movie. I can see what everyone who worked on it was going for but yeah if you aren't already a fan then you aren't gonna enjoy this.