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3 out of 3 people found the following review useful: A noble effort that is few aspects short of being a good movie., 3 October 2006 Author: MrBook from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
First of all, most of these reviews were obviously planted by the filmmakers themselves. I'm not saying that because I'm jealous, and I'm not trying to be a jerk, but that's what I think. I noticed two of the reviews (there could be more) were the exact same review under two different names. Next, I don't think that this many people would bother to give that much of a glowing, wordy review.Pros: The movie looks AMAZING! This is what gives indie filmmakers, like myself, hope of achieving a big-budget look. The production, costumes, locations, and shots were all great. Visually, it reminded me of Saw (which is reminiscent of Se7en). I show Broken to people, to show them the potential of the DVX.Cons: There is an ending that most first-year film students are told to NEVER do: "It was all a dream." It is a HUGE cop-out! To make it worse, the movie breaks the "4th wall" with the antagonist smiling directly at the camera. It was a moment that really didn't need to be in there. The acting was very below-average. The lead actress almost seemed like she was laughing, when she was supposed to be upset. You hear her crying, but there are absolutely no tears. The villain was EXTREMELY hammy, and didn't have an ounce of truth to his performance. The boyfriend was very flat, and I didn't feel an ounce of chemistry between him and the girl.Like I mentioned, a very noble effort that, despite falling short, had a lot of heart put into it. You can see that in MANY extras that are featured on the disc. The amount of extras alone are almost worth the full price of the DVD. Best of luck to these guys in the future.
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: A Mans' Got To Know His Limitations..., 23 October 2007 Author: afimiami from United States
Before we continue to point out all the limitations of "Broken" or any of Mr. Ferrari's (is that his real name?) productions, we must understand the limitations of said video- grapher. First, Mr. Ferrari never attended a real film school where they teach content, story, history or originality. He went to a technical film school called "Full Sail" in Florida, know as the APEX Tec of film schools. His films have a juvenile fascination with technical feats and special effects. Stories, characters and ideas never rise past a 10th grade comic book reading level. Like some one pointed out "Broken' would be cool if a 18 -19 year old made it. Having a lack of education in film and literary history allows him to fall into every cliché and stereotype with out knowing it's already been done. Like a teenager he gravitates to violent action with no story. Everything is a stereotype, nothing is deep. He sites his hero's as Tarrintino and Robert Rodriquez, two supposedly self taught filmmaker. Well, Tarrintino is a film scholar in his own right, and a gifted artist. Mr. Rodriquez did go to film school in Austin and has a sense of humor which Ferrari has none. All Mr. Ferrari and his collaborators do is make inferior hack versions of movies they like. When looking at his reel it feels like a bunch of stunted 30 something year old males got together and made home movies like they are 12 years old. He's more excited about a muzzle flash or squibs then the story. The other thing that is annoying about Ferrari is that he calls himself a filmmaker. The guy has only shot a few feet of film for that abortive film trailer, and a spec spot or two. Now that video is available to everyone, we have to deal with a high volume of garbage. Real film has become the currency of serious filmmakers. Robert Rodriquez makes HD films now, after shooting miles of real film. Ferrari and company should keep their money on shooting a 35mm short that has a story, real actors, a brain, and no cheesy childish gags or gimmicks. Mr. Ferrari's ego dose not allow him to be anything but a "director". But his talents indicate he should be a special effects supervisor. Alex, please leave the directing to those with vision, originality and talent.
6 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Yeah I felt Broken, after sitting through this dud., 25 February 2006 Author: Roderick Holt from Oregon
Wow-- now allow me to introduce you to the truth. I don't know if the guy that posted the last comment is related to this Alex Ferarri hack, or maybe is the hack himself, whatever. It was as if he was reading the press sound-bytes off the back of the DVD--- all bull$#!t if you ask me, and a few others on this board with any common sense will agree.Broken does not look like Sin City. I don't know where that vicious rumor started up, but it is nothing more than that-- a hyped up rumor probably brought about by the film-makers themselves.As an indy filmmaker, I have seen countless short films that cost far less than this and looked far better. Of course-- Broken did get a fairly wide DVD distribution deal here, which I will take my hat off to. These guys are great business men, I'll give them that. They got lucky. VERY LUCKY!! But they should take this and run the other way with it, never rearing their ugly wannabe-film-making head again.Lets start with the image quality, of what some have compared to HD. It looks like garbage!! I have shot with the Panasonic DVX myself and managed to produce a far better result with a much more film-like look to it on the 24p setting. I don't know if they forgot to turn this feature on or what-- but to me, it looks like 30fps dv. The cinematography itself is formula and gets old quick. There is nothing new here in terms of image.I don't know where all this Sixth Sense....Sin City....Matrix crap is coming from. I'm not crazy about either of the three, but the opening credit sequence of either of them is far better than this 20 minutes of bland, constipation inducing torture.I'm tired of the hype folks. The stupid muzzle flash gunshot effects look so damn hokey-- my seven year old son pointed them out to me and asked if they were real shots. I said no, just very very bad store-bought animation. And that explosion effect when the girl is thrown back!! Holy God!! Who would put that into a final film?! I would've reshot it and just done the effect practical with a little smoke and fake debris. The animation was on par with first year students at art school.I would not have so many complaints if these guys were a bit younger. If some 18-19-20 year old showed me this film, I would say, "Oh cool. Good job." But not these 30+ year olds, smacking their faces all over the special features just to go on and on and on about how great they are. And 8,000.00?!!! Where the hell did that go?! I hope they had really good catering or something.My point is, this film is not great. It is actually on the verge of being horrible. There are so many short indy films out there miles ahead of this. Maybe not packed with all the visual effects and corny tension music-- maybe something with an actual story, some depth to the characters, something to like?!! Is that asking too much. This Ferrari guy has seen his 15 minutes of fame smolder into muddy ash. I just want him to go away and shut up, and I want to urge people to stop buying this movie and contributing to bad independent film. By all means!! Rent it first!! PLEASE!!!
7 out of 11 people found the following review useful: Not impressed, 15 February 2006 Author: harrisonw from Richmond, VA
Broken, made for $8,000. That's right, $8,000. Wait... $8,000. Just in case you hadn't seen that anywhere else or heard it before. This video looks like it was made for a lot less. I'm not easily impressed by standard camera angles and color correction. What I am impressed with, is depth of field from a short camera lens. This video has none. It looks flat like video usually does.It's not a film, as it was shot on video. It's a video and these people are video makers. But, let me get to the meat. Wait, there is none. Apparently the Joker has lost his makeup and for absolutely no reason, whatsoever (at least not that the audience is aware of) he kidnaps some woman in a t-shirt and claims that everyone in the room wants to kill her. Um... why? So the video makers seem to think that if you don't tell the audience anything that that now becomes tension. Maybe that's how stupid people see it, but with people with one iota of intelligence, this comes across as preposterous and boring.The acting is not atrocious, but it's not good either. I've heard people deliver their lines like they're reading them. These actors don't do that, but what they do do, is take themselves entirely too seriously. If they had, perhaps, planted their tongues firmly in their cheeks, I might have enjoyed the performances.The action scene, there is one, near the end. Was shot adequately enough, but for what they're doing in this short, it doesn't need to be anything special. The lighting was about the ONLY thing that was done really well. Honestly. I've seen indie films/videos done for far less that actually look better than this.Was this the end-all/be-all of indie film/video making? No. Not even remotely. Would I go see a big screen version of this? No. Not even remotely. Would I recommend this to other indie film/video makers out there? Certainly. If for nothing else, it shows you what can be done with a micro-budget. Also, not to take anything away from the makers of this short, but they really need to learn story telling above and beyond anything else they may think they need to know.
6 out of 10 people found the following review useful: No shirt, no shoes, no plot, no way!, 18 September 2005 Author: Bond7574 from Miami
There was no reason on this green earth to have spent so much money ($8,000) and time (Just see the 3 hours of bonus features) to make a really bad movie. What was Alex Ferrari (Director)and Jorge F. Rodriguez (Producer) thinking? I guess something along the lines of getting their ethnic (but cute) looking lead actress (Samantha Jane Polay)strapped to a chair. My favorite part of watching this DVD is when the filmmakers to the surprise of everyone announce that all the actors on screen that they had treated as extras from a bad Matrix ripoff actually had character names (Marquez), as if the poor actors in this film needed to be singled out further. Let's see what else can I single out. Oh, the usual; bad acting, bad sound, it looked like it was shot on VHS, bad direction...wait now it's just getting too easy. I'll stop cause I'm falling asleep just thinking of that thing they call, "Something that Quentin Tarantino might have done on his day off." Please.
2 out of 4 people found the following review useful: Awesome indie short film! Good films can be made for a fraction of Hollywood budgets., 19 April 2006 Author: Hellion Films from United States
I briefly met Alex & Jorge at Megacon. I watched your film and I was very impressed! The VFX was extremely well done. And the color correction was cool, I have Magic Bullets plugins (Berlin Filter?), and I love them. I also extremely enjoyed the direction, and art direction. The editing was Also amazing. Great job, I am sure you guys will make Hollywood sit up and listen. The overall DVD was a treat, a lot of extras not usually presented in indies. You guys are proof, that good films can be made for a fraction of Hollywood budgets. Keep them coming, we'll be watching.
2 out of 4 people found the following review useful: Plain, plain, plain and EXTRAORDINARY, 18 April 2006 Author: da_passion_of_D_Angelo from United States
I eagerly awaiting the DVD availability of Broken after viewing the trailer. The trailer was awesome and the editor made the most of the high production value of the film. However, I was someone disappointed with the "other" aspects of the film. The acting was decent on all sides as was the direction, but the story itself was lacking, too conventional and sometimes longwinded. N one can deny the high production value of the short. The filmmakers undoubtedly spent a lot of time, energy and effort to take the production value out of the low altitude budget range low budget film-making and into the stratosphere. they succeeded on all levels. And with the inclusion of over three hours of behind the scenes, how they did it footage, the DVD is worth a buy.
2 out of 4 people found the following review useful: BROKEN is a great testament to what can be achieved in independent film-making., 18 April 2006 Author: Film Geek Lover from United States
PRICING ====== I have to take issue with those who have a gripe with the price of the DVD ($20 plus shipping and handling?!?!). While I understand getting the most for your dollars concept, a perspective must be used. An indie filmmaker that puts up his own (and friends) money would like to recover SOME cost in their production. They will charge what they feel and want. How many movies have you seen at the theater in your lifetime that you wish you got your money back as well as the 2 hours you spent watching pure trash? If you look at the $20 for a 20 minute film, then yes, it is a higher cost. But to me, the 3 hours of behind he scenes and how-to-make-your-own- flick was worth the money. Heck, I would have paid $30! You really can't compare indie films and Hollywood produced films. They are 2 different animals. Shorts like BROKEN have a smaller amount of time to show their story compared to a 2 hour feature. I'm not saying that the story has something to be desired, I'm just saying that their needs to be some leeway. REVIEW ===== BROKEN is a great testament to what can be achieved in independent film-making. Any of the software editing programs and computers can do the job of larger productions. That is clearly evident in this film. Wardrobe and props gave this film some great production value (love the wheelchair), and the visual effects were very... effective.As far as the story, I feel confused about it probably because I felt like I wanted to know more about the characters (thus, one downfall of a short film). That aside, I am happy for these filmmakers that seem to be getting a shot at a feature version. I would draw similarities to BROKEN like FIREFLY to SERENITY (not in terms of story, but more what the potential is). FIREFLY ended way too soon, but fan support got 1 feature length movie out of it after cancellation of their TV series. I don't know what other show has gotten that kind of push after only one season. Personally BROKEN is inspiring and engaging. Could the story be better? Sure. Is it a victim of eye candy? Maybe. But that's not what I bought it for. I bought it as a fan, and want to be able to say "I was with them from the beginning." --Darren
2 out of 4 people found the following review useful: I've seen BROKEN over ten times and can't get enough! Indie Filmmaker's DREAM!, 13 April 2006 Author: Jeremy from United States
So begins Alex Ferrari's directorial debut, Broken. What is special about Broken is that it is designed to push all boundaries about what you can do with "no money". The visual look of this film is gorgeous. The director made sure he sat down with his graphic designers and artists and had this film storyboarded beautifully and completely costume designed. The music in Broken is strangely chilling and compelling, decidedly off-putting with just a touch of an industrial bondage effect. The sound effects are quite good for virtually all the film, with excellent gunfire sounds throughout. The use of budget in this film is simply phenomenal. From my understanding, much of the budget of this film didn't go to light rental, camera rental, effects, gun purchasing, or costumes, rather much of the film's budget went to food and beverages.Nearly three hours of how-to information for $19.99 is pretty darn impressive. For the amount of stuff that you will undoubtedly try based on this DVD, it's one of the simplest investments you can make.The DVD for Broken is so dichotomous that it had to be reviewed in two separate places. On one hand, it's a very impressive first action/horror short film. On the other hand, it's a very in-depth DVD manual on how to make realistic special effects and gunfights with virtually no money, with the final short working as an example of all the different elements in the film. While some of the training in this DVD should have been broken down to a more step-by- step approach for true newcomers to film-making and effects, the things that Ferrari and Rodriguez bring to the table are truly impressive and inspiring. If you can watch through all the features in this DVD and not get ideas for how to make your own films even better, then you might not be alive.I've seen this short over ten times and I notice something new each time. While it does not answer almost any of the questions it raises, it definitely makes you appreciate what these young filmmakers accomplished for our art and makes you look forward to seeing a full- length feature.An excellent first film, this short breaks down the barriers of what can be accomplished in the realm of action and suspense at the micro-budget level. As other filmmakers build on the work of Mr. Ferrari, Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Falcon, and all the other folks that made this film possible, this may prove to be one of the most inspirational short films for our cause in quite some time!
3 out of 6 people found the following review useful: Nice Prod.Values...and that's it, 23 October 2006 Author: ambassadortex from United States
Saw the trailer and explored the website a long while back...looked very, very cool. Then saw several mentions of "over XX visual effects shots!!" repeated over and over in various comments and descriptions. Got a bit suspicious...Saw the whole film this weekend. DVD menu: looks awesome! Credit sequence: looks awesome, builds excitement and expectation! The actual film: not good. Very disappointing. So many missteps and "tin ear" moments that it was one of the biggest, "What were they thinking?!?" moments at the whole film festival.The story is convoluted and barely served by the acting and editing (though actress Polay does a good job with the very,very little she is given). The Duncan character (main villain) is straight out of the overwrought "look at me! I'm a craaazzyyy bad, bad man!" style of writing and acting.Above all, the film shows a very immature, shallow sensibility informing most of the major decisions. The ending is just plain camp - so much like the end of the "Thriller" video that I expected to hear Vincent Price laughing in the background.That said - - the "on message" buzz presented on review sites speaks volumes about how well these indie filmmakers have promoted their stuff. They clearly got the most they could out of their budget (whether or not it really was $8,000) and are riding this horse as far as it will take them. And, as I said, they do create a pretty cool look in many places.As a fellow indie filmmaker, I understand and respect the work and determination that goes into that. However, if they truly have been given funding to do a feature (clearly their goal in making the short), I hope they focus less on the glitz and the positive press it has earned them from people with bad taste or low standards and more on telling an actual story with interesting characters (within your world of high action-adventure production values).
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