f chong rutherford

A review of Sam, Roscoe & Her

by f chong rutherford on 09/13/2007

Great stuff! Taught, folksy writing that draws you in and then before you realize it, you're in a strange world that somehow feels plausible. The untidy bits of the story (like the notes about Halley's Comet , his lonely life, the co-workers, etc.) serve to heighten the realism of the piece. It's somewhere between Suzuki Koji and Stephen King which is a great place to be.... read

Review of THE DOWN AND OUT DINER

A review of The Down and Out Diner

by f chong rutherford on 09/13/2007

The strange imagery and brilliantly odd interactions reveal a supremely disturbed, and most likely unreliable, narrator who's caught either in one of David Cronenberg's nightmares or in the throws of schizophrenia. Either way, it's a compelling work for the most part. The only thing that mars the story is the feeling that it's a first draft. At times the language gets in the... read

Review of THE VEGETARIAN

A review of The Vegetarian

by f chong rutherford on 09/08/2007

It's an interesting idea, but it doesn't go anywhere and leaves a lot of headscratching questions (instead of compelling puzzles). What is the food that he needs? Is it really the other crucial element that all desert denizens need? Is he a person or something else ... in which case, what are the rules for him? If I'm supposed to identify with him as a person, and he the opposite... read

Review of THE RING

A review of The Ring

by f chong rutherford on 09/08/2007

A man walks into a restaurant, stares at people around the diner, then takes off his wedding ring and walks out. We aren't left with much of a sense of who he is, his plight, making it difficult to empathize with him. On top of that, he doesn't do much, other than stare at the people around him, making him a little creepy. On top of that, he doesn't do anything interesting,... read

Review of THE TESTAMENT

A review of The Testament

by f chong rutherford on 09/06/2007

The story was troubling for a couple reasons. First, Camila (or is it Camile, the spelling of her name changed a few times) seems to have no life or thoughts outside of her husband. While this choice plays well into the ending, it does create some very baffling circumstances. Namely, why would this pious Christian woman, so devoted to the memory of her husband of the same type,... read

Review of FOOD CHAIN

A review of Food Chain

by f chong rutherford on 09/02/2007

It's an interesting character study, and the writing is really breezy. I was hooked from the first line, and by the third paragraph, I really disliked the narrator. He came across as smarmy with a dual superiority/inferiority complex. Which is what is delivered, literally, by the end of the story. That kind of flaw in a character makes for potentially an interesting read. But... read

Review of TO THE LEFT OF THE BIG GAPING HOLE

A review of TO THE LEFT OF THE BIG GAPING HOLE

by f chong rutherford on 09/02/2007

There's some interesting things going on, but ultimately the story falls flat. There's a lot of clever ideas and structural flourishes that help communicate the spirit of the character describing, ostensibly, the reasons behind her going mad and deciding to kill herself. It's also ironic that, while she blames the troubles in her own life on all these other deaths around her,... There's some interesting things going on, but ultimately the story falls flat. There's a lot of clever ideas and structural flourishes that help communicate the spirit of the character describing, ostensibly, the reasons behind her going mad and deciding to kill herself. It's also ironic that, while she blames the troubles in her own life on all these other deaths around her, she can't take responsibility for her own death. Like any suicide it's an act of selfishness and she can't see the irony in that.

The reason it fell a little flat were three-fold. The opening narrative device of a 3rd person narrator is introduced and dropped for no apparent reason. It's never revisted, commented on, or even followed up in the end.

Second, the diary entry doesn't read like a diary which spoils the set-up. The worst moment is the transcription of Danny's letter. Why is the 2nd narrator putting the full contents of Danny's letter into her diary instead of just commenting on it?

Third is that while the character is sympathetic, she remains a bit of an enigma and a disappointment. Of all the moments in her life to record, she spends her time still in bitterness at the dead. Her life ends up being a waste that's not even redeemed by an artful last diary entry.

On the writing itself, some of the word and grammatical choices work well to establish the rhythm of the piece. This also emphasizes that the 2nd narrator character (the diary writer) is musical. However, at times, there is, or rather there were, times that, the commas, became excessive. For example this sentence, "The papers had already printed the story, about a small town boy, who'd gone to the big city, came back, and started up a band called "Just Above Ground," would read better without the commas and with the verb tenses all in agreement.

There's a lot of interesting ideas here, and it could be rewritten into something compelling if there was more follow through and more character development for the diary writer. read

Review of THE VOID

A review of The Void

by f chong rutherford on 07/18/2007

This was amazing. A lot of style on a little substance. That line might seem like a criticism, but it's not intended as such. 'Metropolis' by Fritz Lang has the same kind of quality. With this, though, it isn't spectacle but a supremely controlled, sparse, incredibly effective and powerful technique, and a perfect synthesis of editing, sound, direction, and above all story... read

Review of ANYONE CAN PLAY GUITAR

A review of Anyone Can Play Guitar

by f chong rutherford on 07/11/2007

This was a nice, goofy little short that might've been stronger if it was just a little quirkier. One thing that might've made it stronger would be a tighter edit without the voice-over. It's pretty clear, even without the VO, that the guy wants to play guitar and he's lousy. I watched it again without the sound and saw spots where it could be trimmed, but also saw that there... read

Review of BREAK YOUR BOXES

A review of Break Your Boxes

by f chong rutherford on 07/11/2007

This is a pretty short film, but it still manages to feel a little long. I think the reason I’m feeling that is that the film sticks with a lot of minutea and repitition. For example, the action of getting John from the dumpster, into his house, then finding the note, could’ve been reduced quite a bit with some quicker cuts. Or perhaps cuts on and/or to action. The story is... read

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Submissions by f chong rutherford

Reviews by f chong rutherford 166

Comments About f chong rutherford 11

jwest on 03/05/2009

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