Other Reviews by vanfilm09 13

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  Fully Realized Universe has Potential
  A review of Haven Issue #1
  by vanfilm09 on 10/14/2009
  Haven presents a fully realized vision of a post apocalyptic Earth. The artwork has depth and the characters are portrayed with emotion. The downside for me was that this story covered territory that has been explored by some of the great science fiction writers and that makes it hard to avoid comparisons. I found some of the transitions awkward and it took me a couple... Haven presents a fully realized vision of a post apocalyptic Earth. The artwork has depth and the characters are portrayed with emotion.
  
  The downside for me was that this story covered territory that has been explored by some of the great science fiction writers and that makes it hard to avoid comparisons.
  
  I found some of the transitions awkward and it took me a couple of tries to figure out why the soldiers were on a mission to earth. The brief time given to the characters on Haven before their suicide pact and salvation by the Grey made it hard to develop any real empathy for their plight.
  
  The Jesus like character they sought to bring back to Haven was intriguing and it would be interesting to see how that character develops.
  
  For a first installment this covers a lot of ground and how it holds up will depend on how the characters grow and avoiding obvious choices characters in similar stories.
  
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• 
  Lost me on page 3
  A review of The Epiphany
  by vanfilm09 on 10/09/2009
  I couldn't tell you if this story was well written or not because I can't get past my loathing for the main character. This was a purely viceral reaction that took hold on page 3 when he began talking about his wife. Prior to that I was fairly ambivalent about the characters inner life but could see how the ideas had visual potential with all the pop culture references.... I couldn't tell you if this story was well written or not because I can't get past my loathing for the main character. This was a purely viceral reaction that took hold on page 3 when he began talking about his wife. Prior to that I was fairly ambivalent about the characters inner life but could see how the ideas had visual potential with all the pop culture references. I could picture the scene as part of an edgy TV sequence. I started out wanting to see where it would go. Sometimes you just loose the objectivity that allows you to see past subject matter you don't like to the skill involved in creating it. I feel like I failed this story I can't get past my own antipathy to even re-read it for style. I have to admit I am surprised by me reaction and I aknowledge it takes a great deal of skill for me to dislike something this much without being so offensive I couldn't finish it. Well done for creating such a vividly dislikable character (at least to me) I would be interested to read something else by this writer. read
• 
  Exploration of Power, Race, and Relationships.
  A review of Batalla
  by vanfilm09 on 10/08/2009
  I was initially drawn into this film by the strong visual sense of being in a particular place with all the anticipated and recognizable roles that go with it. Recognizing that is was filmed in only 36 hours the look of the film is quite amazing. What I found hard to buy into was the dialogue and the acting. Either through inexperience or lack of time the relationships... I was initially drawn into this film by the strong visual sense of being in a particular place with all the anticipated and recognizable roles that go with it.
  
  Recognizing that is was filmed in only 36 hours the look of the film is quite amazing.
  
  What I found hard to buy into was the dialogue and the acting. Either through inexperience or lack of time the relationships did not quite ring true. Without a strong sense of relationship and emotional truth the characters remain sterotypical and the big revelation falls flat.
  
  I would have liked to see a little more depth to the dialogue or perhaps a little less dialogue and little more tension.
  
  It is a challenge in a short film to give characters space to develp and given the subject. Sadly I found the brief monologue at the end more interesting than what could have been highly emotional scenes earlier in the film.
  
  A good effort within the constraints on the process. read