Reviews of MACHINATIONS and DEconstruction 10

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  What just happened?
  A review of MACHINATIONS and DEconstruction
  by Mike11222 on 05/19/2009
  I'm not even sure where to begin with this film. The acting was very sub-par and almost funny at parts. The music cues were all over the place and seemed to fade in and out for no real reason. The slow motion and the color overlays were pointless to me and added nothing to the story at all. The story, when you could actually hear the dialogue, was non-existent. I honestly... I'm not even sure where to begin with this film. The acting was very sub-par and almost funny at parts. The music cues were all over the place and seemed to fade in and out for no real reason. The slow motion and the color overlays were pointless to me and added nothing to the story at all. The story, when you could actually hear the dialogue, was non-existent. I honestly have no idea what you were trying to say or accomplish with this film, nor did I like the "stylized" segments. I actually felt that the slow motion and the color overlays took me even further away from the story that I already didnt understand. Just my opinion. read
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  MACHINATIONS OF GREATNESS
  A review of MACHINATIONS and DEconstruction
  by careywestbrook on 12/07/2008
  Somebody's been watching BLUE VELVET or at least has been subconsciously inspired by it or maybe has great ideas in one's own right, because I kept thinking David Lynch was being channeled while watching this particularly during the interrogation/erotic foreplay/accusation scene. I thought the different colors was an interesting take on the emotion of the characters and the... Somebody's been watching BLUE VELVET or at least has been subconsciously inspired by it or maybe has great ideas in one's own right, because I kept thinking David Lynch was being channeled while watching this particularly during the interrogation/erotic foreplay/accusation scene. I thought the different colors was an interesting take on the emotion of the characters and the scene and Justine is pretty hot. The whole thing was just sexually charged and interesting enough for me to keep watching although I had no sound - I don't know if the film was meant to be silent or not, or maybe it was a technical error on my old computer's end, but as a silent movie I thought it was interesting, unusual, and spoke to my cinematic artistic interests of telling human stories, short two person stories between lovers and coming to some better deeper richer more meaningful understanding of our own lives through the experience of these silver screen stars and starlets. Overall, I'm glad I watched this movie and was taken on a journey with this character and her descent into insanity and the visceral romance of yearning, suspicion, and maybe even a little self deception on the part of our heroine. Good work. read
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  Interesting & Unique
  A review of MACHINATIONS and DEconstruction
  by kukla on 10/25/2008
  Because we know that it was done in one night with no budget (including the sound aspect), it was a really interesting and unique idea. I liked the idea of it. I think if it was edited a little bit, it would have been tighter and more tense. The colouring was unnecessary. It was a shame about the sound as you couldn't understand some of what was being said.
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  Machinations deconstructions
  A review of MACHINATIONS and DEconstruction
  by JoshuaJRichards on 10/04/2008
  Heavy on clunky dialogue and performances that leave much to be desired, Machinations is at times difficult to watch and shows little in the way of cinematic invention. Bad sound, ropey editing and colour change gimmickry that adds very little to the action, but instead suggests a sort of 'do it because you can' mentality, so often seen in amateur shorts of this calibre.... Heavy on clunky dialogue and performances that leave much to be desired, Machinations is at times difficult to watch and shows little in the way of cinematic invention. Bad sound, ropey editing and colour change gimmickry that adds very little to the action, but instead suggests a sort of 'do it because you can' mentality, so often seen in amateur shorts of this calibre. The female lead does show some strong moments, portraying a spookily schizophrenic sort of femme fatal, but overall, this is a short quickly forgotten. read
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  Not too appealing..
  A review of MACHINATIONS and DEconstruction
  by Kaiirinn on 02/24/2008
  This film wasn’t all too good to me. It was a little confusing all throughout, especially with the constant color change. It gave me the impression that the female lead was either high, or has a mental problem. I also noticed that some of the scenes dragged on for too long. It could have been better if the scenes were taken at different angles and mixed up the right combination... This film wasn’t all too good to me. It was a little confusing all throughout, especially with the constant color change. It gave me the impression that the female lead was either high, or has a mental problem.
  
  I also noticed that some of the scenes dragged on for too long. It could have been better if the scenes were taken at different angles and mixed up the right combination during editing. For example, instead of having the male lead talking to the lady with his back turned to the camera, there could have been a close up shot of his face, as well as hers to emphasize their emotions.
  
  The music wasn’t too bad, I guess. It sounded a little repetitive, though. They could have projected their voices a little more, since there was no microphone – I could barely understand what they were saying. The high-pitched laughter was pretty annoying at the end.
  
  The male lead was a good actor, and I think he played his part well, but the female lead over-exaggerated her role a little, which is a setback. I’m not sure if it’s the actress, or if it’s the role she was given.
  
  Overall, this film did not appeal to me all that well. The editing and filming weren’t the best. It almost looks unplanned and unorganized. read
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  Raw but incoherent
  A review of MACHINATIONS and DEconstruction
  by shoot2ill on 12/11/2006
  The film had a degree of rawness and somewhat uncomfortable but interesting sexuality that held my interest in the beginning. The film's biggest weaknesses are poor production values, erratic editing, an incoherent storyline, and annoyingly overdramatic performances. The room that it was shot in was boring, if you chose a better room and art directed it a bit with some props... The film had a degree of rawness and somewhat uncomfortable but interesting sexuality that held my interest in the beginning. The film's biggest weaknesses are poor production values, erratic editing, an incoherent storyline, and annoyingly overdramatic performances. The room that it was shot in was boring, if you chose a better room and art directed it a bit with some props and color, it could've livened up the film a lot. The performances were over the top and unconvincing...maybe try casting through some casting sites next time instead of just using yourself. The constant seemingly unmotivated changing of screen hue (blue to red to normal, etc.) in the editing coupled with the melodramatic performances and unintelligible storyline made the film seem like a unjustifiably pretentious home movie. Definitely make sure you have audible production sound next time, that made most of the storyline almost impossible to follow if I didn't read the synopsis. I don't mean to be harsh, I'm trying to be constructive here, I think with some practice perhaps you could hone that raw quality you have into something more polished and easier to follow. Best of luck. read
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  Poor sound quality and rough editing was really distracting
  A review of MACHINATIONS and DEconstruction
  by arthouse on 12/05/2006
  This film could have been much stronger if the sound was recored better and if the editing was better. It seemed like all the sound was recorded IN CAMERA, so every time there was an edit, we hear the room tone change. And basically, I had a really tough time trying to figure out what they were both talking about. Also, the tinted scenes seemed a bit random. Also this film... This film could have been much stronger if the sound was recored better and if the editing was better. It seemed like all the sound was recorded IN CAMERA, so every time there was an edit, we hear the room tone change. And basically, I had a really tough time trying to figure out what they were both talking about. Also, the tinted scenes seemed a bit random. Also this film could have been a bit stronger if the opening "worrying" had been shortened.
  
  
  The music was really cool in this film and the actors really looked the part. The art direction art direction seemed a bit understated but it still worked effectively to show how these characters were living in agony.
  
  Most of the compositions of the shots were really strong. There was a whole aesthetic in the shot choices that worked exceptionally well. read
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  Machinations ?
  A review of MACHINATIONS and DEconstruction
  by jdzone2001 on 10/24/2006
  I liked the lingerie and the pretty actress wearing them. But what was this about? I watched this twice and still do not know what was going on. Is she being played by this guy? Did she find this out in the end? The acting was forced and the whole thing just did not work for me. Sorry. I liked the music in the end.
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  Enjoyable film
  A review of MACHINATIONS and DEconstruction
  by elmerlang on 10/06/2006
  Interesting film and an enjoyable view. I liked the characters, they had a good edgy quality that was palpable, especially the woman, who seemed to inhabit her present as a result of her past better than many. The camera was good enough, the editing was excellent in a kinda cool way that showed itself without being flamboyant and the audio track of music and effects was good,... Interesting film and an enjoyable view. I liked the characters, they had a good edgy quality that was palpable, especially the woman, who seemed to inhabit her present as a result of her past better than many. The camera was good enough, the editing was excellent in a kinda cool way that showed itself without being flamboyant and the audio track of music and effects was good, too. Good job, good luck. read
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  The Doppleganger
  A review of MACHINATIONS and DEconstruction
  by **DELETED ACCOUNT** on 10/03/2006
  I like the idea of this film, because to me, the doppleganger is one of the most intriguing of abstractions. TWIN PEAKS (the title says it all), and Zulawski's brilliant film POSSESSION are the best examples that come to mind. This film in particular is more in line with the latter, in that there's a moral relationship play at the heart of the story. Identity, next to electricity,... I like the idea of this film, because to me, the doppleganger is one of the most intriguing of abstractions. TWIN PEAKS (the title says it all), and Zulawski's brilliant film POSSESSION are the best examples that come to mind.
  
  This film in particular is more in line with the latter, in that there's a moral relationship play at the heart of the story. Identity, next to electricity, is the most essential element to one's own existence, so one can symapthize with the protagonist, who seems to have many personalities, and cannot seem to assume a single one of them on a consistent basis.
  
  It's like not being able to decide which parking space you want...once you decide which one you want, someone has already taken it. That is the true role of the doppleganger....to limit your choices and consequently your will..then you will cease to exist.
  
  Conceptually a good piece. Technically, the sound could have been better, but I understood what was being said.
  
  Overall an interesting and fascinating watch. read