God

THIS ONE'S FOR YOU, RABID!

Written by Mathieu Riley aka. Cheezemaster (script completed in August 2003). Almost a bit embarrassing that I haven't completed this earlier, but you know how it is. The film has gone through several different versions, but the final one was made in the course of one week in February 2008.

Thanks to the testviewers (Phil Williamson and Tom Bown), the voice actors and Mathieu Riley.

First release since 2003, hopefully you'll enjoy!

[Bown]

If you don't watch this movie, you are a bad man.

[Kevitus]

http://download.lima-city.de/kevituz/God.rar

[Fredrick]

Awesome, thanks.

[Richard Bevis]

Ah, nice. Downloading.

edit: Visually of course, that was a brilliant film. I found the script to be a little odd and like some other people mentioned, the game was a bit of a mindfuck, but it was a neat idea. Full review soon.

[Molotov]

This was very cool, and a real good idea. The scenery, predictably, was spectacularly detailed and gorgeous and awesome. I also liked how the movie seemed to change in tone about halfway through, it wasn't as predictable as it could've been, which is good.

However, one problem I had with it: I didn't understand the rules of the game AT ALL, which kinda dulled the impact of the whole scene considerably. I didn't really get the end, either, did God get shot or something? I'm guessing not, but... the guy went through the door right? I dunno, I suppose it was gonna be confusing if you've got two characters who look identical.

[HMC]

Yeah, having two identical characters with the same voice made it a little confusing, but otherwise this was a great. Loved the scenery, and the story was pretty cool. Great direction.

[Fredrick]

Using the same actor for the two characters was one of my main concerns with the film. I understand that it could be a bit confusing at times, but at the same time I don't see how it would have worked having a different actor for God. I did my best to avoid confusion, but perhaps I could have done a better job.

It's not God who gets shot, it's the hostage taker. The time got stopped, remember? And as it gets unstopped, the bullet goes through his head, God disappears through his door, and the world goes on.

Thanks for the feedback! And I like that you pointed out the change of tone, that's probably what I like most about it myself.

[Tuna Hematoma]

I really didn't like that script at all. I refuse to believe that after a guy has committed so many sins, God would be all, "lol, lets play a game because I made a mistake somehow" even though he's god, and I understand that god is perfect and can't make mistakes? Anyway, why would the sniper not take a shot AFTER they know he's killed poeple? That doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

Also, the one cop was all, "he killed x amount of police officers and a bunch of tourists because his wife was killed... poor guy." WTF, the guy has KILLED OTHER PEOPLE because he can't deal with his wife being dead... how could anyone go, "poor guy" after that??? LAHGOEAHJGKJG

and the whole game I didn't understand it at all... it was a very "unepic" way of deciding something so big.

[Dominator Dan]

haha am i the only one that followed the game, admittedly just about, and it was pretty tense.

Awesome direction, very neat little film right there.
This is looking quite a productive year for you Fred! Same with other people, which is surprisingly fantastic.

I don't give scores anymore, but i will say that you approached this really well, the 2 identical people could of been distinguished with say, god having a more echo-ey voice, but maybe that'd be too cliche, since i followed the movie pretty well, i'll let others do the talking haha

[James Burgon]

someone youtube this.
You youtube fuckin horseshit by everyone else but a movie by FREDRICK ARNOY is left in shitty 3mm format.

sort it out.

[Dominator Dan]

lazy people don't get to see it

[James Burgon]

i'm on a mac without my windows partition yet you fuckin JACKASS.

[Dominator Dan]

GET A PC THEN JESUS CHRIST
this movie is a MUST SEE

[Anders Borg]

Pretty cool flick! I agree on the confusion about how the game worked, but it probably just needs a second viewing. A cruel move by God but I liked it because it was so unexpected. I didn't like much of how he held his weapon from time to time but that's just nitpicking. All in all it was good, you just got back into 3dmm again so some of the flaws are forgiveable and I have faith in that your upcoming movies will be better so I'm looking very much forward to them.

[Gorosaurus]

This was pretty entertaining and a very unique spin on what I thought was a tired genre. What looks to be a hostage or psychopath movie really does change right before our eyes into something more akin to Devils + Angels than Whitman.

The construction is fairly good. Not Fred's best, even to 2003 standards, but that's alright - appropriate, even. This is not an epic movie, nor is it a film that pretends to stand on its visuals and trickery to keep the viewer glued.

There were a lot of really good ideas played in this. Having God actually appear was quite good, and having him in the image of his creation was very thoughtful. His motives and offer aren't exactly orthodox, but we must understand that this is Riley's creation and he wrote the rules he wanted to abide by. It works in a sort of Star Trek- Q Entity sort of way.

The game made sense to me after the first round, and I enjoyed its simple premise. It was very cool to see a brand new idea pop up in a 3d movie, and this sort of game fits very well. Chess and similar games are much too human to be believable for these sorts of matches. I did not catch the ball in the second to last round, though. It appeared as though God had won.

I only noticed one instance of incongruent mic work. The voices were generally understandable and appropriate, though I can't say the same for their delivery. I think the lines given to the actors were way, way too melodramatic to ever be successful, even in the most capable hands. Too many emotions and motives were crammed into each line (the shooter's premier line really showed this). The entire tone of the dialogue should've been quieted down and cut into a third of what it is before the mid-movie twist. After that point, the dialogue flows well and each line seems considerably less didactic.

The music was expertly chosen and really brought me into the movie. It increased my enjoyment of the final product by a significant factor.

The final shot, of course, was the greatest achievement of the movie. It was impressive even before the credits began to roll, but when it continues outside of the door, it really makes an impact. I don't know if you intended to fool the audience there, but I was really pleased when I saw that the credits didn't signal an end to the scene. I remember thinking how cool it would be to continue the shot in just that same fashion, but I became disheartened when the screen appeared to turn to black. An excellent way to toy with our anticipations!

Good work, Fred. Not your finest work, and not my favorite short, but certainly one worthy of acclaim and lengthy remarks. I hope it gathers both!

[Aaron Haynes]

Note to self, stop absent-mindedly selecting spoilered text.

[Fredrick]

...even to 2003 standards...

This part had me worried a bit, but I'm glad you pointed out that this is not supposed to be an epic movie.

I only noticed one instance of incongruent mic work. The voices were generally understandable and appropriate, though I can't say the same for their delivery. I think the lines given to the actors were way, way too melodramatic to ever be successful, even in the most capable hands. Too many emotions and motives were crammed into each line (the shooter's premier line really showed this). The entire tone of the dialogue should've been quieted down and cut into a third of what it is before the mid-movie twist. After that point, the dialogue flows well and each line seems considerably less didactic.

I can see where this is coming from, but I'm actually quite happy with how the conversation between the two cops turned out, if I may say so myself. It kind of adds a comic relief to the film, even if it was not intended to begin with. I really like what Barton and Kayl did there.

The final shot, of course, was the greatest achievement of the movie.

Little bit of uninteresting trivia: it was not until after I had created the scene that I decided I wanted to have the camera move backwards, which... was a bit boring, to say the least. I wanted it to last much longer than it does, and it probably should have done, because I really wanted to show more of the police officers at the end (I liked them). But I don't think I quite understood if you liked my 'toying with anticipations' or not.

The music was expertly chosen and really brought me into the movie. It increased my enjoyment of the final product by a significant factor.

Thank you! I was waiting for someone to mention the music, and I'm glad you liked it.

Good work, Fred. Not your finest work, and not my favorite short, but certainly one worthy of acclaim and lengthy remarks. I hope it gathers both!

Thanks, I appreciate it. I am curious to know what other movies of mine that you liked better though, because I don't recall releasing anything worthwhile (with the exception of a couple of 'fun' birthday movies and perhaps PP1, but that was good in spite of me, not because of).

I always knew that not everyone would like this (TUNA : D), but if I succeeded in making something different, well, then I'm happy. If it's anything like Riley had in his mind, well, then I'm very happy

I'll see if I can't figure out how to youtube this myself tomorrow.

Thanks for the comments, keep 'em coming!

[Tuna Hematoma]

Everything you did was good. I just didn't like the script. I liked the conversation before the game, but just the points I mentioned, I was all "wahhhhhh???" YEAH.

[Aaron Haynes]

Saw it. Very interesting -- I'm not sure if every idea quite comes off as intended, and I don't understand the importance of the game if God apparently takes back his offer by restarting time and allowing the sniper's bullet to finish its trajectory. Or was the man supposed to have moved by that point?

There's a lot of food for thought here, and every moment brings up a new question for me, but also new areas in which I thought the movie could be fleshed out. There are about 20 or 30 specific moments I would have liked to see here that didn't happen -- many of them are just personal things that would have extended the film's reach, but several would have enhanced what already exists. It's hard to tell if such things are missing from the story or if it was intentional, certainly it has its own set of rules, but it seems to just barely suggest things that could have really been explored with just a few line tweaks or additional moments.

Full review soon.

Edit: Added another mirror.

[Aaron Haynes]

Originally Posted by Fredrick

Thanks, I appreciate it. I am curious to know what other movies of mine that you liked better though, because I don't recall releasing anything worthwhile (with the exception of a couple of 'fun' birthday movies and perhaps PP1, but that was good in spite of me, not because of).

My guess would be Memories of a Soldier (or Snake, if I have Goro pegged correctly).

[Space Goat]

Really beautiful stuff here. Download mirror added. Pretty much my thoughts on this have already been mentioned by others. Weird script, but unique enough to make it special and worthwhile. Wonderfully directed.

[Brossy]

I agree with Tuna on his points. It just didn't make enough sense. For what it was though, it was pulled off really well.

Nice to see somewhat of a 3dmm dinosaur back in action

[Michael Sandford]

haha, I thought it was a great movie and I kinda enjoyed the craziness of playing a game with god.
The last shot was especially amazing.

My one problem was the constant reuse of camera angles. But that was completely understandable becasue of how well made and detailed the scenary was (jesus model thing was cool as).

good start to 2008 so far, me thinks

[JP]

youtubez?