Ensofter
Overrated and overhyped
Tyreece Hulme
One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
Yazmin
Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.
afimiami
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.
Hellion Films
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.
harrisonw
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.
Avril Carruthers
Rarely do unfunded independent filmmakers make a brilliant first effort with production values that rival fully funded projects. Broken (2005), a flagship short by erstwhile post production editor Alex Ferrari, is one such. Showing the directorial experience of over 200 TV commercials and the editing of two feature films, Broken is Ferrari's directorial debut. First and foremost a showcase of polished visual effects, the cinematography and soundtrack are also accomplished. The story is both atmospheric and punchy, with a twist you will not see coming.Bonnie wakes suddenly at night to a gunshot, or it may be from a nightmare in a storm. This ambiguity is a subtle, sinister presence throughout the film's 19 minute length, during which Bonnie (Samantha Jane Polay) finds herself abducted by a coolly sadistic scarface called Duncan (Paul Gordon). While she is taped hand and foot to an antique wheelchair and still in her nightie, the sadist by turns lovingly strokes her face, rips the tape off her mouth and compares her to the harmonica he plays. "Like you," he comments with smiling menace, "its complexity lies within its simplicity." His analogy for what one does when a reed inside is broken is applied with terrifying effect to the helpless Bonnie.Her torment takes place in what looks like (and is) the disused and decaying basement of a derelict hospital building. Everything looks dirty, broken and abandoned. The colours are monochromatic grey-greens with focus points of crimson and rust, adding to the atmospheric nightmare quality. Duncan's entourage includes a beautiful, vicious, red-haired assistant called Marquez (Amber Crawford) and various brutal or menacing-looking, tattooed individuals, who look on impassively. Their sole purpose, says Duncan chillingly, is to kill Bonnie.The twist at the end is untelegraphed and intriguing and it's a mark of the layered power of this film that in a second viewing, where we have a different interpretation on the action, the interest is even more compelling. Several interpretations are possible, without marring the elegance of the film's impact or diluting the clarity of its central premise.Paul Gordon's evilly playful portrayal of the sociopathic Duncan is riveting. Samantha Jane Polay is a believably terrified Bonnie, with a surprising hidden resource which is a keyhole special effect to myriad character implications. A soundtrack by Mark Roumelis adds dimension to this satisfyingly well crafted thriller from writer/director team Jorge Rodriguez and Alex Ferrari.Broken was shot on two miniDV cameras for the total, ridiculous cost of $8,000 and has over 100 VFX shots, over twice as many as some big budget SFX films. I'm looking forward to seeing what this immensely talented and creative team can do next – hopefully with some serious funding.Avril Carruthers
