Student Film Reviews

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1. Jose Mejia 07.15.17 / 7pm

   Hey Larry! I enjoyed another review that was produced by you. So this one intrigued me from the start, I enjoyed this review on Resurrecting Hassan (2016) directed by Carlo Guillermo. The film seems to be revolved around the concept of family and the struggles that filming takes to produce. The overall format that you seem to identify was a documentary style. I like you identified clear visual/audio aspects of the film right away. You also stated that the music brought a sense of tone to the film, I’ve clearly identified this in past films that I’ve watched. Overall I enjoyed another review from your work! And I’m intrigued to watch this film.
2. Savluk 07.15.17 / 7pm

   Very well said. I appreciate the specific details that were given. I can get a clear image of the scenes you discussed and got a good idea of what the plot is and what the director attempts to portray to the viewers. This gives me an impression this is a film that wants you to see things from a different perception and is a film that people might have to watch multiple times before understanding the complete meaning of this movie.
3. Sheila 07.16.17 / 2pm

   While reading the review, it reminded me of “other worldly” channels by Bashar, Seth, Abraham-Hicks, and Jane Roberts. Larry’s description of a documentary, following a blind family in action, particularly as they attempt to channel their deceased family member seems tough to take, watching any family up-close is bound to be full of revealing scenes about relationships, whether due to a special event or just regular day to day living. A blind household must be quite different from mine. Illustrating that contrast alone is a distinctive feat, no doubt.
   The last line in this review about not recommending this film came as a surprise and compels my comment that the most memorable films, for me, have always been those that altered and changed me in one way or another after watching the movie.
4. Lawrence Gleeson 07.17.17 / 7pm

   Thank you, Sheila. Resurrecting Hassan is an exceptional film. However, it never quite delivers on the premise. It veers and, unfortunately, never comes back. I hope readers do watch it. Nevertheless, I felt misled and believe the film is mistitled. As you point out, the film does provide insight on how this family functions. Without a doubt, for me, I felt altered, changed watching the family interact and found it difficult to watch. I feel for the director and certainly understand and even empathize with his predicament. Thank you for your poignant comment.
5. cole d munton 07.16.17 / 3pm

   I appreciate how you broke down a pretty complicated plot down and made great sense of it. Most of the time when I watch movies I don’t notice many of the complexities that make it great, and I think you did a good job of pointing many of them out. I’m intrigued by your description of the movie, and will probably watch it when I get the chance.
6. Lawrence Gleeson 07.17.17 / 9pm

   Thanks. Cole. It’s an unusual film with some heady concepts. If you do get a chance to watch it, I’d like to hear your thoughts and read your comments. Thank you for commenting.
7. Sandra Nevarez 07.18.17 / 10pm

   The title is what caught my eye, but the first two sentences are what kept me reading. I love how you broke down the film. I am someone who has a hard time following complicated films and often have to watch them a second time in order to fully understand and pay attention to all the parts. This movie’s plot seems very interesting and I will too have to watch it and have my own opinion towards it. I find it strange that you do not recommend it tho you know it will change the viewer’s life. Great review. I love movies that forever change your way of thinking about a situation or life itself.
8. Lawrence Gleeson 07.19.17 / 11pm

   Thank you, Sandra. I didn’t recommend it for a couple of reasons. First, for me, it was a very difficult film to watch. Secondly, I felt somewhat misled as the story line morphed. The first half of the film had much promise, in my opinion. The second half became more of a character analysis – still quite interesting and more importantly, I feel, incredibly insightful. Nevertheless, I believe the film misses its objective of resurrecting Hassan and I believe it exploits the film’s characters in a way that leaves me little room for me to give it a viewing recommendation. Thank you for commenting.
9. Zakaria Gorgis 07.28.17 / 8pm

   Well, wow. This film has one strange plot. I definitely agree with your recommendation or lack-there-of because the film just seems all over the place. Its hard to attempt to understand let alone decipher what its true meaning is. Maybe it has one, maybe it doesn’t. These films, specifically for me are either hit or miss and never in between. But I am going to watch it to see where I stand or whether I like it or not. Props to you for the review.
10. Pierce Glover 09.01.17 / 9pm

    According to your review, this film seems…different. But not necessarily different in a negative aspect, but more in the sense of what the hell is this movie about. Your closing statement that I would feel altered definitely struck me in my core and overall was the only sentence in your review that influences me to seek out this movie. I can tell the movie is all over the place, but probably attempts to mirror our own lives or craziness and constant movement, acting in a way to normalize the blind and how there isn’t that huge of a difference between “regular” society and them. I enjoyed your review greatly, thank you.
11. kara gibson 10.09.17 / 3pm

    Great review Larry! Your ability to depict the differences in each shot is mesmerizing. That takes real talent, and being able to compare it back to the mood, and setting of the scene. The plot and story for this film seems very unique and different for a documentary film. As Larry stated in his first lines of the review, this movie seems like one of the strangest movies, and ideas for a film. The main problem that I see this film having is that it has no cohesive ending, or resolution leaving the viewer confused not just at the beginning or end of the film,but rather the whole thing.
12. Christopher Whalen 10.11.17 / 7pm

    Great review over all and i have to say that ending paragraph hits the spot. The way you were able to project a vivid and detailed depiction of the movie into the audience was great. I was able to follow clearly despite this particular film of such extent which was with out a doubt straight up strange. Over all i found you did a great review for such a different style of movie and that ending was perfect.
13. Mohanad Flaih 10.13.17 / 1am

    Very well put together. you caught my attention from the beginning when you said the film was unusual. The way you explained the scene was great because that helped me picture the scene and imagine what the characters were doing. I really like that you were able to identify the audio and visual aspects of the film and explain them clearly. This film seems to be one of those films that you have to watch many times to fully understand it and that your perception would make the meaning of the film different from others.. Your last paragraph is well said and I am interested in watching this film. Great review!
14. Breanna Garcia 10.13.17 / 10pm

    The detail in this review is very well-written and vivid. When the reviewer was describing a scene, I felt as though I was actually watching it. This small sample of of Resurrecting Hassan prompts me to watch the film because of how unique and unusual it seems. Based off of this review, the only problem with the film would be its lack of resolution, or perhaps lack of plot in general, which would leave the audience potentially frustrated and puzzled. That being said, I would still like to see this film simply because the reviewer said it would leave one “altered”, and I personally love those kinds of films. Overall, this was a beautifully written and detailed review that intrigued me to possibly watch this film.
15. Juliet Parsons 10.15.17 / 12am

    Larry, wow I find that really interesting that the folks in this film are blind musicians! After reading your review on this movie, it sounds to me that there’s quite some drama going on. You don’t seem enthusiastic about this movie and you did mention you don’t recommend it. I probably won’t watch this film just because it doesn’t interest me in your review. I think how this is a documentary type movie is cool just because I do love documentary films. Your review was well written because you explained some scenes very well where I could visualize what was going on. I probably won’t watch this but great review!!

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