On The Lot: Five More Finalists Present Films

Until that glorious moment, we're stuck in the present, and that's where we learned Trever and Hilary were the two contestants that America liked the least last week.

I have to agree with the country's opinion as the two of them definitely had the weakest films. In the event you didn't catch the show, instead of telling you right off who was sent home, I'm going to create some faux suspense and wait until the end to divulge this information. I'm only doing it because it works so well on the show.

Also, tonight's guest judge is The Devil Wears Prada director David Frankel. He won an Academy Award back in 1997, and he has a pretty impressive IMDB filmography page. This was a huge step up from Michael Bay, who has most notably been nominated for a couple of Razzies.

#1 - Andrew - Polished

Synopsis: A janitor who is taken advantage of by the company employees exacts some slippery revenge.

Carrie - I like films with an underdog. I thought it was sweet, and it was like a little silent film.
David - I don't think it was the best film you've ever done. It was slow at the beginning, and it seemed better fit for a 30 second commercial.
Garry - Revenge works. Loved your leading man, but wasn't sure who brought the hamburgers.

Like Garry I wasn't sure who brought the burgers and found it strange that no one entered the break room for the first half of the day. That never happens at my work. Andrew's first film Spaced Out showed us that he has a talent for comedy, but I think he was off his game this week. The film had some funny parts, but it wasn't really as interesting as the synopsis made it sound. And that final 15 second shot of the janitor eating the hamburger with a satisfied expression was nearly as creepy as my comments about the host wearing toilet paper. I wasn't a big fan of this film.

#2 - David - Love at First Shot

Synopsis: A guy who has trouble talking to girls enlists the help of a cracked out looking Cupid.

Carrie - I felt I've seen it before. If you're going to be derivative you should be original. (She thought the Cupid should have worn a diaper. That's not derivative?)
David - Ambiguity is the enemy of all film making, especially a comedy. You need to be clearer next time.
Garry - You have to have a pace. We could have written a pilot between breaks. Beautiful to look at though.

There were several awkward pauses throughout the film, and the comedy seemed a little forced at times. I didn't really understand what was going on for parts of it, and I didn't really buy the girl as a World of Warcraft dork. On a positive note, the restaurant they were dining looked like somewhere I'd like to eat.

#3 - Shira-Lee - Beeline

Synopsis: Single mom receives a pointed question from her son regarding sex after divorce, and she makes a beeline around town for some unknown reason confronting all her former partners.

Carrie - You also could have called this film Slut Mom. To be a woman in this industry you have to be good, and I thought this was great.
David - You made me laugh, and I liked the film. It's the best one tonight.
Garry - You have to watch the kid, you can't let him smile. Good one for the girls, nice job.

Did the judges watch the same short as me on this one? Shira-Lee's son played the role like a poised Dakota Fanning, only the exact opposite. He seemed to break character every scene he was in and he had a terrible reaction shot when he feigned excitement at getting a PlayStation 3. The film looked good and there were definitely some nice shots of the city, but I really couldn't figure out what the protagonist was trying to accomplish having her former lovers pretend like she didn't exist. By that logic , she's going to have to go through the rest of her life never talking to another human being while she's around her son.

#4 - Marty - Dance with the Devil

Synopsis: Marty makes another movie trailer.

Carrie - You know it's a victory of style over substance and content. I think you're a really good craftsmen, but the style of what you do is very distracting. You're a big fan of yourself so you may not need me.
David - I actually admire your arrogance. It takes a little cockiness to make it in Hollywood. I think it played more like a trailer though. A lot of style but no characters and the dialogue was a little laughable.
Garry - It worked for me, but I think you need to go deeper into the characters. All in all, you gave it a shot. Stay unique.

Marty's got a great flair for directing, I give him that. Both of his shorts have been pretty to look at, but the problem is they've been incredibly vacuous. When it comes down to it, Marty seems more like a professional trailer maker than a feature film director. He made the excuse of only having 2 1/2 minutes to tell a full story, but does he not realize that some of the other directors are making great films with the exact same limitation? And could Marty be any more full of himself? His entire rant before his film was about how great he is. That's a big turn off in my book.

I think he deserves to stay in the competition this week since his film wasn't the weakest - but he truly needs an attitude adjustment if he has any intention of staying in any longer.

#5 - Kenny - Edge on the End

Synopsis: A boy loses his father to alcoholism. Consumed by despair he treads down a similar path.

Carrie - This made me long for the days of Wack Alley Cab. It reminded me of a music video.
David - I admire the ambition of making a film about death and loneliness. It was more of a music video or a visual poem but I admire it. It showed a lot of talent.
Garry - You have new eyes, and you're doing your own thing. Stay unique and stay crazy.

Kenny is kind of the Blake (American Idol) of this competition in that he does his own thing and doesn't seem to care much what the judges say. Kenny's location was phenomenal and I appreciated his visual style. I'm kind of a fan of twisted movies in the vein of Requiem for a Dream where the director uses the camera to convey the state of mind a character is in. The footage definitely conveyed that the lead character was wasted and it really illustrated his tormented state of mind.

However, I did find the movie to be a little Public Service Announcement-like in nature with the minuscule text that popped up here and there. I totally could have seen a message pop up at the end that said, "Don't Drink and Be Sad". Nonetheless, this was light years better than his film from a few weeks back, which is a pretty empty compliment because I can't think of a movie in recorded history that isn't.

Favorite movies of the night:

Carrie - Polished
David - Beeline
Garry - Beeline
JJ - Edge on the End

Trever ended up going home tonight. I think he should have stayed on the merits of his golf film, but I didn't even vote last week so I can't complain much.

I couldn't really tell if I was just in a bad mood tonight or if the film offerings this week just weren't all that impressive. What do you think?

Next week another director goes home and Adriana Costa pushes the limits of decency in prime time television. See you then.