Test Screening Squared
I attended the 5th London Festival of Science Fiction & Fantastic Film today.
I saw a test screening of Captain Eager & the Mark of Voth, starring Tasmin Greig who has also starred in Doctor Who, Black Books, Green Wing & The Archers. She co-stars with Mark Heap, who also on-screen with her in Green Wing as well as playing characters in Brass Eye, Stressed Eric, Happiness, and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.
The film is a 50s B movie pastiche. Think of the eponymous hero as Flash Gordon in Red Dwarf with the look of Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow, as directed by Ed Wood. It was filled with jerky effects and plastic sets. We were warned that a scene was missing, replaced with a caption, saying "Crowd scene" and there was a cardboard dog as they hadn't raised the money to send him into space, yet. The plot concerns the middle-aged hero who hadn't changed whilst the Universe had moved on - seemingly recalled for one, last mission.
The director, Simon Davison, took questions at the end and handed out a questionnaire asking the audience's opinions of the characters and acts of the film. I asked him what was his biggest challenge in making the film. He replied that it was finding the money, especially as the tax-relief status of film investment was being tightened up whilst the film was being made.
I enjoyed the film and thought the CGI was excellent for the limited budget.
I also saw a test screening of Intergalactic Combat. It's a wireless martial arts film with an alien background. The plot has aliens landing on the Earth and inviting the planet to join the galactic federation but there's a catch. The planet has to send fighters to compete in a tournament. The film was made as a trailer for a TV series so it's focused on the qualifying rounds to select British fighters, who would then battle international opponents to represent the planet. However, there are terrestrial and extraterrestrial shenanigans.
The martial arts action is realistic with a variety of styles demonstrated, set against the gritty urban-scapes of East London. However, there were too many characters (to introduce them for the TV series) and the film lost the plot in the 2nd half whilst it fitted in the bouts. The action replaced dialogue and character development. I thought the film had lots of interesting ideas and it too, had excellent CGI.
Its director, Ray Brady, also took questions. I also asked him what the biggest challenge was (apart from finding money) and he replied it was keeping staff who kept being lured to Eastenders or better-paying martial arts films.
A Spanish audience member unjustly complained the film was just Martian arts with SF-elements added at the end. I thought there was enough SF in it and Ray Brady said that if the TV series was commissioned, there would be more SF content. Overall, I thought the film was OK as a pilot and look forward to the series.
I also saw the UK Premiere of The Place Promised in our Early Days directed by Makato Shinkai who made the acclaimed short, Voices of a Distant Star, which featured the consequences of the speed of light limit on space communications.
His full-length film had 2 students building a jet to fly to a mysterious tower in Hokkaido, which had been partioned by the mysterious Union. I'm not sure if the Union was Russian, Korean or Chinese. The film had excellent visuals but was rather slow moving and had an underwhelming finale.
I saw a test screening of Captain Eager & the Mark of Voth, starring Tasmin Greig who has also starred in Doctor Who, Black Books, Green Wing & The Archers. She co-stars with Mark Heap, who also on-screen with her in Green Wing as well as playing characters in Brass Eye, Stressed Eric, Happiness, and Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.
The film is a 50s B movie pastiche. Think of the eponymous hero as Flash Gordon in Red Dwarf with the look of Sky Captain & the World of Tomorrow, as directed by Ed Wood. It was filled with jerky effects and plastic sets. We were warned that a scene was missing, replaced with a caption, saying "Crowd scene" and there was a cardboard dog as they hadn't raised the money to send him into space, yet. The plot concerns the middle-aged hero who hadn't changed whilst the Universe had moved on - seemingly recalled for one, last mission.
The director, Simon Davison, took questions at the end and handed out a questionnaire asking the audience's opinions of the characters and acts of the film. I asked him what was his biggest challenge in making the film. He replied that it was finding the money, especially as the tax-relief status of film investment was being tightened up whilst the film was being made.
I enjoyed the film and thought the CGI was excellent for the limited budget.
I also saw a test screening of Intergalactic Combat. It's a wireless martial arts film with an alien background. The plot has aliens landing on the Earth and inviting the planet to join the galactic federation but there's a catch. The planet has to send fighters to compete in a tournament. The film was made as a trailer for a TV series so it's focused on the qualifying rounds to select British fighters, who would then battle international opponents to represent the planet. However, there are terrestrial and extraterrestrial shenanigans.
The martial arts action is realistic with a variety of styles demonstrated, set against the gritty urban-scapes of East London. However, there were too many characters (to introduce them for the TV series) and the film lost the plot in the 2nd half whilst it fitted in the bouts. The action replaced dialogue and character development. I thought the film had lots of interesting ideas and it too, had excellent CGI.
Its director, Ray Brady, also took questions. I also asked him what the biggest challenge was (apart from finding money) and he replied it was keeping staff who kept being lured to Eastenders or better-paying martial arts films.
A Spanish audience member unjustly complained the film was just Martian arts with SF-elements added at the end. I thought there was enough SF in it and Ray Brady said that if the TV series was commissioned, there would be more SF content. Overall, I thought the film was OK as a pilot and look forward to the series.
I also saw the UK Premiere of The Place Promised in our Early Days directed by Makato Shinkai who made the acclaimed short, Voices of a Distant Star, which featured the consequences of the speed of light limit on space communications.
His full-length film had 2 students building a jet to fly to a mysterious tower in Hokkaido, which had been partioned by the mysterious Union. I'm not sure if the Union was Russian, Korean or Chinese. The film had excellent visuals but was rather slow moving and had an underwhelming finale.
posted by Iconochasm at 4:08 pm
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