Boddy has one clear flaw, that shows up in all his Brickfilms. It's nothing he can prevent; it's simply his personal style that gets in the way. His films are always crazy, fast and assisted by a constant soundtrack of guitar riffs and rock music. That's his way of doing things; I accept that.
But is the way of doing things that will create a good film? It didn't get in the way of CYCLIC, which was a great film (Boddy's entry to last year's STAR competition). Unfortunately, it's jamming up the works in this film, Crime Stories. I really could not stand the relentless guitar blasting away in the background, though I'll admit it was more appropriate here than in CYCLIC.
Oh, how I wish that Boddy's style was the only thing preventing this film from being as good as CYCLIC. But, of course, wishes don't come true. I can only conclude that Boddy made this film in a rush, or didn't think about it for very long before he made it. It is totally unrelated to the avant-garde genre, and could simply be swept away with the hundreds of other action Brickfilms on YouTube. There's no plot to speak of outside of "prisoner breaks out of jail, steals gold, gets caught", and you know how much I've been wanting to find an film that is avant-garde in terms of plot as well as visually.
But Crime Stories makes up for it, kinda. It's got some great animation - the best I've seen from Boddy yet, some awesome sets, and camerawork that should really be analysed more when you watch the film. Notice in several parts where the camera actually passes through walls, which is a very clever (and very hard to achieve) technique that Boddy pulls off well.
So, whilst Crime Stories totally misses the point of avant-garde, it's a lot of fun to watch and it should be enjoyed at least for its action sequence (which is the entirety of the film).
~John
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1 comment:
I can't say I agree with much of your review. Firstly my style as you presented it is not all rock music. Cyclic had some sure, but I have made quite a few films. One even had 70's disco music.
This wasn't a rush job I spent months on the concept, animation and editing. I guess I just wasn't perpared to spent hundreds of hours on an Avant-Garde story that very few people would enjoy.
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