Customer Reviews

Avatars

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

...or two, just to pick up on all of the things packed in the 30 minutes. The positives far outweigh the negatives, so I'll only give you the negatives in my positive review...ready? First, Kymm Walker, she is one of the reasons I mentioned to watch it a few times. At some points she just blows through her lines like she had somewhere else to be and just had to get it done. There was a funny line towards the end that I didn't get/hear until the second viewing. I don't want to give anything away, but pay attention (it wasn't the weed joke). Other than that she was good. Second, the actor that played Tyler was completely unlikeable. I was thinking maybe that was intentional, I wasn't suppose to like the character, but unless this guy is the next Ted McGinley (best actor ever, google it) I think I just didn't like him, which worked for the film, just wanted to put it out there. Third and final, the background music was overwhelming at times. Overall great first attempt and I am looking forward to future endeavors.

The film opens with credits. I'm indifferent to that now, however at first viewing I didn't much feel that "credits in the opening" type of vibe. I associate credits in the opening with either of the following: older movies, and movies with elaborate and complex opening scenes that cleverly (visually speaking) display opening credits. AVATARS is not an older flick, nor does it involve a big, complex opening. I feel that if the credits are shown in the beginning, it tends to feel like an unecessary prelude. This coupled with the music written for the opening which I did not like, work together to become the weakest part of this short. Why were the credits re-rolled at the end of the film as well? I found this perplexing.

The underlying story is great. The director tackled the issue of how the virtual can collide with reality to create confusion, reveal untruths, and ultimately lead to truth. I really enjoyed the photography, acting (except for the main character's friend) and the direction. The actress who played the main character, Lisa, was fantastic. She had the best lines, she delivered them well, and she's cute, unlike her co-star, Kim Walker. The guy who played the cheating husband was a great casting move. He fits the part perfectly, and executed well.

I think the dialogue could have been better. Also, I did not understand the "got any pot?" joke. I never found this funny, can someone explain to me why it was repeated so many times?

All in all, I say BRAVO to AVATARS...director Ofenheim has the obvious skill and vision to create quality films.

A well-crafted short in which I especially liked the acting. Appropriately one-dimensional, the actors all created a visceral response: Lisa's natural sadness, Jenna rushing her funny one-liners as if perpetually late for a date, Ty's snaky smile and oily delivery. Kudos to the director for restraining them. The plot did cause me to scratch my head at a couple of points (bar scene with Ty and the ending) and the score was sometimes reminiscent of Dark Shadows. I recommend this as an amusing and sometimes poignant film.

Director Michael Ofenheim exceeds expectations with this clever short film. The film manages to take a depressing (yet realistic) story line and actually make it humorous. Make sure to watch it more than once. You are guaranteed to pick up on several new jokes each time you watch. My only critique... some of the jokes seem slightly outdated, but funny nonetheless.

Credit first time director, Mike Ofenheim for this cleverly shot and directed piece, Avatars. Ofenhiem gets the most out of the funny and well thought out script. The plot moves quickly and the dialogue is fast paced. Jennifer Strand simply shines in the leading role and is ably backed by wise-cracking Kymm Walker. The only minor complaint I have is that the background music is inconsistent. Sometimes it is brilliant as the music perfectly captures the cat and mouse scene between Lisa and her admirer in the park. But more often then not it misses it's mark and adds a bit of a downer to what is an humorous and lively production. I would recommend this piece to anybody who enjoys intelligent dram-edy with a twist.

I would never recommend this movie to anyone. The best performance in the movie was given by the actor playing Charlie. Jenna's timing was lacking, the role of Tyler should have been recast, and Lisa was whiny with no facial emotion. Better actors would have made a better film. The writing left me almost angry. The intended one liners were lost on the actors.

I wish I had not viewed this film.

From the start it drags--the cheating husband is so terrible an actor that you feel neither annoyed at him for being a bastard nor sorry for him for losing his love, but total apathy. The mercilessly repeated punchline "So, do you have any Pot?" is Avatar's only attempt at humour. The plot itself is tripe, trying to weave together notions of solipsism and internet dating, with a touch of the implausible Nigerian 419 email scam. I don't know if the director's brains were addled with pot himself when he did this--but it's no good at all.

Avatars is a smart, perky 60's styled peice that teases at being more than it is.

I heard about this movie from a friend and watched it with low expectations (being a mainstream Hollywood sort of movie fan). I was immediately impressed. The dialogue was surprisingly witty, reminding me of a cross between Kevin Smith and Quentin Tarantino. The story was curiously odd and the actors were slightly better than satisfactory. What I was most impressed with was the overall package (i.e. cinematography, lighting, concepts, etc.) which I have to attribute to superb direction by Michael Ofenheim. I look forward to big things from him in the future. Give this one a shot. You will be delightfully astonished.

I want more. I want to see what this director does in his next feature. Its going to be a good one. Very funny movie, with great little hidden jewels of humor tucked in between good drama. You should see it...