Indie

Is it the Shoes? Kicks (2016) Review

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It’s just like the time I went searching for the perfect DDR shoe.
Except it’s not like that at all.

What we do have is Justin Tipping’s first big foray into the wide world of features (welcome yo).

I’ll keep this spoiler free as always.

The movie follows 15 year old Brandon. He’s not that special a kid. He’s really small and he doesn’t have the nicest shoes. He and his two friends hang out everyday, doing the same thing a lot of us high school kids did. Go to the corner store, smoke, play ball. That shit.

But a chance encounter gets him a pair of red Jordans. Yes, the originals (Being from Chicago, I know them well.) And people start to notice him finally. That is, until he gets robbed by a thug named Flaco and his goons. So after feeling sorry for himself, he decides to go find his shoes and get them back. Setting him on the most epic adventure your average 15 year old can get.

On the way, he learns about what really matters, friends and just doing the right thing. Not continuing the violent cycle.

The film really spoke to me not only because I was a nothing special kind of kid. I’m a nothing special kind of adult to many. We have this greatness inside of us all the time that we know is there. It’s just a matter of getting someone else to see it as well. And that’s what Brandon does, even if he’s not feeling the results of the matter.

At the end of the day, it’s one of the things I like best. Just a modest story, told on a modest budget. That’s where the real human stories are.

Check it out on demand right now. Or you can come to my house and watch it if you want. But I’m kidding, don’t come to my house.

Can’t wait to see how Lowriders comes out, and hire me. Please. lol.

Hey, roller derby! Series and stuff! Yay!

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You see, I made a funny.

It’s movie time again. But we’re doing something a little different this time around. Like I said before I’m moving away for those full blown features because they’re a pain in the ass that I really don’t want to deal with right now. As you can see from past events, you can’t really blame me at this moment. We’re moving over towards shorts and web series. And this is what I hope to actually be our first web series.

It still doesn’t have an actual title (I’m hoping someone will help me out with that) but it’s basically about the darker side of the sports we play (I’ll argue all day, derby is a sport.)

But then again, some of you already know my flair. We have these stories about death and inner/other destruction. Insane twists and normally logical situations, and always in the most ridiculous way. But unlike other times, this one has some far more serious undertones and a group of fresh faces (well mostly, I’m picking one of mine for Chicago because the part was written for her, you all know who I’m talking about.) And doing this as a web series will give me the flexibility as a writer to actually improve things as I go along. Features generally don’t have that luxury without things going haywire.

Also, this movie will feature the skaters themselves and I wouldn’t want to slap a 5 month long shoot on them. Those can be draining if you’re not completely used to them. And it’s hard to tell how anyone will do on camera. It might take some people a little time to adjust, and that’s normal. Personally, I’m bad on camera. That’s why I’m behind it.

I really want to keep this movie within derby mostly because there are some physically able human beings, and we need physically able people, that’s for damn sure.

I already have the first episode written and I have an arc for at least 7 more. Running production between Goshen, South Bend and Chicago. Maybe in between. It all depends on what type of support I get for this script and this production. Because the blessing of the skaters is going to be key in making this work. This is unlike anything I’ve seen roll out of sport. It’s a prime opportunity to make something completely original and that’s the stuff that excites me. And of course all the fresh faces and personalities and I’ll get to deal with. And I welcome everybody, the crazier the better.

It’s going to be an interesting time watching this one grow. Any comments or questions can go into the comments section that no one ever uses on WordPress. Or you can hit up the good ol’ facebook page. I’ll be around updating that more often. And last you can hit up Stream Monster Productions and talk to that guy over there. He knows a lot about the production as well. Until then, don’t do drugs and brush your teeth.

Why Indie Filmmaking is Just High School All Over Again

It’s just me, doing that dangerous “Thinking” thing again as I struggle with my own self to make it from movie to movie without going completely crazy. It’s a tough thing sometimes and I try to rationalize it into something I’m familiar with.

And it came to me.

High School. And I’ll give you two reasons why

HighSchoolMusical

 

Okay, but there’s fewer catchy tunes and we all can’t be as photogenic as ol Zac.

 

1. Money

-In high school, you had two types of people. Those of us who are broke. And those that are rich and have things just given to them. I , despite rich parents was a victim of tickle down economics. So I was poor and had to work for everything that I got. But you had the rich kids that would go to fucking McDonalds for lunch every day. I was fucking jelly with my PB&J. But Goddammit it was the best fucking PB&J on wheat bread and I was still fed in the end.

-Same goes for making movies. You have people like me, who are trying to make really cool shit out of nothing. It’s quite a feat to even get a movie off the ground when you got no money. Money talks. Then you have those white suburban people with the parents that love and support their career choice to go into filmmaking. Again, I envy those people. But I know my hard work is truly going to pay off someday so it’s okay. It only helps me appreciate things more when I do get them and puts more weight on surrounding myself with good people. Which again, is good for the long run.

2. Cliques

– Damn, I never thought I’d have to use that term again. But we all remember those groups that tended to hang out together. Usually during lunch. Then you had people like me who were sort of an outcast, but had your other outcasty friends and you all formed your little outcast group out of pure survival. All the while, you had the popular kids who had big tables full of friends simply because they were “The Guy”

-Same thing happens in indie film world. Literally. You have groups of actors and stuff that stick together. This is all good and healthy. Just like high school. However, you do see a ton of worship somethings and it just makes you sit back and just watch in disbelief. If this person wasn’t doing all these things, would you even talk to them if you saw them on the street somewhere? The answer is always no. These groups, like in high school will single people out and basically tell them to fuck up. Even if they don’t even really no the person at all and that’s just fucked up. That’s part of the reason why I’m reluctant to go to these artists meetings. No one is leveling up. Everyone is just stroking their cocks and showing fucking suicide movies. Everyone thinks they’re being artsy but they’re really just forgetting they’re in the fucking entertainment industry. Entertain and/or move people or get the fuck out of the way and let someone else do it who truly wants that shit. It’s a hard world out there and we need to stick together.

 

That’s all I really have to say on the matter. I just have to work a little bit harder.

Yo! Magical Drop!

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Bitches don’t know about my Magical Drop. At long last. An action puzzle game I can play with other people online because people are dumb and don’t want to play action puzzlers with me locally.

Heathens.

But thanks to Golgoth Studio in good ol’ France, Magical Drop V is now available on steam for a low low low LOW price (seriously, they should charge more). Check out the link, they got videos and stuff.

I really don’t need to explain this game to you. Or maybe I do. Take a minute to check out the steam page over there. I’ll wait.

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Yeah, that basically sums it all up. It’s your standard puzzler fare of lining up 3 or more bubbles to destroy them. Combo clears together and you can drop stuff on your opponent. I don’t think I’ve ever played a faster puzzle series in my entire life actually.

Anyway, this PC version comes with the standard story mode… which is the arcade more (at least right now) and there are a number of multiplayer offerings for up to four players. I haven’t tried any of the multiplayer yet and I’m about to get to why.

Problem with the game in it’s current state… it’s not exactly stable and I haven’t been able to play games with anyone on my friends list yet. I have been able to do some ranked matches. Haven’t won any though. I always got 10 chained right at the beginning to an instant death. Wish they had harder puzzles like the old days. Also, this is just a personal thing. But there’s a lot of flashing and distracting things going on that are going to take some getting used to. The water, the smoke. All kinds of crap you haven’t seen in a Magic Drop game before. Again, not really a problem, it’s just something to be ready for. The game is also lacking that Puzzle Mode I always loved so much. But from what the developers have said, they’re going to be patching new content in.

The developers have been very active in the forums and trying to get the game up and running smoothly. This I like to see. Apparently there’s a patch for joystick usage coming soon so I won’t have to use that damn Joy2Key anymore.

All and all, I’m loving the game and I’m eager to level up and really get back to where I once was in the arcade. It’s a cheap game. Go buy it. Support this great indie developer. So on and so forth.

Until next time.