Strike Zone

I watched this movie on the Return of the King special Extended DVD and was immediately struck. Of course the DVD contains the story around Cameron Duncan and that makes you feel even more bound to this film. But the film itself also had great elements: the way he compared war and the playing of softball. About his last wish, about himself mostly.

He expresses his deepest feelings in movies and that shows in this picture. It is terrible this guy doesn't live to grow his talent, for he could have made it.

The way he uses camera and players to express the deepest need of the filmmaker to build a great softball-team, is simply astonishing. Especially worth saying is how he managed to add humor into this film about a dying boy.

He must have had great courage to make such a biopic...

I saw Strikezone on the 4th disk of the Extended Edition of Return of the King. A documentary about Cameron Duncan (more a tribute to him by Peter Jackson)had Strikzone and DFK 6** (I forgot the full number) edited into it. The story of Cameron Duncan, who was struck with bone cancer at a young age, brought tears to my eyes, and his 2 short films stroke me. This guy was talented and could have brought some great full length movies if he had the chance.

Strikezone is a stunning short film.The story, about a cancer patient coaching a softball team, is just great because it came from real life experiences from Duncan himself. With this easy story Duncan tells his own story, he transmits his own feeling to the viewer. That's why watching Strikzone is such an emotional experience. But also the camera work and direction is just fantastic, regarding the circumstance's in which it was filmed (The last months of Duncan's life, coming with a lung injury). After all i liked DFK more, because it was more minimalistic and even a bit harder, but Strikezone is the fantastic testament of a young filmmaker who died to young. It even inspired me to take on Director Studies in Brussels next year...

8/10

(Please don't mind the grammatical or spelling mistakes. I am raised in Dutch ;) )

Cameron Duncan's talent was unfairly wasted by his premature death and I would have loved to have seen more of his work. His work on Strike Zone is a combination of brilliant directorial skill and acting ability. One of the few films to bring tears to my eyes, Strike Zone has a very powerful short film, which brings emphasis to the difficulties of dealing with the time left in which you have to live. This hugely emotional feature brings life to a new breed of film making and will no doubt make you see handicaps in an entirely different view. This inspirational masterpiece should encourage people to take all the opportunities presented to them in order to make the most of their lives. Thanks Cameron.

If only he got the all clear.

I got the Return of The King DVD last week and only just started watching the documentaries. I checked a documentary out that Peter Jackson pointed out in his introduction that contained by film and another by Cameron.

I have to say i was very impressed by this film, I cried a lot towards the end. The story was inspiring and had an interesting style like a lot of todays big name filmmakers.

The other short film i saw that he made was another interesting film. In a different way i had an idea of what he was talking about. The feeling of being a cage you want to get out of but can't.

Overall this film gave me a feeling like i've never felt before. I've not cried this much watching a film in along time. If you get the ROTK Extened edition it is well worth a look.

R.I.P Cameron

"Strikezone" is an incredibly moving short film. I can't watch it without tears coming to my eyes. What Cameron achieved, against all odds, never fails to blow me away. We have lost a truly great young filmmaker. I am deeply inspired by Cameron, and "Strikezone" is my motivation when everything seems too difficult, when my dreams seem to ambitious, I can only think of what I would like to have achieved if it was all taken away tomorrow. Thanks to Cameron's family for releasing his film. It is beautiful and I will treasure it forever. I cried yesterday, listening to the Return of the King song "Into the West" and thinking of Cameron...his inspiration will live on.