Quag7
Joined Aug 2000
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Reviews43
Quag7's rating
Four Christian college brohams go to Europe and reflect on being Christian brohams.
My immediate reaction upon seeing this is wondering what these guys were like when the cameras weren't on -- when they were in social situations and the like with pecking orders that they were at the top of -- when they had something to lose by doing the right thing.
Then again, I get a sense that this was one of the points of this film; at several points these guys talk about falling short of their own standards, which is admirable enough.
I guess in the final analysis, I have to respect the idea that a bunch of college bros decided to take the time and effort to make a film on this subject at a time in their lives that are full of secular distractions. That's got to be worth something.
But as a non-religious person myself, I thought something was missing here. What this needs is a followup down the road. I'm curious how many of these guys (some recently "saved" in Christian parlance) are going to be Christians ten years down the road, or if the lessons supposedly learned here about *living it* rather than just going through the motions, are going to be put into practice.
The weak link in Christianity, for me, has never been Christ -- it's been Christians. It's been aggressive self-righteousness coupled with hypocrisy and rationalization (they touch on one of my personal peeves, the so-called Prosperity Gospel, one of the ugliest manifestations of modern "Christianity") of Christians themselves that consistently turns me off. I have known more Christians who behaved terribly when not in church than have actually lived the faith they insist guides and informs their spiritual lives.
Periodically I run into someone who has been transformed by their faith - filled, as they would say, with the Holy Spirit, in a substantial way. The question is whether or not the guys in this film are, knowing what they know, going to become like this, or whether they're going to just continue living their lives as they have.
Anyway, this film is likely to be more interest to young Christians than jaded atheists like myself, but sometimes you learn more about people by listening to them talk among themselves than packaging their religion or ideology into a sales job targeted at you. To that end, this film was interesting and worth my time.
My honest feeling upon completing it was that these guys become better Christians -- the Christians they know they can and should be. Of course, that's my feeling about Christians generally, because it isn't when Christians are being Christlike that they get on my nerves, it's when they're talking about how Christlike they are while behaving and living like complete knobs that rustles my jimmies.
My immediate reaction upon seeing this is wondering what these guys were like when the cameras weren't on -- when they were in social situations and the like with pecking orders that they were at the top of -- when they had something to lose by doing the right thing.
Then again, I get a sense that this was one of the points of this film; at several points these guys talk about falling short of their own standards, which is admirable enough.
I guess in the final analysis, I have to respect the idea that a bunch of college bros decided to take the time and effort to make a film on this subject at a time in their lives that are full of secular distractions. That's got to be worth something.
But as a non-religious person myself, I thought something was missing here. What this needs is a followup down the road. I'm curious how many of these guys (some recently "saved" in Christian parlance) are going to be Christians ten years down the road, or if the lessons supposedly learned here about *living it* rather than just going through the motions, are going to be put into practice.
The weak link in Christianity, for me, has never been Christ -- it's been Christians. It's been aggressive self-righteousness coupled with hypocrisy and rationalization (they touch on one of my personal peeves, the so-called Prosperity Gospel, one of the ugliest manifestations of modern "Christianity") of Christians themselves that consistently turns me off. I have known more Christians who behaved terribly when not in church than have actually lived the faith they insist guides and informs their spiritual lives.
Periodically I run into someone who has been transformed by their faith - filled, as they would say, with the Holy Spirit, in a substantial way. The question is whether or not the guys in this film are, knowing what they know, going to become like this, or whether they're going to just continue living their lives as they have.
Anyway, this film is likely to be more interest to young Christians than jaded atheists like myself, but sometimes you learn more about people by listening to them talk among themselves than packaging their religion or ideology into a sales job targeted at you. To that end, this film was interesting and worth my time.
My honest feeling upon completing it was that these guys become better Christians -- the Christians they know they can and should be. Of course, that's my feeling about Christians generally, because it isn't when Christians are being Christlike that they get on my nerves, it's when they're talking about how Christlike they are while behaving and living like complete knobs that rustles my jimmies.
Films like this infuriate me. Films which are thoroughly bad can be enjoyable in an "ironic" sense, but The Initiate is one of those films filled with promise, yet never delivers.
The premise is fascinating enough: A man in Southern Georgia dies in an accident and during the autopsy, tattoos indicating Freemasonry and/or Golden Dawn involvement are found on his body. The film then proceeds as a sort of mystery, but completely fizzles out. And I do mean completely. The film rapidly slows to a crawl to such an extent, I wouldn't be surprised if most who started watching this (I saw it on Netflix) abandoned it midway through.
Involving the Golden Dawn in a film plot and then going nowhere with it borders on cruelty.
But I have to say the problem with this film is almost entirely with the script. The film feels like it gets stuck in mud about 25 minutes in. From there it plods along, until it nearly stops. There is a shooting later in the film which is supposed to be the climax, but I was in such a bored stupor by then, it was impossible to involve myself in it or care.
What's excellent here is the use of light and shadow -- itself awkwardly highlighted as it contrasts uncomfortably with the script problems. The film looked better than it probably deserved to, and the low budget of the film actually added a kind of intimacy rather than cheapness. I wanted to see it succeed, because it had the potential to succeed in the way a big budget Hollywood production couldn't.
The soundtrack is also remarkable, and contrasts similarly. I almost wish the film had been completely ham-fisted; I could write it off completely as another relic in the enormous landfill of low budget films and wouldn't have bothered writing this comment.
I wanted to see more about the Golden Dawn. I wanted more character development, and I wanted a film with some complexity. Worse yet, the movie has no apparent ending. It seems to trail off in mid-sentence. There is no resolution of tension, no twist, nor even any kind of a cliffhanger. It almost feels like they ran out of money and just never finished.
So many individual aspects of the movie are so good that my temptation is to give the filmmakers the benefit of the doubt. So much effort was put into specific aspects of the film (the aforementioned look, for instance) that I have to believe something subverted the film's production before it could be finished properly.
Those who are fascinated by the films occult elements in particular will be supremely disappointed. There's a brief discussion of Crowley and the Golden Dawn, and a brief shot of one of the characters in some kind of altar setting, and that's it. What the occult has to do with what turns out to be about a mundane drug ring with bikers, I am not sure.
This film is older than I thought. The writer/director has no other IMDb credits. I would encourage the creators of this film to take another shot at film-making.
While The Initiate can only be categorized as a failure, it is an interesting one. I would certainly consider watching any further projects by the filmmakers.
The premise is fascinating enough: A man in Southern Georgia dies in an accident and during the autopsy, tattoos indicating Freemasonry and/or Golden Dawn involvement are found on his body. The film then proceeds as a sort of mystery, but completely fizzles out. And I do mean completely. The film rapidly slows to a crawl to such an extent, I wouldn't be surprised if most who started watching this (I saw it on Netflix) abandoned it midway through.
Involving the Golden Dawn in a film plot and then going nowhere with it borders on cruelty.
But I have to say the problem with this film is almost entirely with the script. The film feels like it gets stuck in mud about 25 minutes in. From there it plods along, until it nearly stops. There is a shooting later in the film which is supposed to be the climax, but I was in such a bored stupor by then, it was impossible to involve myself in it or care.
What's excellent here is the use of light and shadow -- itself awkwardly highlighted as it contrasts uncomfortably with the script problems. The film looked better than it probably deserved to, and the low budget of the film actually added a kind of intimacy rather than cheapness. I wanted to see it succeed, because it had the potential to succeed in the way a big budget Hollywood production couldn't.
The soundtrack is also remarkable, and contrasts similarly. I almost wish the film had been completely ham-fisted; I could write it off completely as another relic in the enormous landfill of low budget films and wouldn't have bothered writing this comment.
I wanted to see more about the Golden Dawn. I wanted more character development, and I wanted a film with some complexity. Worse yet, the movie has no apparent ending. It seems to trail off in mid-sentence. There is no resolution of tension, no twist, nor even any kind of a cliffhanger. It almost feels like they ran out of money and just never finished.
So many individual aspects of the movie are so good that my temptation is to give the filmmakers the benefit of the doubt. So much effort was put into specific aspects of the film (the aforementioned look, for instance) that I have to believe something subverted the film's production before it could be finished properly.
Those who are fascinated by the films occult elements in particular will be supremely disappointed. There's a brief discussion of Crowley and the Golden Dawn, and a brief shot of one of the characters in some kind of altar setting, and that's it. What the occult has to do with what turns out to be about a mundane drug ring with bikers, I am not sure.
This film is older than I thought. The writer/director has no other IMDb credits. I would encourage the creators of this film to take another shot at film-making.
While The Initiate can only be categorized as a failure, it is an interesting one. I would certainly consider watching any further projects by the filmmakers.
Despite the darkness implied by the description of the plot, this ultra- low budget independent film, is somehow saved by the adorableness of teenagers taking life far too seriously.
Filmed in and around Lopatcong, New Jersey, the film consists primary of two characters talking as they walk through the woods. My initial reaction was annoyance with the characters (especially Dart's crap attitude), but as the film progresses it becomes clear that this is necessary to his character - a character who has written a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book, where every path leads to doom. His moodiness is an important contrast to Mouse's whimsical, playful personality and I enjoyed watching the two together.
Like most films made on this budget by young filmmakers, the film has its flaws, but like scratches and pops on an old record, somehow those add to, rather than detract, from the film's charm. There's no reputation to live up to here, no summer blockbuster special effects to fill millions of movie seats with, just a bunch of people who want to tell a story about a couple of teenagers trying to navigate a difficult world they're trying to make sense of.
With its obvious affection for its youthful leads, the film's screenplay wanders along a familiar and vaguely Salingerian (is that a word?) path between sadness and humor.
It's got a lot of heart, and whatever its flaws, I can say unreservedly that I hope to see more from everyone involved.
Filmed in and around Lopatcong, New Jersey, the film consists primary of two characters talking as they walk through the woods. My initial reaction was annoyance with the characters (especially Dart's crap attitude), but as the film progresses it becomes clear that this is necessary to his character - a character who has written a "Choose Your Own Adventure" book, where every path leads to doom. His moodiness is an important contrast to Mouse's whimsical, playful personality and I enjoyed watching the two together.
Like most films made on this budget by young filmmakers, the film has its flaws, but like scratches and pops on an old record, somehow those add to, rather than detract, from the film's charm. There's no reputation to live up to here, no summer blockbuster special effects to fill millions of movie seats with, just a bunch of people who want to tell a story about a couple of teenagers trying to navigate a difficult world they're trying to make sense of.
With its obvious affection for its youthful leads, the film's screenplay wanders along a familiar and vaguely Salingerian (is that a word?) path between sadness and humor.
It's got a lot of heart, and whatever its flaws, I can say unreservedly that I hope to see more from everyone involved.