Nic_Dread_Wolf_Marling
Joined Jul 2006
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Nic_Dread_Wolf_Marling's rating
Firstly, I want to start the with the biggest positive of this film, and that is Amy Homberg's performance. Student For Pay is low budget, so it's expected that the lighting will not be professional standards, the sound editing will be choppy, and that the film editing will be lacking. However, Student For Pay overcomes these issues with an engaging story, great dialogue, and a rock solid performance by writer/director/star Amy Homberg. I also want to mention that the opening credits and the title screen play out in a creative and imaginative way.
While the sound editing is spotty at times, be it by abruptly cutting in too loudly, or fading into another song oddly, the selection of music is great and fits the mood of nearly every scenes that the music accompanies. The framing is well selected, for the most part, but there is the odd choice here and there. Still, the structure and arrangement of scenes largely compliments the film and composes the action on screen is a pleasing way. The scenery is gorgeous, and the cinematography is well designed and executed; both big highlights for me.
The dialogue is also another aspect that this film does well. Conversations feel natural and flow well, and are generally well performed by all the actors involved. Homberg structures the interactions in a deft and confident manner.
There's a scene where Rose talks with Sarah, and the message of the film is laid out in their conversation. This scene could've easily come off as overbearing and too obvious, but Homberg handles it with tact and grace, leading the moment to play out as a sweet interaction. A good example of Homberg's ability to create engaging dialogue that adds to the film and keeps the viewer interested.
As a side note, the way that Homberg plays the interaction between Matthew and Rose, frames the altercation outside the car, and subsequently shoots the walk home, leads me to believe that Homberg could direct one hell of a horror film. This section of the film stood out to me and shone as a bright spot. These sequences were well paced, edited smoothly, and composed with care and attention.
The green screen pictures at the end are a bit odd and do not fit particularly well with the structure of the film that precedes them, but they are amusing, so some points for that. The film as a whole is a bit long and could stand to have some scenes tightened up. There are a few scenes that linger for a bit too long after dialogue has ended or are just a little bloated and could've been edited down more. This isn't something that derails the film, and Homberg will certainly nail this down as time goes on.
Overall, I have to say that Student For Pay contains more than enough positives to make it a worthwhile viewing. Homberg delivers a great performance, the cinematography is lovely, the dialogue feels real and lived in, and for a low budget film, the technical aspects add to the mood far more than they distract. Homberg shows some great promise, and I do hope the filmmaker decides to venture into making a horror film, as I believe Homberg could do very well in that genre.
While the sound editing is spotty at times, be it by abruptly cutting in too loudly, or fading into another song oddly, the selection of music is great and fits the mood of nearly every scenes that the music accompanies. The framing is well selected, for the most part, but there is the odd choice here and there. Still, the structure and arrangement of scenes largely compliments the film and composes the action on screen is a pleasing way. The scenery is gorgeous, and the cinematography is well designed and executed; both big highlights for me.
The dialogue is also another aspect that this film does well. Conversations feel natural and flow well, and are generally well performed by all the actors involved. Homberg structures the interactions in a deft and confident manner.
There's a scene where Rose talks with Sarah, and the message of the film is laid out in their conversation. This scene could've easily come off as overbearing and too obvious, but Homberg handles it with tact and grace, leading the moment to play out as a sweet interaction. A good example of Homberg's ability to create engaging dialogue that adds to the film and keeps the viewer interested.
As a side note, the way that Homberg plays the interaction between Matthew and Rose, frames the altercation outside the car, and subsequently shoots the walk home, leads me to believe that Homberg could direct one hell of a horror film. This section of the film stood out to me and shone as a bright spot. These sequences were well paced, edited smoothly, and composed with care and attention.
The green screen pictures at the end are a bit odd and do not fit particularly well with the structure of the film that precedes them, but they are amusing, so some points for that. The film as a whole is a bit long and could stand to have some scenes tightened up. There are a few scenes that linger for a bit too long after dialogue has ended or are just a little bloated and could've been edited down more. This isn't something that derails the film, and Homberg will certainly nail this down as time goes on.
Overall, I have to say that Student For Pay contains more than enough positives to make it a worthwhile viewing. Homberg delivers a great performance, the cinematography is lovely, the dialogue feels real and lived in, and for a low budget film, the technical aspects add to the mood far more than they distract. Homberg shows some great promise, and I do hope the filmmaker decides to venture into making a horror film, as I believe Homberg could do very well in that genre.
Kevin Smith does not make movies for everyone, so naturally, this movie will be divisive, as all the View Askewniverse entries have been. Watching this film is, in a sense, like watching Endgame, or more appropriately the Arrowverses' Crisis on Infinite Earths. Sure, a good time can be had, and it can be enjoyed by those not familiar with this universe, but the true weight and heft of it will be lost. I say more like Crisis than Endgame, because, like Crisis this film knows what it is, it knows what it's universe is, and it knows what it's fans expect. It's a bit campy, and it happily plays into that role. This is what we're here for.
For long time Smith fans this film hits all the right notes. It's a nostalgia filled walk down memory lane. Just about every View Askniverse character makes an appearance, including the best, for my money, characters Kevin ever created, Alyssa Jones and Holden McNeil. Smith has said that the Chasing Amy reunion scene feels like the scene that ties it all together, and it does, and not just the Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, it ties this entire universe together, past and present. It's possibly the most heartfelt scene Smith's ever written, and probably the second best he's ever written and filmed, after the rain scene in Chasing Amy, in my opinion.
Jason Mewes truly outdoes himself here. It's easy to see that this project is a true labor of love for him and Smith. Mewes plays the classic Jay, brash, outspoken, crude, ignorant, and generally offensive, but this go around he also gets to add a layer of depth, and some complexity, not present in the character before. The father/daughter angle to this story is brilliantly written, and Mewes absolutely nails the big moments he's given. I'd go as far as to argue that he's award worthy here.
Speaking of performances, the shining, scene stealing performance here is from Harley Quinn Smith, Kevin Smith's daughter, who plays Jay's daughter. She mirrors Jay, and her mother Justice, to great effect, while being exactly what a good reboot is supposed to be, all the best bits of the original with added flavor and appeal for a new generation. She's a riot and, just as Mewes, completely knocks her big emotional scenes out of the park, and turns in one of the most memorable performances of 2019.
In a way this film is nothing new, or groundbreaking, it's what fans of Kevin Smith, and the View Askniverse, have come to love and expect, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's a film made by a self professed fan, for fans, while being a reboot and sequel of a cult classic universe, within that cult classic universe, and one that adds more than enough to be worthy of it's place in this pantheon.
Smith has written what is clearly the film that is closest to his heart, and I couldn't be happier with the result.
Oh, and Smith gives a very sweet tribute to Stan Lee and a nice nod to Marvel, something he's a notorious fan of, with his own after credits scene, and it's probably the funniest bit he's ever written. Kudos to Smith for the nuance and layers that this one closing line contains, and it's ability to be funny for those not very familiar with this universe, and the perfect closing note to the characters of Jay and Silent Bob for his longtime fans.
For long time Smith fans this film hits all the right notes. It's a nostalgia filled walk down memory lane. Just about every View Askniverse character makes an appearance, including the best, for my money, characters Kevin ever created, Alyssa Jones and Holden McNeil. Smith has said that the Chasing Amy reunion scene feels like the scene that ties it all together, and it does, and not just the Jay and Silent Bob Reboot, it ties this entire universe together, past and present. It's possibly the most heartfelt scene Smith's ever written, and probably the second best he's ever written and filmed, after the rain scene in Chasing Amy, in my opinion.
Jason Mewes truly outdoes himself here. It's easy to see that this project is a true labor of love for him and Smith. Mewes plays the classic Jay, brash, outspoken, crude, ignorant, and generally offensive, but this go around he also gets to add a layer of depth, and some complexity, not present in the character before. The father/daughter angle to this story is brilliantly written, and Mewes absolutely nails the big moments he's given. I'd go as far as to argue that he's award worthy here.
Speaking of performances, the shining, scene stealing performance here is from Harley Quinn Smith, Kevin Smith's daughter, who plays Jay's daughter. She mirrors Jay, and her mother Justice, to great effect, while being exactly what a good reboot is supposed to be, all the best bits of the original with added flavor and appeal for a new generation. She's a riot and, just as Mewes, completely knocks her big emotional scenes out of the park, and turns in one of the most memorable performances of 2019.
In a way this film is nothing new, or groundbreaking, it's what fans of Kevin Smith, and the View Askniverse, have come to love and expect, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's a film made by a self professed fan, for fans, while being a reboot and sequel of a cult classic universe, within that cult classic universe, and one that adds more than enough to be worthy of it's place in this pantheon.
Smith has written what is clearly the film that is closest to his heart, and I couldn't be happier with the result.
Oh, and Smith gives a very sweet tribute to Stan Lee and a nice nod to Marvel, something he's a notorious fan of, with his own after credits scene, and it's probably the funniest bit he's ever written. Kudos to Smith for the nuance and layers that this one closing line contains, and it's ability to be funny for those not very familiar with this universe, and the perfect closing note to the characters of Jay and Silent Bob for his longtime fans.
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