Dormanine

Dormanine is now available for viewing. Watch it here.

Dormanine from Andrew Garbus on Vimeo.

Dormanine Update

Production wrapped up for Dormanine a couple days ago. The production process went smoothly for the most part. We faced many challenges such as filming in a car, creating a smokey hallway, figuring out how to make water fall from the ceiling, and several re-shoots. We conquered these challenges though with what I believe to be good results. During the production period I have also been editing, which has also gone smoothly for the most part. Other good news is that I have screened the film for a few of my friends and the film has gotten very positive reviews. Here they are:

Rajiv Desikan on Dormanine: "Dormanine is to AJ Garbus as is The Revolutionary War was to George Washington. Both define these men."

David Nassirian on Dormanine: "Dormanine is a thrilling journey that penetrates deep into your mind and leaves you with thoughts you will never forget. Its elaborate and unpredictable plot makes itself AJ Garbus's best film yet."

Bradford Greaves on Dormanine: "Your best film yet."

Now though comes a challenge that I've been fearing since the writing of the script. The original script was 13 pages. The typical rule in film is that every page equals a minute. I had hoped that this film would've not applied to that rule, but unfortunately it has. As of now the film has a running time of 12:36. This would not be a big deal except that this film is going to be my NYU portfolio film, and the NYU application specifically states that a film should not have a running time over ten minutes. Also this is going to be my submission to the National Foundation For Advancement In The Arts Young Arts film festival, which also requires a time limit of 10 minutes. Now the challenge is how to cut two minutes and thirty six seconds from my film without disrupting the story, emotion, tone, and natural flow of the film. Im hoping I can conquer this challenge just as I have the others, but this is the most difficult obstacle of the film process for me thus far. I hope that at the end of all this, a great product will come out that people will enjoy and get me into film school. As always check out the blog daily for updates as well as my twitter.

DORMANINE POSTER #2

The new poster for my film Dormanine. Check it out for free here on 10/25/10

DORMANINE PHOTOS

Check out a few photos from Dormanine here

Dormanine Release Date

Im happy to announce the release date for my new film Dormanine will be October 24th, 2010. Keep a look out for it and more updates on this site, my twitter, or my facebook.

Dormanine Teaser Trailer

The teaser trailer for Dormanine is finally here.

DORMANINE TEASER TRAILER from Andrew Garbus on Vimeo.

Dormanine Teaser Poster

Here it is, the teaser poster for my next film.

3 To See on DVD Now

3 To See On DVD:

1. Zodiac: With David Fincher's new film "The Social Network" coming up I think its appropriate for people to watch one of his finest works, a film that is in my opinion, a masterpiece about obsession.

2. The Wrester: Since Darren Aranofsky's new film "The Black Swan" is premiering at the Venice Film Festival this week, I recommend seeing this film now not only for the emotionally charged feeling the film gives you or the powerful performance of Mickey Rourke, but also because apparently "The Wrestler" and "The Black Swan" were originally generated by the same idea.

3. Goodfellas: Not only Scorsese's best film (along with Taxi Driver), but a cinematic masterpiece, which everybody should see.

Dormanine Update

Dormanine is well into production, and so far it's been a blast. As I'm currently editing parts of the film I can say the performances are coming out quite nicely and so are most of the shots. Be on the look out for it in late October.

New Film

Im back. I took some time off because I was at sleep away camp for seven weeks and then hard at work on prepping for my new film DORMANINE. The film is about a kid with writers block who decides to take a hallucinogenic pill in order to overcome it, and how the line between reality and imagination begins to blur for him. The film is presented by Exit 22 films and is produced by Ethan Gottlieb and me.

THE CAST:

PATRICK ALOIA

BRADLEY HARMEYER

NINA CARLIN

LELAND GARBUS

I will post the film on here as soon as it is done and will try to update as much as possible.

For up to the minute updates on the production please check out https://twitter.com/Garbus_film

3 To See on DVD Now

3 to see on DVD

1. Moon

One sentence review: This little seen science fiction flick is the best to come out in years and Rockwell is incredible giving the performance of a lifetime.

2. Garden State

One sentence review: An incredible directorial debut by Zach Braff that is one of the best comedies I have seen, its not hilarious, but its powerful in a subtle manner.

3. Before The Devil Knows You're Dead

One sentence review: One of my favorite films of all time and the less you know about it the better it is.

Top 5 Films of 2010 so far

1. Shutter Island

Once again, Scorsese creates a masterpiece that is both a powerful character study and a great psychological thriller.

2. Greenberg

Ben Stiller is incredible and the film is a great character study of one of my favorite cinematic characters in years.

3. The Ghost Writer

Polanski directs one of his best thrillers and also gets out one of Ewan McGregor's best performances.

4. Kick-Ass

Fun, mindless, chaotic action flick that knows what it is and doesn't take itself too seriously.

5. Iron Man 2

http://cinergyfilms.blogspot.com/2010/05/iron-man-2-short-review.html

So far its been a very weak year, I just hope it gets better starting in June.

My Theory on Sequels and Franchises in General

Sequels are commonly made in hollywood now a days, mainly because they are quick cash cows. Personally I believe sequels are fine when done appropriately and not effecting the film prior to it. Lets take for example The Godfather. The Godfather, in my opinion, is a perfect film, and its sequel The Godfather Part II is near perfect. Too many times in films that are parts of franchises, such as Iron Man 2, much of the plot line is directed towards what will happen in later films, versus the current film. I hate this method, because it ruins multiple films in a series. The whole reason why The Godfather and The Godfather Part II succeed is because each film stands on its own, not dependent on the whole scope of the story to engage the viewer. There is a place for such story telling, its known as television. In television it is perfectly appropriate to leave clues for what will happen later on in the series, but that's because the season is a complete story. The thing with films is that, even if they are a member of a franchise, they should be able to exist on their own, as separate entities. There is a place for such story telling, its known as television. In television it is perfectly appropriate to leave clues for what will happen later on in the series, but that's because the season is a complete story. The thing with films is that, even if they are a member of a franchise, they should be able to exist on their own, as separate entities. This is the sign of a truly good franchise and sequel.

3 To See on DVD Now

This week I was lucky enough to see three excellent films to recommend for viewing on DVD.

3 to see on DVD:

1. Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind

One sentence review: An incredible film and Charlie Kaufman's best.

2. Bringing Out The Dead

One sentence review: Another Scorsese masterpiece and Nicolas Cage's best performance.

3. Adaptation

One sentence review: Charlie Kaufman writes another great film and the performances are incredible, especially Nicolas Cage's and Chris Cooper's.

Iron Man 2 Short Review

I thought the first Iron Man was a great super hero film, and when the cast for Iron Man 2 was announced with, on top of Robert Downey Junior who personifies Tony Stark, Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell (the two actors who I think have given the best performances over the past two years, Rourke for The Wrestler in 2008, Rockwell for Moon in 2009). Needless to say my expectations were probably too high going into this film. I was expecting a sequel that topped the original in the tradition of other super hero films such as X-Men 2, Spider Man 2, and of course, The Dark Knight. What I got instead was a satisfying film that I think paled in comparison to the first one and under used its actors. The story isn't great, and I don't think we'll see the pay off for the Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) character until the third or fourth flick. That being said for the time they're on screen, Rockwell, Rourke, and Downey Jr. are terrific. Cheadle is ok as Rhody, though I liked Terrance Howard more in the first and found Scarlet Johansen's character pointless. The action sequences aren't inspired, but they'll entertain.

So do I recommend it? Yes, though I must say, if you can, go see Kick-Ass, which is a much better super hero flick and also a much more entertaining one as well.

My most anticipated film of the summer

The film I look to most this summer is Christopher Nolan's Inception. For those of you who don't know who Christopher Nolan is, he directed both entries in the new Batman series (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight) and Insomnia. Besides its all star cast, which includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon Levitt, and Marion Cotillard, the plot sounds incredibly engrossing, dealing with the subject of the mind (a personal favorite of mine). Im interested to see how the story plays out in a full length film, the visuals, and how audiences will react to such a film.

New Film Update

Theres almost no better feeling in the world to me then the one I get from finishing a screenplay. I finished the first draft of one of many projects I have in the works, though this is "the main one" if I had to designate it a title. Its a film about how people deal with guilt and grief. Its nothing like my last film, In Therapy, but thats a good thing. I think constantly exploring new genres, themes, and topics is a great thing to do. Stanley Kubrick never made the same kind of film more then once, and I can totally understand why. There are so many fresh stories to be told, that if a similar tale is told in a similar manner over and over again it ultimately gets boring and the audience does not like it anymore. I'll be announcing the cast for my next film shortly.

In Therapy

My latest film is entitled In Therapy and is available for viewing here:

In Therapy from Andrew Garbus on Vimeo.

The film tells the tale of a schizophrenic, James Townsen (Patrick Aloia), who goes to see a psychiatrist, Dr. Victor Corderberg (Leland Garbus), to get rid of his mischievous imaginary friend, Carl (Keenan Lam)

I hope you are able to watch the film and enjoy it.