NationStates Jolt Archive


Crystal Valley Film Festival - RP + Voting Thread

imported_ViZion
22-06-2008, 07:14
OOC: Since there's 21 films in which to be voted on, I'm going to ask everyone to post their favorite. The top 10 vote getters will then get a dedicated poll thread in a few days... for now, please feel free to RP as a person, family, group, w/e who is at this film festival watching movies, etc...

Also, sorry it took so long to get this up. I was planning on having it up a couple days ago, but I got a new job... so that cost me a couple days...

Also, you may NOT vote for yourself.

Movie List:
Movie Name: Renegade
Producer(s) Name: Matthew Sutton & Christina Atesh
Companies Involved: DarkStar Industries
Type: Action
Plot Line: After an agents partner is KIA, she goes renegade to track him down the terrorist responsible
The Movie:
Opening-- In a dark cellar a tall shady character s fiddling wih a large metalic case. The case is a bomb, he plans to blow up a famous stucture in Vitalita, as he begins to finish preparations, two female ViZion agents burst into the basement and a fight breaks out between them, the terrorist overpowers them both and sends them across the room, one of the agents open fire on him, missing, but hitting the bomb, he shoots back and sends them ducking for cover. He turns to see to the bomb after the bullets hit it, as he examines it one of the agents creeps up behind him with her gun ready, He sees her in the reflection of the bomb's shiny casing, shes gets to within a metre of him and shouts "Your under arrest, stand up and put your hands where I can see them." He taps a button to star detonation and slowly draws a knife, she repeats herself. Violently and almost instantaneously he turns and lunges at her, piecing through her armour and into her abdomen, as he picks up his shotgun he twists the blade, and snaps her dogtags from around her neck, and heads for the door. He and the other agents walk cautiously past each other, on other sides of th room, both with ready weapons, together they turn and head in opposite directions, the agent to her partner and life long freind, the terrorist, out of the door. She bends over her partners body, she softly says "Go get him for me." before passing, the other agents weeps slightly before realising the bomb is ticking, as she heads for the door she snatchs her partner's weapon. Picking up pace she runs out of the basement door as the bomb detonates, luckily, due to it being shot, the building is only damaged in the basement, and doesn't collapse.
Middle
After a time of mourning the surviving agent, agent Cole, returns back to work to find out she has been taken off the case due to her closeness with her fallen partner, at news of this, she takes out several hundred grands of equipment and weaponry out to track down the terrorist. What continues here is a montage of shots showing Cole hunting down the terrorist and him gathering resources and funds to blow up another famous structure in ViZion, this time it was a Large commercial skyscraper in ViZion City, gradually the montage shows Cole closing in on her target.
End
This time the terrorist completes the setting up of the bomb and begins to leave as Cole rushes through the door, again with his trusty shotgun he opens fire on her at charges at the door, she ducks and falls out of the way, leaving the door open. He jumps out and in mis air conceals the shotgun in his trenchcoat, Cole gets up and follows in pursuit. The terrorist runs inside an abandoned warehouse and hides behind some crates, covering his entrance, Cole goes in another way, after a shoot out, both have run out of ammo, they chuck their weapons and begin fighting hand to hand, the Terrorist appears to be winning until a repeat of how her partner was killed occurs. Cole is crouching on the floor, appearing to be in pain, the Terrorist walks up behind her and ask if shes had enough. "No, but you have..." Cole remarked, drawing her knife, then turning and lunging at him, she hits him straight in the heart, as he falls, his face wrenched in pain, Cole snatches back her partner's dogtags. The Terrorist is laying on the floor and Cole resting against a wall when he coughs painfully and weakily laughs "Hahahaha you fool, you forgot the explosives, I win, but gave the greatest sacrifice." With a slight smile on his face he dies.

Qualities: (You have a total of 15 points to be spread across the following)
Graphics Quality: 4/5
Acting Quality: 4/5
Plot Depth: 3/5
Character Detail: 3/5
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Movie Name: Piercing Armor
Producer(s) Name: Jimmy James
Staring: Grzegorz Sznober as Seth Barnaby, Mark Nutt as Melvin Hackler, and Adam Russell as Buck Rider
Companies Involved: Pore Productions
Type: Action
Plot Line: War Vet returns home, mentally scared, and wanted dead by a General he served under during the war.
The Movie: Seth Barnaby begins having flashbacks to his time in the war, on the aniversary of one of his friend's(Melvin Hackler) death. Meanwhile, a General hires Buck Rider to eliminate Seth. But Seth, distraught with grief remembering his friends death, which he believes to be his fault, is arrested after being caught DUI. He is taken to jail, when he is released, he rushes to the subway, where he works as a Janitor. Buck Rider finds him there, and starts shooting at Seth. Seth runs toward the subway car hoping to escape, but the doors close just before he reaches it. He bangs on the doors as the car drives away, and is shot in the back.
Qualities:
Graphics Quality: 5/5
Acting Quality: 2/5
Plot Depth: 3/5
Character Detail: 5/5
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Movie Name: Bloodsport
Producer(s) Name: Mark Wood
Companies Involved: Angel Industries
Type: (Comedy, Action, etc) Horror/Action
Plot Line: A group of teens believe they are going to a sports resort but upon arrival, things take a turn for the worst when a serial killer crashes the party.
The Movie: (Feel free to "RP" the movie out if you wish, or get more detailed on the plot line.) The teens arrive arrive at the camp, play sports for a day, usual shower scene, usual sex scene, the killer arrives, escaping a police manhunt, they teens find him and he spends the rest of the movie hunting them down and killing them before they can escape or get help. The movie ends with him getting fought off by two of the teen in the equipment room, including the use of an older style white plastic hockey mask in a reference to ''Jason Vorhees''.
Qualities: (You have a total of 15 points to be spread across the following)
Graphics Quality: 4/5
Acting Quality: 4/5
Plot Depth: 3/5
Character Detail: 4/5
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Movie Name: Adventures of Jack Spader
Producer(s) Name: Harrison Kays
Companies Involved: Revolutionary Pictues (State owned)
Type: (Comedy, Action, etc) Action/light comedy
Plot Line: In this action packed adventure, Jack Spader( Henry Turner) must explore the ruined city of Salad in South Calaveras where he encounters radioactive mutants that chase him through the movie. He is assistand by the attractive Sarah Dery( Satasha Nate) who trys to seduce him, but ends up falling for the hero in this action packed adventure.
The Movie: (Feel free to "RP" the movie out if you wish, or get more detailed on the plot line.)
Qualities: (You have a total of 15 points to be spread across the following)
Graphics Quality: 3/5
Acting Quality: 5/5
Plot Depth: 4/5
Character Detail: 3/5
-------------------------
Movie Name: Biting the carrot
Producer Name: Sebastián Villa
Companies Involved: PDES(Películas de Espanã)
Type: Road movie, war, drama
Length: 3:30 hours
Plot Line: Felicia Jaumann(Hilde Bachoffen), activist and militiawoman, flees from a Germany in turmoil with her remaining family as her grandfather is killed due to political persecution, guided by the ideals of her father(Zach Dietrich), in a journey marked by the witness of oppression and civil war, and by
sacrifice and determination to achieve what she stands for no matter the cost.

The Movie:

In the introduction before the actual movie, a narrator mentions the metaphor of a carrot tied to a fishing rod at your back, putting sense to the unusual choice of name for a movie like this, and a quick flashback of mankind history appears accompanied by Mozart's Requiem, which was chosen due to its posthumous undertones as well, although the homage is not literal but a metaphorical burial. The last part of the "history flashback" intro shows a broken statue of liberty and cops spanking protesters in France.

First, a noticeable feature of this work was its multilingual nature chosen as step to prioritize realism over convenience as it was never intended to be created for profit mainly, but as a work of art done for passion, and perhaps for propaganda as well. Therefore All versions are captioned as characters speak languages according to their nation, rather than speaking the same language. Thus in most of the early scenes all speech is in German. Although it is not without its merits and is quite above the average regarding graphical quality, it lacks the blockbuster appeal of ultra shiny and action-filled scenes filled with CGI of all sorts, but on the other hand it also lacks the bland paperboard characters and acting and the plots which have more holes than swiss cheeses of many of such movies as well. The camera style is similar in certain ways to that of The Pianist, and heavily character centered rather than action centered. Many of the scenes were actually recorded in real world locations rather than CGI rendered. This movie style has also been compared in certain points to the older Children of Men, which is also a road movie.

The movie begins somewhat simplistically with a young Felicia (Nadia Horstmann) asks her grandfather to explain her what is anarchism, something she has heard him mentioning once. Her grandfather then says "Anarchism is" as a flashback of recreated scenes from the Spanish Civil War replace the previous take. While he says that it is a perfect society where people are truly free, images of anarchist militias in Spain murdering summarily priests and "fascist supporters" are exhibited, in an attempt to neuter the political bias of the work. In the next take, Felicia leaves her grandfather home escorted by her parents, while grandpa TV shows some news about an war, with him commenting "why do we kill ourselves for Them?" as a politician briefly appears on the newscast.

In the first 5 minutes, the late childhood and early teens of Felicia are briefed, with emphasis given to many of the social distinctions of her classroom, due to the lack of "status" of her low middle class parents. A few stances of humiliation are shown as the rich girls insult and taunt her due to her lack of some of the latest fashion. All the actors chosen to interpret them were instructed to be extremely bland and shallow, as a form of criticism to the consumerist and materialistic society, which is inbound across the movie. The last of these five minutes shows Felicia asking her father to buy fashionable clothes for her. In response he briefly explains that not only they cannot afford it, but that someone who needs such things to consider worthy is worthless and an empty shell of an human being. It does not help as deep sadness hits her in the last seconds of such briefing of her youth.

In the next section of the movie, the actual main plot begins, as in the same house, despite older, the now older grandfather of Felicia looks through an window, observing many signs of a city under turmoil. As he comes to the kitchen, it is visibly demonstrated how there is very little of food compared to before, with his fridge being almost entirely empty. He takes a single toast and puts butter on it, going to the old 29'' television which he turns on, to hear "this program has been canceled by decree of the Emergency cabinet". He mutters something about censorship, and then sits down pondering, as a few scenes of rioting and starvation pass for a minute, with the dramatic image of a policeman shooting a child ending the take, with no indication whether the child was killed or not by the shot.

Suddenly a strong bump is heard, as a bunch of cops storm his house, and shoot at him without saying a word. The last part of this take happens as one of the cops throws Kropotkin's "Mutual Aid", one of the possessions of Felicia's grandfather, in a fireplace, and in one of its pages, the last word to be burnt away is Freiheit(Freedom).

In the next section a friend informs Felicia's father that his father was murdered due to being known as an anarchist. Shocked, he is warned that they have no choice but to leave Germany behind, as they will definitively persecute close-by relatives, and mentions something which supposedly exists in southwest of Spain known only as "The Confederacy". After that all action is then centered at Felicia, which is now with 25 years of age, and the camera always accompany her during the rest of the movie. She meets the rest of her family in a metro station, where they prepare for a long journey towards freedom. Through a long struggle, which leads them to be forced to take unconventional ways, including using the sewers, they make a long journey towards Hamburg, having to endure many dangers, fast-talk authorities, and with many near miss moments where it seems they are about to be caught. They also witness many atrocities on their way, with a very strong feeling of powerlessness being passed to the audience, as they are well aware that their primary goal at that moment is survival.

Finally they reach the city of Hamburg, and after many other trials, they manage to "acquire"(steal), together with other political refugees, a large cargo ship which they take through. Then in a radical change, the next 15 minutes of the movie synthesize the fears, worries and problems of first-time sailors trying to navigate towards Spain and bypass coast guard boats with almost only the aid of visual orienteering.

After two hours of the movie depicting their tribulations to reach the city of Seville and the inherent psychological thriller, the focus then becomes shifted as reality is far away from desired. Countless buildings are toppled, some streets are being hastily fixed from the damage of artillery rockets and shells, and all signs indicate there is a war going on. Squatting an apartment near the safer coast, the Jaumanns struggle in a situation with constant power and water shortages due to the war, and of scarcity of resources, coupled with the fact neither of them had any knowledge of Spanish, and in daily relationships with locals, difficulties also are demonstrated to communicate. A few scenes of improvisations to solve some severe shortages are given impact for a while. However, among the shortage, countless of propagandas ask for the people to join the war against "the tyrants of false communism". While the dread situation perhaps is much more effective than any of them. After a lengthy and a quite heated discussion, Felicia's Jaumann father decides to join a militia, but asks her daughter to not join him, as she burst into cries, lacking courage to challenge his choice, with his last words being his promise to come back alive. Days pass as the fear about her father fate increases further and further, and time is used properly to create an almost unbearable tension, in an attempt to lead the audience to empathize with the characters.

Finally, as expected, an Spaniard, somewhat fluent in German tells them the bad news. After a minute where the sadness and despair are expressed into new manners, as a surreal take of a butcher running after her father with a sickle and a hammer appears, with also its degree of tension, the take returns to Felicia, and with an interlude, she decides to join the militia. The last hour of the movie, which is also the most action packed, attempts to depict the most dramatic moments of Felicia experiences in the war, with some very realistic depictions of guerrilla warfare tactics, as the movie was supervised by both real Felicia and a military specialist of the Army. This part is filled with many shocking scenes of cruelty and atrocities of the war, and is much more focused on the consequences of the war and in the manner it shapes human beings for worse than on the action of combat, including even a part where a group of enemy soldiers are taken into torture as some militias sadistically take delight from the action, in yet another attempt to balance the bias of the work and to not ignore real facts due to ideological bents. The action in the movie is quite cynical, and it is well explained that the only reason why Felicia did not die was because she never was in the front lines, but in support roles only. There is no magical bullets, and one of the most noticeable facts of this part is on how many of the usual war movie tropes are subverted or avoided.

The last minutes of the movie demonstrate a final defensive battle as the last civilians board transport ships towards Third Spanish States to evacuate Seville, and the movies ends as Felicia, wounded, is taken into one of the ships, looking at the horizon, and regretting to not be among all those militias who asked to be left behind, claiming they would fight to the last man, and how she is powerless to avoid their inevitable fate. Her final destination is not exhibited. Unlike in fictions, here despite the successful evacuation, the manner it is depicted is still as a defeat.

Before the credits, a few texts explain the real history behind the movie, including the current location of Felicia Jaumann in the former principality and now Democracy of Kell, and a final notice claiming that the Communist Party of Spain, through its oppression, have killed more than sixty millions of people. Requiem is played again during the credits.

Qualities:
Graphics Quality: 3/5
Acting Quality: 5/5
Plot Depth: 3/5
Character Detail: 4/5
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Movie Name: Phasm ex Machina (Ghost in the Machine)
Producer(s) Name:Viggo LeCaste
Companies Involved:Vidus Ars
Type: Horror
Plot Line:When the line between natural and artifical intelligence are blurred, who can you trust?
The Movie: In the not so distant future, a military based AI is adapted to simulate a civilian as the final test to its abilities. Disguised as a beautiful woman, the machine blends perfectly with rural Belkan life, however, the military origins of the device soon become chillingly clear.
The woman begins brainwashing her friends and killing her opponents, hiding the crimes by controling the local police and their computer systems. She goes on to establish a cult of personality, and assimilates the town into a cult in worship of the Imperium, leaving only a handful of frightened survivors to call for help.
Inquisitors soon arrive to purge the threat the cult poses, as the machine decides that she should be Emperor, and save the survivors. When they find the shell the rouge AI controlled, however, the program in question had already escaped to the internet.
Qualities:
Graphics Quality: 3/5
Acting Quality: 5/5
Plot Depth: 4/5
Character Detail: 3/5
-------------------------
Movie Name: Operation River Hurricane

Producer(s) Name: John Wallis

Companies Involved: Miroxia Movie Network

Type: War/Action

Plot Line: When a war breaks out between East and West Notrealistan, a young soldier of the east helps win the war at the river dividing the nation.
The Movie: It starts out at the President of East Notrealistan's office, President I. M. Knottreel giving his war declaration on West Notrealistan after WN forces bombed Fakesville, EN. After about 30 scenes of epic war and WN victory, you Eric von Fakinstine discovers WN weakness and leads the army on the last mission: Operation River Hurricane, in which they tunnel under the Hurricane River. Halfway through, the dig a hole, flooding the underground. After they escaped before too much flooding, waiting WN guard ships are sucked in. The armies then go on to defeat WN and conquer it.

Qualities:
Graphics Quality: 4/5
Acting Quality: 4/5
Plot Depth: 0/5
Character Detail: 3/5
-------------------------
Movie Name: The Triumph of the Nation
Producer Name: Kristien Eren
Companies Involved: Northstar Entertainment
Type: Patriotic Historical Epic
Length: 296 minutes
Plot Line: Details the last days of Belschafts royal family, and the ensuring revolution
The Movie: Begining at the Imperial Pallace in Dakara (now Belschaft Imperial Heritage Museum) the first part of the film details the opulent and decadent lifestyle of the Aristorcracy, who hold huge parties as the people starve. For the first hour the film sets the scene, showing the petty royals squabling and generaly being cruel, climaxing after 71 minutes with royalist soldiers putting down a peacefull protest asking for food (reminscent of bloody sunday).

The next part details the one good member of the royal family, Princess Annabel, and how she tries to change the arsitocracy, with the help of her secret lover, an army captain who is anti-royalist. This leads to her meeting normal people and realsing how corupt the current regime is. However her secret is found out, and 173 minutes in all her rebel friends are killed and her love arested.

In the third act the civil war breaks out as the increasingly brutal King Myanas becomes increasingly insane, and fighting starts between royalist and republican forces. This somes to ahead at the battle of the brazen firlds, where a royalist army is destroyed at great cost to the republican forces. Act three then ends at 243 minutes.

The fourth and final act details the last days of royalist Belschaft, and the storming of the imperial pallace by the republicans, and the deaths of the royal family. The film ends with Princess Annabel, free from house arrest, relecing her lover from his prison cell in the old Gulag, and them kissing before a beutiful sunrise as behind them the new flag of republican Belschaft is raised above the imperial pallace.

Qualities:
Graphics Quality: 2/5 (no FX - all done for real using literal armies of extra's)
Acting Quality: 4/5
Plot Depth: 5/5
Character Detail: 4/5
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Movie Name: Twins of Navaroe
Producer Name: John Williamson
Companies Involved: Epic Entertainment
Type: Historic Epic
Length: 141 minutes
Plot Line: Two brothers and their sister live their lifes in Colonial Alversia
The Movie:
The movie begins as the two brothers work in the fields, the eldest is John, who wants to stay at home and raise a family. David, the second brother, is more adventurous and wants to see the world while Emily, their sister, just wants a good husband. The three siblings fall out with each other and go their seperate ways.

Ten years into the future, John has bought a farm, is married and has three children, living happily. David ha joined the Alversian Army and spends his days training for combat and bullying less strong recruits while Emily has married the Unit's Officer. They are sent out to one of Alversia's desert colonies to combat the tribes there who are threatening Alversian territory. John has had military experience but he decided not to join the army, much to his Brother's fury, David expects it to be as glorious as the papers say it is.

Three months later and John cannot stop worrying about his brother and sister. He goes out hunting, using guns and becoming a top marksman while also becoming rich through his large farm. David has been fighting the entire time in the desert and is quickly growing sick of the constant attacks and patrols through the scorching desert. However, one day the Regiment is ambushed in the desert with most of the troops being killed and he and Emily captured. John decides to come out and work his way through the desert to try and rescue his brother and sister.

Qualities:
Graphics Quality: 4/5
Acting Quality: 4/5
Plot Depth: 3/5
Character Detail: 4/5
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Movie Name: Chained
Producer(s) Name: Rolf Dennings
Companies Involved: Vulpes Vixenis National Historical Foundation
Type: Drama
Plot Line: Details the "in-between moments" of a sexual slave prior to and leading up to the revolution
The Movie:
Intro: A young female leopard is shown within a gestation tube, obviously complete and near to release. Shadowed figures are shown moving around what is obviously a laboratory of some kind. The tube is drained of amniotic fluids and sealed for shipping. The screen fades to black and slowly returns from a first person persepctive. The camera is blurry as her eyes open and blink, then slowly comes into focus on the face of a leering human male. His eyes lock with hers for a few moments before giving her a slow once over, then return to hers. The scene ends with his simple statement, "They did a good job, on the outside. Just like I requested. Now... let's see how they did in other areas..."

First Intermission: The leopardess is thrown roughly into a small, closet-like room containing a bunk bed and a vanity. The main door opens against the camera, keeping where it leads hidden. There is one door besides the main entrance which is in an adjacent wall, closed. The vanity is covered in fur care and coloring products, as well as make up and a few medical supplies and medications. The leopardess is covered in a multitude of small wounds, blood staining her fur, most notably between her legs. One eyes is swollen shut, and blood trickles from her mouth. A vixen some few years older than the leopardess sits on the seat in front of the vanity and looks her over with a jaded eye before returning to applying makeup.
Vixen: New, huh?
Leopardess: *whimpers, glancing at the vixen*
Vixen: *glances at the leopardess, then returns to her task with a shrug* Talk or don't, your choice. But talking makes friends faster than not talking.
Leopardess: *curls into a fetal position and begins sobbing*
Vixen: *glances back again and sighs, setting down the makeup* That's not gonna help nothin... You might as well stop before -
A knock sounds at the door. The vixen rises and opens it, stepping over the leopardess. Before she can speak, she is pulled through the door by the collar around her neck. The door slams behind her. The leopardess crawls over to the bunk beds and leverages herself up onto the bottom one, resuming her curled position, facing away from the door, and continues to weep. Transition to changed position, asleep.
The Leopardess is startled awake by the vixen, now rather bedraggled and disarrayed. The vixen complains loudly about the leopardess getting blood all over her nice clean sheets, but the subject of her shouts seems lost on the feline as she cowers in the far corner. The vixen soon calms, noticing the leopardess's state, and attempts to soothe her. When this is unsuccessful, she forcibly drags the feline through the aforementioned door into a bathroom. She gently cleans her new roommate, inspecting the now healed wounds for scarring, and grooms herself as well. She introduces herself as Velvet, inspecting the leopardess's name tag and finding her new name to be Trixie. She instructs the feline in what is to be expected in this particular brothel and the proper behavior to display towards their owner and clients. She speaks softly, soothingly, trying to break the leopardess's plight to her gently. After drying, she grooms the feline's fur and her own, then snuggles with her on the bottom bunk after stripping the sheets. The main door slams open while they speak, startling both, and their owner comes in. He drags the leopardess out and slams the door shut.

Second Intermission: Trixie staggers back into the room. She has no obvious injuries, but is weak, drained. She is crying slightly. The vixen is not present. She showers and dries, then sits in front of the vanity, staring at her reflection for several minutes. Camera transition to view from several angles, ending in first person perspective. Velvet's admonition to keep herself well groomed echoes through her mind. She looks down at the brush. A trembling hand slowly reaches for it and grasps the handle. She looks back at her reflection, her gaze becoming more examinatory. She begins to groom herself. After a few minutes, the vixen enters, fur coated and matted with various substances. She holds an unlabled bottle of clear liquid in one hand and seems intoxicated. She struggles to keep herself steady, holding onto the door handle, swaying unsteadily. Her eyes narrow as she focuses on the startled Trixie. She lifts her free hand to point at the feline, releasing the door and letting it swing closed. She wavers momentarily, swaying, opening her mouth to speak a few times, but saying nothing. Her expression brightens suddenly and she snaps her fingers before stabbing one towards the leopardess.
Velvet: Trixie! That's you! *she giggles and falls back against the door, then raises one hand to wave* Hi!
Trixie: Are you... alright? *she sets down the brush, her expression concerned*
Velvet: Never better! *she slides slowly down to a lounging position, taking a swig from her bottle* Never better...
Trixie: *looks on for a moment before resuming her grooming* So... I... Th-thank you... for... yesterday.
Velvet: *giggles* S'no problem. I get to break in new girls all the time.
Trixie: *glances back* How long have you been here.
Velvet: Too long...
Trixie nods and continues brushing out her fur as the vixen begins to ramble, giving random anecdotes from her time at the brothel over the past few years. Her speech is interspersed with drunken giggles, and details highlights that she particularly enjoyed. Her personality is obviously such that she attempts to deal with the pleasantries as much as possible and keep the darker aspects of their forced profession as far under the rug as possible. She eventually drifts off into incoherent mumbles, falling asleep against the door. Trixie drags her onto the lower bunk then returns to the bathroom for a quick rinse, removing the transfered fluids with obvious disgust. Afterwards, she searches the vanity and discovers a copy of the Kama Sutra. She stares at it for a while then opens it, beginning to read. Transition to sleeping on the top bunk, Velvet still passed out on the bottom bunk. The main door slams open and the owner enters, startling Trixie awake. He gestures to her and she quickly and obediently follows him out.

Third through Twelfth Intermission: Time passes and Trixie develops, becoming confident in her abilities and her place, though there is a constant underlying sadness. Velvet remains, her entrances gradually transitioning from staggers to being dragged in, beaten bloody. Velvet reveals that their owner has begun to consider selling her to one of her regulars, who has become increasingly violent as he and their owner near a selling price. She believes her prospective buyer may be attempting to "ruin the merchandise" to force a price, and suggests that he has been hiring others to pose as clients to help rough her up and wear her down. Initially the vixen cares for the battered leopardess. As Trixie develops and Velvet's encounters become increasingly forceful, their positions reverse. In the Tenth Intermission, Velvet is returned to the room by medical personnel and is informed that she will be given a week's rest. The Eleventh Intermission ends after Trixie has left the room. Velvet is healed and well, and the owner enters with a leash. She cowers away from him, trembling as he snaps it on. She is led, unwilling but obedient, from the room. The Twelfth Intermission begins with Trixie discovering that Velvet is gone. The top bunk has been removed from her bed and she discovers that all of the vixen's "personal items" have been removed from the vanity. She weeps for a short time, then forces herself to calm and carries about her normal routine with a few necessary pauses to control outbreaks of sobbing. During these Intermissions, allusions are made to other slaves, eating, recreation, lessons, rendezvous with others, etc, though all scenes take place within their room. Some monologues, internal and external, detailing their individual feelings concerning their situation. Velvet is resigned to her status. Trixie is discontent and dreams of a better life, but becomes resigned with time.

Thirteenth and Fourteenth Intermission: Trixie is given a new roommate, a female hare named Cherry. She instructs the lapin in much the same way as Velvet instructed her. Cherry informs Trixie that she was bought from another brothel that had been forced to go out of business due to a raid to free the slaves held there. She had been unfortunate enough not to be caught while attempting escape. Trixie slowly becomes interested in the hare's story, the spark of hope dawning once more within her. She hangs on Cherry's words and they begin to discuss plans to discretely spread the word. They develop a code between themselves. The camera transitions to show the pair from a hidden security camera as they exit the room to spread the word to the others.

Fifteenth Transition: Trixie and Cherry are thrown back into the room after what was quite obviously a rather violent session. They are both bloody and have been beaten near the point of hospitalization, though not quite. The owner enters behind them, looking down as they struggle to stand. He holds a shock baton in one hand, behind his back. He waits patiently while they get to their feet, then explains to them that he dislikes the sowing of false hope within his girls. There is no hope for them. This is their life. He reveals the shock baton and pats it against one hand as he explains that its settings vary from a light but painful jolt to deadly and that it can be used in a variety of ways by an imaginative man. The scene blacks as he raises it to strike one of them and a scream accompanies a loud zap.

Total Run Time: 88m42s

Qualities:
Graphics Quality: 3/5
Acting Quality: 4/5
Plot Depth: 4/5
Character Detail: 4/5
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Movie Name: The Consulate
Producer's name: Gavin Lebrecque
Companies involved: primarily Pinnacle Productions
Type: Comedy
Plot line: Cuckoonut Borgerding has waited for years to flee his ravaged homeland of Bigtopia. At last, the hour has come to claim political asylum in an utopia he has only read about. With his wife and young children, Borgerding makes a daring escape, and hopes to live happily ever after.

There's just one small problem.

The nation has an area of half an acre.

A single building created as a loophole to ensure World Assembly representation for a country that doesn't want to be affected by its laws, the microstate isn't particularly keen on allowing the Borgerdings asylum. Hilarity ensues as the family struggles to find a home.

Sample scene:

Cassiopeia (age four): Daddy! Jingle's up on the pole!
Cuckoonut: What? How far out of the territory is that, we could get deported!
Jingleheimer (age six, from the flagpole): Woohoo!
Cuckoonut: Get down here!
Jingleheimer falls down. Cut to deputy ambassador.
Deputy (noticing the flag is now at half-mast): What's up? What's down, more like?
Cuckoonut: About a quarter of the permanent population almost got himself strangled, that's what...

Qualities: Graphics 4, Acting 3, Plot 5, Character 3
-------------------------
Movie Name:Chocolate
Producer(s) Name: Leanne Initia
Companies Involved: Broken Dreams Pictures
Type: Romance, Thriller
Plot Line: A woman, Dalia, who owns a chocolate shop in a war torn town is threatened with death by a warlord, Horatio, for wasting valuable resources. However she continues leading to her being kidnapped while her brother, Louie, tries to free her.
The Movie:
(Extract from scene entitled "Why?")

Louie (angry): "Why do you keep making this chocolate?! Is your life really worth it? Even I cannot keep protecting you from Horatio and his men. They'llcome after you and I don't know what they'll do once they get you!"

Dalia (calm): "We already live in hell and the children have nothing. At least with what I create I can bring some happiness into their lives. It tears my heart every time I see a child drafted by Horatio and they go around with guns, turning into killers before they turn into adults. If I'm also wasting resources, as Horatio says, then I say good. Maybe it will bring this war to an end and end Horatio's rule."

Louie: "I care for you. You are my sister. Horatio will kill you if you keep defying him and then he will come for the rest of us. You know what he does to those that defy... (pause) What was that?"

The sounds of trucks screeching to a halt and men shouting is heard outside, some gunshots are heard. The door to Dalia's shop is broken down and some of Horatio's soldiers enter.Louie is hit with the butt of a gun, knocking him out cold. As he loses consciousness he sees Dalia being dragged out of the door screaming.

Louie (whispering): Dalia... (blacks out)


Qualities: (You have a total of 15 points to be spread across the following)
Graphics Quality: 2/5
Acting Quality: 4/5
Plot Depth: 4/5
Character Detail: 5/5
-------------------------
Movie Name: 19 months
Producer(s) Name: Jacobus Majauzokine
Companies Involved: Badland Pictures
Type: Historical Action
Length: 300 minutes (3 hours)
Plot Line: Following the 19 months of lawlessness between the crash of the stock market (October 1930) and the rise of socialism (May 1931). Focusses on gangsters Jonas Sveldas and Ona Lukozite, "Buckshot" Rudkus, and Sebastijones Gryzbow.
The Movie:
Act One shows the beggining of the three of the gangsters. The first scene begins the day after the stock market crash. Rudkus is in the mob attacking the capital for money. After a fight, the mob enters the capital building to steal the jewels and loose cash. Rudkus takes the Jewel of the Ages (a.k.a. a big diamond), and goes about 3 miles out of town to show it to his family when he is jumped. After a struggle, he drops the diamond, and it rolls of a cliff. In anger, he strangles the man to death. He then takes the mans shotgun, which he left in a car, and drives off to find more money. Sveldas and Lukozite are meanwhile at the resort town of Lithuan when the stock market crashes and the banks begin to close. Sveldas steals a gun from a jumped and dying police officer, and he and Lukozite rob one of the last banks left open. They get away with 50,000 Z.
Act Two begins in a small town bank. A 21 year old walks in with a picnic basket. After looking around, he takes out a submachine gun and forces the banker to put 15,000 Z in the basket. He then kills the banker and the two other bank patrons before stealing a car and escaping. He us Gryzbow Meanwhile, Rudkus hits his tenth bank. After the job, he runs into the two brothers of the man he killed. They reach for pistols, but he pumps them full of buckshot. This is where he gets his nickname. In the meantime, Lukozite and Sveldas are becoming romantic heroes, giving money to poor farmers etc. But for the people trying to maintain order, they are a big pain.
Act Three begins the rise of the Socialist government. Most gangsters have been put down, except for our four heroes. Gryzbow has become notorious for leaving no survivors. After a shooting car chase 5 policemen with submachine guns corner him in a back alley. He kills two before falling to the ground, dead. Rudkus gives himself up volentarily when confronted with a similar situation. His story ends with bars closing across his face. Sveldas and Lukozite are driving along a country road, debating what to do next, when they turn a corner and are confronted by two heavy machine guns behind sand bags. They don't stand a chance as the bullets roar at them. The car veers off and crashes. The lawmen run out, and open the door. Sveldas is dead, while Lukozite, miraculously survives with minor injuries. The movie ends with her hugging her husbands corpse while the law men drag her out of the car.
Qualities: (You have a total of 15 points to be spread across the following)
Graphics Quality: 4/5
Acting Quality: 4/5
Plot Depth: 3/5
Character Detail:4 /5
-------------------------
Movie Name: Passo di San Raffaele ("St. Rafael's Pass")
Producer(s) Name: Terrenco Massiminiani, Giustina Sorte, Wanda Roccamolense
Companies Involved: Multiversal Studios, Inc.
Type: Romance/Drama; Historical Fiction
Plot Line: Can love breach any barrier fate throws at it?

The Movie: Giri Valley, Norden, December 1747. Young Brute soldier Marco Malmessini is fighting Nordeners in the war between Norden and Brutland. He terribly misses his wife and two children back at home, but there is no way but forward across the snowy mountain passes. Battle after battle, he becomes more and more homesick, and more and more Nordeners surrender and become prisoners.

One of the prisoners was Stefano Lignolli, who had been forced to leave his ailing mother and be conscripted to the army. He was forever grateful to Marco who stopped his brutish comrades from beating him to death. But Stefano's gratefulness eventually turned into friendship, and soon, into romantic love. Marco reciprocated all of those feelings. To the surprise of them both, it seemed that their love was above their homesickness, their families, their nations, and their gods. And so they devised a plan.

They ran away, hoping to reach a place where no one would see them. Nobody seemed to notice, until another prisoner tipped off the Brute soldiers about the pair's plans. And so a search party from the Brute army sought out the two.

Evidently, Marco and Stefano did not get far across the snowy landscape. In a small, abandoned cottage up St. Raphael's Pass, Brute soldiers found the two, hiding. The orders were to bring the soldier to the commander and to kill the prisoner at sight. Marco refused to follow orders that he go and asked his comrades to shoot them both. The officer in charge of the search party granted his wish. Soldier and prisoner were shot, inseparable even as their bodies froze in the cold of the Christmas Eve.

[NB: In the Roman Catholic tradition, St. Raphael the Archangel is the patron saint of matchmakers and matchmaking.]
news article; interview snippet.

Qualities:
Graphics Quality: 3/5
Acting Quality: 5/5
Plot Depth: 3/5
Character Detail: 4/5
-------------------------
Movie Name: THE PHOENIX PAPERS
Producer(s) Name: Sakura Taisen, Asuka Taisen, Kyoko Mitsura
Companies Involved: Taisen Films
Type: Drama/Sci-fi/Historical

Plot Line: Based on a true story of young Kyoko Taisen a young single woman in rural Kurona who's normal life was changed forever when she began having unexplained encounters. Over the course of one year (1918-1919) Kyo began seeing strange objects in the night sky over her country home. Before too long these visitations became closer and closer until Ms. Taisen finally met the creatures piloting these air craft. Case closed? Not quite, Kyoko was given foretellings of cataclysmic events that would shape the earth over the course of the 20th Century and into the 21st Century. Following her strange encounters Kyoko was under great suspicion by the Government for her reportings. The Catholic church listed her as blasphemous the Government thought of her as a conspirator, the investigation went on until Kyo was finally exiled.


The Movie: (Feel free to "RP" the movie out if you wish, or get more detailed on the plot line.): Excerpts from the screenplay by Asuka Taisen:


EXT. KYO'S HOME - NIGHT

KYOKO TAISEN a woman in her early 20's relaxes in the summer night. It's warm, crickets chirp, the cicadas are buzzing and the fireflies are flickering. Kyo hums to her self as she looks in the stary sky. A strange LIGHT catches her attention. "What is that?" Kyo's eyes focus on the light as it bobs and zigzags and darts around the sky. Kyo returns inside and lights a lantern and returns outside to see the lighting still making maneuvers. Kyo holds The light up and the object reacts by flashing back. Kyo flashes the lantern again to see if it will react. Again it reacts. The object then grows larger and descends slowly behind a grove of trees and reascends shooting down beams of light. The object takes off with out a sound, Kyo is left looking puzzled. She darts inside and pulls out her DIARY to record what she sees.


KYOKO (VO)

It seemed like an ordinary night to me. The air was warm and still, and the crickets were chirping brightly. And the stars were shining brightly. Unable to sleep I got out of bed and put on my Kimono. I went outside to look at the stars and just looked. I noticed one star was very bright, far to bright. A thought for a moment a planet? No it was moving, a shooting star it must have been. But I realized soon it was moving in a pattern. Zigzags, u's, o's and many others. And it began flashing many colors. Whenever I held my lamp up to it, it flashed at me. If I dimmed my lamp out, it brightened up. Then it stopped moving over the tree line of the forest. It began to slowly decent and I saw it in full shape. It was massive, and bright. It looked like an upturned saucer. It flashing many colors. Red, green, blue, yellow. It was silent and very still. Strange beams of light were shooting down from it, and then it suddenly took off. Straight up into the air.

[end of scene]

INT. TOWN GENERAL STORE

Kyoko converses with the store owner MR. GLOSSUM.


KYO

Strange, it was strange. What is it I have been seeing lately?


GLOSSUM

This whole thing sounds a bit, well blasphemous.


KYO

I'm serious, strange objects, odd burns, sounds I can not explain! What is happening? A sign from Kami? Or God, or whatever? visitors from beyond?


GLOSSUM

I suggest you just put such foolishness behind you and concentrate on what is important. Kyo, you are on the wrong path.


KYO

Glossum, please I can't....


GLOSSUM

I'm serious, aliens, ghosts, nonsense. There is only what the Lord has given us. Something you need to think long and hard about.


KYO

Shinto, now and forever.

Kyo exits the store.

[end of scene]

INT. KYO's BATH - NIGHT

A stormy night with lot's of
THUNDER as Kyo sinks into a bath. The house makes sounds of shuttering and creaking as the wind gusts. The house begins to shake Kyo shoots up in the bath.


KYO

Oh god, a twister!

Kyoko throws on a robe and begins and runs outside to seek shelter. She sees a massive ship ablaze! It moves behind the timberline catching the trees. Despite the heavy downpour the trees remain on fire.

[end of scene]

INT. INTERROGATION OFFICE


CHARLIE

Because it never did happen did it Kyo?!


KYO

It did. I was told everything. There will be a horrible war, it will kill millions of people! For no reason! All by the doings of one man! A German leader!


CHARLIE

Kyo....


KYO

Listen, it will happen, in 20 years it will begin. We are all starving our selves, countries will keep making new technology and drain the resources!


CHARLIE

Shut up!

Charlie slaps Kyo.

[end scene]

Qualities: Graphics Quality: 5/5
Acting Quality: 4/5
Plot Depth: 2/5
Character Detail: 4/5
-------------------------
Movie Name: The Chief
Producer(s) Name: Sakura Taisen Roxanne Simmons
Companies Involved: Taisen Films
Type: Drama/Historical/Biography
Plot Line:

The life story of Kino Turell of AHSCA-Corona Island Chief from his early teens to his chief hood to his death in 2007 at the result of enemy hands.

The Movie:

Filmed on location on a small island just south of Kanami the film runs 3 hours 3 minutes. The cast featured over 70 actors from various countries including Kulikovia, H-Town Tejas, Kurona, Aqua Anu, AHSCA, and Nueve Italia. It was Sakura Taisen's largest project ever. "The script took me 8 weeks, casting took me 6 weeks and shooting look me half a year." -Sakura Taisen

Critics remarked of the film's stunning color pallet.

"I didn't want this to look like a tragedy or archival footage. I wanted it very vibrant and clean."

But vibrant cinematography and art direction aren't the only stunning things about this movie. Acting has been regarded as some of the finest the score by Midori Kusanori in her carrer. "Midori, knew what I was aiming for, she knew exactly how to drive the score."



Qualities: (You have a total of 15 points to be spread across the following)
Graphics Quality: 2/5
Acting Quality: 5/5
Plot Depth: 5/5
Character Detail: 3/5

(Few more movies after jump...)
imported_ViZion
22-06-2008, 07:15
Movie Name: A Farm Story Movie
Producer(s) Name: Sofia Kamrill, Jon Landux, Renee Sanchiro, Yutaka Hime
Companies Involved: Kamrill Pictures, Light Storm Entertainment, Ethnic Entertainment Network [es]
Type: Drama

Plot Line: Live action adaption of Sofia Kamrill's TV Series, the story follows a young teenager Yuuki who was expecting a fairly ordinary life ahead of her. Things began to suddenly change for Yuuki her best friend admited she's in love with Yuuki, then out of the blue Yuuki's father dies leaving her orphaned. Yuuki lives with her best friend and her single mother where things seem to only grow stranger for Yuuki.


The Movie:
Qualities:
Graphics Quality: 1/5
Acting Quality: 3/5
Plot Depth: 4/5
Character Detail: 5/5
-------------------------
Movie Name: Scarecrow
Producer(s) Name: Sofia Kamrill
Companies Involved: Kamrill Pictures
Type: Mystery/Suspense
Plot Line: A small farm and a little girl become terrorized by a supernatural demon inhabiting a scarecrow.

The Movie:

Qualities:
Graphics Quality: 3/5
Acting Quality: 4/5
Plot Depth: 3/5
Character Detail: 4/5
-------------------------
Movie Name: The Hunted
Producer(s) Name:
Alex Throton
Yukito Tanazaki
Sofia Kamrill
James Scott
Companies Involved: Black Hawk Films Ltd. Kamrill Pictures
Type: Drama/Action/Suspense/Crime
Plot Line: Based on the terrifying true story of the Paradise Island Murders, the film chronicles the experience of the survivors and what they went through on that island.
Several guests are invited to an all expense paid vacation in a serene tropical paradise. Activities are said to include fishing, diving, hunting, golf and much more. But what these tourists don't know is they are secretly being invited to their deaths. Eccentric Billionaire Thomas Bellmont has invited several sadistic gun happy hunters to play a game of survival, in which the objective is to kill every single tourist he has invited.

As the guests arrive their luggage is taken from them and are invited to dinner, in which the ingest food spiked with narcotics. All the guests wake up in cages in a dark room. The cages are opened and the hunted are given a head start to run and hide. All the hunters engage in a deadly pursuit which ends up with dire results but could have been so much worse

The Movie:

Graphics Quality: 4/5
Acting Quality: 5/5
Plot Depth: 3/5
Character Detail: 2/5
-------------------------
Movie Name: Paradise Lost
Producer(s) Name: Azamalaria Makoto
Companies Involved: None, this is a 100% independent film
Type: Drama
Plot Line: In October of 2006 everyone knew trouble was brewing for the five islands in the south and warm tropical seas. A war was coming, many knew it, and so did this family. Azamalaria her mother, her four sisters were sent away to the refuge of other islands, before it would come to pass. At first the fleeing refugees were gracious and welcoming of her family but it began to change, and fast. Now the islands that once welcomed had sent them away. With no other place to go, all the family can do is return home. Home to the place that will become soaked with blood.

The Movie: Azamalaria is the only survivor of her family, this is her story of the four months of pain and anguish she suffered. With the help of some generous friends from other countries she was able to make this film.

Qualities:
Graphics Quality: 1/5
Acting Quality: 5/5
Plot Depth: 5/5
Character Detail: 4/5
-------------------------
Movie Name: Spearhead
Producer(s) Name: Michael Tucker
Companies Involved: MT Studios
Type: Action
Plot Line: When a military company's CEO is kidnapped, his son sets out to retrieve his father. On the way he finds that his father was kidnapped by a group of terrorists using his father for weapon creating purposes. He soon finds out he must fight to free his father
The Movie: Begining= Joshua Robertson is accepting to inherit his father's company Spearhead enterprises. Then a couple of explosions go off near the door. A big van drives in and men jump out and kidnapp Josh's father. Josh figures out the kidnappers are a well known terrorists. He studies their building and finds out where his father is. He also trains with guns and other various weapons. He also trains in hand-to-hand combat. He then sets out to get back his father under the alias "Spearhead."
Middle= Josh enters the terrorists' building and sneaks his way in. He fights his way to the main corridor where his father is being tortured and forced to build weapons of mass destruction.
End= He then runs into Burt Livingston, the leader of the terrorist group. After an epic fight sequence Josh spots a long metal rod with an end chipped into a sharp end. He then says some final words: "The spear was the first weapon on record. This is how it works," he then kicks up the metal rod with his foot and throws it into Burt, killing him. He then saves his father and they hed back together.
Qualities:
Graphics Quality: 3/5
Acting Quality: 4/5
Plot Depth: 4/5
Character Detail: 4/5
Tucker Island
22-06-2008, 07:15
OOC: Can you vote for your own?
imported_ViZion
22-06-2008, 07:18
OOC: one is welcome to vote for their own, however I'd urge those who submitted movies to be willing to look and a possibly vote for others, too.
Tucker Island
22-06-2008, 07:35
I would like to vote for Scarecrow.
Tucker Island
22-06-2008, 07:44
"And that's your headline news. Now let's send it over to Nathan Cagle with movie news."


"Thanks Jim. Now I recently went to the Crystal Valley Film Festival and saw the movie Spearhead. I'm a big fan of Michael Tucker's work, and I have to say this is an amazing movie. The plot is great and the special effects are awesome. The only problem was a minor one. The language was a bit strong, but that's it. Now let's get some callers' views on this movie."
Belschaft
22-06-2008, 21:07
I will not be voting due to bias.
Burtilana
22-06-2008, 23:14
OOC: I agree, i think that people who entered should not vote.

IC:

Matthew Sutton & Christina Atesh continued their tour of ViZion, both were due to be on different local radio stations to talk about their film...
Zwangzug
22-06-2008, 23:23
OOC: I think it's fine for those of us who entered to vote, as long as there's a rule that we don't vote for ourselves...though I don't know who, if anyone, I want to vote for.
imported_ViZion
23-06-2008, 05:06
OOC: Alright, voting thing address. You may not vote for yourself.
Kurona
23-06-2008, 05:09
Asuka arrived in Crystal Valley on time. She was excited to not only present her film but see her cousin Sakura. She knew Sakura was presenting one of her own films here as well. She bid hello to others as they arrived as well as the press.
Zwangzug
23-06-2008, 14:47
We sat down with Augustus Duchamp, star of "The Consulate", for his thoughts on his film and the festival.

What have you thought of the other films?

"In all honesty, I can't say I'm very impressed. Too many of them feel focused on the history of the nations that produced them...maybe eight of those and one other comedy, besides my own of course. I would have liked to see more in the present day, or how about future? A little sci-fi would have been fun.

What's it like to play a Bigtopian?

"Well, I'm from [the Zwangzug city of] Thermidore Negre, so my ancestors came from Marche Noir. When playing Cuckoonut, I didn't really focus on his ethnicity so much as his character: this is a man who so desperately wants to create a better life for himself and his children, so I needed to portray that passion despite the comedy of the situation.

Does this raise awareness of the Bigtopian crisis?

*frustrated sigh* "I'm really sick of this kind of question. The film is meant to be entertaining for its own sake, not as a means of activism. If anything, it's raised awareness of how small some of these countries can get-Zwangzug is fairly isolationist, and a lot of my compatriots have never heard of "WA Puppets"...I think some of them have never heard of the WA..."

Well, on a lighter note, what was the best part of making the film?

"Definitely working with Shenandoah Sardi, who plays the ambassador-joking, joking! Nah, it would have to be spending time with the two children who play my kids-they're simply adorable and I loved shooting all the scenes with them."

And the most frustrating?

"We started filming back in the days of the UN-so when the WA replaced it, we had to reshoot a bunch of scenes. Don't want to seem dated...like I said, this is not historical fiction!"

Thank you very much for your time, and enjoy the rest of the festival.

"Thank you. I'll do my best."
Burtilana
23-06-2008, 23:54
so one film has been voted for? or did I miscount?