"Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gunna get" - Forrest Gump

Usually, we give you guys some updates on our screenwriting efforts on Friday. By next weekend, we should have a completely polished script. We hope to ship it out soon to be critiqued. Since that will give us a lot to talk about for next week, we opted for a slightly different Filmmaking Friday.

Combined, we probably watch at least 8-10 movies a week. Naturally, our love for films played a huge part in our decision to write a movie. But it isn't just the quantity we watch, it's the range in quality. We watch all the critically acclaimed films that are expected to deliver such as, Slumdog Millionaire, The Dark Knight, or Requiem for a Dream. But, we seek out the unknown movies as well. More often than not, you can judge a book by its cover. The movies that look like they suck, usually do. Movies like Nothing, The Playaz Court, and Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist turn out to be as painful to watch as you expected. But if you continue to look past the covers, you happen to discover some gems like: The Mist, Lars and the Real Girl, Snow Angels, Little Manhattan, and Half Nelson. We didn't really expect much from those movies but, they ended up being some pretty enjoyable flicks.

Seeing those "hidden gem" movies has helped us tremendously in the screenwriting process. Movies don't need a huge budget or an all-star cast to tell an amazing story. Those things certainly help the film reach a wider audience; however, the building block behind all great movies is an outstanding script, with amazing characters. Every movie that evoked the thought, "I immediately regret this decision!", had characters we didn't care about. Our concern was not whether the characters lived or died, but if we would live through the pain to see another movie. The commonality amongst those pleasant surprises is that you actually find yourself rooting for the hero. We want this protagonist to get the girl, beat his addiction, or save everyone's life. The story can have a million twists, or just be a simple straight-forward plot. It really all comes down to whether or not we like the characters. With that said, the heroes in our movie are based around our lives. Since everyone loves us, you will no doubt love the characters in our movie.

Here are some movies that we've seen recently (both in theaters and DVD). Don't worry, there aren't any plot spoilers so you can read and still watch the movie.

Youth in Revolt - We don't know how Michael Cera does it, but it just adds fuel to our statement about characters. He keeps playing a lost, dorky teen that's awkward with girls. But people sympathize with that character over and over and that's why his movies have been so successful.

Extract - It might have been the expectations of this being the "next" Office Space that left this movie in the underachieving column. It was a solid comedy with some funny scenes. But when it starts off being compared to one of the most well-written, genius comedies of all time, disaster is usually imminent.


Zombieland - Took a refreshing approach and spin on an overplayed Zombie genre. Their use of comedy was on point and Bill Murray's cameo was stellar. As if mixing in horror and comedy wasn't enough, Zombieland also sprinkled in some romance. The movie left us quite fulfilled.

Role Models - We've seen this movie several times, but just re-watched it again recently. Two lines from this movie are all that needs mentioned: "Well, obviously we're not supposed to butt**** these kids." And "Dude, I just spent the afternoon in Middle-earth with glee-glop and the floopty-doos". Phenomenal.


Invention of Lying - One of the most puzzling movies we've watched in a while. Very original, high-concept premise. Plenty of humorous scenes with great writing. Solid cast. You really, really root for the hero. But it just didn't deliver. There was just something off about this comedy and we can't figure it out.

The Final (Almost Final) Destination - The real title doesn't matter. This movie was such a great original concept that should have never had a sequel. It especially shouldn't have had poly-quels. Don't see it.

Enjoy your weekend.