greatdeceivah Alex Ferrari is the king of what i'll call "turd marketing", an olive oil salesman, passing himself as some kind of filmmaking guru. The truth is that Mr. Ferrari is so skillfull at BSing and marketing his turd movies and products that people are actually fooled into thinking they are good. He now has a "podcast" where he tries really hard to sell himself as a "hustling" filmmaker and director.. and yet in his "20 years of experience" he only made a few horrible shorts.... which is really a good thing, because the world is already cluttered with too much garbage..His first short, "Broken" is so laughably bad, that i thought i was watching a parody or a comedy. The directing of the actors is non-existent.. the actor's performances are so cheesy and over the top, and the plot is so juvenile, that the whole thing could pass for a freshman filmschool project. The action scenes are laughable.. the only thing that saves this cheesefest from being a complete wreck is the fact that Mr. Ferrari colorized the whole thing to give it a more professional look.I felt bad for whoever got taken by this turd salesman, and the five star reviews left here by his sockpuppet accounts and purchased this piece of garbage on DVD...what a ripoff.. I have seen teenage film students put out better and more interesting shorts than this laughable waste of digital bits. The other two shorts done by Mr. Ferrari feature more-of-the-same horrible overacting and juvenile plots.. so obviously this genius hasn't learned poo-poo in his "20 years of filmmaking" Mr. Ferrari is an inspiration to everyone, because if such a talentless hack like him can pass himself as a "filmmaker" ; anyone has a chance!!!To top it all off, the ever fat and lazy Turd salesman is now selling a "film school" video series in Udemy, that is comprised of ten-year- old, outdated, rehashed and recycled "behind the scenes" and "making-of" videos of his cheesy shorts and his idiotic podcast videos, so anyone can now learn the difficult art of making terrible, overacted movies with amateurish plots.. with plenty of guns and cheesy FX, of course! You too can now learn the secrets of the turd marketing!!Remember kids.. no amount of turd marketing, special FX, stunts, guns and props, concept art and iphone apps are going to make up for competent actor directing, having a good story and an interesting plot. Mr. Ferrari's horrible shorts and failed career as a "filmmaker" are living proof that there is no replacement for real talent.

Film Geek Lover PRICING ====== I have to take issue with those who have a gripe with the price of the DVD ($20 plus shipping and handling?!?!). While I understand getting the most for your dollars concept, a perspective must be used. An indie filmmaker that puts up his own (and friends) money would like to recover SOME cost in their production. They will charge what they feel and want. How many movies have you seen at the theater in your lifetime that you wish you got your money back as well as the 2 hours you spent watching pure trash? If you look at the $20 for a 20 minute film, then yes, it is a higher cost. But to me, the 3 hours of behind he scenes and how-to-make-your-own- flick was worth the money. Heck, I would have paid $30! You really can't compare indie films and Hollywood produced films. They are 2 different animals. Shorts like BROKEN have a smaller amount of time to show their story compared to a 2 hour feature. I'm not saying that the story has something to be desired, I'm just saying that their needs to be some leeway. REVIEW ===== BROKEN is a great testament to what can be achieved in independent film-making. Any of the software editing programs and computers can do the job of larger productions. That is clearly evident in this film. Wardrobe and props gave this film some great production value (love the wheelchair), and the visual effects were very... effective.As far as the story, I feel confused about it probably because I felt like I wanted to know more about the characters (thus, one downfall of a short film). That aside, I am happy for these filmmakers that seem to be getting a shot at a feature version. I would draw similarities to BROKEN like FIREFLY to SERENITY (not in terms of story, but more what the potential is). FIREFLY ended way too soon, but fan support got 1 feature length movie out of it after cancellation of their TV series. I don't know what other show has gotten that kind of push after only one season. Personally BROKEN is inspiring and engaging. Could the story be better? Sure. Is it a victim of eye candy? Maybe. But that's not what I bought it for. I bought it as a fan, and want to be able to say "I was with them from the beginning." --Darren

Rogue Cinema Once in a while, a film comes along where all the pieces just fit. The production is first rate, the acting is incredible and both visuals and sound are something special. Now a film like that doesn't come along but once in a blue moon, and certainly it's a rarity to see something of that caliber coming from the independent film community, but a special film such as this has finally graced the stage. That film is called Broken. It's a short film, coming in at around 20 minutes, and I hear tell that there's a feature length version in the works.Now Broken is an absolutely gorgeous movie visually. The way it was shot, the editing, and the entire feel of it puts you in a completely separate world. Now you'd think that with such gorgeous visuals, the acting or the action or any number of other things would come up lacking, but that just isn't the case. The story is incredibly intense and action packed, and you never know what's going to happen from one minute to the next. I'm not going to get into the whole story here because that would give the whole thing away, but basically it's about a girl who's kidnapped by a cadre of baddies who she apparently really ticked off for some reason or another. There's also a surprise ending, that should catch most people off guard.Every actor in this film, with the exception of maybe one did an outstanding job. The main bad guy was creepy as all get out and eccentric as hell and you never knew what he was going to do next. He also had this really gnarly scar on the side of his face in some sort of a strange design that really lent to his creepiness. The main actress played her part beautifully with all the emotions coming out that you'd expect in the situation she had been placed in. Surrounding them were a whole host of other baddies, each with their own distinct characteristics that made the whole thing feel like they were a bunch of characters from some video game.The thing about this film is that it basically comes down to being the last twenty minutes of a bigger feature. It picks up in a spot where you know things have happened earlier on, but there's some mystery as to what those things were. In many films, that would be detrimental to the overall story, but in this case, it really didn't matter. The mystery surrounding the things that transpired earlier only added to the story that was presented, and allowed the viewer to fill in the blanks for themselves as the story progressed.The most shocking thing about this film is that as gorgeous as it is, and with over 120 effects shots, they managed to pull it off for a mere $8,000. Now if Hollywood had tried to make something with the same look, they'd have probably ended up spending eight million dollars, minimum. That's what's so incredible about the current state of technology. It allows independent filmmakers the freedom to bring their visions to life without having to spend a fortune in the process.I look forward to seeing the full feature version when it's completed. Writer and director Alex Ferrari and his team of highly talented individuals have made something really special here, and it's definitely worth your time to check it out.

PIXEL Surgeon UK Broken is a mystery, a thriller and an action movie, but more than anything, it's like a slice out of a big-budget Hollywood flick. I say slice because Broken is actually a short, coming in at only 15 minutes long and cost a paltry $8,000 to make. Most short films aspire to art and experimentation or are hamstrung by financial constraints, but Broken is really none of these things. It was designed from the ground up to be an action film, almost like a trailer for a movie that has yet to be made. Unlike a trailer, however, it has self-contained story arc and develops the characters as reasonably as can be expected in the time available. It's a stunning achievement. The movie begins with Bonnie Clayton (Samantha Jane Polay) roused from an apparent nightmare and stumbling into her kitchen. There she's confronted by the mysterious Duncan (Paul Gordon), lurking in the shadows. She's knocked unconscious and wakes up gagged and tied to a wheelchair in a disused hospital basement. The harmonica-obsessed Duncan, with a distinctive scar on his face, explains why she was abducted. It seems that she is some kind of secret operative (for whom it is not explained) and "the management" want her replaced. But the confused Bonnie has no recollection of who the hell Duncan is and just wants to go home. Nor does she recognize any of his colorful and bizarre entourage, which includes the sexy flame-haired assassin Marquez (Amber Crawford) and a handful of musclebound henchmen who look like they're itching to blow her apart. Duncan confirms our worst fears: "Everyone here, even the fellow wearing that ridiculous little hat, came here for a reason and one reason only: to kill you." Meanwhile, a masked agent, armed to the teeth, stealthily creeps into the basement to save Bonnie, but it seems that Bonnie still has a couple of tricks up her sleeve... With a movie this long there are bound to be problems. The thugs are underdeveloped and seem to be there simply as cannon fodder for the gun battle at the end. The plot feels truncated and begs to be extended and expanded, and there are curious touches—such as Bonnie's glowing eyes—that I would love to see explored. Put simply, there are too many ideas to be locked into a 15 minute running time. The good news is that The Enigma Factory, the production company behind Broken are in talks with several interested parties about financing a full length version of the film. At the end of the short, there's a knowing look to the camera by one of the characters which I'm not convinced belongs in the film because it's a little too long and obvious. Aside from that it's all gravy. The film represents a new benchmark in self-financed movies. While Star Wars fan films have often excelled in the visual effects department, they've sometimes been let down by hokey acting or leaden editing. But Broken excels in just about every department. It exudes quality and high production values that simply belie its budget and must be a torchbearer for the new revolution in digital film-making. A quick mental calculation would seem to imply that a two hour movie could be made for as little as $64,000, which doesn't even cover the hairdressers' trailer on some Hollywood productions. The website is worth checking out for some great visual effects features from Sean Falcon, like the extras you find on DVDs. There are also storyboards, galleries, posters and interviews with the writer/director Alex Ferrari and writer/producer Jorge Flores Rodriguez. It's a pretty attractive package for an intriguing thriller that's the movie equivalent of strapping yourself to rocket and lighting the fuse. Pixel Surgeon UK