Review of American Movie (1999) by Senh D — 23 Feb 2005

Troy - It turned out better than I thought. They really did a great job with the sets. It feels very epic. I also like that the director didn't waste anytime setting it up. Some of the battle scenes are pretty good, especially the one at the beach of Troy.

American Movie - This is a great documentary about someone chasing after his dream to become a successful filmmaker. The twist here is despite his determination, enthusiasm, and drive to make movies, he's not very good at it. The guy started making films since he was 12 or 14. The film mostly documents the making of his short horror film "Coven." Honestly, there were a couple pretty good shots in the beginning of the film, and I also thought it was a great idea for him to film it in black and white. After some of the great shots in the beginning, the rest didn't look so good - lots of bad lighting where you could barely see anyone's face. Still, like many great documentaries, the filmmakers do a good job of presenting the subjects. Some of them are really interesting characters. Like American Splendor and Crumb, the life of an artist is filled with lots of struggles and heartaches. It's hard not to root for them or be sympathetic towards their cause.