Review of Camp Takota (2014) by Mike S — 11 Mar 2014

The lord knows how badly I wanted to like this movie, it seemed like a fun concept, light love story and some funny moments; quite a different story. I suffered in 25 minute increments to finish the movie, over multiple sessions while rolling my eyes all along the way.

Going into an indie film I understand that it will not be as polished as a big studio film but this wasn't close. The editing was something similar to what I found in film school, jump cut haven, the shot selection was horrible (a director behind the camera worries me), no such concept of composition and no understanding of cinematic language. Almost every scene transition was a fade, roughly 90%, enough where it became a game to try to find the cuts without a fade.

The pacing was horrible, mainly due to the ill written story. I found myself questioning who's story was it, why am I watching this scene and how does it progress it along. Characters were introduced in shock and awe fashion, 'oh here, lets add a character in' so there was no character development at all. The main character, Eliza, doesn't have any growth or any challenge, there is no conflict.