Film Archives - Recovery Street Film Festival

What’s the Deal: What the DC Universe Keeps Getting Wrong

You would not be wrong to say that a majority of the films that we see now revolve around superheroes. Today, we wanted to elaborate on the DC cinematic universe and what they seem to keep doing wrong.

Let’s get started!

Trying Hard to Inject Humor the Marvel Way

If we were to compare Marvel and DC with each other, you could say that DC has better writers for their comics. However, if we were to base it solely on the cinematic universe, Marvel wins hands down. This puts immense pressure on DC to come up with the same formula.

This is where they get is massively wrong.

DC is not known for its one-liners and funny quips. If anything, DC is famous for discussing issues that other comics are scared to talk about. They are the home of The Watchmen, they are not afraid to talk about gritty things.

What the cinematic universe gets is a half-assed version of the Marvel ones. DC does not need to make their characters memorable because of their quips or funny lines. They need to be remembered for what they accomplish and their principles.

No Back Story for New Characters

The latest DC movie to hit the screens was Justice League. This was supposed to their chance to present an ensemble cast. The trouble with this was that they introduced new characters right off the bat. These characters were Cyborg, Aquaman, and the Flash.

While the Flash was slightly teased in Batman versus Superman, there wasn’t anything about them that was clarified. In their attempt to not bog down viewers with lengthy back stories, they ended up giving characters that no one knew and no one was really invested in.

They assume that everyone knows the back story and this is a mistake. This is like telling audiences to go pick up a comic book or read a Wikipedia page rather than telling a story on their own.

These two are pretty solid reasons in our eyes. What are your thoughts about this? What do you think the DC cinematic universe keeps getting wrong?

Holding Your Fortune: Why is Indie Filmmaking a Lot like Gambling?

Not all films are cornered by large film studios. Many of the groundbreaking ones are now brought out by independent filmmakers. This got us thinking that indie filmmaking is eerily like gambling. Let us explain.

We gave this quite a bit of thought and we realized that both things can be quite similar. Here are some solid reasons why:

It Requires Planning

Indie Filmmakers will always tell you that there is a staggering amount of logistics that goes into filming. You’ll have to see if actors or subject are free, if the location is viable, if the equipment is ready, and so many other things. Trying to film an indie film will require massive amounts of planning.

On a different font, gambling will require planning as well. You need to have an idea of your bankroll, how often you’ll play, what’s your limit, and who you can count on to keep you in line.

It Requires Skill

Indie Filmmakers will tell you that you will need to have skill in order to establish a cohesive story. It takes a lot of practice and tries to get a shot just right or to get your actors to really bring your vision to life. If everyone can do it, everyone would. But successful indie films require skill.

Gambling will also require skill. We’ve seen this in films like 21. People who go blindly into a bet or baccarat will find themselves facing a loss.

Results May Vary

Indie Filmmakers will tell you that there is no real way to tell how your film is going to be received one you have launched it. You can have the people you work with love it but then the public hates it. The inverse is also true.

Gambling is something that revolves around chance. There is no 100% way of telling that you’ll get the result you want.

So as you can see, if we compare them side by side, we can infer that indie filmmaking is a lot like gambling. What are your thoughts about this comparison?

World Celebrated: Where Do You Go for Prestigious Film Festivals?

Films deserve to be celebrated and given a good place to be consumed. For today, we wanted to list out where you go for the most prestigious film festivals. We feel that this is important so if you are ever planning on catching a famous film festival, you’ll know just what to look for.

Let’s get started!

Cannes Film Festival

Started in 1946, it is one of the older film festivals around. This is arguably one of the more glitzy film fests around the world. You can fully expect Hollywood giants to be in attendance. If you’ve ever wanted to see Hollywood stars in attendance.

Next year, Cannes will be on the 14^th of May and will end on the 25^th. This is a lot of time to prep for your attendance and see what sort of records will be broken this time around.

Sundance

Indie films tend to be the champion in the Sundance Film Festival. It was started by Robert Redford and has been a regular occurrence. Many of the films introduced in this festival go on to win massive awards. Even sweeping Academy Awards, as well!

Next year, it will be held on the 24^th of January until the 3^rd of February.

Berlinale

The Berlin International Film Festival is one of the largest film festivals that are held in Europe. It welcomes film entries from both professional and indie filmmakers so there’s something for everyone.

Next year, the fest will happen on the 7^th of February until the 17^th of February.

We certainly think that all of these film festivals deserve support and even submissions! If we were talented enough, we’d love to be part of these film festivals. Is there a particular film festival that you feel should be part of this list? Let us know!

Film Stars Gone Awry: Hollywood Giants Who Share a Love for Chance

Welcome back to another discussion by Recovery Street Film Festival! Today, we take a closer look at some of the people that enjoy both the silver screen and a little something extra. We really enjoyed the feedback from the last article and it inspired us to make this particular discussion for today.

Let’s get started! Here are some Hollywood giants who share for their love for chance. Specifically, games of chance!

Toby Maguire

Most people know this baby-faced man to be the first ever Peter Parker and that naïve young teen from Pleasantville. As it turns out, Mr. Maguire has an avid interest for card games in casinos. To our knowledge, it has been on record that a lawsuit has been charged against him for being part of an illegal gambling group or ring.

It seems like Mr. Maguire has certain things that he would rather do than be part of Hollywood. People who have played poker with him have claimed that he’s actually pretty good; he’s just a rather sore loser.

Ben Affleck

Ben Affleck is one of the best known actors to date. He has smash hits like Argo and now enjoys the role of Batman. It seems that Mr. Affleck has an affinity for playing poker and even blackjack. He’s even got legitimate wins in certain gambling championships under his belt.

What we find fascinating about him and his skill for card games is due to the fact that certain casinos he used to frequent asked him to stop playing the games he was good at. It was ridiculous of them to do so, right?

Charlie Sheen

Ah, Mr. Sheen. He was such a bright start in the 80s and 90s. Now, he’s mostly known as the champion of the meme “winning”. According to the legal records of his one time wife, Mr. Sheen use to drop a minimum of $20,000 in casinos per week.

This is quite staggering as at this point, he didn’t have much of a career. Let Mr. Sheen be the example of the bad side of gambling.

Do you know of any other film stars or Hollywood giants who enjoy a game of chance? Let us know!

Searching Inspiration: Best Places to Find Your Next Film Topic

When you are a budding screen writer or filmmaker, it can be easy to feel like you are in a slump. When you have a film in your head but you’re not quite sure where to go for inspiration, we’ve got a few suggestions for you.

When we think that we’re struggling with a block, these are a few places that we go to get inspiration:

Public Parks

Public Parks are a great way to observe people as they go through the motions of their lives. There are families that legitimately enjoy picnics, there are couples who are better off getting a room, there are people who are trying their hardest to be healthy, and so many more.

You will never run out of people to observe regardless of the season or the weather. If you aren’t in it to observe people, you can watch nature quietly and see how you can apply color palettes to your film.

Casinos

If you ever wanted to see a place where people were honest and simultaneously dishonest, a casino is where you go. You get to watch poker players put on their best faces; you get to see devastation as it happens when someone realizes they’ve played too much on the craps table, and you get to see the absolute celebration when someone wins at the slot machines.

Casinos are often a hotbed of human emotions and a wonderful place to obtain ideas for characters and the subjects of films. It is worth mentioning that a lot of films surround casinos!

Malls

If you aim to catch the everyday people, the mall is where you should go. You get to watch people who live to shop, you get to see people who have more nefarious reasons for being there (shoplifters), and you get to watch a lot of the youth going about their days in groups.

Much of popular culture can be picked up from a mall and you would be crazy to miss it. If you need further inspiration, you can always catch the newest flick—you never know when it might change your life.

These are just some of the places where we go to get inspiration for films or scripts. Where do you go?