This movie clip is really about the up and coming presidency of the United States. Read between the lines, which is not hard to do. As you know there are two contenders for the presidency. Who will win? Clinton or Obama? This is on every Americans mind at the moment. Is it time for a change and does America want a Mulatto president?

Well this little tidbit has some background information, it gives us an inside look at our future president hopeful, Barack Obama, back in 1972.
Even in college he ran for freshman class president, he is a fighting, Mulatto college boy, (a mixed generation of white and black parents) and is very young and ambitious.

The year; 1972, Barack Obama is a typical Negro American boy with high hopes, back then he had a dream, to one day be president of the United States of America.

1972 was a time when blacks where still fighting for equal rights against whites they just came out of the worst of it back in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s. Barack was a typical teenager hanging out with friends playing domino’s, as we see him here, in this clip, discussing the vernacular of the streets and figuring out ideas of how to change the world and make a better America.

The Negro population is high here, in Occidental College, Obama’s articulation is, being able to reach across the cultural boundaries, so he is sitting around with friends discussing how he will one day change the world.

Today at the tender age of 47, born on August 4th 1961, he is still pursuing those ideas, and won’t be giving up anytime soon, until he has all America’s votes for the first black democratic president in office.

                        

My thoughts on this are as follows, the movie is kind of lame, it is a no-brainer clip. The kids are in college and things happen in college, that wouldn’t necessarily happen anywhere else. And its okay if it does. As the saying goes boys will be boys and girls will be girls. It is usually the only time it is allowed cause you are young and immature, but then you grow older and the fun seems to go away, and work and bills set in. It is all part of growing up and becoming an adult. You find out, who you are? What you like and what you don’t like? Who you like and dislike? And what you want out of life? Whether you are gay, lesbian or straight.

The producer, writer, and executive producers, look like its a family production which sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. They are Michael, Nicole, and Paul Mammano and the director is Rain Evens.

From IMDB: Trapped in his mother’s Lower East Side apartment, sixteen-year-old Finn wants nothing more than to escape New York and spend the summer in South America studying the Iskanani Indians, or “Fierce People,” with the anthropologist father he’s never met. But Finn’s dreams are shattered when he is arrested in a desperate effort to help his drug-dependent mother, Liz, who scrapes by working as a masseuse. Determined to get their lives back on track, Liz moves the two of them into a guest house on the vast country estate of her ex-client, the aging aristocratic billionaire, Ogden C. Osbourne. In Osbourne’s close world of privilege and power, Finn and Liz encounter a tribe fiercer and more mysterious than anything they might find in the South American jungle: the super rich. While Liz battles her substance abuse and struggles to win back her son’s love and trust, Finn falls in love with Osbourne’s beautiful granddaughter, Maya, befriends her charismatic older brother, Bryce, and even wins the favor of Osbourne himself. But when a shocking act of violence shatters Finn’s ascension within the Osbourne clan, the golden promises of this lush world quickly sour. And both Finn and Liz, caught in a harrowing struggle for their dignity, discover that membership always comes at a price.

After watching the three clips of this movie with the cast commentary I want to see the movie and I will be looking for the DVD as soon as it’s available. I hope it’s going to be made available on DVD. It’s a shame that this movie only enjoyed a limited release. I think that it would have been a surprise favorite at the box office. David Sutherland alone could draw in a crowd. Add Diane Lane and Chris Evans to the mix and I am sure that an entire different group of people would have taken notice. This movie could have easily put Autonomous Films up there with some of the bigger movie companies.

A lot has changed in fifty-two years and James Dean just can’t seem to adapt. He doesn’t understand that his gay roommate is gay. He has no idea that public water fountains are no longer segregated until he offends a black man, and he doesn’t understand the current day slang. It all just makes it harder for him to fit in and gets him in trouble more often than not, especially when an actress is coming on to him telling him she wants him to “hit it”. He takes her literally and punches her in the face.

All James wants is to star in the sequel to Rebel Without a Cause, Rebel Without a Cause 2: Causeless. The role has been given to Luke Perry, because he is a James Dean type. The producer doesn’t want James Dean; he wants a James Dean type. Even worse, everywhere James goes, he’s constantly mistaken for Luke Perry by the general population. As much as he hates Luke Perry, he sometimes uses the mistaken identity to get what he wants. At one point the producer of “RW/OAC2: Causeless” even tells him he does a remarkable impersonation of Luke Perry impersonating James Dean. It is lost on everyone in Hollywood that James Dean is back. Everyone is so interested in finding a James Dean type, that they are constantly overlooking the original thing.

His agent isn’t much help. Instead of helping him adapt to 2007, getting him work and trying to make him famous again, Sam is trying to convince him to do whatever it takes just to get his name in the news. In order to be a celebrity again, he has to act like a celebrity. The perfect solution would be a sex tape. Nothing brings popularity and riches like a sex tape. When James finally breaks down and makes a celebrity sex tape it doesn’t turn out how anyone expects. Not being from a world where celebrity sex tapes are relatively normal, James doesn’t understand what is wrong with him and his agent fires him because he is a “lost cause and an idiot”.

The humor is mostly off color, but funny nonetheless. There is off color humor that succeeds in being nothing but raunchy and then there is off color humor that works and makes you laugh. Doing His Best walks a fine line between the two proving that humor can be funny and tasteless. That is a rare talent that not many can pull off. Usually such humor does more to offend and embarrass the audience than make them laugh. It’s even better when Ron Jeremy joins the cast to help deliver the laughs.

In Episode 142—the most prominent thing that you will hear as the show’s two co-hosts, Alex Albrecht and Kevin Rose begin to introduce the show is the most talked about subject: not surprisingly, their laptops. And how Alex’s laptop is broken as most viewers would note—as he notes—and now he is forced to borrow a loaner PC from dell. The moaning does not stop there—he actually recants vivid details on the features and specs that his prior notebook had before crashing. As if anybody really cares, and then continues the tirade by discussing the features on his loaner notebook and why Dell gave it to him—can we guess that Dell is a major paying sponsor of the show—I think so. Finally the computer jargon canter ends and they begin to discuss their pending trip to Amsterdam, which is by no reflection scripted as they repeat themselves on several occasions.

Basically this candid comedic duo takes all of the technology news and dishes it out with their own flavor and brand of unique tech junkie comedy—opinionated, brief, and overtly aggressive and insanely theirs. No matter whom you are or what your tastes are this group actually is entertaining. Their simplistic renditions and opinions are not only educated, they are most often right. They basically take subjects of much controversy and talk amongst themselves about the topic. In this episode the topic of prevalence was the fact that Microsoft was not going to be including the Blu Ray DVD player for the Xbox 360—which actually really peeves both of them off.

The show is always ended in a similar fashion, by talking about the most heightened portions of technology news in the headlines. In this episode it encompassed Iphone rumors and speculation as well as their always funny and entertaining opinions crafty overlaid onto the subject. The format of approach is as personal as it gets. Two guys sitting in a room yakking about technology—with their laptops on their knees and a cup of hot coffee and cream in their hands. Yet somehow what they have to say is both relevant and interesting and well spoken. Rose and Albrecht have found a sure winner here with this entertaining comedy techie bit.

Dead End implements what they call “Hot Spots” throughout each of comic book’s webpage illustrations. Basically, users can find these so-called “Hot Spots” and when they click on them the pages becomes interactive. Some of them linking out to other related websites, others to various relevant audio clips and some that link to actual real footage of the spliced reality show—which corresponds directly to the comic book as seen on their website.

Keep in mind that the creators of this very popular Webisode realty TV/comic book series are firmly embraced in the expressions of free speech; meaning that they freely use profane expressions and that some of the comic books and reality TV series feature drug usage and profane content in an attempt to capture reality—not to offend the users.

In week 1, titled: “Looking pretty real enough for me,” it starts off with several people viewing a porno clip of a guy who is about to have interspecies sex with a donkey—not for the faint of heart. But beautifully captured and portrayed almost identically by their web-based comic book series—which does include “Hot Spot” links to corresponding video clips that enhance the viewer’s experience. A cut-scene shows the members of the cast loading up their car to embark on the first webisode of the “Trip of Death”.

While Dead End may not be the appropriate content for some users—as it plainly displays graphic violence, pornography, profanity and reality, all spliced together within the electronic wrappings of a website—it certainly struck a solid tone with me for complete originality. And, no matter what you may think of the content—it is hard not to keep watching the video.

After watching the first webisode viewers are inclined to revisit their website to find out what happens in the next webisode. The approach to taking reality TV and combining it with an interactive web-based comic book is not only genius—it has never been done before. Making this series nothing short of original, entertaining and morbid—even if some viewers may disapprove of the content, Dead End is a sure-fire win in my book. Perhaps this is why they were nominated for Official Selection in the 2003 Sundance Film Festival.

For more information and to read the online comic book as well as view the webisodes—which now number 20 in all

Finally after the last guy auditioned, same build and same kind of body as Christopher Walken they chose him, because he sounded like he new what he was talking about. He knows what the directors want and how to go about impressing them. He starts talking about how big the shot is? And how big the image has to be? He knows what he’s doing in other words. He has been there before and he is legitimate in being an actor.

It is hilariously, it is the best laugh I have watched in a long time. There was a comment listed on the bottom of the clip. And he said that “To get to the top, you got to start with the bottom” This is humorous and true.

The Main Premise
Welcome to the grim reality of marketing executive, Russell Shoemaker. Pretty much your average Joe, hard-working father of one and loyal husband. That is until he takes a fateful business trip to New York City to pitch an advertising and marketing campaign to a large software and IT development firm. Russell arrives in NY with no apparent problems, but when he lays down to sleep that fateful night before the big presentation, all mankind is changed forever. He awakes the next morning to a very quiet city, especially for the “City That Never Sleeps”. As he explores the seemingly empty four-star hotel he was staying in he realizes very quickly that there is indeed nobody around. Discouraged by this imminent reality and of course his realization, Shoemaker sets out to explore the city and try to piece together the puzzle.

He is Indeed Alone
The more he ventures around the empty and deadened streets of NY, the more that he does realize that he may in fact be one of the last remaining human beings on the planet earth. How and why are questions that he plays around with in his head, juggling them like a clown at a birthday party, but to no avail; he is more than likely one of the last people alive and for reasons unbeknown to him. The more that Russell explores the more he puts together pieces of the puzzle, as is seen in episodes One and Two (Afterworld, Electric Farm Entertainment, Los Angeles, 2007; 2008) which are appropriately titled “Afterworld” as they lead the audience into the main premise and theme behind the story, and begin to implement the plot and highlight potential twists. There are no real good definitions as to why mankind has suddenly ceased to be. Russell ponders these questions and also takes notice that animals such as birds and rats, and others seem unaffected by the changes that have wrested humanity from the planet, caused them to disappear in the middle of the night—leaving an empty and desolate earth, void entirely of man.

The Episodes
Currently Electric Farm Entertainment has released thirty webisodes of this dark series, and according to their website, they are planning to keep on producing them and releasing them. In the screenshot to the left, the lead character, Russell Shoemaker, finds a burning cigarette on the ground in Episode 2: “Afterworld” and realizes that there is somebody else who has survived. Learning that he is not alone, Russell continues to follow the tracks of what seems to be another survivor. The trail leads him to a department store, where the survivor has clearly set up shop and has arranged the bedroom furniture for a makeshift bedroom. In another room Russell can see that the survivor was pondering the same questions as he was. A telescope aims down at the narrow and empty streets and a letter detailing how distraught the survivor is lays on a desk nearby. After reading the letter Russell heads to the roof, knowing that this survivor may not be able to mentally beat the struggle of accepting the fact that his family may also be dead, and that he may be one of the few remaining humans. A passport nearby reveals that the man is from Britain, in New York on business, his name: Glen Welkins.

Russell Can’t Save the Survivor
Much to his dissent, Russell arrives on the rooftop too late, and despite calling out to Welkins, the ill-fated man jumps from the rooftop and plunges fifty stories to his death. Narration is the main theme of this series—most of the dialogue is of Russell talking in his mind as the events unfold. Very reminiscent of several smash-hit video games, and indeed the animations also make one think about all of the cool and dark, narrated thriller-games that they ever played, brought to life brilliantly in this series. For some reason, the viewer feels a connection to Russell, his despair, his anxiety and his reasoning.

Russell’s Journal:
This amazingly dark and addictive web series encourages interactivity to the fullest extent, much like its video game counterparts. Every day that passes in the series is dictated by Russell in his journal. The journal can also be found on the website under “Journal” and is inclusive of all the narrations, which underly each passing episode, as well as short notes that Russell has taken while on his adventures through an empty New York City. The added feature of the journal is priceless. It brings the demeanor of Russell fervently to life and helps to illustrate in the minds of the viewer just how omnipresent Russell’s situation truly is; how helpless he feels; how lost; how devoid and alone he is without humanity.

Interactive Storyline Map
The interactivity of this webisode series is simply put, amazing. You can follow Russell as he makes his journey across the country in attempts to connect with other survivors and in an effort to find out if his wife and his child survived. Users can click on any of the blue irises that are displaced throughout the interactive map and learn about that area, and its significance to the overall plot schemes. Never before have I seen such an in-depth web series that really takes the viewer on a wild ride, filled with dark animations and topped off with an interactive cherry that makes the plot very addictive and assists the storyline—really helping to bring it all to life for the viewer.

Downloads and Freebies
The creators of this web series blatantly make all efforts to encourage the interactivity of it, both through the inner story dialogue, the interactive map features and by the many free downloads that they offer all visitors. You can download city locations, interactive maps, character icons, screenshots and free computer wallpapers for your PC. Furthermore, all of the current thirty episodes they have aired are also available to all users as free downloads. Rarely will you see such an action-packed website that not only offers a very entertaining, if not grim, animated movie, but one that also entices their visitors by offering lots of goodies and freebies to those who want them; all free for the taking.

Summary and Rating
Electric Farm Entertainment had a really good thought in mind when they decided to produce what is one of the most interactive, addicting and plot-saturated web series that I have ever had the distinct pleasure of viewing. The video-game-like animation, combined with the darkened plot narration by the lead character, not to mention the grim-like possibility that mankind could indeed one day disappear from the face of the earth, as well as their amazing and innovative, fully interactive web-interface, makes this series not only a winner, but one of the best damn webisodes that you will ever see. The creators seemingly took a dish dash of all of the best dark video games ever to be released, mixed them up with all of your favorite TV series, such as “24” and, “Lost” and combined them with their own brand and flavor of a dim reality; one that captures the viewer in a brilliant display of animation, high production values and of course, a great script that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Point and case, try and just watch the very first episode and you will quickly find yourself very intrigued. The interactivity of the map, the journal, character spreads and the fact that they freely allow users to download the videos, are also major attractions to this genius web series.

RATING 5 STARS for originality, animation and production values, plot, a well-written script and a great web platform from which it is broadcast. Great webisodes of the likes of this come around but rarely, and thankfully we all can get a chance to truly enjoy them when they do. ~

“Chad Vader - Day Shift Manager: Episode One” (Blame Society Productions, 2006) is a fresh, original and hilarious outtake on one of Sci-Fi’s best known infamous characters: Darth Vader. The show takes on the assumption that Darth Vader was to live on the planet Earth in the present day—where he has a child named Chad Vader. Chad works at a convenience store as a dayshift manager and is eloquently dressed in the same garb as his father; a black robed outfit complete with electronic monitoring systems, the melon eyed helmet and of course his father’s famously deepened voice as it modulates from beneath the helmet (as portrayed by James Earl Jones in the real Star Wars movies).

The whims of Chad Vader are ominously present from the very onset of the episode, where Chad is strolling down one of the aisles of the store and stops behind a store employee—who is dressed in the store uniform—and begins to lecture him on the fact that he has not completed his assigned task of organizing the goods on the shelf. The employee retorts by explaining that he has indeed not finished his task. Vader reminds him, “You have failed me for the last time!” The employee responds by saying, “Yeah, you told me that last time I talked to you.” The obvious humor is derived from the many speeches as given by Darth Vader in the popular Star Wars movie series.

The rest of the episode follows Chad as he embarks upon trying to dictate the happenings of the convenience store—often complaining to his boss about how his underlings are incompetent, incapable and are worthy of execution for violating empirical laws. All to which he is forced to stomach the reality that he himself is just another store employee that answers to a human boss who really does not care—letting Chad Vader know coyly that he must work out his differences with other employees and work together.

From originality to just plain outrageously hilarious antics—Chad Vader is an instant comedy classic. It takes the viewer on a hysterical ride that is sure to make anyone who has ever watched the Star Wars movies chuckle. Considering that this webisode has already had more than 6.5-million views on YouTube.com, since the company first posted it in July of 2006, Chad Vader is well on his way to capturing the comedic side of people who love Star Wars.

The greatest thing about this webisode is that it is very original. It is very funny. The animation rocks; simply put. The voices are refreshing and the fact that they take a very unique approach to the way that they both rhyme the words and add the digital effects to them, makes this short a total winner. Added bonuses are the steak music video and the waiter who is just as funny as Akron and T-Pain.