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Robinsony
Reviews
I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006)
A worthy predecessor
Wow. My wife rented this DVD because she liked the previous two, but given that it lacked a theatrical distribution, we didn't have much hopes for it being entertaining. What a mistake! "Always" is a smart and well-crafted thriller, better than #2 and almost as good as #1. Yes, it's a little formulaic, but that seems to be what the studios require. What's surprising is the quality of the writing, which introduces some fresh characters and keeps them engaging despite this being a genre piece. The director is also pretty solid and keeps the story moving without getting too "creative." The acting is also pretty good, despite my not having heard of half of these actors. Overall, this is a pretty solid film and a great guilty pleasure.
Encrypt (2003)
Another perspective
As the "other writer" on this project, let me give a few of you an eduction on the wonderful world of TV production. While the original screenplay Encrypt, written by Richard Taylor, was solid, it was written as a big movie. At a studio level, it would have been budgeted between $60-80 million. On an independent level, it probably would have cost around $10 million. The original movies for the Sci-fi channel are budgeted at $2 million, which after above the line costs (actors, directors, writers, producers), it's actually considerably less. Obviously, for this kind of money, the production quality on every level is going to be less than your standard Fox movie of the week. Secondly, this is a TV MOVIE, which means it has to fit into a formula predetermined by the network by past successes (i.e. commercial breaks every twenty minutes, and a structure that leaves cliff hangers before every break). It has an "episodic feel" because it is episodic TV. And for this genre, that means action beats with a body count. That means adding a team. Now, while the character development for the team members clearly didn't work, some of that was due to casting (Torontonian actors don't seem to "get" the American commando stuff), and a last minute order to "cut one character" riddled the piece with lost lines and lost moments. Lastly, (and we go back to the budget for this one), everything has to take place in one or two locations (moving around is costly), which means you usually end up forcing your set-pieces into whatever rooms are available at your primary location. As a result, things feel less organic than they should. That being said, Encrypt was better received than the few readers here have commented. The director did tremendous things within the limitations given him and both Grant and Vivian grounded the film with strong, emotional performances. Could the movie have been better? Sure. But given the time, budgetary and other constraints, the efforts put forth by many deserves a little more respect, especially given all of their good intentions.