EssenceStory Well Deserved Praise

Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

Ghoulumbe Better than most people think

Jody Bruchon Due to the nature of the film, I must explain prior to my review that I am not in any way a "fan" of Brad Jones or Cinema Snob. My introduction to his work came very indirectly through his ties to Nostalgia Critic and Channel Awesome. I do not have the experience needed to fully appreciate a "made just for fans" movie; this is my introduction to the work of Brad Jones.There are some negative aspects that I feel must be discussed upfront. The cinematography is very much amateur-grade: lots of hand-held camera shake, camera shake where there was no excuse for not using a tripod such as stationary establishing shots of houses, complete failure to add proper lighting, select shots that are poorly framed, and continuity errors across cuts between different viewing angles of the same shot (bottles changing position on tables and a hand that vanishes are the most egregious errors that come to mind.) The sound design leaves A LOT to be desired as well, from the audio levels in the same conversation being significantly different between speakers to the ambient sound of traffic suddenly cutting in when the POV changes. The movie is two hours long but probably could have been executed in 90 minutes if some of the unnecessarily slow parts were cleaned up. There are some instances where the acting is unconvincing. If this was even a "low-budget film" by the industry definition, this would be enough to earn it a review that boiled down to "what is this crap?"Fortunately, this isn't such a film, and I didn't go in expecting anything with apparent high production values. This film was obviously a labor of love and provided something for a bunch of like-minded friends to work together on. The great thing about this film is that it doesn't even try to take itself seriously. It's obviously made to appeal to people who are "in" on Brad Jones' previous work, but despite being an "outsider," I found myself able to enjoy it. Being able to appreciate the "WTF? factor" is crucial to enjoyment of this film, because that's what makes it amusing. On the surface, it's littered with flat, minimally expressive dialogue, but that's what makes the more ridiculous parts so worthwhile. You find yourself caught off-guard and suddenly laughing at what seemed like a contrived, knuckle-dragging story just seconds earlier.I can forgive amateur production if the story is decent and the execution is clever. This film was hard to watch in the beginning since I was not used to the "flat" dialogue and sneaky subtle humor, but by the time the credits rolled, I found myself wanting to watch it again, if for no other reason than to pick up on the subtle humor I missed. I also appreciated the special effects; they can be quite a treat, and it's fun to stop the video and try to figure out how they pulled them off.If you'd like to see a no-budget film that's executed pretty well, this is definitely a good choice. It's not a very serious film, but it isn't supposed to be, and while I am certain that some people would never be capable of appreciating it, you owe it to yourself to give it a chance.-----EDIT/UPDATE: I've seen this film many times over now, and having done so brings some new perspectives. I've watched some key Cinema Snob reviews that get referenced in this film and realized that I would have enjoyed it more had I seen these episodes first. There seems to be a plethora of in-jokes and references to Cinema Snob episodes. This is both understandable and acceptable, but as a newcomer to the works of Brad Jones it detracts from the enjoyment of the film a bit due to not understanding the meaning behind these seemingly random utterances. I've also noticed that enjoyment of the story drops sharply as it transitions away from snarky comedy halfway through. As with Brad's previous film Paranoia, the later parts of the film have issues relating to continuity, transitions, and too many scenes dragging on for far too long. Audio and lighting problems are still present and obvious when they happen...and dear lord, SO MANY of the supporting characters are NOT convincing actors at all!All of that being said, each watch of The Cinema Snob Movie has become more and more enjoyable to watch every time I see it, especially as I look up the incredible number of actors and films name-dropped throughout and better understand what they're talking about. The cringey moments of really bad acting start to become funny as well. If you want a movie that can both feed into a MST3K/RiffTrax mocking session with your friends and give you a bunch of genuine laughs as well, you'll definitely appreciate this one. As far as no-budget feature-length films by amateurs goes, it's very hard to find much better, and if you have an interest in making your own films, you can learn a lot by watching it, especially from the commentary tracks on the DVD.

tkdforyou I first saw this movie back in December of 2012. My main reason for getting this film is because I am a huge Cinema Snob fan. I'm not going to give the movie a 10 out of 10 just because of that. The movie was great, but not a masterpiece. After viewing it numerous times, I noticed some editing and continuity goofs such as placement of characters and reaction shots, but they are few and far between. Also, some of the actors are definitely stronger in substance than others to the point where I just don't enjoy seeing them on screen, but they are small roles and they aren't that bad. This can also come from me just wanted to see the characters I enjoy more (Craig, Neal, Dan, Gene and Nancy). They just feel more natural and real to me. Some could have used more takes as they delivered their lines, but that's why I'm bring my rating to a 7 making it a good movie.Speaking of the good, the story and style was very much like I would expect from Mr. Jones himself. A story of murder, sex scandals and film taboos is something that can really stick out. The film has its fair share of funny moments with its quick cuts, responses from the characters, such as Neal offering Craig and Nancy a cookie after some grim news. I absolutely love Craig's deadpan reactions to certain actions that take place as if he just dropped his mug of coffee. These parts just had me laugh out loud. Another favorite of mine has to be the presence of Noah Antwiller from The Spoony Experiment. He has such a natural look when on camera and I enjoyed every moment he made an appearance as the eccentric rich man of Springfield.Before I continue to gush, I just want to get to the point, which is I appreciate this film. I'm not going to put it on a pedestal or anything. It's simply an enjoyable, solid movie. The plot was simple but fun. I feel comfortable sharing this with friends who do not know of Brad Jones because we can all appreciate the low-budget films filling in two hours of enjoyment. It does a good job overall leaving my final rating at 7.

patrickwlangille I finally received my copy in the mail, it was a sort of Christmas present to myself I guess.Based off the character of the same name from the internet show, Brad Jones delivers a solid film that his fans would appreciate. Though it is a problem if you are not familiar with the type of movies he reviews or the humour you might find yourself a little lost. Having some knowledge of exploitation movies really is a must when it comes to anything the Cinema Snob related, not like other "ThatGuyWithTheGlasses" critics who review more mainstream bad movies.What I like about The Cinema Snob show is that I learn about movies I would have never known existed and could see that when a film was mocked there was some level of passion for the film even when it was being riffed (Though not all movies, ones of the Nukie variety). The movie is set up as an origin story for the Snob who is really an exploitation filmmaker posing as a pretentious critic in order to secure permits to film "Black Angus", an exploitation flick set in the 70's. I could relate to dealing with the struggles of making an independent film and having to deal with a lot of red tape.I did find the performances funny, they worked for a film of this size. Without giving too much away there is a murder plot that happens almost an hour in that is darkly funny and works well with the film's subject matter, it begins to turn into an exploitation movie (One character gets stabbed with a cellphone but the killer gets a little carried away and doesn't stop there). Brad's friends make appearances of course including Noah Antwiler better known as Spoony, Jake Norvell plays Neil the director, this movie's answer to Brad Pitt from True Romance but with an arc. Also there is Mr.Jones' wife and an actor from the the movie Parenthood which I was convinced wasn't true because it was listed on IMDb but you'll have to see for yourself.If you are expecting it to be like his other movies that were more run and shoot like Midnight Heat or Hooker With a Heart of Gold you might be disappointed (You do get things like good lighting and cinematography though). It's too bad Black Angus isn't a real film because when I go see Django Unchained and it ends up sucking I can't say, "Well, it was no Black Angus"

amcint01 When I received the DVD, my older brother looked at the box and read the back, and his response was "Wow, there is nothing I would rather watch less". To this, my reaction was simply "First, no one is asking you to. And second, it's not for you". Little did I know that this is actually one of the major themes of the CS's cinematic debut.Firstly, Nostalgia Critic may have been the gateway drug to TGWTG, but the Cinema Snob is the reason I keep coming back, especially after the tremendous loss of theSpoonyOne from the site (he is a close second to CS as my favorite), and to see these two still working together just made me so glad to see them not deprive the internet community of their amazing chemistry. I hope their collaborations continue for years to come. Brad Jones is one of the most charismatic and witty personalities on the internet, and this is simply a showcase of his immense talent, brought to us by the talented folks he has managed to surround himself with. That said, while the film does lose momentum a bit in the third act, it never feels rush or poorly paced. TeamSnob has something important to say about the state of culture, and uses their time on film wisely. Also, Springfield has never looked prettier during the day or more sinister at night.Brad carries the show, no question about it. Craig Golightly's alter ego is clearly a manifestation of the conflict within him, the desire to make something important but only being able to make trash. But trash this ain't. This theme was also sort of looked at with the CS's subplot in the TGWTG film 'To Boldly Flee'. What lives on, integrity or infamy? Beauty or shock?Special mention has to be made of Noah Antwiler aka Spoony. He absolutely steals every scene he is in. I've always thought Spoony was naturally talented and effortlessly sharp, and he really hits a stride here. Orlando as well really gets it and owns his Vladmir character, spewing out one of the best lines in the whole movie near the end. They both play it just wacky enough that the jokes work, and they seem to exist just outside the real world. The rest of the actors who make up the film club are excellent mock-ups of the various reasons why people get into art films - to be pretentious, because they were shamed into it by being told their taste was wrong, because they have voyeuristic fantasies, etc. Each is like a little call-out to the Eberts of the world.The film making and direction are top notch, and really display their growth as a production crew. Ryan and co. are clearly learning from their past works like 'Hooker' and 'Paranoia'. The pacing and editing are tighter, and the timing of the jokes really hit 80-90% of the time. It sometimes even rivals a lot of major independent works. TCSM is in a world of it's own, and it allows itself to really indulge in it, very much like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, even going so far in one bar scene to use what could be called a trademark Sunny gag ("Yeah, I'm still here"). Alas, there are always a few shortcomings, and they had to do with casting. I think Jake was fine as Neil, but I don't think he really quite fit the role, especially opposite someone with the personality of the CS. Not that he was terrible, but something about the mixing made him sound like he had a lisp, which I know from the CS site he certainly doesn't. It was a little distracting. Brian Lewis's Scott Bakula was a complete throwaway. I really dig the guy, but he was wasted here. AND WHERE WAS JERRID? But nothing spoiled the overall film, and these are minor squabbles from a devoted fan. I was laughing out loud too much to really be dragged down by them.From the worst modern independent films (Birdemic) to the best, this should rank up there as one of the top from the Internet 2.0 era. With most independent films of this kind, you usually find yourself forgiving the shortcomings and looking the other way when a glaring flub occurs because you are constantly reminded of the limits of the film makers. Any message or emotions are lost because the audience is too distracted by the miracle that a completed film was even made. But there was rarely a moment that took me out of the story here. I got their point, and it came across with style and quality.The message, as others have pointed out, is great: don't apologize for your taste. Do what you love, and love what you want to. The CS is the perfect vehicle to make this point - he himself is the contradiction in most creative people. His reach exceeds his grasp. You watch his series, and the humor comes from the fact that his intellect and his taste are completely opposite and always fighting within him. And who wins? The viewing public.Bless them for trying to make a film that reached beyond the fanbase. People who get the CS and the generation of internet reviewers born from the MST3k era will love this film, and people who don't get it, that's okay. They're not supposed to.ps - props to Big Box Model Jillian for giving up the goods.