Watch Broken For Free

You won't be disappointed!

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

So begins Alex Ferrari's directorial debut, Broken. What is special about Broken is that it is designed to push all boundaries about what you can do with "no money". The visual look of this film is gorgeous. The director made sure he sat down with his graphic designers and artists and had this film storyboarded beautifully and completely costume designed. The music in Broken is strangely chilling and compelling, decidedly off-putting with just a touch of an industrial bondage effect. The sound effects are quite good for virtually all the film, with excellent gunfire sounds throughout. The use of budget in this film is simply phenomenal. From my understanding, much of the budget of this film didn't go to light rental, camera rental, effects, gun purchasing, or costumes, rather much of the film's budget went to food and beverages.Nearly three hours of how-to information for $19.99 is pretty darn impressive. For the amount of stuff that you will undoubtedly try based on this DVD, it's one of the simplest investments you can make.The DVD for Broken is so dichotomous that it had to be reviewed in two separate places. On one hand, it's a very impressive first action/horror short film. On the other hand, it's a very in-depth DVD manual on how to make realistic special effects and gunfights with virtually no money, with the final short working as an example of all the different elements in the film. While some of the training in this DVD should have been broken down to a more step-by- step approach for true newcomers to film-making and effects, the things that Ferrari and Rodriguez bring to the table are truly impressive and inspiring. If you can watch through all the features in this DVD and not get ideas for how to make your own films even better, then you might not be alive.I've seen this short over ten times and I notice something new each time. While it does not answer almost any of the questions it raises, it definitely makes you appreciate what these young filmmakers accomplished for our art and makes you look forward to seeing a full- length feature.An excellent first film, this short breaks down the barriers of what can be accomplished in the realm of action and suspense at the micro-budget level. As other filmmakers build on the work of Mr. Ferrari, Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Falcon, and all the other folks that made this film possible, this may prove to be one of the most inspirational short films for our cause in quite some time!

Broken, made for $8,000. That's right, $8,000. Wait... $8,000. Just in case you hadn't seen that anywhere else or heard it before. This video looks like it was made for a lot less. I'm not easily impressed by standard camera angles and color correction. What I am impressed with, is depth of field from a short camera lens. This video has none. It looks flat like video usually does.It's not a film, as it was shot on video. It's a video and these people are video makers. But, let me get to the meat. Wait, there is none. Apparently the Joker has lost his makeup and for absolutely no reason, whatsoever (at least not that the audience is aware of) he kidnaps some woman in a t-shirt and claims that everyone in the room wants to kill her. Um... why? So the video makers seem to think that if you don't tell the audience anything that that now becomes tension. Maybe that's how stupid people see it, but with people with one iota of intelligence, this comes across as preposterous and boring.The acting is not atrocious, but it's not good either. I've heard people deliver their lines like they're reading them. These actors don't do that, but what they do do, is take themselves entirely too seriously. If they had, perhaps, planted their tongues firmly in their cheeks, I might have enjoyed the performances.The action scene, there is one, near the end. Was shot adequately enough, but for what they're doing in this short, it doesn't need to be anything special. The lighting was about the ONLY thing that was done really well. Honestly. I've seen indie films/videos done for far less that actually look better than this.Was this the end-all/be-all of indie film/video making? No. Not even remotely. Would I go see a big screen version of this? No. Not even remotely. Would I recommend this to other indie film/video makers out there? Certainly. If for nothing else, it shows you what can be done with a micro-budget. Also, not to take anything away from the makers of this short, but they really need to learn story telling above and beyond anything else they may think they need to know.

If there is one Independent film I've seen this year that looked like it was made in a Hollywood studio it would be "Broken". In a nutshell "Broken" puts most Independent films to shame. Made on only a budget of a mere eight thousand dollars, "Broken" looks like it's budget was a million dollars. I don't get it, I get sent indie film's that have budgets of over ten grand, and they look like complete crap. I honestly can't stress to my readers enough about how great this film looks.To get a sense of the plot, it has a scenario very similar to "Reservoir Dogs" and it has a Tarantino style to it. However the look of the film kind of reminds me of "Saw". However when I mention those films don't think that "Broken" is along the same storyline it does in fact hold it's own. But the situation's used are very similar to the films just mentioned. In a way I feel compelled not to give away the plot of this film, as I believe that every self proclaimed indie filmmaker out there should see this film and see what a real indie filmmaker can do with such a small budget.Now as far as directing, acting, and script go, for the most part everything was nothing but top notch. The Special Effects are probably the best effects ever used in a low budget short film ever. The production value is that of a Hollywood film and I can't stress that enough. Now getting back to the acting I did have one problem with it; towards the end of the film, their was one scene where I felt the acting was a bit flat, but it's nothing that I think most people would notice. I mean I notice these things, but hey, that's what I do.Overall "Broken" is a great achievement in Independent Cinema. It's not really a horror film however, more of an Action, Sci-fi. But it is probably the best short film I've ever seen. I see a great future ahead for Alex Ferrari and the cast and crew from "Broken".Horror Bob

Bored with Hollywood's standard methods of operation, Alex Ferrari took it upon himself to make a film on his own with a measly budget and see if he could pull it off just as well as the studios. Aside from the fact that it's only twenty minutes in length, I think he has succeeded. With only eight grand in his pocket, Ferrari found some really talented actors, a SFX team to marvel at and edited the film beautifully all with the helpful hand of his co-writer and producer Jorge F. Rodriguez. Oh, and I can't leave out the musical score. It really sounds professional and adds a lot of emotional depth to the story.A woman wakes up in the middle of the night to find an intruder in her house, she is tied up and taken to a base to meet her adversary and his cronies. But there's something more to this woman than meets the...eye. What is it? Maybe what lurks in the shadows has the answer. Is it something to fear, or something to hope for? Guns and weapons abound in this suspenseful and disturbing action/thriller. To say much more than that about the plot, would spoil things. But let's take this thing apart shall we?First off, the environment and effect shots. Wow! He did all this with $8000? Very impressive. The lighting is just sweet. For some reason it reminded me of places within The Matrix. Yet this setting has a feel all its own. Seriously, check out these locales. The gun fighting has a unique style and the people don't simply fall over dead when getting shot. There are interesting angles and camera movements as the bullets fly and hit their mark.Second, the characters and the actors who bring them to life. The evil Duncan is for sure the bright spot among the characters. Creepy and obviously disturbed, he really brings life to the film and is the character you really want to keep your eye on. The young girl who finds herself in this predicament is also pretty good in this role. With limited screen time (I say limited because of the length of the film), she makes the most of it and has us asking for more. There is obviously some interesting depth to her past. The one drawback to the film is the fact that there are all of these other interesting looking fellows standing around who are not explored thoroughly enough. For example, the tattooed Indian-looking fellow who gives up his guns for an obvious talent for throwing knives. Unfortunately he is dispatched before we get to see much of his talent. The same goes for a number of interesting looking "gangsters." I especially liked Marquez and her duel wielding fully automatic barettas.I wish there was more to the movie. It was really good but left me wanting more. More characterization, more back story and more explanation as it ultimately doesn't make much sense. However, the fact that it left me wanting more, proves its remarkability. Unanswered questions are sometimes what makes a movie worthy of seeing. It gives you something to talk about afterwards. Not the usual, "it was okay." There's really something to discuss while the credits role. What this movie really needs now, is a prequel. Anyone who sees this film, will pay extra for that.I've never before reviewed a short film. The only experience I have with them are the shorts before Pixar films and the few that I have caught while channel surfing past IFC. Oh, and "Bambi vs. Godzilla. But I digress; although most of what is seen in "Broken" is not really anything new, it is new if you consider the fact that it was done so quickly and cheaply and without the help from a major studio; and done just as well as Hollywood, if not better, in many respects. The action sequence was directed/edited so superbly and was so much fun that it reminded me a little of the bar fight in "Desperado." I hope that I explained it well enough to encourage everyone to check out this film if you can track it down. It takes less time than watching an episode of The Simpsons, but packs twice the punch.