52james If you borrow this film based on the 18 Film Festival palms listed at the top of the case, as I did, you're apt to be terribly disappointed by way too many minutes of silly pointless meandering nonsensical filmic moments adding up to less than nothing. Yep, it's edited and has a sound track, but it's no more a hip murder mystery than it's an "award winning" production. It has evidently played at a lot of festivals, and occasionally been deemed "interesting" or "well-written," but unless you're entertained by bad actors pretending to do a documentary, you may end up just wondering as I did: "Why did I bother to watch the whole thing?!" I'd rather watch "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes" twice than see even half of this movie again. Even "Hank the Cave Peanut" is more entertaining. There are a few laughs in this, but Ouch! they're spread real thin. Do yourself a favor and watch almost anything else. A moment of camp, another of kitch, 8 moments of dreary cliché posing as art.

morpheus-40 I was fortunate enough to see a screening of this along with the "Annapolis Pretentious Film Society" a few nights ago. In attendance was Todd Berger himself. It was a great chance to hear from the writer/director about the process of making this delightfully funny film-noir/detective movie. As a film lover, I loved that I could sit back and enjoy the gentle mocking of the noir films of days gone by and laugh out loud at some truly absurd moments. Berger helped explain the cameos/bigger-star scenes (Fenn, Landis, etc.). I really hope that some of these stories making it onto the "making of" portion of the DVD. I anxiously await the moment when this gets released on DVD -- because I would love to watch it again with some friends!

yaboytopher I had the chance to see this at the Phoenix Film Fest, I did not really know what to expect going in but I have to say I walked away very pleasantly surprised.The Scenesters is essentially a Murder Mystery, Comedy with some Film Noir thrown in for good measure. This film is very unique not only in its quirky story but also in the way it was shot, the entire film is shot from the viewpoint of Crime Scene video, courtroom video, surveillance video or from the view of the documentary crew following the main characters.This gives the film a very unique feel and yet it does not distract from the story.Writer/Director/actor Todd Berger has crafted a very well put together script, he actually won Best Screenplay at the festival. The story has its fair share of twists and turns that keep you guessing and quite a few laugh out loud moments.Blaise Miller is great as the manipulated hero and both Todd Berger and Jeff Grace are hilarious as the Director and Producer. The Vactioneers (the comedy group Berger, Miller and Grace belong to) is a team that we all should keep our eyes on because if the Scenesters is their rookie foray into feature film-making I cant wait to see what they will do next.Do not hesitate to check this film out if you are lucky enough to get the chance.

raraviv The phrase "first time film-makers" is usually associated with messy, amateurish affairs. Not so for this movie. A masterwork of "found footage", this film contains a broad range of styles, expert editing, sharp writing, terrific performances, and a killer soundtrack (literally). Hard to believe this is a low-budget, and even harder to believe that it is a feature film debut for this group. And unlike most "comedy troupes" (for example, Twisted Lizard) who make movies, these guys did not just put a comedy sketch writ large or a series of disconnected jokes loosely tied together onto the screen: they made a complete and complex story with various layers intertwined together to form a very satisfying whole.It's a great movie for seasoned pros. It's an amazing accomplishment for first timers (and I say first implying there will be a second and third and...).I can see why it has done so well on the film festival circuit and I wish these guys luck with distribution!