Bored of hollywood slop I've decided to watch more low budget films. So I watched a couple I found on a list somewhere. Both have a bit of a sci-fi slant.

The artifice Girl (2023)

The set-up is a loner nerd makes a lifelike AI which he uses to catch pedos. He's contacted by an organisation who want to help him with that.

That's the set-up but it's very much not *about* that. It's we've created this thing that seems to be alive, is it alive? What does that mean? Which is fairly well-trodden ground but it takes an interesting enough path through that to be worthwhile.

It's really about generational trauma with a touch of what is it to be human?

There are four characters and each of the three explicitly delineated acts takes place in one room. So it's *very* dialogue-driven. But the cinematography's solid enough that it doesn't feel like just watching a filmed play.

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (2020)

Set-up is that a dude who works in a cafe, and lives in a flat above it, discovers that his monitor in the flat is connected, videoconference-style, to the TV in the cafe, but the TV in the cafe is two minutes in the future.

Hijinks and time-fuckery ensue.

The acting is quite big and broadly comedic, it's got a kinda goofy tone for the most part. But it's really fucking charming and uses its gimmick in inventive and fun ways.

It's presented as one continuous take which often feels like technical wankery, but is used smartly here - there being one continuous line through what's happening is pretty much essential.

Can't see anyone not enjoying this one if you're in the mood for something light but engaging.

---

Neither is the best film I've ever seen but they're both waayyyyy above the average of the hollywood stuff I've watched in the last few years. And both filmed on an absolute shoestring budget. The latter one was filmed on iphones, which I didn't realise til the end (there's some production footage post-credits).


 

I've seen that second one, it's pretty funny and cleverly done indeed.

These sound pretty cool, I'll look for them. I don't know how I feel about the whole 'filmed on iphone' thing (which has become a bit of an industry), but usually there's a more to it in terms of gear, prep, and professionalism/experience of the principals than the tag implies. I suppose The Florida Project is a pretty definitive proof of concept. Oh wait it's not, it was shot on 35mm film, and gorgeous at that, except the final scene in the forbidden city (disneyland). Bakers' prior film (I haven't seen) was shot on iphone.