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REVIEW
THE TAMPA FILM REVIEW GUIDE
The unauthorized
review of the Tampa Film Review monthly film festival By C. A. Passinault
TAMPA
FILM FESTIVAL SCORES
Guide
Pending
The Tampa
Film Review Film Festival Event Scorecard
2006-2007
Please
note that a score of 5 is average.
Concept
(1-10):
6
Good concept, but not as professional as it needs
to be due to the casual theme. The concept is now, more than ever, in
need of a serious overhaul, as the participants only seem to tolerate
it because it is the only game in town. Seriously, the mish-mash films
of various quality and the loose organization do tend to make the Tampa
indie film scene look bad to anyone who is not actually a part of the
scene.
Venue
(1-10): 6
Mismatched venue. A busy retail store in a party
city, with noisy, often intoxicated customers, is not at all appropriate
for a film festival. Tampa Film Review participants can expect lots
of rude distractions as the store activity clashes with the film festival.
This was much better two years ago in a coffeehouse café!
Vendors
(1-10): 1
There are no vendors, or sponsors, outside of
the sponsoring retail venue. This is part of the problem, as vendors
would give The
Tampa Film Review the capital that
it needs for major professional improvement. The lack of vendors is
also a missed opportunity, and proof that the organizers do not see
this as a business. With the lack of business-mindset, how far can this
go, and how long can The
Tampa Film Review last?
Organization
(1-10): 3
The Tampa Film
Review is plagued with poor organization
and a casual, unprofessional execution which, perhaps, is an offshoot
of the concept behind it. The production standards are amateur, the
same technical problems occur with each event and solutions are not
even attempted, and it is too difficult to meet and network with the
few professionals among the fanboys. Again, a professional business
mindset would do wonders.
Entertainment
(1-10): 4
You get what you pay for, and in this case, it
really is true. The Tampa Film Review may be free, but count
the costs of wasted time, parking, and gas, and you may not be too happy.
Sometimes The
Tampa Film Review is entertaining
for unintended reasons.
As a film festival, however, it falls way short. The organizers intend
to show every indie film submitted to them regardless of the quality,
and don’t bother screening them. Some Tampa Film Reviews
don’t have a single good film to show. Others may, but prepare
to endure the onslaught of bad films before you can see anything even
approaching mediocre.
Attendance
(1-10): 6
Usually moderate, the attendance is only as good
as it is because this is the only monthly film festival event in Tampa,
for now. While it does demonstrate that people are interested in film
festivals and indie films, you can’t help but wonder if the attendance
would be much higher if the film festival was professionally organized
and executed, which it is not. The participants largely tolerate the
shortcomings of The
Tampa Film Review because it is presently
the only game in town.
Features
(1-10): 4
The only features would be indie films. The only
purpose of the event is to sit and watch indie films of mixed quality.
There are reviews of said films, which could be considered to be a feature,
and the reviews can be seen on the Crazedfanboy web site every month.
Some of the reviews are quite good, and add to the entertainment value.
Admission
Value (1-10):
3
The Tampa Film Review is free, and be glad that
it is. There is no direct admission cost. When you add gas and parking,
however, expect to shell out around $10.00 for the privilege of attending.
Overall
Event Score
(1-10): 4
An overrated monthly film festival, successful
in spite of itself because it is currently one of the few events of
its kind. The Tampa Film Review seems to always be organized
at the last minute, is held in a venue which is ill-suited for a film
festival, always has serious technical issues, has no accommodations
or support for serious professional networking, and is often hard to
participate with.
The Tampa
Film Review Film Festival Event Scorecard
2008
Please
note that a score of 5 is average.
Concept
(1-10):
5
-1 deduction from previous score.
Tired concept of people getting together to watch indie films of mixed
quality. It’s simple, but extremely limited. The professional
networking is not effective, either, as there is little time to meet
others and to network after the networking meeting ends and the film
festival begins.
Venue
(1-10): 8
+2 improvement from previous score!
Much better than the venue last year. The current venue is the first
venue from 2004-2005, and this full circle is a good one. Close to the
parking garage and you don’t have to cross two streets to get
there. Additionally, no obnoxious shoppers to distract you from your
indie film goodness!
Vendors
(1-10): 1
Same as previous score.
Hello? Vendors? Maybe the TFR is too small and too short for vendors.
There are none.
Organization
(1-10): 5
+2 improvement from previous score!
Much improved, although the organizers seems to be more apathetic about
things. The improvement seems to be more about getting into a routine
than actually planning and executing a film festival.
Entertainment
(1-10): 5
+1 improvement from previous score!
It’s more fun that it was. A few better films and some unintended
comedy. It’s more fun if you go and quietly make fun of the films
to your friend sleeping beside you. Better yet, try bad film transference,
where you pretend that characters in the film are people that you know.
This was great fun for me and friends when we watched bad films such
as the late 80's remake of “The Blob”, and the recent horror
film “Devil’s Den”! Since the TFR shows shorts, however,
this may not be easy to do, since most films are short and have few
characters to mock.
Attendance
(1-10): 4
-2 deduction from previous score.
Lost in Ybor........ How many muggings happened as a result of the wandering
flocks of film fans searching for the secret venues of The Tampa Film
Review? This, and questionable programming and the trademark TFR organization,
led to lower than average attendance for most of 2008. Oh, and skipping
the October TFR was a bad move. Were the organizers afraid of the large
horror film festivals in October, and they gave up and rolled over without
a fight? It would have been interesting to see what attendance would
have been if there was an October TFR, although at least they would
have tried.
Features
(1-10): 4
Same as previous score.
Well, there are films. And announcements that were probably easier to
listen to. Oh, and there was networking, but that didn’t work
well, either. That’s about it, again.
Admission
Value (1-10):
4
+1 improvement from previous score!
It’s still free, and still what some may refer to as a guilty
pleasure. Watch bad films, and like the proverbial box of mystery chocolates,
you may luck out with an occasional good film, but usually not before
choking on some bad ones. The venue is closer to the parking garage,
which limits the danger of the walk in many ways. Did I mention that
it was free? May I add that you still get what you pay for?
Overall
Event Score
(1-10): 5
+1 improvement from previous score!
A little better, but still a flawed Tampa film festival. With a year
to make improvements and to fix what was wrong, this is a case of too
little, too late. If you are interested in checking out The Tampa Film
Review, if only to see if this review was right, do it while you can,
because we expect this rickety train ride to derail in 2009 and crash
into a ditch. If you do it, do it just to say that you were there once!
The Tampa
Film Review Film Festival Event Scorecard
2009
Please
note that a score of 5 is average.
Concept
(1-10):
6
+1 improvement from previous score!
TMoving it to the Italian Club and putting more effort into the lone
2009 Tampa Film Review finale helped.
Venue
(1-10): 9
+1 improvement from previous score!
The Italian Club is a great venue, with lots of space, and you don't
have to croos 7th avenue from the parking garage to get to it. This
is the peak of The Tampa Film Review and its game of venue musical chairs.
Question: What did they do with all of their chairs after they ended
The Tampa Film Review?
Vendors
(1-10): 1
Same as previous score.
Still no vendors. What is this, and undergroind film festival?
Organization
(1-10): 7
+2 improvement from previous score!
With this last, and final, Tampa Film Review film festival, it finally
gets some organization. Way too little, too late, however, to save it.
Did the organizers simply give up?
Entertainment
(1-10): 9
+4 improvement from previous score!
IThe programming was exceptionally good for a Tampa Film Review, as
they showed all of the best films from the five year run of the monthly
film festival series. Our favorite? To Live Is To Die by Chris Woods.
There was also a lot of people in attendance.
Attendance
(1-10): 8
+4 improvement from previous score!
Record setting attendance, as many who showed up had no idea that The
Tampa Film Review even existed before, and there was a lot of coverage
preceding this film festival. Question: Where were all of the people
who knew about The Tampa Film Review over the years, when the film festival
needed them?
Features
(1-10): 8
+4 improvement from previous score!
The short films were the best reviewed from the five year history of
The Tampa Film Review. Good showing of some must-see short films. They
finally cut out the crappy films. This is how The Tampa Film Review
should have been all along!
Admission
Value (1-10):
7
+3 improvement from previous score!
Worth going to this time.
Overall
Event Score
(1-10): 7
+2 improvement from previous score!
Finally, what The Tampa Film Review should have been. The film festival
finally limped to its potential, although there are still some areas
that could have used improvement.
END OF
REVIEW
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UPDATED 12/05/09