Direct To DVD: Transformation, Crime Fiction

Transformation: The Life and the Legacy of Werner Erhard
Year: 2008
Director: Robyn Symon
Stars: Werner Erhard
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Screen Media Films
Running Time: 77 Mins
Review Rating: 3.5 Stars
Official Website: http://www.transformationfilm.com/



Transformation: The Life and the Legacy of Werner Erhard have played in festivals such as the Atlanta Film festival and the Palm Beach Film Festival. The documentary focuses on the life of Werner Erhard, who was the pioneer of the multi-billion personal growth industry. Transformations: goes into his life that he lived when he became an icon in his field during the 1970’s and 1980. The film also will give an insight into his way of thinking and the controversial program that he developed known as the est that would make him a pioneer. The film also features interviews from his peers, experts, family members and his doubters.

Transformation: The Life and the Legacy of Werner Erhard is a very interesting look at one of the controversial figures of the personal growth industry. Warner Erhard was an interesting subject for a person who is not familiar with him, like myself. Director Robyn Symon does a good profiling this person, as I was interested in his story. He makes the focal point of the film about Erhard's EST training program, which is good for the person, like myself, who was not familiar with this person. Symon spends time interviewing various people who went thought his training, which provided some interesting insight into the positives and negatives on it. He also gets the critics perspective from it, so that both sides are represented. If there was one problem that I had with EST training part of the film was that it didn't focus on the training's origins. It would have been nice to have known, as it would have given a better understanding to what he was trying to accomplish.

What makes this very interesting was the fact the Symon spends time on the personal life of Warner Erhart. That's what made this film for me. He does a good job exploring the troubles in his life. The stories were very interesting which really went into the person from the personal problems in his marriage to the media painting him as a very bad and greedy person. It made the film very interesting, as you got to know the subject. You also see that he not that bad person that people paint him out to be. Symon also focuses on the people who were influenced by him. He does that so you know that his legacy and various works still lives on today.

Transformation: The Life and the Legacy of Werner Erhard is a very interesting look at the controversy and person that created one the most controversial training programs ever.

DVD Extras:

Behind the Scenes Featurette
Extended Footage of Erhard Delivering the est Training


Crime Fiction
Year: 2007
Director: Will Slocombe
Stars: Jonathan Eliot, Christian Stolte, Amy Sloane
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Anthem Pictures
Running Time: 81 Mins
Review Rating: 2 Stars
Official Website: http://www.crimefictionpictures.com/



Crime fiction played at the 2007 Slamdance Film festival. The film is about a copy editor who always dreams of becoming a big time author. He is upset that his girlfriend is getting a lot of publicity for her work and his agent dumped him after his first book got negative reviews. Things get worse for him when his girlfriend ended up dead under the bedroom window in his apartment. Soon this inspires him to write a pulp novel that he thinks will make him famous, but this lead him into a world of murder, betrayal, and unthinkable fortunes.

There are some festival films that are so enjoyable to watch and there are that are not, this film here was not enjoyable for the most part. Writer/ Director Will Slocombe didn’t have it for this film. First the negatives, the main reason why this film wasn’t good, was the fact that the main character in the film was uninteresting. The main character comes off more of a depressed geek than a credible author. It was one of those characters that you were waiting for something awful to happen to him. Also, the screenplay wasn’t that great even though the last twenty minutes was good, which I talk about in a bit. There were too many gaps in the film in which I felt nothing was happening with the development of the main character, as the film became boring.

There are also a few positives with the film. For instance, the film was shot very well, like a pulp film, but without an interesting main character. Also, what saved this from being totally bad was the last twenty minutes or so. I was expecting the movie to end predictably but I have to give Solcombe credit, he goes for the total opposite here. Even thought it didn’t save the film for me, still that turn was good to save it a little bit.

Crime Fiction is a dull film that won’t make anyone’s bestsellers list.

DVD Extras:

Trailers:
Crime Fiction
9/11: Pane to War
Ghost Encounters
Dead Moon Rising

Photos
Press Kit.