Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Excellent adaptation.

Best movie ever!

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

"The Centrifuge Brain Project" is a 6.5-minute live action short film from 4 years ago written and directed by German filmmaker Till Nowak, his second work after a considerable break since his first. However, despite him being German, and thanks to the lead actor not being German, you will not need subtitles if you are an English native speaker. This little movie is basically a fake documentary about a guy who developed several rollercoasters over the years. It is almost exclusively comedy, but I personally did not find it funny I must admit. The only somewhat impressive thing here are the special effects. So yeah, this was not a good watch. I do not recommend checking it out and I cannot say this got me curious or optimistic about Nowak's upcoming projects. Thumbs down.

Dr Nick Laslowicz a well regarded scientist is of the theory that centrifugal force can effect and improve the brain development of very young children by up to 30 per cent . Knowing this he aims to develop the ultimate funfair ride that will benefit Mankind though one has to ask what four year old child will be brave enough to go on one ? Okay I'll put my hand up and confess I was fooled . I came across this on The Short Of The Week website in the science section and being interested in the topic of science I thought I'd give it a watch . There was of course no cast list saying " Doctor Nick Laslowicz - Leslie Barany " or anything like that and thought the theories put forward had a grounding in scientific reality . For the most part it remained credible and thought Dr Nick wearing a hard hat inside a car might just be one of those quirks of an eccentric scientist . As the story continued the rides themselves did become a bit more and more outlandish especially the ride that seems to " punch " its occupants outwards in a sort elasticated arm ., but let's not forget some adrenaline junkies would love fairground rides like this . I also found it strange that during one experiment some volunteers spent 14 continuous hours on a ride but I dismissed this as people wanting to be a part of something and were getting a free fairground ride at no cost to themselves . The penny did drop with the final sequence of a ride where the mis-en-scene didn't ring true at all with an impossibly infeasible fast ride in the background and people nonchalantly walking past . If the ride was real then people including myself would stop and watch awe struck with our chins on the ground . So I wasn't fooled in the end - just for the first six minutes which serves me right for putting my faith in science

When I started this film I wasn't sure at first if it was a real documentary because the tone and style is so well done. We start with Doctor Nick Laslowicz ("hey Dr Nick") telling us of experiments into the developmental effects on the brain caused by centrifugal forces and the rigs which he designed to further explore this. Very quickly we realize this is a mockumentary because the footage of experiences is essentially fantastically impossible fairground rides. The film continues the serious, scientific tone while at the same time each "clip" of the various experiences is really well delivered and becomes more fantastic.The effects are one of the main things to come for and they are really good, using slightly grainy footage to help the blend between real footage and the tremendous machines. They look great and it is funny to see their impossible actions while also hearing them discussed by Dr Laslowicz. This additional layer is what sets the film apart from the many "look what my computer can do" short films that you'll find because this mockumentary style is engaging and funny. Laslowicz is well played by Barany and his delivery is good of some fine funny bits of dialogue. Throwaway lines about the Extender experiment working well apart from once being too near a building are great because they backup the distance of the experiment while also putting in our minds this machine hammering into the side of an office block; my favorite line in the whole piece was about one even more extreme ride, sorry – experiment, where it reportedly resulted in the "readjustment of key goal and life aspirations", which is a very scientific way to say that it terrified the life out of those on it.The internet is full of short films that offer you great computer effects and style, so it is nice to find one that uses the effects as its starting point and not as the destination. A fun and well made mockumentary that works well on several levels.

I believe this film is a preview of what the best to come from the future of film will be. It's short, but every moment of it shows what can be done with talent and modern technology. A longer film would require a bigger budget, but even this outstanding seven-minute production would have been impossible to create a few years ago without major resources.As editing, sfx, and other capabilities continue to find their way onto the modern auteur's desktop, expect to see more of this kind of creative, ground-breaking, and (not to leave out) entertaining stuff.If you're as tired as I am of retreads like yet-another-Batman movie or the seemingly endless stream of interchangeable Tom Cruise films, be patient: this is the kind of movie you've been waiting for, and there's a lot more about to be created where this came from.