Reviews

Quite touching and really good visuals.

I don't usually review shorts or any kind of movie. I don't usually care about sci-fi shorts anyway, as they rarely have strong characters and get their execution fouled up, even if the premise is good.

The Outpost, or "Citizen" as it should be re-titled, was actually really good on all counts. The actress was attractive and quirky, the actor was earnest and clearly both gave it their all. The storyline is simple yet effective. This is classic romantic sci-fi such as audiences once found in Forbidden Planet or Oblivion, with enough awe inspiring mysteries to pull a wide audience in.

The premise here is solid and the execution is actually downright cinematic. This was a surprisingly good if simple story, and given how contrasting the one other IMDB review is from nearly all youtube commenters, I felt the crew deserved some praise on this site. I hope more sci-fi like this short come out.

I really liked some of the jokes about modern romance, which hit home far better than most shows can manage. The writers on this show are clearly skilled in their craft. But I can't give this show the great reviews everybody else is throwing around.

Casual provides drama where it doesn't need to be, and it does so every time, overtime.

A little predictable at times, most of the characters are far too selfish to really enjoy watching past the first few episodes. They never really engage in dialogue with other people, nor are any of them capable of actual introspection. What we're left with are a bunch of sex crazed morons, smashing apart every chance they have with happiness or personal growth. They just blithely do their own thing regardless of the consequences. That's likely the whole point, but after a while this isn't entertaining, anymore than I suppose watching a candy lover self-destruct themselves into getting a root canal.

Many of the reviews here are unfair. Not every movie can be made with a $300 million dollar budget of the modern blockbusters, nor should they. For the type of movie this is, a direct to video comedy made for children, this was very good. It taught morals about duty, honor and kindness, all in a fun setting full of comedy and gags.

Eric Olsen plays Artie, the son of Uther Pendragon, is sent to our time by the clumsy wizard, Merlin, played for comedic value by Arye Gross. Merlin was a fun character to watch. From his inability to focus his magic on the right people (leading to some funny background events: random pedestrians start flying, a kid starts floating in the middle of a restaurant while everybody else continues eating unawares) to his genuine desire to help Artie's mother (Alexandra Paul) stay the course on her optimistic balancing act of mother, waitress and evening school student, Arye Gross was a good pick for main supporting actor. The main actor, Eric Olsen, could have used a little more direction or refocused his acting for more comedy value, but he carried his inner emotional struggle very nicely. His lines did not create good characterization, but were effective enough that I wanted to see how things would end.

Finally, a special shout out has to go to Katie Johnston playing Gwen (Guinevere, I'm guessing), Artie's best friend and potential love interest. It's a pity she wasn't in more movies. Her enthusiasm, facial expressions and genuine warmth were very fun to watch and kept the movie going, especially in the first half. She would make a great co-king/queen in whatever era she's thrown in.

Now onto the bad, starting with the villains. A bikini armor clad Catherine Oxenberg playing the evil Morgana/ Principal Blackheart, is hard to take seriously. Fortunately she knew this, and plays her role very campy and jokingly. Unfortunately the director didn't realize this, and made the movie more serious than it needed to be. Her henchmen are of few words, but what little they have is laid back and fun. They are rarely a real threat, and kids can enjoy their antics and hammy lines.

The battle at the start, with flailing swords, random screaming and, once again, a bikini armor Morgana, display the main weaknesses of the film. Whoever directed the physical swordfights should have watched Rob Roy, Ladyhawke or A Princess Bride to understand how to make cheap budget sword fights look cool. Instead, anytime a battle started I groaned at how silly it looked.

To summarize, the budget of this movie was obviously very low, but several of the actors were very good and made the film worth watching. Just know that this is not a medieval action film like A Knight's Tale or Excalibur: this is a direct to TV teen comedy on par with Disney Channel originals from the early 2000s.

This movie is great. It presents a real problem in high schools, it is sympathetic to both the bullied and bullies... There is nothing quite so terrible in the modern US for many people, than the bullying that goes on in high school. This movie captures the visceral pain that too many adults fail to empathize with, but nearly all of us who have been bullied understand only too well. I especially love the role played by the drama teacher; he really represents some of the kindness that teachers can deliver to their lonely, scared students. There are multiple messages in this movie. We should try and understand social outsiders better; we should try and enhance communication between students and teachers. This is a great movie, good acting, amazing plot; it keeps you keyed up from start to finish, where a great song, Runaway Train by Oleander