Fateful Findings

My first feature film is based primarily around Fateful Findings and Neil Breen's first film, Double Down. Both are amazing works of utterly delirious nonsense and, as one reviewer of Fatal Future (our homage to his work, currently available on Prime) wisely noted, Breen himself is the final boss of "bad movie" filmmaking. The man is an absolute national treasure, and should be just as -- if not MORE -- famous as Tommy Wiseau.So why is Breen so great? I think it comes down to a lot of things, but most notable is his personal responsibility to his vision. Breen is a guy who doesn't compromise, who knows exactly what he wants to make and just MAKES IT, man. He knows what he wants and, even if it's not objectively good, it is most definitely HIS. There's nothing quite like a Breen film, and I should know, because my experiment of a movie was all about seeing just how much you could emulate the man's work. While some folks think we succeeded, I'm of the mindset that we were just slightly off with our approximation. Why? Because even when trying our damnedest to get the formula right, there was that note of unhinged hubris that simply could not be replicated, resulting in a film that I believe succeeds at approximating camp, but not in quite the same style as Master Breen.All of this is to say that Fateful Findings is exactly where you should start with Breen. It's arguably his best film, perfectly balancing everything that makes him so fascinating with all of the pitfalls he's susceptible to. Double Down is where I would venture next, as it's also 100% his vision, but also often gets a little repetitive. After that, give I Am Here.... Now a try. It's incredibly silly and verges a little too far into no-budget camp, but that does give it an uneven sheen that I find absolutely intoxicating. Then there's Pass Thru, which is the only Breen film I honestly just don't like, but does have some value and is even a favorite among some people.I haven't gotten a chance to see Twisted Pair yet, but all signs point to something beautiful, so I'm very excited about that.Anyway, I realize this isn't much of a review so much as it is me suckling at Neil Breen's delightfully scrawny teet, but that's ok. The main point is to find a copy of Fateful Findings (I'm pretty sure you can still order it directly from the man himself) and dive in to the Breenaverse. It's very, very worth it.

Move over, Ed Wood. Neil Breen is the new king of film. Having watched this, I immediately sought out more of his work. Fateful Findings is clearly more polished than Double Down, his first work. Based on these two movies, it appears that Mr. Breen is very interested in: the desert, magic rocks, finding true love at 7 or 8 years old, appearing nude, hacking (using multiple laptops simultaneously), government/corporate conspiracies, and possibly cars. I look forward to seeing his other works to see if those threads all continue.If you have a group of MST3K loving friends, you need to know Neil Breen. Fateful Findings may be the perfect movie for this kind of thing. Double Down was far more confusing and the pace wasn't good, but there was plenty to love there, as well.Spoiler-filled plot summary below:Fateful Findings is about Dylan (Neil Breen), a man who fell in love when he was 8 and then lost touch when his girlfriend's parents moved away. But they found a magic rock together before that happened. Anyway, Dylan gets hit by a car and sent to the hospital. But then the magic rock heals him and he goes home to his hot European wife (or maybe girlfriend) and starts hacking (with 3-4 laptops), instead of writing the follow-up to his hugely successful first novel. As Dylan uncovers government and corporate secrets, his marriage (or relationship) is breaking up because she's on pills and Dylan now hates pills. Meanwhile, Dylan's best friend (who looks like a porn actor) and his wife (who also looks like a porn actor) are having marital troubles, and their teenage daughter is upset about that, and acts out by coming onto Dylan. Eventually, the wife murders the best friend and it's apparently not really a big deal. Dylan's wife (or girlfriend) eventually commits suicide by overdosing on pills, which conveniently leaves Dylan open to get back together with his childhood girlfriend, who just happens to be the neurologist who treated him at the hospital! Convenient! Ultimately, Dylan holds a press conference in Washington about all the secrets he's learned, and a bunch of CEOs, accountants, attorneys, and congresspeople kill themselves in various ways. The end.

When you go to the beach you will invariably encounter a man, middle-aged or older, who most definitely looks his age, walking along the shore wearing a Speedo without any apparent self-consciousness. Now imagine that man wrote, produced, directed, edited and starred in a movie. That movie would undoubtedly look like "Fateful Findings." And just like when you saw him strutting along the beach in that revealing swimsuit, you will be astounded by how deluded he must be to think he's as hot as Chris Hemsworth. Does he not have a mirror? (Or have watched the dailies?) Then you'll laugh because you can't help it. But then you might also feel some grudging admiration for his determination to do what he wants -- be it wearing inappropriately skimpy swimwear when he's got the physique of a dried apricot or directing an incoherent movie set in a world where women only wear tank tops and tight jeans, about magical powers; drug-addicted wives; finding your lost love from 2012 decades later (yet still in 2012, somehow); the sexless marriage between what appear to be a strip-club bouncer and one of the ex-dancers; velour housecoat-wearing psychotherapists operating out of closets; and hacking into government and corporate computers the expose all the secret government and corporate secrets using no fewer than four laptops, none of which are turned on -- without concern about what the world thinks.So, hats off to you, Neil Breen, for pursuing your film making dreams, film making technique (scripting, storytelling, acting, pacing, special effects, scene blocking, editing...) be damned. But next time, maybe don't write so many nude scenes for yourself. An artist needs to know his limitations.

Unforgettable directing and acting.

Fateful FINDINGS yes it is over 2 ours and it was a blast yeah thanks amazon for correcting that back to review it is film about the elephant man curing cancer and hack government but get hit by car and there s a coffee table that disseapraes with amazing effects! Step aside Dr strange the new FX king is in town!help