Varun Chounal and Anuj Jamadagni directed Raada takes its audiences on a ride through the last day of a boy in his hometown. On this side, he is plagued by small town politics and the pitfalls of loyalty; on the other, college beckons. As the narrative (motor)cycles through greed, unchecked violence, and misplaced affections, three… Continue reading Raada: The Banality of Big and Small Wounds
Tag: Crime
Early Bird: A Treasure Hunt after a Heist
Issack Cintrón’s Early Bird is set in the aftermath of a heist. Following a bounty hunter and the last man standing that he is supposed to get answers from, the film goes on a quest to find missing money and tie up loose ends. Elliot (Bryce Craver) is the typical job done, no questions asked… Continue reading Early Bird: A Treasure Hunt after a Heist
On the Third Step: A Call, A Missed Shot, and the Unlikely Arrival of the Cops
Anastasia Norenko’s On the Third Step is a 19-minute Russian crime thriller about a hit gone wrong. Seen in flashbacks, the narrative focus is on finding the rat in the three-member team. The cast is almost exclusively men, and powerful ones at that. It shows in the camerawork; whether they are shot at eye-level or… Continue reading On the Third Step: A Call, A Missed Shot, and the Unlikely Arrival of the Cops
Going Down South: Crime and Brotherhood on a Fateful Morning
Joshua Paul Messarge’s Going Down South is a dark comedy that explores a crucial turning point in the lives of two brothers who live a life of crime. In this 20-minute film, circumstances bring Mickey and Donnie to a point where their lives could change forever in the best or worst of ways. The narrative… Continue reading Going Down South: Crime and Brotherhood on a Fateful Morning
$TACK$: The Satire Underneath the Thriller
Gerald Webb’s $TACK$ uses the crime thriller form to bring about a surprising twist that is cutting in its satire. A 6-minute film centred on an illegal deal between two rival gangs, $TACK$ maintains the tension well, even in its climactic reveal. The two parties are to meet in an underground car park. One side… Continue reading $TACK$: The Satire Underneath the Thriller
Bugtussle: A Doomed Dash For A Better Life
Derek Sitter’s Bugtussle is a tale of dreams that were always doomed because the dreamers were always doomed. Explored through the failed robbery attempt of two men in small-town Oklahoma, the 21-minute film is a moving, bitter tragedy based all too accurately on reality. John Mese plays Crow, a middle-aged man taking one last shot… Continue reading Bugtussle: A Doomed Dash For A Better Life
21st & Colonial: Police Brutality And Its Inevitable Results
21st & Colonial, Angelo Reyes’ 19-minute crime drama (co-written with Toby Osborne), is a depiction of one of many police shootings, where it positions the cop and the victim as the two main characters in a bloody tale. Other characters dot their lives, their circumstances flesh them out into real people, and when they finally… Continue reading 21st & Colonial: Police Brutality And Its Inevitable Results
Danny Boy: A Well-Paced, Crime Thriller For The Gangster Genre Aficionados
This 12:32-minute-long Cory DeMeyers film packs in everything and more than one would expect from a gangster genre. There is friendship, there is betrayal, there are the profanity-filled, realistic conversations and a well-thought-out crime. Except that, DeMeyers, in under 15-minutes not only proves his mettle as the director of Danny Boy but also touches upon… Continue reading Danny Boy: A Well-Paced, Crime Thriller For The Gangster Genre Aficionados
Hells Kitchen: Brilliantly Written Mobster Drama Worth Turning Into A Feature Length
16 minutes feel short. Terribly short. For a film of its magnitude—both in terms of the production and concept—Hells Kitchen could have easily been turned into a series or a feature. Which makes writer-director Steve Young quite the wizard. Truncating something of this magnitude into a short of less than 20 minutes certainly requires some… Continue reading Hells Kitchen: Brilliantly Written Mobster Drama Worth Turning Into A Feature Length
A Family Business: The Business Of Settling Scores Old And New
Richard Harrington’s A Family Business tells a tale of more than just a father and son reconciliation, cocooned in a plot of sour relationships and cold revenge. Set-up in a cozy little coffee shop, three different storylines run parallelly, only to come together later in a shrewdly laid plan. A son (Sean Ormond) meets the father… Continue reading A Family Business: The Business Of Settling Scores Old And New