“It’s a funny thing-hunger. You can forget it for a little while, but there always comes a time when you remember- it is there. And, when you do, it’s all you can think about.” Rica Sweeney, the writer-producer-director of Bone, divides the 14:52 minutes runtime in four chapters, showing the perspective of a dog contending… Continue reading Bone: A Tell-All With A Drug Runner Dog
Tag: Short Film Reviews
Sonny Nites is the Best There’s Never Been: Slick Comedy About Self-Exiled Stars
A mockumentary about a reclusive musician, famous because of a rather unfortunate video of his breakdown more than a decade ago, Randy Butcher’s Sonny Nites is the Best There’s Never Been (SNITBTNB), utilises its 25-minute runtime to render itself an engaging experience for the viewer. The premise in itself is a curious thing and manages… Continue reading Sonny Nites is the Best There’s Never Been: Slick Comedy About Self-Exiled Stars
Funeral: To Escape Grief By Exploring It
Very cleverly crafted, Marie Vandelannoote’s Funeral’s merit lies as much in its camerawork as in its screenplay. The plot is surreptitiously simple: Four siblings attend their brother’s wake after his suicide, old wounds are teased up, leaving everyone to grasp at the weakest straws to console themselves and assuage their guilt for failing their brother. … Continue reading Funeral: To Escape Grief By Exploring It
Aping: Filmmaking Duo’s Surgically Administered Chaos
A man hurriedly walks in and takes a seat beside four other, perfectly placid people. He wears a label that says ‘Chimp’. In Ian Bousher and Theo Gee’s Aping, everything comes neatly labelled, and sent to hell just as neatly, with surgical precision. The premise is simple. How would you act and react in the… Continue reading Aping: Filmmaking Duo’s Surgically Administered Chaos
Symmetry: Razing Abundance For (Un)Controlled Symmetrical Perfection
A lush green forest viewed from the bird’s eye smoothly cuts to a landfill, a sea of grey with specks of colour – thoughtlessly thrown away objects from human life, ready to line the pits. This particular cut from writer-director Robert Plaza’s Symmetry echoes the film’s vision far better than any of the claustrophobic concrete… Continue reading Symmetry: Razing Abundance For (Un)Controlled Symmetrical Perfection
Glory Days: Coming To Terms With The Inglorious Details About Oneself
“Well, that was heavy,” said Ty. Yes, yes it was. It is a law universally exercised that if you build walls around yourself, they will be taken down by the last person welcome to it. Kama L. Sood’s drama about a washed-up rockstar really does hit you in the guts, all the more powerful because… Continue reading Glory Days: Coming To Terms With The Inglorious Details About Oneself
Safely to Shore: Using Supernatural Elements To Weave Two Tales Of Abuse
Safely to Shore is a long 31 minutes, ironically, for a film that tries to be so many things at once. Matthew R. Ford tries to weave in narratives about sexual, physical and mental abuse, self-harm and supernatural elements all together in this very confusing, and very dull plot. Here’s what happens. During a walk… Continue reading Safely to Shore: Using Supernatural Elements To Weave Two Tales Of Abuse
First Mistake: Chemistry So Good, You Don’t Need Conversation To Fall In Love
There are love stories. Then there are rom-coms. And then there are terrible rom-coms. First Mistake languishes woefully in that last category. This is a film that has a one-night stand at its crux. In other films centred around the same theme, the story will usually have the decency to portray its characters with normal… Continue reading First Mistake: Chemistry So Good, You Don’t Need Conversation To Fall In Love
Leslie’s Gift: Finding Salvation Within
It is easy to fall into the trappings of nostalgia. That much we know and rarely heed. On screen too, nostalgic recountings of bygone days are an easy way to develop characters and plot. Sometimes too easy, and really just an easy way out. Charles Cunliffe’s Leslie’s Gift spends practically its entire runtime dwelling on… Continue reading Leslie’s Gift: Finding Salvation Within
Dominant Chord: Contending With The Age-Old Battles Of Success vs Freedom
A story that follows Adam and Brian, a gay couple with all kinds of open wounds from being beaten up by homophobic thugs, Jeremy Leroux’s Dominant Chord shows glimmers of insight but mostly struggles to overcome superficial writing. Country singer Adam, played by Clayton Chitty, is riding the high of stardom when he is rudely… Continue reading Dominant Chord: Contending With The Age-Old Battles Of Success vs Freedom