This week's short spotlight is a bit later than usual, I've been writing all day and hopefully we will be making a short that we can put on this blog very soon.
I'm making a slight change to Short's Spotlight and I'm just going to post just one short each week, for now at least. The short this week is comedy 'The Black Hole' from HSI Films.
A great short comedy that proves that you can fit a smart, clever plot into under three minutes, The Black Hole is a funny tale of human greed.
4.5/5
Hopefully the more time I get each week the more videos I can post and the more detailed the reviews will be. If you's like us to watch and review your short (and each submitted one will be reviewed properly) then leave a link below in the comments or email us at eightyfivefilms@gmail.com
Every Monday here on EFF's blogspot we are looking at short films from around the web and here we are in our third week! This week we have got Action from Intelligent Artists, Comedy from Back2Back Productions and a classic drama from Argos Films that was an inspiration for one of Terry Gilliam's Blockbusters.
If you would like us to watch and consider including your short film then leave a link in the comments below or alternatively hit us up on our twitter page +eightyfivefilms. I would recommend that you watch each of the shorts before reading the review as there may be spoilers. All films may include bad language, violence etc. so be prepared and watch at your own discretion.
I'm not going to go to deep into reviewing this week due to lack of time but hopefully you will still get the jist of my thoughts.
A great superhero fan film, First Impressions impresses. The fighting is very well choreographed and look great, the acting performances are fantastic and it's well directed. I defy anyone with even the remotest interest in the superhero universe to not get a shiver down their spine when the camera gives a glance of the crown of Wonder Woman in her bag.
Off Road is a Dutch comedy/drama (in English) about a a man being talked out of doing something possibly bad by his SatNav. It's very well shot, has great performances from its two human actors and is very funny. I really like the small twist at the end and enjoyed watching.
I tried in vain to find the French spoken version with English subtitles but did manage to find the English narration version; not as great as the original language track but still pretty good. Anyway, La Jetee is simply a classic, it's outstanding. It's amazing how a series of still photos can still work as a film and credit has to go to the sound design for really making that happen. I found it almost hypnotic listening along with the images and I almost forgot I wasn't watching a 'motion picture'.
As you may or may not have noticed La Jetee was a major inspiration for Terry Gilliam's 1995 film 'Twelve Monkeys' and itself drew inspiration from 'Vertigo'.
Incredible and timeless - 5/5.
What did you think of this weeks shorts? Let us know in the comment section below.
Last week I introduced a new regular feature here on the Eighty Five Films blog called EFF's Shorts Spotlight. We decided that every Monday we'd post some of the shorts we've found while trawling the web avoiding doing real work. So here, as promised, I am in week two.
This week we have a student drama from 'ryanhutchinsfilm' called 'Too Shy', a comedy from 'Boxcar Films' called '92 Skybox Alonzo Mourning Rookie Card' and the third is another comedy, this time from Australian production company 'Play TV', called 'Glenn Owen Dodds'.
As I said last week I would recommend watching the videos before reading as the article may include spoilers. Also I think I'd better place a warning somewhere so I'll stick it here: The films may contain bad language, nudity, horror or violence so children should only watch with their parents guidance and those old enough to watch by themselves do so at their own discretion.
What I like about 'Too Shy' is it's simplicity. It's an amazing short, especially for a student film and it's all down to the storytelling. Hutchins does a fantastic job of writing a heartfelt poem that feels completely real, maybe Hutchins himself has felt this way; he gets the watcher to really feel for the main character. He manages to put a nice twist in too, skipping from heartbreak to joy in a matter of seconds, really playing with your emotions. Maybe I'm just soppy but I've felt a tear breaking loose each time I've seen it!
It's also well shot and well lit, while again keeping things nice and simple and the piano soundtrack work beautifully alongside the words of the lovestruck poet. The actors performances, while they don't have too much to do, are also excellent; keeping things feeling real.
'Too Shy' manages to show you can create a great film with little or no budget and is a fine example of how sometimes less is more. I do honestly think it is fantastic and would recommend it to everyone.
Today's second film has a whole different feel to it than 'Too Shy'. The lengthily titled ''92 Skybox Alonzo Mourning Rookie Card' is a comedy, that while sometimes quite dark, is very funny. The best scene, in my opinion, is the dinner table scene which has some very good laugh-out-loud moments. I like the competitive nature between the two brothers and the violent extent to which their drinking competition finishes.
I did find the main characters quite hard to like, even though the one brother does redeem himself at the end. They are brash and childish, I suspect that is the way they are supposed to be but I just found them hard to sympathise with.
Sklar does a good job of directing, the film is well shot, moves at a good pace and sounds great. There is a slight sync issue every now and again (although this could have just been a YouTube issue) but overall everything worked well.
4/5.
Note: '92 Skybox Alonso Mourning Rookie Card has since been made into a feature length film called 'Awful Nice'.
Our short spotlight this week is rounded up with Glenn Owen Dodds or G.O.D. for short is quirky, funny and intriguing. We, as the viewer, are in the same boat as the young man Michael as he discovers the line to see Glenn. It at first appears that there is nothing mystical about Glenn and that he is just some bloke that is a bit off his rocker. I think it works very well to employ the slow reveal that maybe there is something heavenly about him after all as he manages to comment on things in Michael's life that nobody could possibly know. Slowly, more things pop into place and by the end it's revealed that Glenn probably is God after all.
The funniest moment for me comes at the end of Michael's five minute session, just as he is about to get the answer to his question (or not as the case may be, after all Glenn is all knowing and would be aware of the time). The comedy works thanks to a great performance from David Wenham (300, The Lord of the Rings) who really pulls off the character, his comedy timing is excellent and he makes Glenn very likeable.
The ending is very clever, turning seemingly whimsical remarks made by Glenn into all knowing set-ups for Michael and his quest for true love before returning us one more time to Glenn and his funny remarks on horses. The same credit as given to Wenham has to be given to writer Trent Dalton for writing a very funny script and director Frazer Bailey for moving it to camera.
4.5/5.
If you enjoyed the films, agreed with me or even though opinion was completely and utterly wrong then please leave a comment in the section below. Also if you would like us to feature your short in future spotlights then you can leave a link in the comments or contact us on our twitter page @eightyfivefilms at any time.
Which of this week's three shorts was your favourite?
Instead of writing reviews or redrafting scripts I often find myself being distracted by the internet. I read IMDB news, take the daily poll (great to have it back, although its not as good as it used to be) and watch endless amounts of videos. A large portion of the videos I watch on YouTube or Vimeo are short films, I find them a great way of passing time and due to their length they are often easier to watch than feature length films (yes I have a short attention span, guilty as charged). The quality out there is fantastic and as it obviously costs a lot less to produce a short, its a great showcase for upcoming talent. It was while avoiding doing work and watching yet more videos I realised these viewings could be a source of work for Eighty Five Films' blog. So every Monday we are going to post about the great shorts we have found around the web and I would recommend you watch the videos before reading on as they may contain spoilers.
God and Vodka is a very touching, funny drama about writer Evelyn (Reaves) and her attempt at getting the story of her friendship and relationship with Ben (Stine) finally down on paper. She looks back over all the dishevelled pages of memories and though they are not in any seemingly narrative order this is relevant to her memories, as Evelyn says "I find myself flicking through hundreds of pages each of them disconnected from the next, or maybe they are connected". I get that feel from each scene, all of these different events happening may not be in order yet they are all brought together through the bond of the two main characters. The relationship Evelyn and Ben have is not only very likeable but also incredibly real. While watching God and Vodka I felt similarities to my relationship with my girlfriend, the way the two look at each other, the way they joke around and have their traditions ("wanna play Ouija"). You can see the love between them and the fondness she clearly feels towards him while remembering their times together.
The dialogue is very strong and exceptionally written, it's both funny and touching, it made me laugh out loud and sent me silent with sadness. Credit should not just got to Stine for writing it but for his and Eaves' performances, they have great on screen chemistry and are both clearly talented actors. Cinematographer Pedro Ciampolini does a great job here too, capturing the sentimental feel within the look of each shot. God and Vodka is a beautiful short film both visually and atmospherically and is honestly one of the best shorts I have seen. Daniel Stine is going to go a long way and has already made considerable gains since, directing Harold Perrineau (Lost, Romeo & Juliet) in his latest offering. Make sure to keep an eye out for him.
Proximity is a short action film from famous YouTubers Film Riot. It opens mysteriously with four captives in the back of a flat bed truck being held by two armed guards. As the guards let the captives off the truck it becomes clear this is some kind of hunt as is linked to an electrical device placed around the captives' ankles.
I particularly enjoyed the tempo of Proximity and the music by Daniel James did a good job of helping to maintain the quick paced feel. The special effects were pulled off very believably especially for the cheap price they were produced, as the behind the scenes video explains. The fight scene likewise looks very real and credit goes to the two actors involved in achieving this.
The ending is very strong with a great twist but it left me wanting to know more, how does it work? Who is behind this? If the main protagonist is able to turn the gun on his 'team-mate' (for want of a better word) then what was to stop him running at the end of his own hunting? The leaving of such questions isn't necessarily a bad thing though, because as the famous saying goes, always leave them wanting more.
Okay, okay, okay. I know the choice for the third video today may seem self-indulgent but technically, as I wasn't involved with EFF at the time George was made, its not really self-indulgent at all. Okay maybe a little, but as this is the first EFF's Shorts Spotlight I thought it would be fitting we link to our first short.
I won't comment or review George, but if you would like to let us know what you think about this and all the other titles here then please leave a comment in the section below.
All the titles today can be rated on IMDB (in fact I encourage it) by clicking on the hyper-linked heading for each entry.
