c0ina
33 Reviews
Reviews
Best Foot Forward
Fallback has said this, but I have to say it again, because I think it's important. Film-making is always a collaborative effort, but triply so in a 48hours environment. Not only did this film start with a full screen "A Film by..." credit, but it also ended with a full-screen "Directed by..." credit at the end, AND a THIRD "Directed by..." credit at the top of the roller! I found this REALLY pretentious and off-putting. The film was pretty average, in almost every way. Story, technicals, acting - all were 'fine' which I think was the death of itself. It's always better to be dreadful and funny or truly great, in my opinion, and this film was lost in it's own level of 'ok'. Nothing about it was obviously terrible, but nothing was really that great about it either. Personally I wasn't engaged in the story at all.
When the Cat's Away
Okay, this was the great surprise of the heat for me. A truly ridiculous premise handled perfectly. I LOVED the lead actress. Such a charming awkwardness to her. And Oh. My. God. The cats POV shots with the puppeteered paws - I think that was the loudest the laughs in the theatre got all night. By the time we got to the reveal of the breakfast I was crying a little bit. Just brilliant. This film wasn't technically great by any means, but never so bad that it interfered with the story-telling. Probably not a finalist this year, but if they can spend the next year sharpening their technical skills and bring the LOLs consistently, this could be a team to watch in the future.
Let Cheating Gods Lie
One of the things I love the most about 48Hours is the diversity of the films on offer every year. I really do love seeing abstract art films amongst the comedies and dramas. Unfortunately, the problem with Let Cheating Gods Lie is that it's not actually a very good art film. It comes across as a drug fuelled excuse for self-indulgence and pretentiousness. The story, camera work and editing were all incoherent. I didn't get any message or meaning out of it and I didn't find it entertaining. The full frontal male nudity was gratuitous and unnecessary. Sorry :( I really do WANT to like this kind of movie. The main location they use looked incredible.
Subject 57
This was a big surprise for me. Loved the structure. At first I was worried it would be hampered by repetition but you avoided that nicely! The movies exploitation influences were worn on it's sleeve and completely owned. Loved the transition you guys made! Also loved the gags - especially the literal interpretations of "body-switch" - think I actually snorted out loud. Very fun!
iBrobot
BAM! I actually love you, iBeard. You bring the best LOLs everytime. If your humor is wrong, then I don't wanna be right.
MeatLoaf
I'm a fan of this team. I think last year was their first year and they were a city finalist? This year not quite as strong as last year in my opinion but still engrossing and enigmatic. I assume that the way this team works is to write a script and then hand off a scene to a different artist to animate? The only down-side of this method is that some segments are significantly stronger than others, from the art side of things.
Between Light and Shadow
Think I probably need to see this again because my initial reaction was far from everyone's comments above. I found the banter incomprehensible rather the genius. The whole story of the shopping trolley was very, very clever and harked back to such 48Hours classics as BURNS & McLOED and JUNGLE FEVER. Unfortunately I thought the story-telling was so weak that it deflated that really good concept. Looking at the reviews above, I'm clearly in the minority, so take my comments with a grain of salt - I obviously just didn't 'get it' :) Would love to see again to re-calibrate my opinion.
Bedtime
Heartbreaking. Seriously - as I watched this film knowing that it was out of competition, I was heartbroken. The story of this team is legendary by now, and it was clever of them to put Graduate Massacre in their team intro because it really highlighted just how far this team has come. I'm sorry to say this guys because it must be maddening to hear: but this is your best film. It was the best film in the heat by a LONG way and if it wasn't disqualified, I would've said it was a sure thing finalist. You've nailed the outstanding production values for a few years now, but this year you nailed the script. The direction was note perfect. The tone was perfect. The performances from the young boy was perfect. Congratulations - and at least take solace in the fact that you've made a film that will stand on it's own legs outside of the comp. Really well done.
Who Gets To Go?
This short was a pleasant surprise! This team clearly knows how to tell a story with moving pictures. It rode the fine balance of comedy and story and I loved the slapstick gore - it was good fun. The just-one-arrow gag was killer. Loved the ending. The biggest thing that let this short down was the jaring change from day to night in the middle of a scene which comes down to scheduling I guess?
Query
Totally got what this was going for but it kind of missed the mark. Just thinking about the twist for a second renders it nonsensical. I got a few laughs out of the over-the-top detective!
Love Story Sessions
Didn't quite nail it like they have in previous years unfortunately. Enjoyed the gags and the end reveal was hilarious but it wasn't enough of a conclusion. If the setup had been shorter it would've worked great as good punchline to a joke, but it didn't really work as an end to the story it felt like it was building up to. I love the performances from these guys every year... such great comedic timing. It was a really good short overall, it's just that these guys have continually proved themselves to be the best of the best of the competition and this year didn't quite feel up to their usual high standard.
Off Grid
Like last year, these guys nailed it. Unlike last year, they're not disqualified, making this film an almost certain Auckland finalist. A fantastic opening VFX shot sets a very high standard of technical proficiency that never falters throughout the rest of the film. They nailed the genre, the characters were fantastic archetypes (the internet pirate and his landlocked boat a crowd favorite) and the story arc compete. The gag of the boat being chased by drones was inspired and the moment the chase seemed to exit a perimeter with the drones turning back was a delightfully understated trope. Great work, guys - can't fault it.
Between Light and Shadow
Think I probably need to see this again because my initial reaction was far from everyone's comments above. I found the banter incomprehensible rather the genius. The whole story of the shopping trolley was very, very clever and harked back to such 48Hours classics as BURNS & McLOED and JUNGLE FEVER. Unfortunately I thought the story-telling was so weak that it deflated that really good concept. Looking at the reviews above, I'm clearly in the minority, so take my comments with a grain of salt - I obviously just didn't 'get it' :) Would love to see again to re-calibrate my opinion.
Stuck In The Mini With You
This is a truly great team. The concept to this was clever, but I do suspect that on a second viewing some deliberate misdirects wouldn't hold up. Maybe I'm wrong? Dying to see it again. The technicals were great. Very tasteful story telling as we've come to expect from this team. And by team I mean "affluent syndicate". Just kidding ;) I thought the performances were a bit hit and miss. The two English girls were a lot better than the two kiwis in my opinion. The girl with the angelic face was gorgeous! Would really love to see her in more stuff. I did not see the twist coming at all, but as I said above, I suspect that's due to some misdirects that maybe would not hold up on another viewing. Hope I'm wrong, need another viewing to tell! Definitely a contender for the finals.
The Clonix Orb
I'm also pretty flabbergasted that this film got as many votes as it did. It definitely had some nice photography, but unfortunately photography is only one element of filmmaking. It felt like this team just wanted to recreate scenes from their favorite films - my reaction to watching it went something like this: "Oh it's The Princess Bride, oh it's Game of Thrones, oh it's Krull, oh it's The Matix..." and on and on. There's nothing wrong with homage per se but none of the scenes that they were stealing from other movies ever came together in a clever way, or even in a way that made sense. As with almost all of the films in this heat - you could definitely pay more attention to the quality of your sound recording and mix next year. Some of the costumes were really, really great!
Perp
This will no doubt be an unpopular review but I struggled with this film a bit. There is no question that after Halcyon's film this was the next best from a technical perspective. Great photography. Strong and consistent grade. Good sound. Well cut. However, despite featuring some pretty great gags - nothing happened. What little story did exist had absolutely zero structure. It was just gag-gag-gag-gag-end. Which look, clearly makes for a popular film - as seen by this taking out Audience favorite of the heat. I laughed my ass off throughout this film. The sliding across the bonnet of the car trope with the flash-frame editing transition was gold. And while utterly predictable, the Charlie-Chaplin-esque car load of people gag was well executed and I laughed a lot. And yet, despite the laughs, when it ended I was left feeling completely unsatisfied. More of a youtube skit than a short film. Sorry :(
Let Cheating Gods Lie
One of the things I love the most about 48Hours is the diversity of the films on offer every year. I really do love seeing abstract art films amongst the comedies and dramas. Unfortunately, the problem with Let Cheating Gods Lie is that it's not actually a very good art film. It comes across as a drug fuelled excuse for self-indulgence and pretentiousness. The story, camera work and editing were all incoherent. I didn't get any message or meaning out of it and I didn't find it entertaining. The full frontal male nudity was gratuitous and unnecessary. Sorry :( I really do WANT to like this kind of movie. The main location they use looked incredible.
Meet-Cute
Great slomo gag! Unfortunately after such a big laugh so early on I felt like the rest of it didn't really hold up :( The puppets were really cute but it was a bit jaring how the animated brick and leaf cut on and off and I saw the ending coming as soon as I clicked that they were at a bus stop. I really wanted to like it but it just never really reached the heights for me that I reckon it could have.
Headshot
The usual top-notch script and performances that we've come to expect from these guys, but I do wonder a little if your entry from last year was just so, SO good that you can never live up to that again? I hope I'm wrong :) This was very good, but it wasn't Confessions of a Fabricator great. COAF was transcendent, where this was a really, really good 48hours short. Cute story that we can all relate to, and VERY good use of the one-room genre, but I wanted to see more Toby!! Technicals seemed slightly lower than previous years, but all in all a very succinct and tastefully told story.
Headshot
The usual top-notch script and performances that we've come to expect from these guys, but I do wonder a little if your entry from last year was just so, SO good that you can never live up to that again? I hope I'm wrong :) This was very good, but it wasn't Confessions of a Fabricator great. COAF was transcendent, where this was a really, really good 48hours short. Cute story that we can all relate to, and VERY good use of the one-room genre, but I wanted to see more Toby!! Technicals seemed slightly lower than previous years, but all in all a very succinct and tastefully told story.
Kill Therapist
Gratuitous and unnecessary. It served no purpose. It had no stance or opinion - it was just rape for rape's sake. It wasn't in the slightest bit entertaining. Comparing your movie with Irreversible??? In your dreams, buddy. The story had nothing to it other than being an excuse for the rape scene to exist. I'm not offended by it, I just think it's a bit pathetic.
Best Foot Forward
Fallback has said this, but I have to say it again, because I think it's important. Film-making is always a collaborative effort, but triply so in a 48hours environment. Not only did this film start with a full screen "A Film by..." credit, but it also ended with a full-screen "Directed by..." credit at the end, AND a THIRD "Directed by..." credit at the top of the roller! I found this REALLY pretentious and off-putting. The film was pretty average, in almost every way. Story, technicals, acting - all were 'fine' which I think was the death of itself. It's always better to be dreadful and funny or truly great, in my opinion, and this film was lost in it's own level of 'ok'. Nothing about it was obviously terrible, but nothing was really that great about it either. Personally I wasn't engaged in the story at all.
17
I'm very fond of this team and what they represent, which to me is almost the embodiment of the spirit of this competition. To come from Graduate Massacre to this is, simply put, incredible. This team have worked so hard to get to the level they're at now, which is a very, very high standard. The production values were fantastic. Consistently great photography and slick editing. The only shot I found jarring was a running hand-held shot which probably would've benefited from some stablisation of some kind. But who am I kidding - now I am seriously nit-picking. The acting was, as stated above, a bit of a mixed bag. The female lead was really, really good and I'd like to see her in more stuff. The male lead, while he did have his moments, was unfortunately outshined by his on-screen partner. All up, I loved this heaps. I think they nailed it. Always look forward to seeing more from this team :)