Phantasmo
1 Entry and 14 Reviews
Entries
Thicker Than Water
Bodaciousness
Reviews
MeatLoaf
Fantastic! Several unique animation styles pieced together to tell the dreadful tale of one poor soul. This film has an amazingly surreal and scary atmosphere, with bold visual techniques and and a very well suited soundtrack that draw you right into the horror. Highly recommend watching this. I loved it.
Merci
These guys made another really nice looking film. Camera work was great, lighting was ace and it was cut well. The epic drone(?) shot of the warehouse at the beginning was pretty spectacular, but then once the chase/search inside began, it kind of lost that sense of vastness and almost didn't feel like they were in that same giant space. It was a fairly standard story as far as what you'd expect from a cat and mouse and I didn't get invested in either character, but it was still an enjoyable watch regardless and it did have a nice punchy finish to it, which I was pleased to see. Good job guys. Some mad skills at play here.
SURE AS SHIP
Dang, such a great little film, especially considering this was a solo effort. Cool story that really worked with the real-time genre. There was a definite sense of urgency and desperation, yet a strong calmness at the same time. A terrifying scenario with a great performance and script that felt like it knew what it was talking about, being sci-fi/spaceship-centric and all. Really creative uses of lighting, motion graphics and practical effects too. Top job getting achieving all this on your lonesome. Solid work. Loved it.
Recess(es)
This is a fantastic little film. The comedy value of this one was great in that it really struck true with their genre of 'High School Movie'. The animation/art styles of this one are pretty next level, certainly as far as the competition is concerned and I think this is their best effort yet. It is the most polished work they have produced, in that every shot felt/looked complete and not as though they had to rush to finish anything. The colour pallette was really cool too. Very vibrant and lots to look at. It felt like the best use of their distinct 'change-animation-styles-every-scene' thing they do so well since their film 'Frame Race'. My only issue (a small one at that) is the audio. The dialogue, though very little of it, was a tiny bit hard to make out and at times it felt like sound effects were missing. In any case, this was my favourite film of the heat and I think these guys deserve a finals nod. Thanks I Love Loops. Great work.
Loot & Blunder
ILOVELOOPS always make great quality films in this competition and this year is no different. My favourite of the heat for sure.
This is probably their most polished work to date in terms of overall detail in the animation, as well as great sound and voice work.
A fun and funny piece with two great leads bickering and insulting one another over their latest adventure and the loot they have plundered... or blundered. The great writing elevates what could have turned out to be a stale talking heads situation in the hands of a lesser team>
Great work gang! Love it!
Mahnamana
My word, this was amazing! This is exactly what I wanted to see from a puppet movie. Everything about it was on point. The look of both the puppets themselves and the set, the not-at-all-misused Muppets references and the strong well told story itself. The framing of each shot and the depth, levels and positioning of the puppets really made the characters come alive in the frame and helped the whole vibe of the film. I thought the villains being portrayed by human hands was awesome and the way they dealt with the attacks and subsequent reveal of the puppeteers hands was ingenious. So slick. The only criticism I have, and I don't think this will or should have any bearing on anyone's judging of this film, is that the actual mouth syncing of the puppets was noticeably off at times, but I say that with it having made no impact on my love for this film and as I understand, that's a ridiculously hard task unless you're a professional puppeteer. Great work guys. Outstanding! My favourite so far. I imagine this'll get through to the finals. I certainly hope so anyway.
Off Grid
One of the few good films of this heat from a technical perspective, with great visual effects, editing and cinematography. The equally clever and funny chase scene was the high point of this film but I felt the story lacked in clarity at points (i.e. the unexplained, or at least brushed-off disappearance of the second girl at the beginning, and the end left me a touch confused as to what had just happened - perhaps I didn't get it?) Either way, enjoyable and well put together.
(Time) Travel Centre
A really nice take on the time travel genre. For a very minimalist production (shot-wise at least) it looked great, with nicely framed shots and a good looking set. The sound was mixed near flawlessly and the acting was pretty damn fine. The concept and direction of the story really hold the whole thing together and keep you interested, considering some of the dialogue is a little forced at times and there were moments where I felt the comedy didn't play out as well as it could have. Either way, there was a nice feeling of suspense leading up to the final moments and you really got invested in what was going to happen. A solid effort from a strong team. Nice work guys.
The Radical Adventures of Captain Flowers and his Sidekick Barnaby against the Legions of Evil. Episode 1: Fleeced
These guys are awesome. They make consistently outstanding animated shorts; probably the best looking animation in the competition. I'm always amazed at how smoothly they transition between the different animation styles, without it affecting the flow of the story or breaking the viewers focus. I absolutely loved their entry from last year and this one is perhaps even better still, with a more ambitious aesthetic and lots going on in every frame. A really fun/funny story, which is both visually entertaining and has real edge-of-your-seat excitement to it, as you are pulling for the heroes to get out of the pickle they've found themselves in. Great idea that fits the genre perfectly. The only thing I felt was missing in certain places was sound effects and/or music. Just a couple of moments where it felt there should be more going on aurally, but I imagine that is something that comes down to time at the end of the day. I can only assume animation of that caliber takes a lot of time and effort to complete. Fantastic stuff yet again! Also that title is amazing. Probably the best out there. Hopefully a strong contender for the finals.
Terra-Fried
Wowee! What a film. What a grand old time I had watching this. I think this may very well be I Love Loops' best work to date and possibly my favourite of theirs too... I have to watch them all again. A really cool and kooky mad scientist sci-fi story with great moments of comedy. The cutaways showing the effects of the mad scientist's tampering were all hilarious and was another great way for this team to showcase their different animation styles. This is such a polished product, especially for animated film and I was thrilled to see (or hear, rather) that the overall audio was a step up from their previous works too. Great voice acting and general sound quality/design throughout. I really don't think I have any negatives to point out... It was "fooking lush". Amazing work. My favourite of the night and probably one of my favourite 48 films in general.