TheRealClose
1 Entry and 172 Reviews
Entries
Just Genes
ken blose
Reviews
Cushy: A Pull Story
Such a beautiful film, and one of my personal favourites of the competition so far. Not much else to say here but great job, and can’t wait to see what you come up with in the future!
A Hearts Desire
Ah-maze-zing! Love your team’s dedication to makeup, and the film was shot splendidly, with an hilarious ending too! You guys just get better and better every year.
Rob
Agree with the above, once inside the house I don’t think you would have broken the immersion to jump into regular camera angles. I think because the of the single angle and lack of editing (forgive me if I’m misremembering) it was hard to get behind the characters at the end. I hope they took the PS3, 4 and 5 with them though. Screw the groom.
Concatenated
Just been pondering this and back to add a retroactive note about my guns comment. I think a possible fix here is that the cop just shouldn't have pulled out the gun until the end. Perhaps he gets the gun in the car and puts it in his pants, then the chase I think would be much more believable, and he pulls it out at the very end to raise the tension.
Sorry for the double comment, I feel my initial review was a little hasty!
I Could Fly
Brilliant. Well shot and edited, fun and creative song writing. Never give up on team intros.
I'm Gonna
Disappointed the team didn’t live up to its name and produce a 1:1 film. Nah jks this film was a great time. A neat story very well executed. What more can I say? Well not too much cause I still have a bunch more reviews to write..
Instutution
Really funny throughout with great performances from all. On a personal level I am not a fan of the closing dialogue… but I have to admit I laughed at it so I would still call it a successful ending.
Him & Her
As a disclaimer, I typically hate musicals, but I think this was an incredibly creative use of the genre. The first couple verses and Him/Her chorus are a banger, but then it did begin to get a little too High School Musical meets Hillsong for my liking. I was wondering why it never returned to the Him/Her chorus (or perhaps it did, and I’m misremembering)?
My thoughts on the song itself over, the performance / lip syncing and compositing in this film are an incredible feat, not to mention the elaborate amount of costumes! An incredible achievement for 2 people to complete in 48 hours.
I have no idea what happened at the end though. You might have to explain that to me. If you had stuck the landing this would have been my number 1 of the evening,.
Two Steps Forward
Certainly the best team intro of the evening, and an intriguing short film. I think there may have been some audience confusion for a while as the initial dialogue about the time traveling pill was a little hard to hear. I liked the way the film ended, and it was good that I wasn't 100% clear on how the time travel worked. No film should get too into the nitty gritty details.
Dice to Meet You 2: No More Mr Dice Guy
I walked in a little late to this heat so all I saw was the end of the first part followed by this film. I have to say the “up next” Netflix style thing is one of the most ingenuitve things I’ve seen in the competition! (even if it does technically break the requirement of having 5 seconds of black at the end of your film). Also some pretty cool looking VFX work for a school team! Keep up the solid work!
Aurora
The details for this one are a little foggy for me, I’m sorry, but overall I remember enjoying the film, just erhaps thinking that the full story was a little unclear. Certainly a neat concept and shows some potential.
Dumb Cult
Another great comedy from No Budget Ninjas centred around an odd but intriguing scenario. The format was great, the jokes were great. Overall, a joy to behold, and exactly what I expect from 48hr vets like yourselves.
Crumbling City, Tumbling Minds
A very nice looking film with some audio issues, an interesting premise, but sadly not a lot of payoff. I left a little confused as to the story itself, and didn’t quite see the ten year time span. Definitely a team I hope to see competing in the future.
Toot Toot's Biggest Fantasy Movie
No better way to watch this film than during the Christchurch heats. Truly a film of our times.
Word on a Wing
Probably my favourite script of the heats that I’ve seen. This one is so tight, yet so excellently detailed.
Although I personally have quite a grievance with the unfired Checkov’s gun. To literally put a joke in there to set up the Checkov’s gun, beautifully tease its use halfway through… but then not use it in the end… I personally find quite disappointing. I think in this case we would have been fine just to not mention Checkov. You would still have the great tease moment before she hits the deck, and I wouldn’t be waiting the rest of the film for a joke that never happens.
Sorry I really really liked the film, I’m just the type of person that gets hung up on little things like that…
The meat of the story, the lead performance and all the mothy details are joyous.
Tadpole
Some good techniques used here, although the long dialogue scene in the casino could have been trimmed a bit. The ADR was well done, but the audio overall was missing some atmosphere (like sfx of slot machines, or even just some room tone), which I know is not a massive priority, but if you have time to add in the weekend can be a huge improvement to the film.
Cop Out
♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️
I would ordinarily refuse to use emoji in reviewing film, but this deserves every one of them.
Imagining the writing process on this film has me chuckling. I also love that it feels like maybe there is some genuine passion behind the anti-privacy message, and you aren’t only making a joke out of the ad.
Also just the balls that you guys have to make this the whole film! I was expecting it was maybe an extended 2min intro to the actual film… but it just keeps going and the jokes just keep getting funnier! I certainly hope there’s nothing to find at those very specific coordinates…
As mentioned above, the dedication to accurately staging these scenes is incredible. During the first few scenes I was questioning if it was just the actual ad ripped from online. The filmmaking here from planning through to post production is a phenomenal effort.
Unfortunately, I’m doubtful that a film that lacks any kind of story will be able to place high in finals.. but I would be shocked if this one doesn’t make it to the big screen. If it doesn’t make it in, they should play it before the screening of finals anyway! It’s the perfect fit!
Also as a side note I suggest to anyone who resonates with this film to watch season 2 episode 3 of The IT Crowd.
U-Knighted
Interesting to see PlanetFoxFilms not go too fantastical with make up effects and curious creatures. Taking it seriously and having a mostly sit down and talk film feels a little bit unfamiliar to this team. There’s some good heart in it, but it doesn’t all clearly come through for me. I liked the animation work. I liked the characters. I’m just not sure there was enough story to keep me engaged for the whole duration.
And I say this with love as 2021’s “A Hearts Desire” is one of my absolute favourite 48Hour films. I think figuring out what you can do to play to your strengths in the competition is what makes your films as great as they are.
The Price
Take it as a compliment that this film was incredibly creepy! Now I’m not a big horror fan, so perhaps I’m not quite in tune with what the genre typically follows, but I felt it was a bit lacking that there was no final struggle from the heroes. They sort of just follow this creepy trail to their deaths, no major confrontation, which would have been good to see, even if they still end up loosing.
When Space Hears You Scream
I can’t at all remember what the first half was even about but the second half is some of the hardest I’ve laughed in 48Hours. Well done.
And Good in Everything
Nice heartfelt film, with good locations, solid camera & lighting and great sound work. All these plus some candid feeling performances (and an honourable dedication to losing one’s facial hair) bringing this delightful script to life.
Sundown
Love the opening premise. Great pacing of dialogue and awkward low volume from Moonup’s shouting which sets the perfect comedic tone and had the crowd engaged.
As a disclaimer I think it’s possibly a little hard for me to judge the fight as I was on set during much of the filming of this scene and I have my own distinct memories of how it played out, which clash a bit with what I’m seeing on screen.
I think the VFX looked cool, however I found it visually a little overwhelming, making it difficult to follow some of the choreography, and I feel may have taken away from the potential comedy of the stick on stick fight scenario - although the final throw and subsequent thud work to great effect.
I really liked the cheesy western moments at the beginning and would love if you guys had leaned into that a little more when it came to the fight scene, which itself feels neither distinctly kiwi nor western.
Comes with a strong comedic ending though, and I’m glad you explained the gate keeping joke to me afterwards because I was clearly too slow to realise how utterly genius of a joke that was.
Down 2 The Wire
I can't say this film was as good as its predecessor, however it does a really good job at connecting the two thematically. The film looked and sounded great. My only confusion was with how and why the two characters were at the house. Although there was certainly a lot of tension leading up to it, the bomb difusal itself felt very low stakes, unlike in the first film, where other lives were at stake, and fleeing was not an option.
Meet Heath
Showing some effective, crafty storytelling here. Some nice looking shots with strong dialogue and direction, and totally convincing and entertaining performances.
Stage Four Law
Wanted to pop a few words in here to say I really enjoyed seeing this in the heats. I wasn’t a part of any audience, so that doesn’t play into my experience. I also haven’t seen it since, so forgive me I misremember anything.
My expectation of this team is to do some kind of dark twisted wacky comedy story, but this year you didn’t, and I really liked that. I liked how serious the tone is from the beginning and your main performer sells this really well.
I would have thought it a tonal clash if you did turn the thing into a big joke, but despite the initial concept being a funny idea, I didn’t read it as an attempt at comedy, but a really interesting personification of disease and death itself.
Honestly the only reason I was disappointed with this film is because it delivered such a familiar feeling… much of the same vibe visually to your previous films. Very good looking, but very still. Dialogue, performances, and cinematography are clearly your strengths so I can’t blame you for using them to make one of the most winnable short films of the competition. But once you’ve already achieved that success, I’d love to see you branch out into something less familiar to your comfortable strengths (although the physical design of the tumour was a great addition).
It’s a complicated feeling because I think the story direction was great, and it does suit the filmmaking style, but at the same time I would love to see the style developed further.
I’m just one guy who hasn’t even competed for the last few years, but I want to be surprised by Rabid Aunty Jean next year.
Banana Chick and Cat Girl
A laugh all the way through, but a story that was somewhat difficult to follow.
Maurice
An intriguing story, mostly well made. It could use some sort of visual cue to make the flashbacks more obvious, as during the first one I thought it was part of the same scene, and was a bit confused geographically.
Also totally thought when he asked for water that he was going to be drenched from a bucket of water falling from the sky or something. The water bottle story worked well though, I only feel the ending could have been communicated a little better. Is this like Mario Kart where you lose/die when all three balloons are popped? A little unclear. Also would have been a great place for a reaction shot of the main character when the balloon is being reached for / popped.
Twenty Four Hour Rewind
Of all the Groundhog Day style films to come out of the competition this year, this film is the only one to have nailed it, due to the well structured story, convincing performances, and solid editing. Great to see an improvement from last year and I hope to see you go further in the future.
There Was A Way
Wowzer, what a ride. What a thrill. At first I thought you guys had made a musical and then BAM you get right into the splatstick and have done the genre better than any other team I’ve seen, embracing it to the absolute fullest.
Make Time
A clever plot that unfortunately got quite tiresome after the constant repeating of events, which weren’t different enough to hold my interest. Perhaps the issue is that you were focusing on the daughter, whose actions didn’t change every reset, when it was the other girl’s actions that would’ve been changing, and therefore we needed to see more of that. When going for that Groundhog Day style plot, as many teams did this year, one of the most effective ways to do that is to have your main character getting more desperate to achieve their goal in each time reset and having that clearly shown through their actions and quickening the pace in the editing.
The Last Lord of Scotland
Certainly a cute idea, and the photographer is great, but I can’t help but feel that the resolution between the couple felt a little forced. Great team intro too!
Carparking through the Multiverse
A real shame about losing the audio here. I think for the most part the dubbing worked well, however unfortunately not all the dubbed performances matched with the same enthusiasm of the acted ones.
Some cool camerawork throughout, an interesting premise, although I got a little lost plot-wise on who the characters were chasing? But I think a meaningful story at it’s heart, perhaps it just struggles a little to fully communicate itself.
Follow
An intriguing film. I absolutely loved the shot of the ambulances lights reflecting on the number plate. A very smart use of resources there. Only thing I would say is that it felt like it was all over very quickly.
Terra-Fried
Wow, now this is an incredible feat. This film looked like it should’ve taken weeks to produce. Not only was it technically incredible, but the story was clever and the jokes were all great. 48Hour filmmaking at its finest.
Polaroid 2
Loved this film. A perfect sequel that explores some very interesting themes of sacrifice and realisation. Was on the edge of my seat right till the end.
Decision day
Another attempt at a Groundhog Day style time loop that really falls flat because the exact same action is repeated over and over with no increase in pace. Seriously, go watch Groundhog Day, or Edge of Tommorrow. You’ll notice that certain events are skipped or shortened each loop, which really helps to keep the audiences attention. The last thing the audience wants is to see the same or similar looking footage without a decent reason for it to be there. I hope I’m not misremembering your film and you actually did quicken the pace, but if you did, I definitely still felt it could’ve been even quicker, as I lost interest not too far into the first loop - probably because your film is missing another hugely key aspect to making a Groundhog Day style film, and that is that your character should know that they are in a time loop. Without that, we are essentially watching the same events occur over and over again, with little change, and we are not taking a journey with a character. Without the character being aware of the loop, he has no reason to make a single change to his life, and any changes that happen are left to pure chance. I feel like the message you were trying to send was not that if you randomly don’t hit your head on the cupboard in the morning, you’ll be wiser with your money and relationships, but that’s essentially what happened. Now, going by the weird and visually confusing key effect you had going on, it looked like the man saw himself being argued with, but then after that point it was very unclear whether he stepped into that loop or was just watching the loop play out. If your character was supposed to be aware of the loop, there was certainly no reaction on his face communicating that to us. Now I realise this review may sound fairly negative, but I wouldn’t write such a long review just because I don’t like a film. It’s because I see a lot of potential in your team, to tell intriguing stories and send some thought provoking messages. What you really need to work on is the structure of your story and your visual communication, as well as thinking about what you can do in the editing to help further your storytelling (eg. quickening the pace of each time loop). Unfortunately this film is a just a notch below last year’s effort, but I hope to see you in the competition again next year.
'Archive'
This one has a great mood to it, particularly with the set dressing adding to the futuristic feel of the setting. The visuals are strong and I think it has a really heartfelt story with sincere performances.
The Interview
Some funny moments here and a good performance from the interviewer. I was left a little foggy though on how the whole poison thing played out. Perhaps would have been cool to have the three of them play some mind games with each other before deciding which glass to drink from.
The Ad
One of my favourites of the evening! While it was initially a little tough to sit through, the intentionally awkward acting really pays off in the end. The final conversation on the deck felt a little awkward too, but it comes together nicely with the commentary of the rugby match and ends up with a very satisfying and entertaining finished product!
Castle Cat-burglars
Didn’t 100% follow what happens, but a really great use of invisibility and an awesome location make for a decent entry. I think some things to think about would be some clarification around the story, what the character’s motivations are, and I know it’s hard, but thinking of a satisfying ending that will resolve the conflict brought up in the film. Eg. Have the hero’s do something smart to overcome the knight that is chasing them, rather than them just running away.
Pop goes the Weasel
While I appreciate the creative solution to getting thrown the musical genre, I really wish you’d chosen some other subject matter, or at least gone about it in a more tasteful way. Similarly to Heat 6’s “Speak Up”, this film inadvertently is sending the complete wrong message, by having your main characters aggressively getting revenge on the subject. While you had a great monster in the chair, you also had three female monsters surrounding him, and I don’t assume that was your intention. I also thought the whole “admit what you’ve done or I’ll cut you up” business got pretty repetitive and dull after a while, and the story never really progressed or had much rising tension. Perhaps the story would’ve benfitted had it been focused more on the three women freaking out about the situation and trying to find a solution, building up that tension that possibly it ends with the man accidentally getting killed, That way the man still gets his poetic justice without the film sending an unwarranted aggressive message.
This Way Home
Delectable fruit, or deadly poison?
Very fun, solid animation work, with great songs and a creative worm’s eye view shot.
qk
Watching this film is like watching my own children grow up and take flight.
The execution is beyond phenomenal for a 48Hours film, but more than that, this film means something. Which is more than I can say for most of the national finalists this year. qk shows an understanding of what filmmaking is all about, by telling a meaningful story and doing it in a splendorous fashion.
If these films were judged regionally I have no doubt qk would have cleaned up the competition.
Prick
Really strong set up and great comedy characters. A funny reference to previous film, and great action, with effects and sound that really sells the action in a fun way with just the right level of gruesome.
The Immortal
Excellent production design and cinematography! And a stand out performance from the female lead, but it is unfortunate that the audio was not captured as well as it could have, and I think partially due to that, I had a really hard time following the dialogue and what the story was actually about. Audio is half your film so make it count!
The Negotiation!!!!
This film is charming! I like the key plot element of the noise gate allowing the whispering. I feel like what let’s this film down a little is a little lack of clarity as to what each of the plot beats were, and I feel that the performances lack some enthusiasm. You’re having a good time, which should always be the priority in 48, but I feel that the zany dialogue like this is more funny when the actors say them totally seriously. For example, although they’re self aware about the comedy, the performers in Saving Christmas are very straight faced with their outlandish multiverse/quantum theory type dialogue which for me really sells the comedy.
White Christmas
An enjoyable film with good dialogue from Mr Claus. Can't imagine Christmas is an easy genre, so I applaud you for working with that and coming up with a great idea.
Office Dispute
Really fun film with some great techniques used all around. The colour grade worked really well for the genre too. Good effort.
Soxalot's Kingdom
Oh I hope this makes it into finals, this is just too good! A lovely little film that exemplifies how creative people can be with their ideas in 48Hours.
A really cute story, great filmmaking techniques at play and effective editing. Also love the detailed end credits sequence.
The Spares
A rather enjoyable film, and a solid attempt at Ultra. I was a little unsure, however of what animal the grey looking one was. And yea, I’m gonna be that guy that points out that in the OG tale of Noah, they were actually on board for about a year, or around 220 days till they were resting on the mountain as seen in your film. This sort of thing sticks out at me like a sore thumb and shows that you haven’t really done your research on the story you’re parodying. Of course, your joke wouldn’t have worked otherwise, but that’s only because the audience is just as uneducated. Maybe you could’ve replace the line with a more accurate amount of time, followed a fourth wall breaking “it’s actually a common misconception that we were only in here for 40 days and 40 nights.” The other thing I’d note is that I think that we needed a little more breathing room after those killer jokes, as the audience laughter really did make it hard to hear some dialogue, so that’s something I think you have to account for in the edit. Unfortunately I didn’t get the final punchline until after the screening when someone mentioned it to me, I think due to the fact that I missed something at the end there. All around though, a great 48 Hour film and no doubt we will see it go further in the competition.
Treble in Paradise
Damn, how does steelpotato come up with such excellent blurbs?
Hilarious film. Love the premise and I love that even outside of the “musical” the characters still break into song and the film becomes something much bigger than you originally thought. Real great subversion of expectations I think.
It’s got a strong story that follows through with it’s crazy concept via great confident performances and musical compositions, and the film ends really well, both heartfelt and comedic.
I had to think though with the whole point made about how the couple was paying a subscription, does that mean the boss who claimed that they were all out of money was just a big fat liar?
This subtle piece of messaging makes for a real intimate and daring insight into the toxicity of all too commonplace work culture, that I appreciate people bringing attention to the masses.
Love Machine
Very fun little movie with awesome use of stop motion and good music. Olax always has something interesting to bring to the table. Also love the detail of using a white background for the title card to go seamlessly into the film.
Doom Comes to Mars-Town
A great location and some well used effects, both practical and digital, make for a fun little sci-fi adventure, although I’m a little fuzzy on what the story was at the end there.
Also notice you had some issues with the aspect ratio masking. Pro tip (at least if using Premiere Pro): make your sequence the wide aspect ratio (eg. 1920x800), and then because 48Hours requires it, drag your entire sequence into a new 1920x1080 sequence for export. Much better than physically sticking a black bars png on top!
U B U
Some good ideas and visuals, I think the B&W looked quite good, but I’m not sure I followed what the film was about.
I want to be a cowboy
Great use of location for the genre! I didn’t totally follow what the story was or understand who the animated character was, but I feel that the filmmaking and visual communication was strong, and shows promise for this crew in future competition.
Concatenated
I really enjoyed this film! Love the opening and tying it up in the end. I think what drags it down a little is slightly cheap feeling action with the very unprofessional looking cop (is he a cop?) who doesn’t handle his gun very safely... I feel that if you can find a way to create the same tension and outcome without a gun, your film will be a lot better, because when not used appropriately, guns just feel like a cop out.
Also, PSA, please call the police ahead of time if you’re ever using a prop gun in public! Don’t want the armed defenders squad showing up (yea that can really happen).
BRAT SWAP
Really awesome work with visuals, costume, location and lighting to really sell the idea of the reality show. I feel though that the majority of this film is a great set up, but for me is missing a meatier story. ie I would have loved to see the reality segment finished within the first 2mins and then the aftermath of the swap becomes the majority of the story. Although I do think the way you ended it was successful, it could have been cool to get a deeper look into the consequences the mother may have had to deal with.
Dick, Actually
Some great funny moments throughout. Loved the gag with the pizza, although I was expecting Dick would reveal that he put the pineapple on there! And a sad but funny ending too!
The Second Coming of Draven
I enjoyed the comedic subversion of the genre here, I just feel that this was a great idea that could have been explored a bit more. The dialogue from the cultists was a bit repetitive, it would have been cool if there were some explanations as to how David the medium got misconstrued into being known as Draven, like a thousand years of miscommunication. And then at the end I would have liked to see David do something, rather than just have everyone walk away plainly. When they asked him to kill all the unfaithful I was expecting them to suddenly explode or something, as they were the ones that were unfaithful to David. Or perhaps I’m reading it wrong? Still, a solid effort and a great visual effect to sell your invisible character.
Gloria al Bravo Pueblo
Set the tone really well with the split-screen, I thought for a second I was watching a 2019 Ultra film. Sad man in bathroom delivers such a great performance, I was concerned for a moment that the wedding was off.
Duck Off!
What even happened? I’m not too sure. But it was funny as hell. Keep up that humour and work on condensing it into a thought provoking, tear inducing story... or y’know, do whatever the hell you like.
The Third Factor
Funny premise and I think a clever use of the genre. There’s a couple cool things visually, however it would have been cool to see some more visual things like overlays and perhaps more b-roll which could work to sell the advertisement as one of those overly corporate things that you see pop up in TV or YouTube ads. The lead performer does a good job, but it can just feel a little stilted to be watching nothing but a piece to camera for the majority of the film.
This is another one where it would have been cool to see this film condensed and used as a set up to a deeper story. eg Actually having a character sign up to use the service and the potential dramatic and/or comedic consequences it has on their life.
That scene where the guy is inside the system is really cool though. Adding more fun and wackiness to the film I think could have really amped it up a bit.
An Appointment with a Poo
This movie was so much fun. Well written, and wonderfully executed. One of the few dialogue heavy films I’ve seen this year that really works.
The Hunted
This was a great action film for 48Hours. I enjoyed the fast paced camerawork, there were some decent effects and a fantastically choreographed overhead shot. Those SFX are also very well used and I really feel those punches. I think the low shutter speed actually worked really well for many of the shots, although didn’t work for all of them. Next time definitely spend some time before the weekend working out how to effectively use different camera settings for different types of shots.
Isolation
This film was carried by a once again stellar performance from Tom Trevella and some beautiful cinematography. Spoilers below, I guess. I saw the twist coming as soon as she was let in through the gate, but then you totally broke that expectation with the blood and the "I'm human" line, so in the end I didn't see it coming! Only thing I would say was that I was a little confused at the end. Part of the problem may have been that Tom's character wasn't panicked enough, and we didn't see as much of a shock on his face at the reveal as I would've expected. Perhaps some tense music could've helped that moment also. But take this all with a grain of salt, because everything tastes better with salt. This was the first film I saw of the evening so forgive me if I've misremembered some of the details!
PLAN B
A fantastic use of split-screen and heist genre, which was beautifully subverted for some great action and comedy. I did however, get a little lost at the end, as it was unclear to me why they failed. She killed the rich guy? Does that mean they couldn’t steal what they were looking for? - maybe we needed to see more of their goal, as I can’t recall what it was they were even trying to achieve. And while I did like the way you sneakily included time travel, part of me also wishes you’d used split-screen to your advantage to make an actual time travel movie, although that would mean a totally different film. I suppose you went with plan B.
Journey To Dreams
Some great use of locations here and I think some quite nice framing too. The story is simple, but it has a nice heart to it. It would have been nice to see more build up to that turning point where she regains her confidence. I think I’m not sure exactly what was going on inside the dancer’s head as to why she’s doubting herself, and it could have been cool to find a way to communicate that to the audience.
The Ballad of Kiwi Kate
It was a little slow at first, but I really got into as the song went along! A cute and simple western story told rather well with some good visuals and decent songwriting.
Just Your Basic Hysteria
Funny story with good performances and some cool editing that appropriately establishes the supernatural tone.
Invertemate
A really great little 48Hour film here. Delightful character work and convincing lead performance, and a visually very potent final shot as a cherry on top.
Home
Although this film was, in terms of cinematography, on fleek, I found the story mildly confusing. I loved the intercutting between the interrogation and the main story, but found it hard to understand how 'Vengeance' was a theme and also for what reason the guy was hit in the head by his apparent partner.
The Good, The Bad, and The Aussie
Some cool work here and great kiwi flavour. The shootout scene was quite fun although I didn’t quite understand why she gave back the lamb in the end.
Fang, Bat, Stake
A film with a somewhat familiar plot... but overall entertaining story. It took me a while to figure out that they were vampires, as I was bit confused by the constant returning to the same house with different products - perhaps there needed to be an extra scene in there where Vlad talks to the other guy about his motivation for making the sale on this particular customer, which would make the betrayal all the better at the end.
Wine and Die
Some nice directing and competent performances throughout. A relief to finally have a team interpret “gatekeeper” in the more modern figurative sense.
The light switch joke was so unbelievably funny to me but I also think so subtle that I’m the only one in the audience to burst out laughing which was a little awkward (also didn’t help that it took me a few seconds to piece together the joke).
The film does a good job at defining its characters and having rising tension with a little bit of mystery. I like what happened at the end, but I feel it all happened a bit fast and is something audience members could easily have misunderstood. I think the film could use a little bit tighter focus on keeping the pace more even so that jokes have time to land and using editing to direct the audience’s attention toward the crucial story elements (and light switch jokes).
The Gust
Couldn’t tell if the off-sync stuff was intentional or not given the audiences reaction. The VFX was absolutely on point though. Those freaky flying killers looked super convincing.
Hannah's Boring Life
Toot Toot strikes again! I can’t get over how on top of 48Hours meta humour you guys are. My only concern was that the riddle at the end didn’t actually make sense? Or at least I just didn’t understand how either of them was a reluctant hero. I thought the answer to the riddle was going to be Jesus. It just being the narrator perhaps felt a little too easy, but I do really like the twist at the end! (And he’s right, Shortland Street isn’t that bad)
Trolley King
Opening song is fantastic! The rest plays out alright, aside from a bit of a weird moment where the aspect ratio was over-squished, and then the final reveal just felt quite anti-climactic. Didn’t really understand the motivation behind wallet guy’s fake photo. Why is he calling the guy an arsehole for returning his wallet? I think it would have been good to focus the story on the trolleys. I want to see the trolley king earn his title.
The Janitor
Mad is definitely the right word for this team. A lot of bloody fun, I was worried it could be a bit too gorey for YouTube and have the live stream shut down… Some great effects, props and sound. Pretty hard to believe sometimes what insane things you can achieve in 48Hours.
Falling For You
Very smart and creative humour. A good laugh the whole way through. The shifting white balance was a bit off putting, however.
Utka
A lovely story from start to finish, and a great breath of fresh air from all the live action films in the competition. A huge achievement for a multi-country 48 hour duo animated Ultra. I don’t know if you could set yourself a greater challenge!
The Wish (hopefully nobody else picked that title)
I actually found this film a little less entertaining than last year’s. It started off really strong but after a while I got a little sick of the genie’s character and continuously going back to the bar seemed a little on the lazy side. If a little more thought was put into the structure of the story rather than solely focusing on great jokes, I think we could’ve seen a really great film.
Ta Da
Cool story with lots of personality. I like that your films tend to have something at their heart driving them. It’s a very simple set up, but it takes you on a journey even in a limited setting, and ends with great satisfaction.
Mother Ship
A really enjoyable film with some great gags, although I feel it could’ve embraced the genre further with even more cringe.
The Trees Are Alive!
Some great moments in this film where I truly felt the tension, with a great use of lighting and quick camera movements. Just felt that the ending was a little unresolved.
We'll just have to do things the long way.
An incredibly enjoyable Ultra piece. An innovative idea and well executed.
One Drop
Great visual jokes at the beginning and interesting concept of the man shrinking down. I feel the witch didn't feel to much like a witch during her conversation with the man, but more like just an old lady. It would've been interesting to hear some more deceitful dialogue from her, so that she tricks the man into taking the potion, rather than the man just being an idiot who would listen to some crazy lady. Also, a very good use of Comic Sans.
Potem Immortales
A mostly fun ride, but could possibly just do with a bit of a stronger structure and a more clear story. ie. What exactly are the characters’ goals and motivations? Certainly a step up from last year, and I think the first musical I’ve seen this year which is actually a musical, so thumbs up for that!
Expansion
the story here is clear which is good. there’s some good effort out into the production design. Well done on making a film in 48hours. Next steps I’d say would be to work on making your performances sound confident in their dialogue.
I’ll try to explain what I mean by that. It doesn’t mean you have to write a script with every word planned out. But if you have a strong idea of what you want the scene to do, ie how do the characters get from A to B, then before you roll camera, have your cast run through the scenario and come up with words they can use that get those points across in a way that sounds natural and works for the story. Then if you rehearse that a couple times your talent will shine a lot more on camera and the audience will be able to feel more connected to the characters. (as an example, we used this method in our 2018 film “A Slice of You” - there was no script!)
Really cute story in this film, it’s always nice to see a happy ending of people making new friends.
Ghoul's Night In
Some strong compositions and great editing make for a really entertaining film with some fun ideas all over.
SURE AS SHIP
An excellent solo effort. Loved the visuals and thought you used your resources very cleverly.
Man Bat
Fun film with some cool effects and engaging story. I especially love the small details, such as having Catwoman holding a “dead cat” boom mic, and that epic low angle big close up of the Commissioner Gordon, which looked like it was straight out of Justice League. Feels like you guys had a lot of fun making this.
The Marquis de Sade
While impressive on every technical level, I can’t say I enjoyed this film at all. Not just because of how disturbing it was (and I’ll grant you, you’ve done the best of any film this year at covering such a topic), but largely because I felt like there was no reason for it all. I feel like maybe you were trying to send some sort of message, but if you were, that was unclear. I thought maybe you’d follow in classic Strang fashion and reveal that your film is a prequel to Pulp Fiction. But instead, I was only left wondering why I watched these events happen. And that’s simply what they were, events. I didn’t feel that there was any real story to be told. Maybe it’s just not for me, but it was certainly a disappointment coming from my personal favourite team of 2017.
Eggs for Breakfast
Gotta be honest this one lost me. I like some of the techniques used to tell the story over multiple nights, although wasn’t sure about the split screen moment, as that made me think we were going to see the girl’s side of the story too. But yea the ending really got me a little confused at the point of the whole thing. I think the ideas could have been communicated a little more subtly than a voice over simply giving his hot take on the place relationships have in society, because it just doesn’t come off feeling super genuine, and story of the eggs doesn’t feel like it naturally ties in. Perhaps rather than a sudden voice over at the end, the story of the eggs is one that he is drunkenly retelling to one of the girls, then the only voice over you need is the final line about “sometimes you just need some eggs”. I don’t dislike the sentiment, I actually totally understand it, I just don’t think it was communicated in the best way.
Pandora's Night: Deleted Scenes
This film was incredible. The 'deleted scenes' felt absolutely like legitimate deleted scenes in the way they were edited. The whole film's story was very well told, with some great moments of humour, and very intelligent use of on set practical effects.
The Reserve
I like the tone setting in this film, looks and sounds great and effectively tells its story.
Hart & Soul
A lot of fun, with great gags, acting and editing. Team intro felt unnecessary considering you sort of had two of them.
Velociraptor
It seems the rules of 48 Hours are a little more flexible than the real world, where you would be immediately caught out for using Hallelujah (in NZ you still need permission to legally produce a parody). I would highly recommend writing an entirely original composition, as not only did I find your efforts to be a little lazy, but an original score is far more impressive and really brings your film up to the next level. As for the rest of the film, I found it quite enjoyable, and while I laughed at the ending I was a little confused as to how the two wouldn’t have known they were siblings. Apologies if I’ve just missed something. There are a lot of films to remember (and for the sake of my own consistency I’d like to refrain from rewatching the films before reviewing, now that some are available).
P.A.N
Certainly had me laughing harder than any other of the night. Perhaps the first 48Hours mockumentary I’ve seen that actually puts effort into making it look like a documentary. You really knew what you were doing. The lead performance and the escalating hilarity made this film my personal favourite of the night, however it just lacked a conclusive ending. We don’t necessarily need to know what happens to the characters, but even on a technical level we need to feel like the film is coming to a close, rather than just cutting to black abruptly. Perhaps all it needed was a nice close up of the lead’s face as he embraces his fate with a smile. I look forward to seeing more from this team in the future.
WOOD NOT BELIEVE IT
Had a funny premise, and a solid second half, but the reporter segment in the first half seemed to run a little long, and from a technical standpoint, didn’t look the part - the shot ideally needed to be wider and on a tripod to make it feel more like an actual news report.
Going Solo
An easy favourite from the competition so far… Similar vibes to “A Familiar Feeling” from 2019, but not in a derivative way - both are just great stories of two similar people meeting at a bar. Shot really nicely, sounds great. and with great use of costume and hairstyling to define the two characters. I also think my favourite use of the multiverse genre that I’ve seen.
When thinking about it the shit gag doesn’t make a lot of sense, but it’s set up really well and pays off excellently with the whole mint thing, so I can run with it as that’s just how universe jumping works in this particular multiverse.
Exam in Session
I think you guys did a great job at re-creating the anxiety of taking an exam. The first tracking shot of the classroom is great and I wish it’d kept going a little longer to reveal the characters. I liked being introduced to the concept of the film and the first song. I think having the song in the background works really well at conveying the song as the character’s internal thoughts. I think it would have been cool to see this concept used consistently with the other songs as well. That way I would feel more like I’m inside their heads rather than them just performing to me. Loved that fish tank scene too!
Popsicle Man
A good fun time, but I wish you’d delved even deeper into the hilarious differences between our cultures, and not bogged yourselves down too much with the hidden treasure storyline.
soulmates
Beautifully shot with some nifty editing, this film definitely shows off a talented crew. You’ve got some great concepts and know how to execute them well on film, however I felt the structure of the film was a little too simple. Simple storytelling is definitely what you want in 48Hours, but this film didn’t really go up and down, it sort of just rode down the middle in a straight, unwavering line. I hope what I’m trying to describe makes sense to you. Essentially I would’ve liked to have seen more of a character journey - we saw the result, but we didn’t really get to experience how she got there. The “peace treaty” scene was particularly abrupt and felt undeserved. Huge creative potential though. Definitely hope to see more from this team in the future.
Nan's Hole
Well done on making a funny and enjoyable musical! I do feel like there was more potential for a good gag in the eye-hole moment, and a second pass on the sound mix worthwhile, but overall a solid effort!
Time Saver
Very good looking film with excellent lighting, production design and cinematography. I just had a hard time understanding the plot itself. Didn’t know why they were stuck in there, and felt it wasn’t too clear if he was travelling back in time every time he hit that button, and by how much? Still, very impressive for 48Hours!
#ourplanet
This team shows a lot of skill and creativity. Shot compositions and dialogue were particularly good (and ballsy for such a young team). My only key concern with the film was that the story was a little unclear at times. It took far too long for us to learn who the guy was that they were chasing. Other than that, hats off to you. I hope you guys continue with the competition far into the future.
Accessories Not Included
A front runner I think for AJ's best ending award! This film had a really great atmosphere and an intriguing story, although admittedly it got a little foggy for me around the midpoint on what was actually going on, but it all became clear in the end. Very well done. I think something that could help would be trying to make the dialogue a little more concise, and make the effort to get good clear audio, as that will help audience comprehension a lot.
Hysteria
One of the best Tech Thrillers I’ve seen in the competition this year. Even if it was a little derevitive of Black Mirror, it was still incredibly well executed, with some good camera work and editing. I really felt the tension building towards the end. The only thing I missed was that there was quite a sudden jump from her being in the computer to being in the kitchen speaker. I think it would’ve been nicer to forget the speaker and just have that dialogue with her in the computer screen, where it’s easier to build on that relationship.
Natalie & Gregory
One of the stand outs of the evening for me. A great laugh all the whole way through, with a great performance from the lead. One slight concern of mine was that the girl's "why are you in my house??" dialogue got a little repetitive at the end there, and there were just a few missed opportunities I thought in the editing. For example, we have Gregory saying something like "can't wait to hear all the nice things she has to say about me", then if we had immediately cut to Natalie saying terrible things about him would've improved that joke a lot. Very excited about this film though, and can't wait to see more from this team in the future!
PC High
All round brilliant filmmaking. The actors played their parts really well and the comedy was great. One major thing that for the purposes of Ultra, kind of seems odd, is that the teacher was definitely a main character in the film, which my understanding is that that’s against the rules. I think there is an easy enough fix for this though, that only requires a little bit of restructuring at the beginning. Basically, don’t start with the teacher’s interview, and only include her interview in short snippets. All her in-situ moments were great, but we really need to be focussing on our teenage leads throughout the entirety of the film. It’s also worth noting that I did not pick up on the fact that the zombie was accepted into the school due to its PC nature until reading your team comment. The way the actors played it, it seemed to me that everyone was simply oblivious to the fact, so perhaps that plot point needed to be a little clearer. Still, a great film that may or may not be very cleverly sending a message about a certain school. But what was with that team intro? I was thinking it was a sequel to your beauty from 2016, but then it turned out to be... exactly the same. I expected better.