Paul Barlow
87 Reviews
Reviews
LAST TED STANDING
Pongakawa always impresses me with the raw creativity these kids show and the idea of genetically modifying teddy bears is a great fun one. It had some brilliant moments, a fantastic ending that used the prop well and I think I know people who suffer from Obsessive Teddy Disorder (OTD)
Of Unsound Mind.
Credit where it's due - you got musical and ran with it, exploring different muscle genres and paying homage to a few Horrors along the way, Sweeny Todd and Psycho coming to mind. With a few comedy moments thrown in, the pacing was once again my biggest issue - it felt like the film was made to fit a run time, not a run time made to fit how long it took to tell the story.
Law and Disorder
I think Guy Ritchie would be proud of this film, fast paced a bit of Usual Suspects thrown in with a fun story about dirty cops. It didn't stretch the story to fill time, had some great shots and fun performances. There were a few too many unanswered questions for me in the end but it was still fun to go on the ride.
Hamiltoff
I don't know if I'd call this a Dystopian movie as much as venting of frustration from a younger generation, but it had some interesting ideas and some fun moments and I feel sorry for whoever ended up in the fountain.
Lullabye
The cinematography and performances here were stunning - so captivating and engaging - and that worked as a great way to draw the audience into what was a pretty gruesome topic. Not sure how well it fills in the genre box though as film within a film but as a stand alone this film did what film should do and tell a story that has the audience thinking and feeling at the same time.
Flight of Passage
This team always have such strong, beautiful visuals with an earthy feel to them in tone and texture, and some great, if somewhat surreal performances. This one wasn't as strong as past years but still pretty damn close - the balance between beautiful imagery and contextual dialogue felt heavy towards the end, but over all it was still a very strong piece from this team.
Blow-Up Love
What a great fun film, with some funny, heart warming moments performed brilliantly. The first Morgan IS the ball film of the night as well. Sorry about the DQ
OCDairy
The main character in this was really fun to watch and his big adventure was brilliant to see. I especially loved the little touches like ensuring you'd put in a shot of a dog before the audio of it barking - setting up that continuity. The let down for me though was Morgan. Knowing that she was a liar and only having two lines sort of gave away the ending.
Morgan and The Moustache
I love me a good fun time travel film but this ones over reliance on ADR seriously broke the verisimilitude for me - it had me wondering what needed to be changed so much the best option was to rewrite ,most of the film. On the upside though I enjoyed the little 8-Bit section with the ghost, nice twist and a fun one that grabbed my attention. That end song though was more than a little creepy...
Cheese in my coffee
This film explored a different idea behind Parallel Worlds and it was intriguing and unique. A little bit Stranger than Fiction, and with some very flashy parts to it, it was a solid story and a solid film.
A Scientists Dismay
I struggled to find where Science had gone mad, as opposed to a scientist who was unduly mad for someone not liking his work, it wasn't until the end that it became apparent, but as a story of a descent into madness it had some nice flourishes and some beautiful shots of the Mount.
Rosco
It's easy to see how this won audience favourite - Rosco is the cutest lead I've seen so far and the great Homeward Bound/Milo and Otis vibe worked really well.
Spuddies
It was nice to see a different take on the buddy movie, and it had some really nicely shot elements to it, but for me the pacing was the most difficult thing to get past, it felt a little dragged out.
Who Are You?
I've never been a huge fan of direct takes on more well known films in this competition - I like a good reference or homage and this one borrowed really heavily from Fight Club - a brilliant film that's a great piece to study - and in a way I think that's what missed the mark for me - it didn't really feel like a mistaken identity film to me. In saying that, it had some nice cinematography, the final shot in particular was great, and getting a lead actor with abs to show off on screen is always a crowd pleaser.
Stigma
This film surprised me, it had some nice cinematography, some amazing use of forced juxtaposition, a surreal element to it where we as an audience question what the nature of the characters reality is, a few hidden Doctor Who references - the only issue for me was the ending needed something more impactful - not sure what though.
Silverstone
Beautifully shot, well acted and some great concepts here guys, loved the idea of a pregnant guy and his ball, and knowing about the animated segments of the syringe doesn't make it any less scary.
The Specialist
This was a funny, fanciful short that tackled Musical head on and succeeded. It contained my favourite Match Cut too - intestines to Pretzels.
Morgan and The Moustache
I love me a good fun time travel film but this ones over reliance on ADR seriously broke the verisimilitude for me - it had me wondering what needed to be changed so much the best option was to rewrite ,most of the film. On the upside though I enjoyed the little 8-Bit section with the ghost, nice twist and a fun one that grabbed my attention. That end song though was more than a little creepy...
Detention Room
What a fun film, it's obvious you guys had a lot of fun making this one and loved the idea of a potion to time travel - it felt like a nice throwback to Army of Darkness, A film I'm assuming the kids haven't actually seen - but very cool concept.
Infinity
Some great cinematography here and some solid performances, but the concept of Time Travel wasn't clearly explained, or the reasons behind it, and the sound was a touch out of synch in places, which got a bit hard to watch after the third tape removal.
Blurred Lines
Fun concept with a secretive spy angle, I really enjoyed seeing how this film used Texts on screen to help move the story forward, and the internal struggle of the main character was interesting to follow. Not sure I'd send my partner off to do what he does though in the line of duty and found the middle bit a touch long but over all it was an enjoyable film.
Is it brilliance?
I got confused here, it was a fun film with a lot of pep, some interesting set ups, a live rat and mad science but the cohesiveness of the story lost me about half way through.
The Parable of Harrison's Theory of Thoughtlessness
With some film makers you can see a definite increase in skills and quality over the years they enter and this team is evidence of that - with the most polished animation I've seen from them in a beautiful parable that works well, is fun and stunning to watch and a testament to a film makers passion for their medium
The Thread
It's been a long time since I've seen a horror film executed so perfectly in this competition - from the cinematography, the design, the ideas that came out on screen and the brilliant first person narrative - the fact you managed to get people to jump and scream were signs of a job exceedingly well done.
Love is a Crime
I always enjoy the work DF-10 create for the competition and this year was no different. They pulled off Real Time without the cliche ticking clocks or the 24-esque multi camera angled split screens. It flowed well, was funny and punchy and had a fun roster of charming and yet oddly creepy characters who were enjoyable to watch on screen.
Stiff
The first of what I suspect will be a few Weekend at Bernie-esque dark comedies this year - this one mashed with Dude, Where's My Car. It nailed the Buddy Movie feel with a decent chemistry between the two leads, it was well acted and usually well paced. It loses me though with gratuitious sponsor product shots that weren't needed, but over all a pretty solid effort.
Follow
This film showed a lot of promise, it had some genuine moments of old school jump scene horror and made a few people jump in the audience, and it was polished with some nice cinematography, decent acting and well edited pacing - right up until the last scene where the audio of the crew and Director is still raw on the track.
Smoke-lahoma
I really enjoyed this one, it's great to see a team tackling musical head on with the flair and spectacle of the old school genre pieces. It worked even better having actors who not only could sing but seemed to enjoy the genre and had the charisma to keep the audience captivated. A well deserved win guys.
HARDWIRED
So much CGI, and so much of it working well, infused into the mis-en-scene seamlessly to create a strong verisimilitude within the universe you created. The downside for me was the story itself just didn't flow as well as it could have. It felt a little clunky in places and the end felt a little muddy.
Ballonian
I always love seeing what this team brings to the table, traditional style stop motion animation and a quirky sense of humour are a great mix - and I didn't see the ending coming at all. The downside of the animation process though is that it always feels way too short leaving me wanting more.
The Birthday Card
I have a soft spot for the silent era comedy works of Chaplin and Keaton, when men were men and stunt doubles were unheard of. This film really nailed the look and feel of those films from the cinematography through to the stylised performances.
You've Got The Wrong Man
There was some really nice imagery here and the lead managed a sort of Chris Pratt quality, sadly though the ending was a touch predictable for me. Still an enjoyable watch though
A Bad Goodbye
Black comedy done well is always enjoyable and this film proved that - funny and dark, it had thrills, chills and made great use of some local scenery - all bought to life by a vast and enthusiastic cast.
Breathless
DF10 constantly impress me, they're a great team with brilliant actors and a talented crew and that showed here in this film. For me the only downside was the pacing felt a little off, but it was carried by some nice cinematography and fun performances by this always strong team.
Hashtag Datenight
I was a little worried that this would fit in to the typical Rom Com and was pleasantly surprised at how it twisted at the end and broke that idea. It was fun and didn't take itself seriously with a simple concept and I know of a few people in the audience who felt it was a little too real when compared to their own lives.
Feed
A few issues with the audio volume gave this film a bit of a harsh buzz as the gain was pumped up in the theatre but what a great, stylish horro flick with some brilliant uses of horror tropes, some nice homages, like a Misery Scene, and a brilliantly chilling ending.
Wanderers
The best film I've seen this year for creating a massive and cohesive world - lots of films are good on a small scale but you guys successfully used your mis-en-scene to produce something that felt like a post-apocalyptic world these characters lived in - that or you filmed in Fairfield - either way it worked well to create the world you had in mind. You also managed to do a great job of creating tension and showing us how the group dynamic wobbled with the new addition to the team - well done.