Newsboy

Hide and Seek

While Hide and Seek was shot well, the story itself fell flat for me. Too much time spent watching kids play instead of building up the tension of the kidnapping. In fact there didn't seem to be any tension involved considering a mother has had her child kidnapped. A few f-words with the neighbour, but even that felt forced. Humour dotted throughout, with the film wrapping up on a high note.

Dead Last

Great production values, great cinematography and some great acting. While some of the jokes may have been cliche and the ending a little obvious, it didn't stop Dead Last from being fun from start to end. Highlight being the floating coach's head around the zombie track runner's face near the end. An inspiration for any zombie out there.

Strings Attached

An awkward take on the romcom genre featuring characters that were eccentric to say the least. The dialogue and humour could have used a little more work and the characters were more cringe than humorous. The ending was a bit jarring considering the genre.

Torpedo

The 48 Hour competition is all about amateur filmmakers doing everything they can in a rather short amount of time. R17 clearly gave everything they could here, but the acting and writing held back the flow of the ideas they were trying to put out. The slamming of the hand on the table (it felt too deliberate, like I was missing an important meaning to something) and the lack of shock to the realisation of who the woman was; big moments that sadly had no impact. Good to see they embraced the limitations they had and while this years prop made a great appearance as the weapon of choice, I wasn't sure if it was meant to be taken seriously or not. Hope to see you back next year.

The Talented Mr Chancy

The moment I saw the "psychiatrist" looking about nervously I already knew what to expect of this film. Sure, it wasn't a shock ending flick, but I think of moments in other films/movies where the character in disguise fully embraces the switch. Would have been great to see the character fool not just the patient but the viewers as well, and play a bit more into the fact that the patient was discovering who he really was. Instead I was just waiting for the end I knew was coming. If it helps my wife says: I thought the acting was good, and it seemed to be leading to something fun. Bit of an anti climax at the end. The writing was good but the plot didn't quite go where I expected; a bit too static.

The Hand That Feeds

Horror is not an easy genre in this competition, and Obself did their best to create tension and were quite successful on the "finger scene". Nice editing and blood effects at points. Overall, it was somewhat cheesy but lacked the tension to deliver on some of the visual imagery. The chase scene and confrontation with the stranger was quite anti-climactic, but the ending helped reclaim a bit of ground.

YOLO

A one shot film is no easy task, and Promethean Duck managed to make it look rather easy. The perfectly timed barks from the dog (intentional or not) were a nice touch, and the move from outside to the back of the bookstore flowed nicely. While the plot wasn't without flaw, and the ending a little forced, it was definitely one of the best films in Heat 13. I'd love to know how many takes this took. Can't finish this review without mentioning the nice credits.

Rhythm

A clever film that used a metaphor in the parallel created between a musician overthinking her drumming, and an awkward threesome fraught with indecision and googling. There were some very funny moments and the acting was quite believable and well-delivered for laughs. The simultaneous aspect of the two scenarios (drumming/sex) was a little unclear at the start but by the end it was well resolved and created a satisfying conclusion to the story (no pun intended).

Torpedo

The 48 Hour competition is all about amateur filmmakers doing everything they can in a rather short amount of time. R17 clearly gave everything they could here, but the acting and writing held back the flow of the ideas they were trying to put out. The slamming of the hand on the table (it felt too deliberate, like I was missing an important meaning to something) and the lack of shock to the realisation of who the woman was; big moments that sadly had no impact. Good to see they embraced the limitations they had and while this years prop made a great appearance as the weapon of choice, I wasn't sure if it was meant to be taken seriously or not. Hope to see you back next year.

Mystery of the Erectus

What can I say? I am so damn amazed and thankful that Readers' Wives moved ever so slightly away from the purile humour they've become known for, and added a story that had a decent amount of flow to it. The laughs were well earned, the art was clearly improved, and the ending had me and most of the Puppyguts team in stitches. If any of your films deserve to be in the finals its this one. Oh don't get me wrong, there are still some telltale gross out jokes that they're known for, they're just done better than ever before.

Perishables

The plot was well introduced with a convincing voice over explaining the over-population of the world and the government's new social policy of eliminating the bottom tier of society. The twist is that they get to choose their means of death. This makes for an amusing plot held together by a great performance by the lead actor. The surprise ending got a good laugh from the audience and the post-credits sting was probably not needed as the ending joke was strong enough.

Blind Date

I think everyone from Puppyguts was a fan of this one. Well shot, acted, and written. Despite using a bunch of cliches and tropes it clearly won the audience over. I seem to be alone on this, but the movie would have felt better had it stopped with the fade out after he asks his friends if they were available tomorrow (while they were in the kitchen). The final scene worked, but it lessened the effect of the natural ending (for me). Great work guys! Hope we see you in the finals!

BRICK

Loved the start of this short and thought we were going to be in for a treat. The second the two sat on the couch together the charm was lost. That's not to say I didn't laugh at the pivotal comedic moments, but the acting and effects were distractions to what was going on. That was one small baby. I almost wanted to see the two try and bargain for the $5000 with the dead baby.

BRICK

Loved the start of this short and thought we were going to be in for a treat. The second the two sat on the couch together the charm was lost. That's not to say I didn't laugh at the pivotal comedic moments, but the acting and effects were distractions to what was going on. That was one small baby. I almost wanted to see the two try and bargain for the $5000 with the dead baby.

YOLO

A one shot film is no easy task, and Promethean Duck managed to make it look rather easy. The perfectly timed barks from the dog (intentional or not) were a nice touch, and the move from outside to the back of the bookstore flowed nicely. While the plot wasn't without flaw, and the ending a little forced, it was definitely one of the best films in Heat 13. I'd love to know how many takes this took. Can't finish this review without mentioning the nice credits.

Vacancy

Musical is easily one of the hardest genres due to needing specific talents to do it authentically. Usually teams consist of people scared to really sing and end up sounding strained and flat.

This two person team (!) did an amazing job at making the vocals work while weaving a fun story about the unknown new tenant living with them. The reveal was great, and while the lead to the end was obvious the moment you saw the setup, it was delivered in a satisfying manner.

From a technical point, the film looked clean and well lit, and again, for just two people, even get that right is a big job. Top work you two!

Con Troll Alt Delete

An amusing take on the horror genre, this film embodied the spirit of the 48 hrs competition well. Good use of gross-out effects without going over the top, and it got plenty of laughs. It flowed well and the clever ending was a nice touch.

I Still Dream In Colour

An interesting plot that wasn't fleshed out to its full potential. Some great cinematography and action scenes that didn't come across as overtly hammy, which is no easy feat. The ending could have done without the final line, with just the actress looking around while the others look straight ahead. Overall a great film that kept my attention from start to end.

Rollplay

The plot and dialogue were the main issues with this film; the dialogue was a little hard to hear which may have left some clever jokes lost. It was disappointing to realise the plot wasn't going to expand outside the tabletop game. Even though it was a one-room movie, more could have been attempted. The montage was the best part with some nice editing techniques used. Overall had potential and I look forward to seeing what this team achieves next time.

Steve and Friends

First off, hilarious team intro. Go watch Potion Seller on Youtube. Started strong with great composition and a promising lead actor. The Mistaken Identity plot point could have taken an interesting turn but instead lost traction and the impact of the ending fell flat. What felt like the guy losing his mind, and choking something until it disappeared, suddenly was a ploy from his coworkers..... I think. Puppets seem to appear a lot in 48 hour films (I assume because people don't want to show their faces on camera) and end up being somewhat of a crutch. The team shows promise, and look forward to seeing what they come up with next.

48 Hour Famine

Deserves to be in the finals as it definitely embodies the spirit of the competition. This film was highly innovative in its storytelling and got loads of laughs for its clever humour. Really nice editing that combined social media, documentary and surreal comedy. Very impressive and comical use of the puppets. The ending was a satisfying and hilarious callback to earlier jokes. The only negative thing to say is that I was upset at how great it was.