Simon Ward
23 Reviews
Reviews
Query
Films like this are partly why I love the 48Hours. Apparently this is a first-time entry and I'm guessing it's also a high school team. What I like about it is that there are genre conventions that the filmmakers clearly understand - but they lack the experience to execute them with aplomb. They story makes sense - but it dragged, and the resolution really wasn't clear - except that somehow the cop and the lesbian art teacher were in cahoots and presumably behind the murder. (Sorry - spoiler alert) Also, I know it's the 48Hours and all, but seeing kids play adults is distracting and as Alan pointed out it looked like they were playing dress-ups in Mum and Dad's clothes. I'd much prefer to see teenagers playing teenagers - have a look at last year's Twilight pisstake by team Slurpedo for a good example of this (it's in the Screening Room, they were Auckland finalists). All that said, I think back to idiotvision's first ever entry and I reckon by comparison you guys deserve high-fives all round. Keep making stuff. See you next year.
Subject 57
There's something about this team. Love the name, loved the team intro, and loved the clever double-usage (for lack of a better term) of the genre. Good comedy, the guy playing the doctor looked like he was having loads of fun hamming it up... and I'm not 100% about the ending but to your credit it (a) was unexpected and (b) got a good "ooh, dodgy humour/too soon?"-type response from the crowd. A nice simple film that takes you on a fun, madcap ride. Good stuff.
Who Gets To Go?
Really enjoyed this short - at first I thought it was ripping off a car commercial but it quickly progressed beyond that and was good fun. The only thing that left me a little bit cold was the ending - after a great comedic twist, the scene continuing into the end credits played really heavy and dramatic - not sure if this was deliberate or not as it seemed like a bit of an unusual shift in tone. Overall though, totally worth checking out.
Best Foot Forward
Nice simple short, the two "perspectives" playing off each other was a cool concept. Some great comedy writing also, the witty repartee between the male lead and his dashing offsider was a highlight.
17
A solid start to a surprisingly good heat. Really nicely structured film, some good comedy in there, some good acting (and some very shaky acting - which to be fair is part of the charm). Great work.
Meet-Cute
Quite enjoyed this film - the "concealed cuts" thing really didn't bother me as half the fun of 48Hours is finding ways to work around genre constrictions. The puppets were great, production was endearingly low-fi and the awkward humour between the puppets worked a treat. Nice stuff.
iBrobot
iBeard always bring the sick shit. Love following you guys in the heat, it's a good one-two punch for the audience with iBeard followed by idiotvision. Toby's right - you probably need therapy, but once again you've made an awesome film. Big ups!
Query
Films like this are partly why I love the 48Hours. Apparently this is a first-time entry and I'm guessing it's also a high school team. What I like about it is that there are genre conventions that the filmmakers clearly understand - but they lack the experience to execute them with aplomb. They story makes sense - but it dragged, and the resolution really wasn't clear - except that somehow the cop and the lesbian art teacher were in cahoots and presumably behind the murder. (Sorry - spoiler alert) Also, I know it's the 48Hours and all, but seeing kids play adults is distracting and as Alan pointed out it looked like they were playing dress-ups in Mum and Dad's clothes. I'd much prefer to see teenagers playing teenagers - have a look at last year's Twilight pisstake by team Slurpedo for a good example of this (it's in the Screening Room, they were Auckland finalists). All that said, I think back to idiotvision's first ever entry and I reckon by comparison you guys deserve high-fives all round. Keep making stuff. See you next year.
Between Light and Shadow
Some great ideas in this one and brilliant comedy. Can't remember if this was one of the two disqualified entries but clearly the sound was unfinished which was a bit of a bummer. A great example of why you should get your film in even if there's still work to do on it. Good stuff guys.
A Letter To A Samurai
Just watched this in the screening room - gutted that you guys missed deadline! Good funny script, great delivery, beautifully shot. The lead was really likeable which is weird because in real life Jamaine's a dick. He was good in this though. The rest of the cast also did a great job - some very nice work there, especially considering a lot of the parts didn't have a lot of dialogue to play with... hopefully you guys get Best DQ'd Short. And yeah thank goodness they didn't cut each other's clothes off...
Subject 57
There's something about this team. Love the name, loved the team intro, and loved the clever double-usage (for lack of a better term) of the genre. Good comedy, the guy playing the doctor looked like he was having loads of fun hamming it up... and I'm not 100% about the ending but to your credit it (a) was unexpected and (b) got a good "ooh, dodgy humour/too soon?"-type response from the crowd. A nice simple film that takes you on a fun, madcap ride. Good stuff.
Roundelay
Very slick-looking film. I'm always impressed when people pull high production values out of the bag on such a tight timeframe - and you guys managed to include some very impressive effects shots to boot. I quite liked the story, possibly could have benefited from more of a relationship between the two leads - and the revelation at the end did seem a bit convenient, structurally. Really enjoyed the acting, and I don't know why, I'm not sure if it was written as a joke, but Bobby Young's "vests" line was genius. Perhaps it was all in the delivery. Great effort Hybrid.
Meet-Cute
Quite enjoyed this film - the "concealed cuts" thing really didn't bother me as half the fun of 48Hours is finding ways to work around genre constrictions. The puppets were great, production was endearingly low-fi and the awkward humour between the puppets worked a treat. Nice stuff.
Stuck In The Mini With You
Really enjoyed this film. Nice interplay between characters, really nicely shot and put together, solid acting all round by the all-female cast and a nice twist which I didn't guess until as it was about to happen. Top stuff.
Surcease
I'm really impressed by teams who get a genre like "Inspirational" and play it straight. I know for sure we'd be throwing every cheap gag we could think of in there. From Hybrid however we get a dramatic short which doesn't come off as mawkish or preachy (despite a fine turn by Mr Jason Fitch as a preacher), and has a nice simple message with great performances throughout. Also, I don't remember that first kiss or whether or not it seemed awkward but I feel I should mention in response to themorgan that the unlikeable protagonist and his out-of-his-league girlfriend are in fact a couple in real-life. So a bonus high-five for Sam Berkley. Shot bro.