BrotherInCrime
33 Reviews
Reviews
The good child
Example-based storytelling is limited at the best of times. I lost interest in seeing each of the bad things the boy had done by the second example, and they didn't seem to build up in any form, and did little to expand on the boy's character. Good drone shot at the end, complete story, and Guy Williams is hilarious as always.
Sidney Manson and the Twin Factor 2
You never know what you're gonna get from Nick from Shorty. You know it's going to be creative, you know it's going to be offensive, but whether it's going to entertaining or not is a flip of the dice. Good use of 8-bit artwork, led well to nudity that no one could rightly complain about. Story was drab, dialogue was all too boring, and as we all know the story didn't really go anywhere.
Happy Birthday
Beautifully shot and well acted by the lead, let down on other fronts. This team crafted a story that fitted well into the time limit, but failed to capture the imagination of the viewer. The story felt cliche and lacked depth or originality. Each scene, each moment is an opportunity for creativity, but the dialogue fell flat. Each line should be used to craft an original and interesting character, instead of just telling the story. I remember the line 'I just woke up in a warehouse' or something being repeated several times. While the lead stood out, and kept my attention, the other actors struggled. Could be a competitive team next year with a focus on story and dialogue.
Fallen
Well done for a good shot at a serious flick, which is very out of the ordinary for a superhero film. Excellent opening. The audience wasn't quite sure what to expect, the filming of this scene was excellent. The performance of the lead was credible, I believed him when he spoke, and his whole angry demenor was very interesting to watch. The slow reveal of the backstory was handled well, and though relying on a cheap camera trick for the display of super powers at the end, the emotion of the scene was carried so well that this was easily forgotten. A good ending, I bought the change in character. However this film was let down by sticking too closely to the cliche. Much of the dialogue and story were recycled and boring. Many great moments were missed due to lack of originality. The lead was clealy doing his best to deliver the emotion of the scene, but could only do so much with cliche lines. Also I feel with just a little bit rehearsal time and direction, he could have given a truly great performance. Also the camera quality was a little average. This team clearly had a good enough camera, and they did make some strong frames, however they need to spend some time working on there exposure. Sequential shots varied too much in terms of colour and light, and many scenes were overexposed. This team shows a lot of promise, and there is clearly a lot of talent here. But more camera practice is required, and they need to find more originality, they need to find something that makes them unique.
DMZ
Good make-up and I enjoyed the performance of the zombie. The cock-munching was a sick and disturbing surprise, and the highlight of this piece! However I found this musical a little dissapointing from a clearly musical team. The style didn't really fit with your team dynamic and the music scenes were pieced in awkwardly. The zombie hunter came off as an in-joke, that I was not in on. I think this team really should have gone with a different theme and played up there own strengths.
Pizza money
The standout of the heat, Jovial Entertainment making a case for one of the most consistently improving teams of the competition so far. They have the basics down. Simple original story. Defined characters. Creative shots. Comedic moments. JE play straight out of the 48 hour playbook, in this ode to all that is truly 48 spirit. The rollerblading was impressive, and was a great and original dynamic that both tied the story together and gave opportunity to action and comedy (the two best things). That said, Jovial are not yet free of their comedy training wheels, falling too often on recycled humour, hit-and-miss dialogue and cliche. Most of the time I feel like I'm laughing at something because it reminded me of something else that I had seen one time that made me laugh. You need to work harder to craft your own sense of humour, play jokes that the audience don't see coming. Action too falls into a similar basket, flipping between enough-to-tell-the-story and example-based-ripped-off-sequences. Each action sequence is a chance to be original, leave your mark on the universe of action sequences, something funny and original that drives the story. Well done on making the final, most complete short I've seen so far this year.
To Dad
This film was, quite hard to watch. There were a lot of bad production values, over exposure and focus was a little average. Performances were awkward, I believe several more rehearsals were in order before this was fit for the screen. Suicide as a subject is an easy choice for first time filmmakers and I strongly advise steering away from it, unless you have something very strong to say or an original take (an ACTUAL original take). Sure it can be easy to create story and drama with this kind of mysterious plotline, but for the experience, and even semi-experienced filmgoer they can become boring very quickly. I would advise you guys to practice with your camera, have more rehearsals and try something a little simpler. Just a few characters, a simple story and a few dialogue scenes to work on character, story, and making your short aesthetically pleasing. Also be careful directing non-actors, especially older non-actors because it can be easy for them to ham there performances, and come off as unnatural. These hammy performances may be funny at home, or on stage, but do noot come across well on the screen.
Nickys List
This film really made the best of 48 hours’ worst genre. I loved this piece. A cute story, well shot, handsome leads and pretty girls; delivering everything you could want from a Rom Com, while maintaining its own original take on the genre. Beginning with young men dressed as young kids, but played so honestly that they managed to make good on a usually poor 48 hour convention. A hilarious use of the prop, and a quick good use of the character. The pacing was fantastic and throughout I really loved the framing you guys managed. The shot where the main character sat reading their old things to do before you die list was beautiful. Was then shocking to see the lead kiss so many girls in one short! Well done sourcing so many actresses (though I think there was a lot of clever doubling up). You made good use of the montage, and recreated so many stereotypical rom-com moments with authenticity and heart, with the handsome heartthrob lead to pull it off. And best of all it ended simply and beautifully, ensuring this short stayed in the minds of its viewers. Such a shame you guys didn’t get in on time, I look forward to seeing what you come up with next!
For Evelynn
A lot of missed opportunity for this here film. A talented bunch of animators with a cute story, but it's not where your going, it's how you get there. The scene by scene didn't play too well, with a set of boring-in-their-own-right scenarios of the same situation playing over and over again, and I was left thinking "why should I care?". Sorry if this sounds harsh, but it's only because I expected more from a talented group. Each scene is a platform for creativity, creating something new and exciting with each moment, don't get lost in telling the story. On personal note, I'm a lover of dialogue, so I guess a silent piece was never going to gel with me. I'd recommend getting some voice actors, animation is a unique platform, where complex characters can be created so easily, if they're allowed to talk. But if not, think of moments of comedy to engage the audience and endear them to the characters, or if not comedy something unexpected.
Dead Meat
The most finely tuned film of the heat. Felt like I was watching a real short film. You guys really managed to create a great atmosphere, the acting was convincing, a great colour grade, the editing had style, the shots where dynamic and always well exposed and consistent. There is always something magical about end of the world films based around children, and this was no exception. The lead had a clear perssonality and the relationship between him and the younger children were clearly defined. He was angry adn bossy, but there was just the slightest hint of sadness within him, he had lived in the pre-apocalyptic world longer than those he was now looking after, and you know that he had a little bit more to lose. My favourite short film is one called I Love Sarah Jane, which has the same premise as this film, but I think that Dead Meat managed to do some things even better. It is very hard to give a film tone, and keep it consistently, but this team executed tone excellently. It was dark, it was grim, with just a hint of optimism. You guys also managed an original take on the zomvie genre. Humans eating Zombies is genius. What I did feel was lacking was distinct characters. The lead was different, but I could not really differentiate between the younger boys. They all seemed to have the same thoughts, motivations and obstacles, and in the end it could have been any of them pulling the trigger. Nicky's bullying I also felt was a little overdone, after a couple of examples I felt I got the point. The slow motion scene was also technically a little dissapointing. This moment was not captured well enough, with the appropriate angles, and was cut together a little awkwardly. This moment only stood out due to the high quality of the rest of the short. *spoiler* The ending was very good and unexpected, however since all the kids seemed to hate Nicky, I was not fully convinced that the kid needed to trick the other kids. I felt as though all of them wanted to shoot him anyway. Overall an amazing piece, and a real contender for the finals.
Happy Birthday Nicky Brick
I didn't think this film was going to ammount to much when it first began. But as soon as the end of the world elements kicked in this film became a winner. The effects were amazing, I have no idea how they made these look so good. The main characters reaction to the end of the world was hilarious, and I loved how the woman who was trying to break into the car just said yes straight away to the main character's unusual request. Good timing with the extras, there was so much going on at some points that you almost forgot this was one shot. Having another scene play on the tv was a great convention that I never would have though of. However this film seemed to lose pace halfway through. After an amazing opening we began to focus on some less interesting characters with subpar performances. And the ending kind of trailed off, and the team didn't really know how to finish. A polished team, that just requires a little more work on character performance.
Wizards Escape
Beautifully shot film, with some slick special effects, but did the story go anywhere? Easy on the eye from start to finish, and special effects were crafted seamlessly. I appreciated the names on the doors in the first scene. Ended all too quickly without really making it's way through the motions of the plot. Too much time spent cutting back to the office, with little happening. Technically talented team, would like to see what they make outside of the competition.
Nickys List
This film really made the best of 48 hours’ worst genre. I loved this piece. A cute story, well shot, handsome leads and pretty girls; delivering everything you could want from a Rom Com, while maintaining its own original take on the genre. Beginning with young men dressed as young kids, but played so honestly that they managed to make good on a usually poor 48 hour convention. A hilarious use of the prop, and a quick good use of the character. The pacing was fantastic and throughout I really loved the framing you guys managed. The shot where the main character sat reading their old things to do before you die list was beautiful. Was then shocking to see the lead kiss so many girls in one short! Well done sourcing so many actresses (though I think there was a lot of clever doubling up). You made good use of the montage, and recreated so many stereotypical rom-com moments with authenticity and heart, with the handsome heartthrob lead to pull it off. And best of all it ended simply and beautifully, ensuring this short stayed in the minds of its viewers. Such a shame you guys didn’t get in on time, I look forward to seeing what you come up with next!