Tilting At Windmills

I didn't buy into the end twist's quick shift in tone and the beginning kind of dragged, but holy crap they had me laughing hard. Every gag, no matter how absurd, was performed totally on key and timed to comedic perfection. Enjoyed this one a lot.

Bit of a rip of 48 Grand Final winners 2005 - A fairly good tale - I'm sure Gerard Johnson won't mind. But yeah, really enjoyed Tama's performance. My stars go to him!

To be honest a bit of a rip but it had its moments

Gags had a hit:miss ratio of 80:20. Agree that the rapid shift of tone made it feel a bit uneven, but definite points for bringing heart to it. My second favourite.

A heartwarming, funny and well acted short film that looked and sounded great too. Fractured Radius are at their best and this one may be a contender for the finals. Only criticisms are the pacing was a little plonky at times and the heavy emotional ending felt like it was maybe too much for the lighthearted tone that was created.

The first most obvious thing with this short is that the actors' performances are excellent. It's great to see Tama Boyle finally given some legs, with this role really letting him show off his chops. At long last 48hours stalwart Andy Conlan has a partner he can really work with. Also excellent: Long-time Fractured Radius writer Ryan Sproull did a fantastic job with the script of this short. It's a bit hilarious to see some people's reviews suggest that he's ripping off some years old 48hours short. It's called Tilting at Windmills as a direct reference to the material that really served as this short's inspiration: Don Quixote. So, if you think this short is similar to another, it's because that one was also inspired by Don Quixote. We're all influenced by other work. If you think you don't stand on the shoulders of giants in your own work, you're delusional. Not so good: The set for the first few shots is bad. I'm not sure if the intent was for the bare white walls to send a message of institutionalisation, but regardless of intent the message I received was that they couldn't find a better location. The sound is quite variable, and particularly dodgy in some of the outdoor park shots. And the video seemed badly overexposed at points - a member of the team has claimed in the forums that it was a projection problem, and while I didn't notice the problem to anything like the same extent on other shorts in the same heat, it may be a fair defence. Also not good was the ending, I wonder if perhaps they ran out of time in the edit suite, but whatever the cause the denouement is rushed and falters. It's a damn shame, as it's clear that some of Tama's strongest performance was in that closing scene, and it hasn't been allowed to unravel cleanly at all. Of course some of this criticism is quite picky, but that's the price the more experienced teams have to pay - when you're an old hand, and especially when you're a professional team, you're expected to be more well rounded. And here there are elements of the production that just let the script and the actors down.

Fractured Radius’s best and most ambitious effort in years. Inspired by Don Quixote, as the title suggests, but also strong reminiscent of The Fisher King. The genuinely moving twist (yes, it’s contrary to the humorous tone of the majority of the film – that’s why it’s called a twist) was fairly effectively executed, but I think it needed a little more time to really sell it, while the set-up and gag-filled middle could have been tightened up a bit. Excellent work by the cast, particularly Tama Boyle. If he isn’t at least considered for best actor (not to mention best moustache) it will be a travesty.

I loved this film. Highly polished, a well-crafted story, some hilarious gags, and a satisfying ending. The comparison above to the The Fisher King is particularly apt. 1 minute 55 seconds felt a little long for the opening scene - some great music behind it though. From the 2 minute mark on I thought this was brilliant!

Bit of a rip of 48 Grand Final winners 2005 - A fairly good tale - I'm sure Gerard Johnson won't mind. But yeah, really enjoyed Tama's performance. My stars go to him!

Gags had a hit:miss ratio of 80:20. Agree that the rapid shift of tone made it feel a bit uneven, but definite points for bringing heart to it. My second favourite.

The first most obvious thing with this short is that the actors' performances are excellent. It's great to see Tama Boyle finally given some legs, with this role really letting him show off his chops. At long last 48hours stalwart Andy Conlan has a partner he can really work with. Also excellent: Long-time Fractured Radius writer Ryan Sproull did a fantastic job with the script of this short. It's a bit hilarious to see some people's reviews suggest that he's ripping off some years old 48hours short. It's called Tilting at Windmills as a direct reference to the material that really served as this short's inspiration: Don Quixote. So, if you think this short is similar to another, it's because that one was also inspired by Don Quixote. We're all influenced by other work. If you think you don't stand on the shoulders of giants in your own work, you're delusional. Not so good: The set for the first few shots is bad. I'm not sure if the intent was for the bare white walls to send a message of institutionalisation, but regardless of intent the message I received was that they couldn't find a better location. The sound is quite variable, and particularly dodgy in some of the outdoor park shots. And the video seemed badly overexposed at points - a member of the team has claimed in the forums that it was a projection problem, and while I didn't notice the problem to anything like the same extent on other shorts in the same heat, it may be a fair defence. Also not good was the ending, I wonder if perhaps they ran out of time in the edit suite, but whatever the cause the denouement is rushed and falters. It's a damn shame, as it's clear that some of Tama's strongest performance was in that closing scene, and it hasn't been allowed to unravel cleanly at all. Of course some of this criticism is quite picky, but that's the price the more experienced teams have to pay - when you're an old hand, and especially when you're a professional team, you're expected to be more well rounded. And here there are elements of the production that just let the script and the actors down.

I loved this film. Highly polished, a well-crafted story, some hilarious gags, and a satisfying ending. The comparison above to the The Fisher King is particularly apt. 1 minute 55 seconds felt a little long for the opening scene - some great music behind it though. From the 2 minute mark on I thought this was brilliant!