Plant

This film really lost me. Shoddy camera work. Botched editing. Main character had no real enthusiasm. The 3 mimes at the end had next to no chemistry. Such a fall from grace from the almighty Couch Kumaras. Heck, I remember back in the day when they made their best entry to this competition, "Loosely Attached". The performances were really strong in there, especially the guy with the bowl cut. Stop motion intro? Don't get me started. PS. if you guys ever need an extra set of hands, let me know. Could really do with the work right now, times have been really tough and just feels like an uphill battle at times. Terrible film. 6/7, would watch again.

A book a bach has some very basic but specific instructions for our holiday goer to take care of a plant. Of course he can eat all the food he wants in the fridge if he wants, if only there was any. With the stage set this played out as a wonderfully paced game of cat and mouse as attempts to take the plant surreptitiously led the guy who was supposed to be relaxing into a state of paranoia. The use of Ultra split screen was exceedingly well done, replicating a kind of human security camera that put the audience in the shoes of the guy. I loved how things really escalated, with the cult-like triangle conclusion being a particular highlight. Editing was top notch here. Definite finals.

An almost pitch perfect film. Great use of split screen from the outset, using a static shot on the plant to build audience curiosity before delivering an ever increasing mix of paranoia and absurdist comedy. Couch Kumara once again show how to make the most of 48 hours to deliver a fun film with a simple premise that goes where you never expected it to.

This film was shot well, and executed well, which was definitely made more difficult by doing ultra, split screen. So well done there. Story was a little bit slow through the middle, which could have been more active. Good payoff at the end though. Overall, good movie and worth watching again.

The only thing I wrote down in my notebook for this one is "WONDERFULL" I was too captivated to write. We're only 3 heats in, and I'm already picking it as city winner. (I'm not a judge, soooo I can't actually make that happen) I was nervous to see what these lads created with their famous composer entering in a separate duo. Yes, it does lack the wonderful music of entry's past. However, it's not score heavy, so doesn't miss it too much. It has the classic clean tripod-ed look of 'Davy's Dump' and the couch kumara shorts. The soft light and quirkiness lent nicely into the Side by side split screen that Ultras need to pull off nicely. An excellent use of split screen and great use of physical comedy, with almost no dialogue. However, that may also be its short fall. We do get to the end, and feel a tad lost. But that almost doesn't matter as we enjoy the journey so much on the way.

This film was well presented and somewhat entertaining. Good use of split screen, which would have been a tricky element to add, so great stuff there. The story itself was as cold as the colour pallette at times, but did end strong. Seemed like they were going for some laughs, which were there, but why not go all out if that's what your intentions are. Great film over all, just lacked a bit of impact leading up to the end. No surprise they did well in audience voting, seeing as they brought half the audience with them. Good work and probably a city finalist, as you should expect with the support they have. Well worth a watch.