Title: Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer
Director: Andrew Jones
Hit or Miss: Miss
http://www.shortoftheweek.com/2010/11/28/dancoolo/
When initially presented with this short, I wanted to think"Frank DanCoolo" is just a short not for everyone. After finishing it, I kind of found myself more under the idea that "Frank DanCoolo" is just a short not really for anyone.
I take that back, a little bit, maybe. While I can definitely appreciate the filmmaker's bravery in creating a short with visual effects and style "outside the box" I still felt a bit irritated with the film. Now don't get me wrong, I can definitely get into Japanese movies, I'll even appreciate some grindhouse b movies with all the cheesiness glued on, and still appreciate it. I'm also a sucker for film noir type characters, so Holly Malone's character thrown into the futuristic Japanese world seemed like it could definitely be a fun, crazy, eccentric and original ride. Still, no matter how much I wanted to like it, the problem here is a simple but large one: Pretentiousness. And unfortunately, style over substance does not triumph in this situation.
While the effects were pretty decent overall, considering they probably intentionally wanted them to to fit in with the cheesy style of the movie, it just felt too forced and too much. It almost felt as if every little over the top effect was pushed and crammed in. This is a bit overwhelming and annoying.
While Holly was definitely an "interesting" character, and while I would venture to say I prefer characters with a "weird" or "different" feel to them, I still want the character to be somewhat likeable. Instead, she just wound up getting on my nerves. While she maintained a good "voice", style and mannerisms suitable for her character, a giddy reporter from 1940's era, she just seemed a bit too abrasive and for lack of a better word, annoying.
I will say that the plot was pretty original while it borrowed from and paid homage to classic elements found in Japanese kung fu, grindhouse, and film noir. It was, overall, original, and that is something positive that I can respect.
Overall though, the film just felt like "too much". Forced and pretentious. I feel like the filmmaker tried to "push the envelope" for the sake of pushing the envelope. To try to be "weird" for the sake of being weird in hopes of being seen as original and pushing the boundaries. In reality, it just comes off as he bit off a bit more than he could chew by forcing too much and coming off as trying to be weird where it really doesn't need to be that strange.
Overall, it's a miss for me, but I do respect the attempt and the throwbacks to the other film genres that inspired this short.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Hit or Miss: The Third and the Seventh
Title: The Third and the Seventh
Director: Alex Roman
Hit or Miss: Hit
http://www.shortoftheweek.com/2010/01/12/the-third-and-the-seventh/
Wow. What can be said about "The Third and the Seventh" other than it honestly blew me away. I know that expression can be overused a lot and can seem rather cheesy but in all sincerity, this short was truly mindblowing. Fantastic!
It's strongest point is really it's beautiful cinematography. The shots were so beautiful (hands down the best I've seen in any of the shorts so far). Composed wonderfully, lit well, dramatic, and just absolutely stunning. The camera work here is top notch and the editing (two paneled shots) were really a visual treat.
There really isn't a plot but here is one instance where I really am okay with "Style" over "Substance". This film sets itself up that it doesn't really need a plot. As long as you just sit back and know what you're going into and enjoy the beautiful cinematography, you will be in for a wonderful experience.
Perhaps one of the coolest parts of this film was the sequence with the clouds. The CGI here is so realistic that many people have actually debated on whether it is all CG or not.
Take the time to watch this short and you will truly be glad you did. It is honestly one of the most beautiful shorts that I've had the opportunity to see. This is what true and beautiful cinematography is all about.
Hit or miss: Hit.
Director: Alex Roman
Hit or Miss: Hit
http://www.shortoftheweek.com/2010/01/12/the-third-and-the-seventh/
Wow. What can be said about "The Third and the Seventh" other than it honestly blew me away. I know that expression can be overused a lot and can seem rather cheesy but in all sincerity, this short was truly mindblowing. Fantastic!
It's strongest point is really it's beautiful cinematography. The shots were so beautiful (hands down the best I've seen in any of the shorts so far). Composed wonderfully, lit well, dramatic, and just absolutely stunning. The camera work here is top notch and the editing (two paneled shots) were really a visual treat.
There really isn't a plot but here is one instance where I really am okay with "Style" over "Substance". This film sets itself up that it doesn't really need a plot. As long as you just sit back and know what you're going into and enjoy the beautiful cinematography, you will be in for a wonderful experience.
Perhaps one of the coolest parts of this film was the sequence with the clouds. The CGI here is so realistic that many people have actually debated on whether it is all CG or not.
Take the time to watch this short and you will truly be glad you did. It is honestly one of the most beautiful shorts that I've had the opportunity to see. This is what true and beautiful cinematography is all about.
Hit or miss: Hit.
Hit or Miss: Please Say Something
Title: Please Say Something
Director: David O'Reilly
Hit or Miss: Miss
All I can really say about "Please Say Something" is that it is definitely interesting. "Interesting" when applied to films generally either means either of the following choices: Good interesting or Bad interesting. In this case, it was a little bit of both, but when it comes down to it personally, it's more of a miss for me.
"Please Say Something" is a story about a couple-a cat and a mouse-who are experiencing a little turbulence in their relationship. They aren't really "getting" each other, specifically the mouse, who is oblivious to his partner the cat's feelings. Throughout the short, the cat is trying to get the mouse to understand her feelings but he is too busy writing. Although I do appreciate the interesting exploration into a common problem faced in relationships, the film as a whole just didn't work as well as I had hoped. It's depressing, it's jumbled, it's a little bit of a "headache" to be honest.
Director: David O'Reilly
Hit or Miss: Miss
All I can really say about "Please Say Something" is that it is definitely interesting. "Interesting" when applied to films generally either means either of the following choices: Good interesting or Bad interesting. In this case, it was a little bit of both, but when it comes down to it personally, it's more of a miss for me.
"Please Say Something" is a story about a couple-a cat and a mouse-who are experiencing a little turbulence in their relationship. They aren't really "getting" each other, specifically the mouse, who is oblivious to his partner the cat's feelings. Throughout the short, the cat is trying to get the mouse to understand her feelings but he is too busy writing. Although I do appreciate the interesting exploration into a common problem faced in relationships, the film as a whole just didn't work as well as I had hoped. It's depressing, it's jumbled, it's a little bit of a "headache" to be honest.
Although I don't typically mind nonlinear storytelling, this was just still a bit too hard to follow in some spaces for me. I like to think and I like being able to have the opportunity to try to piece things together as a viewer so I do appreciate the way the filmmaker is trying to get the audience involved in that aspect. But altogether, it really is just a bit too confusing. When you think there's going to be some explanation into a character's decision or why they said something, it's just brushed aside with some random test pattern screens, which although is "stylishly" unique to some degree, is just a little bit annoying to be honest. Instead of resolving and clarifying, the filmmakers just try to use this abstract imagery and "randomness" as a way to look creative without really giving a real clearer understanding of what's going on.
Overall, I felt sympathy for my characters. I understood what the cat was going through and why she felt left out. I liked that even though these characters were speaking a made up language, I could really get what they were going through (perhaps that was due to the helpful use of subtitles) but I still feel like despite the emotions and strong themes present, I feel like the film was overpowered by the filmmaker's decision to use their random abstract style that unfortunately left me more confused and annoyed, feeling as if the style was a lazy cop out and a bit pretentious to look "cool" and insert randomness to add more "Style" while seriously lacking substance and clarification.
Hit or Miss: Miss.
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