Movie Review

Film Review: WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND, (USA, Experimental/Music Video)

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Experimental film is all about an “experience”. It invites you to sit back and engage with the media is an often profound but not always linear fashion. WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND is one such production. It is a six minute piece coming from the USA which animates the live musical sessions. The animations are not the classic geometric shapes against black backgrounds- but vivid colorful geometrics, moving, ebbing, flowing and building.

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND is an exploration in visual textures interpreting auditory textures. A beautiful, hypnotic visual journey set to a jam session.

Review by Kierston Drier

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WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND, 6min., USA, Experimental/Music Video
Directed by Mike CelonaAn experimental abstract piece cultivated from three different live production sessions in which synthesized video images produced with Paracosm’s Lumen software were transferred to VHS tape, remixed through a circuit-bent Tachyons+ analog video processor and then subsequently reremixed back into a computer using Arkaos GrandVJ software.

CLICK HERE – and see full info and more pics of the film!

Film Review: JOY! BLUE MOON, (USA, Animation/Music)

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This bright, happy musical number is full of starlight and technology. Literally. When the city goes to sleep, the technology that monitors the heavens comes to life. This three minute animated comedy is joyful romp through music and memory. Coming to us from the USA, the piece follows observatories, satellite dishes and radio towers all joining in harmony to the song “Blue Moon.” All bookkended by some very confused evening crew monitoring the event at their seats in the station.

There are many charming things about JOY BLUE MOON. One is that is uses a dated song and blends it with moderns technology, creating a lovely blend of old-and-new to create something lively and entertaining. Another, is that the animation somehow manages to capture a feeling a joy within the context of the technological pieces it uses as actors. The “actors”, the observatory, the satellite dishes, don’t have mouths, or even animate in a human-like way, yet they use what moveable parts they do have to give the impression that they are not only singing, but engaging in a chorus all their own. Away from humanity they sing to each other and for each other- a secret world of music under the stars.

Fun, fantastical and full of light hearted musical effervescence, JOY BLUE MOON is not to miss.

Review by Kierston Drier

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JOY! BLUE MOON, 3min., USA, Animation/Music 
Directed by John VollmerMusic and images intertwine for a joyful experience.

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Film Review: ORNAMENT OF BEAUTY, (USA, Thriller/Fantasy)

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This short and stunningly beautiful film comes to us from the USA. Set squarely in the realm of fantasy and inspired by Shakespeare’s’ Sonnets, ORNAMENT OF BEAUTY follows a beautiful maiden running through a graveyard, forced to face the voices that plague her and the visions that haunt her.

 

The film boasts sumptuous cinematography, gorgeous editing and brilliant casting. All the elements are delightful but what really shines if the aesthetic design. The Production design and production value make this work a cinematic joy to behold. The costumes, set and scene are meticulous and there is clearly painstaking detail taken in every aspect. The hard work pays off, and  ORNAMENT OF BEAUTY is a gorgeous film, inside and out.

Review by Kierston Drier

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ORNAMENT OF BEAUTY, USA, Thriller/Fantasy
Directed by Andy Fortenbacher

A beautiful maiden is forced to confront the slanderous voices that torment her from the shadows.

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Film Review: WINE AND EGGS, (Turkey, Drama)

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WINE AND EGGS, a five minute Turkish film is equal parts mysterious and thrilling. It leaves us constantly guessing as to the hidden story that is never revealed. A slightly disheveled and exhausted husband comes home from the rainy weather to greet his innocent and beautiful wife, who has been waiting for him at the window. She convinces him to go across the street for eggs to make dinner- and he finally relents. When he leaves however she is pours herself  glass of wine and watches (without a trace of surprise) as he is hit by a car.

 

We never know what has happened between them- but how accurately that mimics real life. After all, do any of us really ever know what goes on inside the relationship of our closest friends or net door neighbours? Behind closed doors, what secrets do we all keep? Whatever secrets lied between these two lead to a dark and sinister end.

 

Beautifully casted and with a subtle, smoldering sensuality, there’s something irresistible about this film- it pulls at you seductively, begging you to sit and ponder what details to you may have missed to undercover our heroines motives. To make a guess yourself, you’ll have to watch WINE AND EGGS.

Review by Kierston Drier

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WINE AND EGGS, 5min., Turkey, Drama
Directed by Sertac Bozkurt

A woman watches out the window of in the house. The excitement that she had when her husband’s knock the door shows us that days end would be different than other days.

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Film Review: TRAIN, (Israel, Animation/Music Video)

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A lovely musical piece childrens’ animation piece, TRAINS describes a parents playtime ritual with their small child. A lovely, beautiful piece bursting with bright watercolors, fun shapes and musical magic, this three minute Israeli film will transport you straight back to childhood.

 

Much like watching fun song from sesame street or your favorite children’s show, TRAINS will sweep you up in it’s joyful, youthful whimsy. If you can remember a time from youth when you became totally engrossed in your play-time, then you can sense the moment TRAINS attempts to capture in its viewers. If you are a kid at heart, it will succeed.

Review by Kierston Drier

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TRAIN, 3min., Israel, Animation/Music Video
Directed by Sari Eran Herskovitz“Rakevet” (meaning train in Hebrew), is a music video describing the relationship between a mother and her young child. The stop motion animation combines watercolors and cutouts to express the emotions and the rhythms of their world, flowing between concrete images and abstract forms. The song was created and performed by Sari and Moshe Herskovitz, the animator and her husband, as part of their debut album released in 2016.

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Film Review: DAUGHTER, (Canada, Drama/Family)

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A deeply moving and powerful story of two mothers who struggle to raise their daughters. DAUGHTER a three minute film from Canada, follows a young mother with a young daughter and an older woman with a young daughter struggling through her own issues. The two meet in the middle to remember that one promise stays with you forever- the promise of love that binds parent and child.

 

This work has some confusing elements, and the audience may be left wondering whose daughter is whose and which timeline they are in. But dispense the disbelief just slightly and you are hit with an impactful sense of love, loss and sacrifice. This piece has a strong focal point- love. And love always wins. At the end of our journeys through parenthood we may talley our victories and defeats, but the love that motivates all acts of parental compassion never changes. DAUGHTER is a tribute to such emotional journeys. For that alone, it is worth the watch.

Review by Kierston Drier

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DAUGHTER, 3min., Canada, Drama/Family
Directed by Lia WilliamsonCreated as a ‘Two Stories’ project, this film follows two single mothers trying to successfully raise their daughters. As the years progress, this task becomes more and more difficult.

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Film Review: MILE, (USA, Drama)

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A strong film coming in at just a minute in length, MILE is an exercise is emotional brevity. Our nameless hero spends the entire film running. And running. And running. No matter how slow, or how many times he has to stop- he keeps going. Until at long last, his mile is reached.

 

This film has no dialogue, and only one main character. But what is brilliant about it, is that there is nothing more needed to convey the strong sense of character and story. Truly great short films, that can take us on emotional journeys in under a minute are exceedingly rare. Yet MILE accomplishes this with ease. A single note, a single beat in a human’s’ life as the act to better themselves. One mile behind them- a thousand more to go. MILE is a short and wonderful film, simple, clear and worth every step.

Review by Kierston Drier

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MILE, 1min., USA, Drama
Directed by Kevin AntonA large man is determined to run his first mile, but has to overcome his own obstacles first.

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Film Review: A LETTER FROM LETICIA, (Argentina, Animation)

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This colorful and beautiful film comes to us from director Irene Blei with a powerful story. Telling the story of Leticia Veraldi, a teenage girl who goes missing after school one day, after her parents move her from her home to her friends’ home in Cipolletti. One of many stories coming out of Argentina in the 1970’s during a time of political and social unrest.

 

A fascinating and heart breaking story about one young and vibrant life vanishing tragically, it is a testament to a tragic part of Argentine history not soon to be forgotten.What is unique about A LETTER FROM LETICIA is it’s intricate duality of media- it is half colorful and bright animation, and half stoic documentary. The affect is the in the first half of the film we are pulled into the bright and vibrant world of youthful childhood- and in the second, we are pushed into the harsh black-and-white reality of crimes gone unsolved. Moving and powerful, A LETTER FROM LETICIA is a strong and compelling piece.

 

Review by Kierston Drier

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A LETTER FROM LETICIA, 3min., Argentina, Animation
Directed by Irene BleiArgentina, 1976: Leticia Veraldi: was in her 4th year at Colegio Nacional de Vicente Lopez high school in Buenos Aires, when her parents decided to move her to their friend’s house in Cipolletti, Rio Negro, for protection. This letter is one from many the young girl mailed to her former school mates.

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Film Review: VOWS, (4min., USA, LGBT/Animation) 

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A wordless wonder of a film, VOWS tells the simple, yet powerful story of a man on his wedding day. On what should be one of the happiest days of his life, our hero is hit with difficult feelings of abandonment that come when he sees an important wedding invitation has been returned- rejected. But love always wins.
A beautiful animated film with engaging colours and textures worthy of any Disney-Pixar, this film has something special hidden within it- in its credits. The film is only a few beats long, but within the credits we the highlights of our hero’s life well lived.
For a film so short, it is a mastery of simple touching story telling. And it is worth sitting through every credit to see the joy that unfolds in the final frames. A delightful and moving piece. Well done VOWS, well done.

 

Review by Kierston Drier

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VOWS, 4min., USA, LGBT/Animation 
Directed by Mark McKinseyVows is the story of a man on one of the biggest days of his life – he is incredibly excited, but is suddenly reminded of a deep sadness that plagues this very happy day with the person he loves most.

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Film Review: YOURS FAITHFULLY EDNA WELTHORPE (MRS), (UK, Animation/Comedy)

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A New film by Chris Shepherd, YOURS FAITHFULLY EDNA WELTHROPE is an animated comic short tribute piece to Joe Orton, a well known letter writer who complained to local companies under the pen name Edna Welthorpe.

 

Charming to listen to, and delightful to watch, this animation is full of humorous visuals, delightful images and the hilarious voice of Orton. Created to celebrate his life, 50 years after it ended, YOUR FAITHFULLY EDNA WELTHORPE is a joyful and engaging piece.

 

The magic in this film is that in only five minutes, we feel we know Edna, and know her well. Her voice, so aptly akin to the “fussy old lady” is perfectly characterised by exceptional voice acting. Of course the deeper comic layer here being that Edna does not exist, and these companies she is writing to are often perplexed at her letters. Regardless YOURS FAITHFULLY EDNA WELTHORPE is a hilarious and enjoyable film to watch.

Review by Kierston Drier

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YOURS FAITHFULLY EDNA WELTHORPE (MRS), UK, Animation/Comedy
Directed by Chris ShepherdJoe Orton would write letters of complaint using the pseudonym of Edna Welthorpe. Using this persona Orton would wind up companies, vicars and even ridicule his own plays.

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