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Movie Review: THE DRUNK: GETTING HOME, 6min, UK, Comedy (2016)

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MOVIE POSTERTHE DRUNK: GETTING HOME, 6min, UK, Comedy
Directed by Gabriel Foster Prior

Embark on a hilarious journey of a drunk trying to break into his own house. A slapstick comedy written by and starring Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Seann Walsh

Seen at the July 2016 COMEDY FEEDBACK Film Festival in Toronto.

Movie Review by Kierston Drier

Take your best friends’ worst drunk story, then double it. We are on the path to The Drunk, written by Seann Walsh directed by Gabriel Foster Prior, a story about getting a little too intoxicated for your own good.

At first you think the story might be an animation as it opens with a charming animated title sequence, but not to be fooled- it is a full live action comedy. Like many under 5 minute short comedy films, it is one long set up. But it certainly doesn’t lack comedy along the way to the punchline. From losing your money in the cab to not finding any food in your fridge, The Drunk takes you step by step through the antics one might get into and the thoughts that flicker through one’s’ mind when they’ve had a few too many.

They say the the true things are the funniest, and The Drunk certainly follows that philosophy as our leading man trips, staggers and crawls his way home, only to be met with the unpleasant realization that he is in the wrong house.

Full of physical comedy, well suited sound and music design and comically developed characters, The Drunk is a great comedy-centric short with lots of offer, if you want to sit back and enjoy someone else’s crazy night- with none of the sober sitting.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video of the short film:

Movie Review: DREAMS OR DEMONS, 3min, Denmark, Drama/Life (2016)

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MOVIE POSTERDREAMS OR DEMONS, 3min, Denmark, Drama/Life
Directed by Lisa Svelmoe

A woman liberates herself from her strive for the perfect body.

Seen at the July 2016 Under 5min. FEEDBACK Film Festival in Toronto.

Movie Review by Kierston Drier

Written by Lisa Svelmoe and starring Karoline Bruun-Sorensen, Dreams or Demons is a cinematic piece that highlights our pursuit of the beautiful. A jogger (Bruun-Sorensen) is the relatable character for the audience, running on a treadmill alone to shed, what we must assume, is unwanted pounds. Beside the images of her running, are images of a beautiful lingerie wearing model (Ekatrina Krarup Andersen) as well as unclothed mannequins. As the running intensifies, it is further intercut with our leading ladies’ naked body, with the tell tale blue-marker lines of impending plastic surgery. The mannequins appear as well, but begin to be distorted, with only partial body parts being seen. Finally, a close up of our hero’s head appears wrapped in bandages and silent scream cuts the frantic flurry of images to a halt.

The audience has no dialogue to use as a frame of reference to understand the mind of the hero, but the final images produce closure. In the second last image, our hero is running, naked all for running shoes. She is not on a treadmill but outside on a street at night. Unlike the early images, here she is smiling.

What really must be noted here is the editing. Without the specific choices the editor made, the mind of the character may not have been as clear as it was. Editing it often an overlooked part of the Cinema process. The editing in this piece gave Dreams or Demons a distinct level of clarity.

This piece is clear in it’s goal- what can be altered on the surface is never worth running after. But brings you joy is worth running for. In this way Dream or Demons has an important message to send. To aspire to an unrealistic goal is unfair to yourself- but own your body and it’s appearance is something to be proud of.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video of the short film:

Movie Review: WALK, 1min, Netherlands, Dance/Experimental (2016)

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MOVIE POSTERWALK, 1min, Netherlands, Dance/Experimental
Directed by Nicola Balhuizen Hepp

“The day of my birth, my death began its walk. It is walking toward me, without hurrying.” Jean Cocteau

Seen at the July 2016 Under 5min. FEEDBACK Film Festival in Toronto.

Movie Review by Kierston Drier

Clear your mind of any conventional cinema and open it to the world of experiential and interactive dance and you have a foundation for WALK by Nicola Balhuizon Hepp. The sound design is reminiscent of the low-hum of industrial white noise, and the lighting is highly stylistic, the ultimately affect being something almost other-worldly. This is appropriate for a film like WALK because it offers no clear questions, and no easy answers.

It showcases two unnamed men, dancers Aimar Perez Gali and Rolf Hepp, who may actually be portraying the same character at different stages in life. Both performers, clearly skilled in modern dance, artistically move themselves through a dark void space using what appears to be every creative movement except walking. A metaphor it seems for fluid, but often aimless, movement through life.

If you enjoy the interpretive and the avant-garde, then WALK will be an enjoyable experience. It has interesting imagery, powerful spectacle and indeed, beautiful movement of the human body. Perhaps one way WALK is more powerful as a piece of cinema than it would be a live dance performance, is that the audience is privileged by the means of the camera to look more intimately on the performer. One frame in particular is a close up on the dancer’s bare foot, a detail given emphasis that may have been missed in a live performance.

WALK is an intimate experience, and yet it leaves you with no real answers as to how it wants you to feel. Some may argue in this way it is a perfect metaphor for life itself- captivating, intriguing and coming to an end in what seems like far to short a time.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video of the short film:

Movie Review: CRE-AZIONI, 5min, USA, Drama/Experimental (2016)

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MOVIE POSTERCRE-AZIONI, 5min, USA, Drama/Experimental
Directed by Elena Vannoni

A film about women and time.

Seen at the July 2016 Under 5min. FEEDBACK Film Festival in Toronto.

Movie Review by Kierston Drier

In many ways, theatre gave birth to Cinema. The two share many elements of spectacle and form, although their medium is substantially different. What happens then, when the two mediums converge? Cre-Azioni written and directed by Elena Vannoni is one such product. Avant Garde, theatrical and wholly unconventional for a short film (if there is such a thing) is an artistic interpretation of women in the confines of society.

The film is simply shot, with one shot and set up panning into a woman looking out of a window. The background is stark- black and white. All that seems to exist in this world is the woman, the window and the world beyond it we can hear, but not see. As she stares out, presumably at children laughing and playing, the woman closes the window and begins to touch her face. The music of the piece becomes frantic and panicky, and our heroine is swept up into a corset, a wig put on her and large fake lips placed in her mouth. Hands appear out of nowhere with syringes and appear to inject her body. The woman grapples with her corset, frees herself from her confines, her wig and her accessories. She begins to dance in the apparent void of space behind her window, until she goes to the now open window- this time with ample light hitting her face.

The piece is unapologetically clear about its intent- the constraints of women in society to look a certain way, and they suppression and oppression that occurs within those confines. The way the message is framed, however, is what makes this film really interesting. It is a very theatrical piece, in the sense that the exact same actions could be played out on a stage to a live audience with as equally strong effect. Perhaps the medium of film allows a wider reach to audience, perhaps it translates a different type of solitude for our heroine, as she is not behind simply one pane of glass (the window) we see but also the camera lenses, which we don’t.
The audience can interpret the works’ medium from many angles, but the message, no matter how avant garde, is a good one- happiness is dancing unencumbered. Whether is it on stage or screen, the spectacle of Cre-Azioni is emotional, strong and mindful with clear intent.

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Movie Review: SILENCE, 5min, UK, Romance (2016)

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MOVIE POSTERSILENCE, 5min, UK, Romance
Directed by Elena Brodach

The story of love that everyone dreams.

Seen at the July 2016 Under 5min. FEEDBACK Film Festival in Toronto.

Movie Review by Kierston Drier

Music may well be the language of love. Perhaps that is the thesis of the charming, poignant piece short Silence by director Elena Brodach. Shot in one frame, with no cuts, no dialogue and only two characters, Brodach proves that less really is more. The emotional mastery of the piece is that it is able to produce such strong feelings with seemingly such little effort.

For a film with little in the way of story set-up, the story is very clear. An elderly couple sit in a completely empty theater, watching some sort of performance the viewer cannot see. They can however hear the beautiful orchestra music playing, interrupted only by the occasional squeal of one of the couple’s’ hearing aids going out. After a few moments of uncomfortable adjusting, the two simply lean their heads together and hear the music equally well out of a shared aid. Together, the music swells.

A film that encapsulates one beautiful moment shared between two people who love each other. The wonderment in this short film is that it strips away the youth from beauty. So often our society shows love in the hands of the young, the innocent, the beautiful. Yet Silence reminds us that love is not often falling to our knees in front of the object of our affection, grand romantic gestures or bouquets of flowers. Love is a series of simple gestures that translate to “you matter, I care, these moments are shared.” And Silence pays tribute to love after 30, after 40, after 80.

Silence is colorfully shot, the sound is gorgeously designed and the moment is simple and sweet. It may not win and Oscar, but it can win your heart.

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Movie Review: I LIKE YOU, 2min, Italy, Drama/Romance (2016)

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MOVIE POSTERI LIKE YOU, 2min, Italy, Drama/Romance
Directed by Vito D’Agostino

A child falls in love with a girl, he is at an age where he does not know what love is, but he tries to explain what he feels with his heart.

Seen at the July 2016 Under 5min. FEEDBACK Film Festival in Toronto.

Movie Review by Kierston Drier

Directed by  Vito D’Agostino with music by Chad Lewis I Like You is a childhood love story, a vivid imaginative account of the classic boy-meets-girl trope. Set against the poetic backdrop of winter, filled with mittens, ice skates, and winter nights set aglow with thousands of lights, a montage of loving moments are played out between boy and girl. The whole film, (save for the last scene) is enacted over the boy reading aloud his love letter to his love- words that are charming in the youthful innocence, yet poetically deep despite their simplicity.

I Like You is cinematic transportation to a world of romantic dreams. It exists in a place out of time- its space is inhabited by a world where we have not yet been touched by technology, not yet distorted by the bumps and scraps of life. It is the confidence of love when children are loving and in this way, deeply moving.

The film is beautifully executed with keen attention to detail. The casting was excellent. While the final image poses questions and leaves the viewer to answer them, the film is a study in beauty and the elusive love we all dream of knowing.

Critics of this piece may point to its resemblance to a Hallmark commercial, may comment on its singular male voice (for the female love interest has no lines) or even comment on its lack of diversity in casting. All of these things have accuracy in their own right. However, I will credit the production with this: from the initial image onward, I lived in the world of love the hero made. I was encapsulated and transported to a place where I believed love could conquer the impossible, and follow two people through their entire lives and beyond. In this way, despite its criticism, I Like You, holds the elements our dreams are made of.

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Movie Review: HOWELL, 4min, UK, Horror/Comedy (2016)

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MOVIE POSTERHOWELL, 4min, UK, Horror/Comedy
Directed by Leon Williams

Howell is attending a supporters group meeting, along with others that share his condition. He has many issues…but he is trying his best to find himself.

Seen at the July 2016 Under 5min. FEEDBACK Film Festival in Toronto.

Movie Review by Kierston Drier

Howl directed by Leon David Williams and starring Leo Bane, is a curious film that straddles the lines of satire and dry comedy. It seems to focus on what appears to be a support group for an unknown affliction. With emphasis on assimilating into normal life leads the viewer to believe that the protagonist is returning from a seedy previous life. The comedy arises in the escalation of strange things our hero fixates on to identify with his new normalcy- such as playing frisbee with his best friend, and culminating in a hilarious scene where he has dinner with his girlfriend and Ex at the same time- and the Ex appears to be a small domesticated dog.

The answer, of course, is that our Hero is a reformed Warewolf. A viewer may be able to grab that reveal from a curious flashback that occurs early in the film. However our hero’s visits to group and his montage of activities showcase his success with integrating his dog-human dichotomy.  If the viewer grabs onto this knowledge early on the end could be lack luster. Yet the humor is palpable, although possibly less apparent to a North American audience acclimatized to a less dry style of humor.  While this reviewer picked up early the secret of our half-Canine hero, it is certainly not a mark against the filmmaker. It could very well be the intent of Williams to have this secret become clear to the audience, so that they can better enjoy the schict of the piece.

Howl, because of its stylistic choices, may not be a film that will have everyone in the audience laughing. But if you appreciate this type of humor, it’s an enjoyable film. It offers laughs, comic spectacle and the ever-important howl at the full moon.

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Movie Review: LOREN THE ROBOT BUTLER: TEACH ME HOW TO DOUGIE! (2016)

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festival posterLOREN THE ROBOT BUTLER: TEACH ME HOW TO DOUGIE!

Seen at the July 2016 Under 5min. FEEDBACK Film Festival in Toronto.

Directed by Paul McGinnis

Loren, a proper British robot and formally the head butler for a very wealthy family, has been replaced with a Roomba and stored in the basement. Now the kids program him to teach them stuff.

Movie Review by Kierston Drier

Light, bright and whimsical, Loren The Robot Butler, written, directed and creatively lead by  Paul McGinnis, entices the inner child of us all. The film’s premise is established in just a few quick moments, and with the help of a charming opening tune, explaining that an outdated robotic butler sits unused in a family’s basement, and spends his retired life teaching children. Perpetually upbeat and sporting the quintessential British Accent, our friendly butler protagonist speaks directly to the audience as though they are the very children of the household where he is kept. At the children’s request, he takes on the mission to teach them how to “Dougie”, from the well known 80’s rapper Doug E. Fresh.

The humor comes easily on several level- most liminally, from the contrast of a British robot butler, attempting to recreate hip-hop music. The upper-crust British sound and robotic movement parodying the relaxed sway of the music beat and hip-hop/rap dialect. Further, there is humor in the form of breaking of the fourth wall with the audience, and from the shock that our robot friend not only executes the dance- but does so exceptionally well!

This piece is a delightful romp through the whimsical world of song and dance as seen through the eyes of a child, but there is a level deeper. It does speak to the element of old technology trying to keep up with the new, modern and current.

The most astonishing, staggering and interesting part of Loren The Robot Butler, however, is not it’s comedy or its use of social commentary. It is it’s artistry. At first glance, this piece could be mistaken as a completely CGI 3D animation. In reality, the entire piece is performed by three puppeteers, manning the upper bottle and each leg independently. The amazing truth is, this exceptionally complicated dance move is performed in perfect execution by highly trained professionals  (Lead by McGinnis) manning one doll behind a green screen, resulting in seamless and flawless dance that passes as computer generated. This is a feat of puppeteer mastery and specialized skill rarely seen in Cinema since Dark Crystal, (Let’s not talk about Team America) and at the very least should be applauded.

Whether Lorne The Robot Butler  is a proof of concept for a delightful children’s TV show, or a demo reel for some exceptional puppeteers, it is regardless a lovely, light comedy sure to entertain.

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Short Film Movie Review: GREECE (Canada, 16min. Drama)

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MOVIE POSTERGREECE, 16min, Canada, Drama
Directed by Sarah Deakins

On a rainy afternoon in a British nursing home, a woman struggles to make a last connection with her seemingly catatonic mother.

“A tribute to the complicated relationships between parents and children with moving dialogue and expressions…A deeply personal journey with beautiful cinematography.”
– Best Shorts Competition

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video of GREECE from the FEEDBACK Film Festival:

Movie Review by Amanda Lomonaco:

This film hits near and dear to my heart. With many family members who have suffered from Alzheimer’s and dementia, I am all too familiar with the struggles and frustrations the disease can cause on victims, family members, and caretakers alike. Sarah Deakins has done a fantastic job in portraying these struggles through an incredibly simple, yet equally powerful screenplay.

I suppose my personal experience with this illness creates an obvious bias towards this film, but it wasn’t so much the subject matter that drew me to this film so much as the way the subject matter was treated. I felt that Deakins did an exceptional job in portraying a very realistic, emotional scenario without dipping too far into cliché. It was all very believable, very clear, and very close to the reality of what families can experience when a loved one is suffering from Alzheimer’s.

The performances contributed greatly to sharp sense of realness of the short. This is particularly surprising for a film supported almost entirely by a monologue from one of the characters. Deakin’s superimpositions of the fantasy images that are going through each of the character’s heads only magnify the already brilliant cinematography of Greece, luring you in further.

Greece is not an excessively dramatic film, though it speaks of quite a terrible tragedy. It doesn’t take you on a crazy emotional journey, but it still tugs, ever so gently, at your heart. It’s a warm cup of tea on a quiet, melancholy, cold day. It might make you tear up a bit, it might make you appreciate your parents or your grandparents more, it might bore you or not affect you at all. Still it’s worth a watch, a thoughtful, reflective watch, when you’re in the mood for some more serious pondering. If nothing else I hope it reminds you to enjoy your life and appreciate it for all it is and for all you can do within it, because one day you might not be able to anymore.

Movie Review: CHICKLAND (Short Film) 2015

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CHICKLAND played to rave reviews at the November 2015 FEEDBACK Film Festival

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MOVIE POSTERCHICKLAND, 11min, France, Comedy/Sci-Fi
Directed by Stanislav Graziani

Bubu and Toufik think they are the next Steve Jobs and Martin Zuckerberg… They have implanted a chip in their brain, which gives them access to the web… giving them instant access to universal knowledge. For their first experiment, they test it on picking up girls…

Review of the Short Film by Amanda Lomonaco:

Chickland left me a little bit on the fence. With the growing dissemination of devices like the Google Glass, and the expansion of Virtual Reality technology Chickland is a bit of a terrifying reminder of a reality that we could all soon be living in. Nevertheless, director Stanislav Graziani did a good job at balancing out the miracles of new technology, with the limitations of our own human psyche, providing  a slightly less dystopic view of the future.

The hardest thing to understand about the film was the age range of the actors involved. The male actors seemed far too young to be approaching the girls they were trying to pick up, although perhaps this was done on purpose, considering the end result of their experiment. The end of the film itself is also a bit reassuring, emphasizing the humanity of even the most technologically oriented minds.

There isn’t much that can be said about Chickland without revealing much of the film’s plot. It’s a peek into the future, into what life might look like if Google Glass ever really catches on. Of course there are certain differences. It’s not likely that the Google Glass “victims” of the future will have no suspicion of the tactics being used on them. Then again perhaps this was what Graziani was indicating in his depiction of the boy’s interaction with the math student.

Students of art might also find this film a little insulting in how easily the one boy was able to fake being a literary connoisseur, while his counterpart struggled to prove his math prowess. Nevertheless both the boys’ reactions to “completing the task” at the end of the film showed a lot of emotional sensitivity, one that most young boys of that age would normally not be so ready to admit or expose.

Chickland is an interesting experimental look into what our future might look like, how our grandchildren might date, find partners, or explore their sexuality. It sparks a lot of thinking about where our technological pursuits are heading, what it might truly bring us in the future. This wasn’t by any means one of my favourite short films to watch, but it certainly carried some interesting ideas that will inspire you to consider how natural human emotion is able to coexist with the calculated patterns of digital technology.