Short Film Review #15: "Two Laps"

     Two Laps is an awesome short about 2 friends, one old and one even older, who swim together everyday. I really liked the way the story was told. The present day was in all black and white and HD. The flashbacks were in color and were filmed with a rather old camera. This gave the film a very interesting look and was very visually appealing. I really liked the underwater shots as well.


Two Laps from Nicole Bou-Samra on Vimeo.

Short Film Review #14: "Gulp"

     Gulp is probably the coolest stop motion I've seen in a long time. It is about a sailer that gets eaten and spit up by a shark. The detail that went into it was incredible. I can't imagine organizing and planing something like that. The zooms in and out were really awesome as well. It is a commercial for Nokia but is still really cool. 

Short Film Review #13: "Eat. Learn. Move."

    Eat. Learn. Move. is the coolest project I have ever seen. It is a series of three short films. 3 friends travel around 11 different countries in 44 days and document their experience. This shows how incredible life can be from so many different cultures and perspectives. It shows how life is about learning about as many things as you can. Also about meeting people and learning about their life. I really enjoyed these three films.


EAT from Rick Mereki on Vimeo.

Short Film Review #12: "Back to the Start"

     Back to the Start is a film/commecial about a farmer who is selling his pigs in a huge quantity for pork. He realizes that he does not agree with this mass processing of his pigs. He changes his entire method of raising animals and goes back the the old way of doing things. This is obviously an ad for Chipotle Mexican Grill but at the same time it is a very well made short film. The frames flowed very well and the shots were steady throughout. This was a very well made stop motion short film.

Short Film Review #11: "Once It Started It Could Not End Otherwise"

     Once It Started It Could Not End Otherwise is a very confusing and creepy short film. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The photos chosen in the film were really creepy and somewhat disturbing. I did not understand the ending or what went on in the school other than maybe people were killing. I don't see how murders and deaths could be kept secret though. It was well made, but I didn't get the message of the film.

http://vimeo.com/24226407

Short Film Review #10: "The Chase"

     The Chase was incredible. It was a chase scene between various men and one women. The film is presented through many different windows on a computer screen and utilizes many different forms of multimedia in the process. We see the woman in the form of a video one second and the next she is seen through a video game. I don't know if this was made using an editing program or if the changing of windows and programs was entirely choreographed and just recorded as one take using a screen recorder. Either way, the film was very cool!


Intel 'The Chase' HTML5 Sequence from Nexus Productions on Vimeo.

Short Film Review #9: "The Rules of the Game"

    The Riles of the Game is a very unique short film. The entire story is narrated by the main character. He is on screen while he is telling the audience this story. He is house-sitting and walks throughout the house telling us of the story of his own fiance's affair.
     I really enjoyed the way this film was presented to the the audience. It's good to see a story told in such a different way.

Short Film Review #8: "How To Eat Your Apple"

     How To Eat Your Apple is a very confusing short film and I feel that it could be interpreted many ways. I feel like it has a 'circle of life' type message; the idea that everything is born, lives, then eventually dies. I also saw alot of the idea that many things can stem from one. The apple symbolizes energy. An apple can nourish and provide enery for people, animals, insects, and other forms of nature. From that energy living things are able to do countless things.
     Overall, I think this was a pretty cool short film with a lot of hidden symbolism and ideas.

Short Film Review #7: "Big Day"

     Big Day is an excellent short film/music video. The shots were extrememly well shot. It displays the modern day college/high school student who loves to party. It also shows a rebellious, lack of caring what others and elders think about them. The girls in this film want to enjoy their life and especially their youth. They have responsiblities at the same time, so when their fun is over they must continue on with life, as displayed ay the end of the film.

Short Film Review #6: "Pythagasaurus"

      Pythagasaurus is a silly animated film that resembles that of a short that would appear on a children's TV station like Nickelodean or something (minus the cursing). It is about what appear to be two cavemen who just realized that a volcano has appeared next to their hut over night. They go on a search for the Pythagosarus, a dinosaur/math genius. He aggrees to help and follows them back to their hut. He ends up not being who he says he is and then eats one of the cavemen.
     I didn't like the story a whole lot. It was kind of childish and wasn't that cool. However, the animations were very well done and very proffessional.

Short Film Review #5: "Brink"

      Brink is a very unique love story. In this film Jeremy is in love with Evelyn Saint, whom he has known for many, many years. The world they live in is beginning to run out of gravity thus causing an eventual extinction of the human race. Jeremy feels the need to tell Evelyn of his love that he has had for her ever since they met in the fourth grade. He writes her a letter revealing his feelings and leaves it at her house. She finds it and they find their way to each other. They spend the last moments of their lives together as they prepare to float away in their world of no gravity.
     The film does an incredible job of telling this story with very little dialogue. Ultimately, the film is simply an unfolding of events once we find out that the world is ending and that Jeremy loves Evelyn.
   

Short Film Review #4: "Mobius"

     Mobius is an incredible short film by Vincent Laforet. Full of mystery and unanswered questions, the film takes us inside s science fiction like story of a photographer who ultimately causes his own death. The concept of seeing oneself in a different time is a very interesting one. It resembled that of LOST or Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
     The shots and production were extremely professional. I was very impressed with it.

Short Film Review #3: "Ham Sandwich"

     Ham Sandwich is a really clever idea for a short film. The plot consists of an unappreciated intern who just wants to be noticed and live an exciting life. He happens upon a sandwich shop that makes him a ham sandwich that allows him to travel back in time. After he makes this discovery, he goes wild and lives it up. He soon realizes that he has traveled way too far back in time and just wants to go back. He finds the first person who ever made a sandwich and accidentally kills him. He is brought back to his present time to find that the sandwich still has not been invented.
      The shots in this film are extremely professional and very well done. It is definitely movie or TV quality shot wise. The actors were great and portrayed this comedy in a very effective way.

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Short Film Review #2: "The Adventures of a Cardboard Box"

     The Adventures of a Cardboard Box is such a strong short film. It captures the simplicity of childhood without any dialogue. It shows how powerful the imagination of a little boy can be. His father gives him a cardboard box to play with and with it the boy finds endless possibilities. From a spaceship to a phone booth, this box is truly a extremely versatile object.
     The part that stuck out to me most was the ending. Shortly after the boys box is destroyed by a car, he runs home and gives his mom a hug. Over the next series of shots the boy is sad and misses his box. As these shots progress the boy is starting to move on and remember the fun he had with his new found toy. He flashes back to his experience and then flashes a smile. This show so much not only about our childhood, but our lives in general. Things come and go all the time, but we have the ability to look back and appreciate what we once had. The fact that even a young child can do that is somewhat inspiring to me.


The Adventures of a Cardboard Box from Studiocanoe on Vimeo.

Short Film Review #1: "Wasp"

    Wasp was one of the uncomfortable films I have ever seen. It is a glimpse into the life of a single mother of four. In this brief "snippet"of the life of this family, the mother gets into a physical altercation, fails to feed her children, and leaves her children outside of a pub for hours. The mother sees her old friend Dave while she is walking home with her children. He asks her on a date and she agrees. Failing to find a babysitter, she leaves her children outside of the pub in a desperate attempt to hide her children from Dave.

    Throughout the entire film I was on the edge of my seat, literally waiting on something terrible to happen. The shots in this film create a sort of uneasiness in the viewer because of the number of close-ups and shaky camera angles. It was shot very well and had a very interesting, somewhat 90's look to it. I can see why this film won an Academy Award in 2003.


Wasp by Andrea Arnold from MrGreatShortFilms on Vimeo.