Capture ★★★★☆

Review of 'Capture' which can be found here at Virgin Media Shorts. 

Length: 01:48

Written & directed by Liam Treacy

Genre: Fantasy

Date: 2013
Rating: ★★★★☆

Logline: A photographer uses his unusual camera to stop criminals. 

This looks good and it sounds good. I've pegged it as a fantasy though rather than a sci-fi (although it's tagged as being an Action & Adventure?) as to me, the camera has more of a magical power than a scientific one but without reading the logline first, which describes this film, I'm not entirely sure I'd be one hundred percent clear on what is actually going on. That's not a good thing. 

The part that flummoxed me was the wall of previous polariods taken by photographer, Ben Clegg. The camera lingers on these blurred photos. You struggle to read how they're labeled. You strain to see the images. But when focus is finally pulled, there isn't a great deal to suggest that this is a collection of criminals caught in the act. They have obscure titles, some even look like family photos and you don't get long enough for a good look without pausing the video. As this is a fairly short film, it's quite important that information is delivered quickly and clearly. This set-up exposition (nicely delivered in a visual way) isn't giving the audience any real useful information on who this character is or what he's doing. That may be the downfall of this piece. 

As mentioned, this looks good. It's very atmospheric with out of focus perspectives, great use of lighting on a night-time shoot, and interesting shot compositions which pull the viewer's attention into important details. The special effects are done well. The contrasting bright flash of the camera is a good way of highlighting the sfx to its maximum potential. A delicious soundtrack also adds weight to the quality production and the good sound design and sound effects all add to the dangerous mood of the film. 

It feels like there's some important pieces of information missing from the plot so while informed viewers will enjoy this, people without any knowledge of the film may struggle. Maybe re-shooting that one shot would help. 

Best Bit: Special effect freeze frame. 

Worst Bit: Plot unclear unless you read up on it before hand. 

Final thought: Terrible handwriting. 

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

A Film About Poo ★★★★☆

Review of 'A Film About Poo' which can be found here on Vimeo.

Length: 01:30

Written & directed by Emily Howells & Anne Wilkins

Genre: Animation

Date: 2009
Rating: ★★★★☆

Logline: Musical animation about the do's and don'ts of doo doo.

There's a nice mixture of styles in this quirky cartoon, which tells us to wash our hands after dropping the kids off at the pool. Stop motion, hand drawn sketches, text, paper craft, and graphic art all blend together well to make this continually visually interesting. 

A catchy little acoustic guitar ditty accompanies the imagery, which is both appealingly harmonic and humorous. Similar to the animation, there's variation between singing and talking which gives a good change of tempo and tone. The home recorded sound quality and innocently delivered lyrics goes hand in hand with the childish fun of the animation and they compliment each other well. 

It's very simple in concept and will no doubt be appreciated by both adults and kids. Lyrically, this feels underwhelming and could perhaps have been written stronger but musically it hits the right note. The collection of styles on screen is a nice way to show off the animation skills, there's a good flow of movement without it ever feeling overcrowded. Good effort. 

Best Bit: Breeks round ankles. 

Worst Bit: Lyrics not always perfectly clear. 

Final thought: A few little germs never killed anybody. 

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

Runaway Journey ★★★★☆

Review of 'Runaway Journey' which can be found here on YouTube. 

Length: approx 28 mins 

Written & directed by Kyle-Ian Surgenor

Genre: Drama

Date: 2011
Rating: ★★★★☆

Logline: A depressed teen tries to run away from her depression but suicidal thoughts soon follow.

This decent attempt at tragedy is well written and features a compelling story. It comes in three parts unfortunately so structure analysis might be a little off I'm afraid. 

This is very much a character piece. Nicola Rainey plays suicidal Kayla and does a fair job of maintaining a look of dour dissidence throughout with Leanne White as the eternally optimistic girlfriend Leanna. Both feel natural and are very much your typical teens. There's some nice glances full of subtext between these two as Kayla clearly can't be bothered with Leanna who slowly begins to realise Kayla simply doesn't care about her or anything else. This interpersonal conflict creates an interesting plot but it's slightly unclear on whether we should be rooting for protagonist Kayla or her doormat partner Leanna. Does Kayla allow Leanna to fall down that embankment? It certainly looks that way. Turning your main character into an antagonist is risky. That single head shot of Kayla could be enough to turn the audience against her. 

This doesn't feel as long as it is due to the fascinating voice over (and the three part thing) which is played over what could sometimes be described as walking about and doing nothing shots. Saying that, the narration does turn a bit heavy poetic and audiences may tune out during those obscure word combinations. The death scene is fairly repetitious and could do with being shorter. Saying the same things over and over again diminished the tension and drama which is key in that climactic scene.  

What this film kind of keeps ramming down your throat is the fact it was filmed in a single day. Whether this is a selling point for the filmmakers or a reason to excuse the quality, I'm not sure. This is a shoestring production with no thrills whatsoever. The handheld camerawork does work in it's favour though and aids that grungy feel. Sound recording suffers at some points but the quality soundtrack, tailoring to several different moods, is good at compensating for it, although this did feel like it was slipping into music video territory on a couple of occasions. 

Overall, although this looks a bit shoddy, has some technical flaws and isn't terribly visually interesting, it's the story, which pulls this along nicely. Performances by both actresses aren't perfect but they feel real and have depth. The good writing is delivered well by these two, who work well together on screen. Some end credits might be a good idea mind. 

Best Bit: The writing.  

Worst Bit: Camera quality and sound recording. 

Final thought: Worst overdose ever. She's fine like two minutes later!

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

Archie: A Wee Ghost Story ★★★★☆

Review of 'Archie' which can be found here on YouTube. 

Length: 12:05

Written by Steven Patrick. Directed by Steven Patrick & Scott Watson

Genre: Horror

Date: 2012
Rating: ★★★★☆

Logline: Thinking there's an intruder downstairs, a couple find a former resident instead. 

This is a decent first effort from ITiz productions, which presents a modern twist on the old haunted house plot. Elizabeth Baillie and Paul Massie are good on screen. Both act naturally, keep the Scottish accent well maintained and deliver their reasonably written lines with good effect. But Archie, played by Steven Patrick, is a little more hammy which takes us out of the story more than it should. The story sometimes delves into unbelievable territory though. The couples unusual reaction to finding an auld codger in their living room is off putting, Archie's unclear intentions, is he good or evil? He doesn't warn them about what I think is a gas leak, and it's not too clear what the flash and bang of him disappearing is either. When the friend calls round in the morning, her actions are also rather unrealistic. She doesn't even check for a pulse for gawd's sake. And trust me, phone calls to the emergency services don't sound like that in real life. 

The atmospheric blue tint is a nice touch and there's some good use of lighting in the night shots. Camerawork isn't always brilliant but does well to cope with the limited space. The soundtrack feels a little misused and although the music is rich and evocative, (bloody heartbeat effect slips in there mind) it's not always used to maximise tension. The exception to the rule is in the end sequence where it works extremely well with the visuals to end on a really good note. That last scene is probably the highlight where there is a good strong emotional resonance between the film and the audience. 

There's some rookie mistakes of course. Some staggered lines, an edit making up for missing shots, cheesy swipes on the introduction credits etc. Watch out for that dodgy special effect at the end too. Overall, although the story has a few plot holes and it's not always clear, there is a good attempt to create an emotionally engaging piece of work. 

Best Bit: Emotional end scene. 

Worst Bit: Not altogether clear plot. What's Archie's motivation here? Why's the pal so desperate to get in? 

Final thought: See the size of their telly! Takes up most of the wall, lucky gits. 

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

Amy's Torch ★★★★☆

Review of 'Amy's Torch' which can be found here on YouTube. 

Length: 02:48

Written & directed by Ben Wilkinson

Genre:Horror

Date: 2008
Rating: ★★★★☆

Logline: When the batteries of a little girls magic torch runs out, it no longer protects her from the monster under her bed. 

Unlike Jamie and his magic torch, Amy's supernatural implement is protecting her from an abhorrent evil. Ian Champion effectively narrates this tale and aptly retains the fairytale feel, which is amplified by the music box soundtrack and the soft focus camera work. Amy, played by young Evie Charlesworth and her (actual) mum, India Charlesworth aren't stretched too much in terms of their performances although India's under bed shot is fun to watch. Their dialogue is limited due to Champions voice over but both do well enough on screen. 

A zoom effect is used nicely in the edit during the establishing sequence which has a good montage feel to it. Things start to get more interesting after midpoint. The tonal shift is also conveyed by the soundtrack change to an ominous drum beat. Only showing the monster very briefly was a wise choice and the shot involving it's appearance is well constructed and edited. The blood spurt sfx is also done really convincingly and this minimal use of gore works well. Most of the tension is created after the narration is over and we're left silently waiting to see the conclusion. It's a difficult task to pull of a short horror but this effort makes it look easy. 

Best Bit: Snaffling monster noises. 

Worst Bit: Soft focus is a bit annoying or it could be the kind of washed out colour look?  

Final thought: Magic torch available from all good toy stores. 

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not ★★★★☆

Review of 'She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not' which can be found here on YouTube

Length: 07:45

Written & directed by Jamie Rafn

Genre: Comedy

Date: 2003
Rating: ★★★★☆

Logline: A jilted lover contemplates whether his relationship is salvageable or not.

A wonderfully cinematic film which comes up a little short in terms of plot. We're basically just watching a series of instances where boyfriend, Mat Laroche, is being a nob to forgiving girlfriend, Christina Baily who simply endures him and provides hi with kinky sex. The premise of whether she loves this guy or not should possibly have been changed to 'why is she putting up with this guy?' instead. With a very one sided storyline (never see any of her bad points) focusing on Laroche, this starts off well, presenting alternate positives and negatives of the relationship but then descends into only showing all the bad or stupid mistakes the boyfriend is making. There's a lack of balance here, where without showing us some of the characters redeeming qualities, the female character risks coming across as an idiot for taking him back. (Not that any of the daft things he does is really break-up material mind, tho who the hell tries to show off to their girlfriend by doing lame karate kicks in her face is beyond me) And some scenes feel slightly redundant. Desperately trying to find a phone only to discover it's not even his phone that's ringing for example. 

Production values are high with excellent shot composition and camera work. Performances are executed brilliantly and if you can block out the irritating, yet fitting, violin track, the acting more than makes up for the lack of dialogue, which was a wise storytelling device to use. Breaking the fourth wall was also a nice subtle way to engage with the viewers and which probably warms the male character to the audience. Ultimately, this is a character piece and Laroche does well to make you root for his character. With nice bookending and a good understated ending, the quality of the filmmaking does kind of make up for the lacking plot and is overall, a fun enjoyable watch. 

Best Bit: High quality production and cinematography.

Worst Bit: Plot structure isn't all that fab.

Final thought: How many bloody petals does that flower have! 

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

Numbers ★★★★☆

Review of 'Numbers' which can be found here on Virgin Media Shorts. 

Length: 02:21

Written & directed by Matt Hutchings

Genre: Mockumentary 

Date: 2011
Rating: ★★★★☆

Logline: A young man considers what to do with his multi-million lottery win. 

There's good intentions behind this short but it doesn't quite hit the nail on the head for me in terms of believability. 

Daniel Brewerton is excellent at delivering subtext, his secret hatred for his "best friend" played by Chris Aukett is nicely played as is his abhorrent loathing of his dominating parents. Both acting and writing is great at making you want to grab this guy by the scruff of the neck and yell at him to grow a pair. Moving to America because his parents want to indeed! What a pushover. And although the punchline is delivered with good effect, the fact that the character SPOILER ALERT gives all his winnings away to charity is tainted by it's either because he doesn't have anyone "to share it with" (erm, the best mate seems happy to accept it, plus I don't think it'll be that hard with 158 million quid in his back pocket) or it's because he doesn't want other people telling him what to do with it all, which is a pretty frikin' daft reason. 

That said, this is well set up. Good talking head shots help create that documentary feel. They vary between mid shots and close ups, which are good at highlighting the emotion of the dialogue as well as letting the audience watch Aukett's reactions in the background. A professional sounding interviewer asking all the right questions adds to the attempt to make this feel like a factual short. Good attention to detail regarding the shoddy living room location and the tinny sound recording give a realistic impression. There's a good soundtrack which accompanies this and is equally good at evoking the stirring sentiment of the theme. 

Best Bit: Brewerton by far.  

Worst Bit: Lacklustre spirit of someone who's just won the lottery. Miserable git. 

Final thought: Could that TV in the background be any bigger!

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

The Killing Game ★★★★☆

Review of 'The Killing Game' which can be found here on Vimeo. 

Length: 09:40

Written & directed by Satnam Purewal

Genre: Crime

Date: 2012
Rating: ★★★★☆

Logline: Two gangsters find themselves being held hostage by an unknown assailant with an unknown motive. 

While this might not be the tense thriller it describes itself as, it's still a great example of how a good story can more than make up for working with a low budget.

There's plenty of twists and turns in the plot line which turns what potentially could have been your bog standard gangster film into a compelling drama. Matt Whitehead plays the quick thinking minion to crime boss James Sutherland with
Duncan Woodhouse taking on the role of cool and calculating hitman. All performances are equally matched, they're good but none are totally convincing as hardened killers or ruthless criminals. Sutherland is the strongest of the three but his Scottish accent has unfortunately been lessened, something which would have allowed him to give a more realistic and edgier performance. Whitehead is too much of a nice guy, which although suits the role, means he is in no way as terrified as he should be. Fresh faced Woodhouse similarly feels out of place as an assassin. 

Excellent picture quality with an added lomo effect helps make the sparse setting more visually interesting. Edited together well to highlight tension, there's also good use of close-ups which helps emphasise emotion. Wardrobe has done a good job on letting the audience immediately know what type of characters we're watching and the location choice is excellent although the echo it causes on the dialogue is distracting. Saying that the evocative soundtrack covers it well when used but the heartbeat sound effect is pretty clichéd. 

As mentioned, the well scripted storyline is the highlight here. It's nice when the writing is as good as the directing. 

Best Bit: Nicely crafted plot.  

Worst Bit: Not as gritty as it could be. 

Final thought: Lovely Ikea chairs they're tied too. Could probably break those flimsy things quite easily right?

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

One ★★★★☆

Review of 'One' which can be found here or at the Reed Short Film Competition.  

Length: 03:00

Written & directed by Dan Hartley and Hayley Gardner

Genre: Comedy

Date: 2013
Rating: ★★★★☆

Logline: Undeterred by lousy parenting, a cute toddler organises a something special for someones very first birthday.

If you've ever wanted to teach your child that it's perfectly okay to create a serious mess, use dangerous kitchen appliances and wander off in public places,  this is how go about it. 

This is a professional looking production with great camera quality, vibrant lighting and nicely composed shots. A jaunty and well fitting soundtrack accompanies little Archie Hartley's baking journey as we get a flurry of well edited together handheld and static shots. The edit keeps a great pace as there's only so many times you can watch a baby grabbing stuff. Also well done on the continuity with Archie trawling the shops alone in his flour covered clothes without an eyelid being batted in the slightest. 

It's a very tongue and cheek tale with a very sweet ending. The other kid that turns up at the end could have had a better setup but on the whole this is a nicely crafted piece of work. Of course, the cakes gonna be riddled with bacteria from baby hands and floor dirt innit. 

Best Bit: That the filmmakers have made a baby cry to get the perfect shot. Hats off.

Worst Bit: Having to hold in the urge to clean my entire kitchen. 

Final thought: Hehe, found mothers secret stash of voddy!

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

Bowling For Doreen ★★★★☆

Review of 'Bowling For Doreen' which can be found here on MiShorts. 

Length: 08:11

Written & directed by Brent Lockley

Genre: Animation

Date: 2006
Rating: ★★★★☆

Logline: An amateur bowler must harness all his focus in order to beat a rival and to save his marriage in the process. 

This cute animation revolves around the torrid world of competitive bowling and although it looks pretty rough around the edges, it's entertaining enough. Dialogue is well written and performed. The Northern accents add warmth to the story as well as humour. Lead voice overs are provided by the well known Philip Jackson and Anne Reid and lines are delivered naturally and professionally by all. The comedy isn't laugh out loud stuff but is aptly fitting and there's some nice examples of how structure is used in comedy writing in there too. Sound is well composed also. A suiting soundtrack plays throughout and is orchestrated well to echo on screen character emotion. The layered sfx's provide depth and round off the audio well. 

There's some nicely considered shot compositions in here but often the camera lingers too long on the one pose so a quicker edit and more variation of shots wouldn't have gone amiss. Adding to the lagging pace is the slowish movement and character animation which draws out the action more than necessary. The simplistic design of the characters mimics the basic array of movements they can achieve. And while the animation looks kind of bumbling, in a way, it rather suits the tone of the film and is more of a style than a hindrance. Overall, not the best in terms of character look and animation but the voice over performances, cosy plot and thorough audio more than make up for it. 

Best Bit: Voice over actors.

Worst Bit: Slow animation. 

Final thought: Couldn't find any info on writer/director Lockley at all am afraid. 

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

Michael ★★★★☆

Review of 'Michael' which can be found here on Daily Motion.

Length: 07:41

Written by Bryan Lomax and directed by Matthew Khawam

Genre: Drama

Date: 2012
Rating: ★★★★☆

Logline: A young lad asks his mum if he can go on a school trip but she can't afford it. 

This short is designed to bring a tear to a glass eye and it very well might. It starts off as a bit of a slow burner but that leaves the audience plenty of time to start building up preconceptions about where the plot is headed (especially with Michael's mum, payed by Fleur Poad, immediately looks pissed off that there's a bit of paper on the table).

This should probably have been titles 'Mike' since that's what everyone seems to call him. Newcomer Kelan Todd plays the lead role well. He's likeable, deals with the occasionally staged dialogue well and delivers a cute doleful look when necessary. Ignore the posh way everyone seems to speak and there is a nice naturalistic tone to both dialogue and plot. Pacing flounders slightly during the searching for cash in cupboards scene but on the whole scenes flow together well and this feels shorter than its actual length. 

This has all round high production values. Excellent camera quality, movement and shot composition give a professional feel. The apt piano soundtrack only comes into play during the emotional last sequence and this helps to increase the impact well. That last scene is the one that makes this short good. Realistically it's an all to common domestic drama, not really anything you've never seen before but the emotional punch this throws at the end is enough to forgive all of that. 

Best Bit: Emotional climax. 

Worst Bit: Actors speak to posh to be convincing bread line characters. 

Final thought: What's that boring programme she's listening to on the radio I wonder?

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

Sacrifice ★★★★☆

Review of 'Sacrifice' which can be found here on YouTube. 

Length: 10:56

Written by Gary Looker and directed by Steve Looker

Genre: Drama

Date: 2008
Rating: ★★★★☆

Logline: An ex-con back on the straight and narrow does one last rob in order to provide his young brother with a better life. 

Good casting comes into play with the young Simon looking quite like old Simon, played by seasoned northern actor David Crellin. But it's Sean Cernow who stands out as the strongest performer here. Cernow portrays his character physically and with conviction and although he has to navigate a long winded dying scene, comes across as deliberate and professional.  

The dialogue is good and naturalistic and certainly in keeping with the regional locale but verges on being a bit overwritten and exposition heavy at the same time. The story plunges into melodrama and sentiment towards the end and although these scenes provid the emotional crux of the film, it does feel a bit hammy. 

The misplaced flashbacks early on only serve to confuse and could have been placed at a more appropriate place or cut altogether. Saying that, when we do finally delve deeper into those shots we get an emotionally engaging and well executed action sequence which is nicely juxtaposed against the quieter and darker dialogue scenes. 

Competently put together, there's minor issues with continuity and a floundering camera (or edit) but on the whole looks good on screen. The soundtrack in the intro scenes feels a little misplaced but is used sparingly and helps build tension later on. Overall, the audience may have to suspend belief at certain points but the emotional heart of the piece is clear and with good meaning if not pretty thickly laid on. 

Best Bit: The army shooting scenes. 

Worst Bit: Oh, I'm a thief, feel sorry for my terrible life. 

Final thought: Blood looks like it needed some watering down. Bit syrupy looking. 

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.

Two Ladies And A Hill ★★★★☆

Review of 'Two Ladies And A Hill' which can be found here on Vimeo.

Length: 04:30

Written & directed by Federico Forcolini

Genre: Comedy

Date: 2010
Rating: ★★★★☆

Logline: Two elderly ladies meet up to partake in an unusual sport.  

Here's a quaint and competent film starring the fabulous Doreen Mantle and seasoned actress Christine Ozanne as two buddies engaging in their regular jaunt to SPOILER ALERT ogle partially naked young men. That bit's the twist in a paced out set up which tries to trick the audience into thinking they're merely an old pair of twitchers. 

There's a good on screen rapport between actresses. The two characters verge on being a variation on the odd couple with one being the miserable bossy one and the other the blissfully ignorant one. The dialogue stands out as either being very well written, cleverly performed, or probably a combination of the two. Talking about cheese sandwiches in the middle risks slowing the plot and losing audience interest and is more of a character building scene than anything else. A variation on theme or more of the misleading banter might have fitted in better there. Comedy is subtle instead of in your face laughs but mimics the gentle unobtrusive mood and the twist is a sound conclusion to the story. (Yes am waffling now) 

It's a very professional production with great picture quality, nice range of shots, evocative soundtrack and the sound team have done an excellent job in regards to the external shoot. A slightly shorter version which was cut to fit the Virgin Media Shorts competition can also be found here where it's also been retitled "Coasting". The trimmed down version doesn't feel as though it's lost a great deal and probably has focused the the narrative to a greater extent. 

Best Bit: Dialogue fitting worthy actors. 

Worst Bit: That last line is really on-the-nose and probably unnecessary. 

Final thought: No cycle helmet, hurrah!

Read a condensed review of this film on Twitter here.