DennisChief

You broke my space laser!

The song "I really loved that space laser, space laser, space laser..." is still stuck in my head days later.

In Light of the Day

I love how this film shows the emptiness of the corporate world, and contrasts it with the deep meaningfulness of both nature and relationships. The main character is clearly having a disastrous time in his life - and yet (as I understand it) this is not getting in between him and his girlfriend - he has an engagement ring for her, and tells his parents (I presume) that he and her will be visiting that weekend, presumably planning to give her the ring and then visit to share the happy news with them. His difficulties at work do not destroy him, they drive him to the hills for peace, and to his partner and family for meaning and purpose. Life may be uncertain given his employment situation, but he can face it with them.

Every Last Bastard

This had the most impressive cinematography and locations in the final, and was very well filmed.

Personally, I thought the story left a bit to be desired - I found it had more tension than actual story. Something was missing, and it's hard for me to put my finger on what it was, but for whatever reason the story was simply less fleshed out and less interesting than others, so it's not one I'd watch a second time. Just being honest in the hope it's helpful, and knowing others will disagree with me which is fine.

Technically a very high quality film, well done, and I hope to see more from you in future.

A Delicate Situation

This was one of my favourite films in the competition this year, because it was unique. It is memorable. And you have a knack for that. The one film I always remember first from last year's competition - and one of the few I had our team watch this year as part of our preparation - is Kill Joy. There were some rough edges on that film production wise (e.g. audio), but it stuck in my mind because it too was a unique story. I was eagerly anticipating what you'd come up with this year and was not disappointed.

I agree with Joel & Rachel that your storytelling is fantastic. You just get let down with production details, which they have already described. However, you have improved those a lot from last year, this is a much more polished film than Kill Joy. Keep on the track you're on and you'll have a good chance of making the finals next year.

The Little German Boy and the Cave

This was utterly hilarious, the most memorable film from the first heat. The story was just so unexpected and random.

For me, the first two thirds were brilliant, but it then drifted to the ending - the boat-house fight scene was funny particularly in how the fourth wall was broken, but was also where the pacing slowed down and the film started to drag a bit. Having said that, that too was all part of the fun.

I MetaMan™

Thanks for the correction chestertravis, clearly I was very mistaken with my assumptions as to how you got there! I'll see you at the finals, and good luck.

Party Disrupted

I particularly appreciated in this film how the characters did not try to act as anyone else, but all leaned into who they actually are - normal teenagers who happen to communicate in sign. The story was somewhat cliched, but the fact everyone was deaf made it novel - the lockout where nobody could hear him banging on the window, the flicking of the light to get everyone's attention - lots of little details that just jumped out and made it fascinating to watch, as so many details played out just that little bit differently to how they would in the same situation with individuals who could hear.

The King of the Playground

This is a great story, excellent use of the "fantasy" genre. The acting is also very good, the actors form a great comedy duo. I particularly liked the lunchboxes gag, with the smaller boy eating healthy food and the larger boy eating just chips - it is great to see people confident enough to make themselves the subject of a joke, which is often the key to great humour.

The one thing that lets it down is the age-appropriateness of the casting. The actors look about 14, but the playground fantasy is the sort of game that would be played by 7-year-olds. This particular film would have been more convincing with younger actors. I'd love to see this same duo of actors next year, but acting as someone their own age.

Spoiler Alert

Without a doubt the best film in its heat, and one of the top films out of Christchurch this year. The storyline is unique, and gripping, the deadpan humour of the entire ridiculous situation just holds the viewer through the whole thing. The production quality is also very high. Many films have either a high quality unique story that leans heavily into the given genre, or excellent acting and cinematography. This film has both together, and that is a far rarer combination. Excellent work.

Brunch Solstice

Very well written script, and excellent acting. The sock is a good surprise ending, and set up well at the start. I also like how the chainsaw is sitting on a shelf in the dining room, ready for use, just captured briefly in the background of one shot - a lot of thought went into small details. My favourite part is the dialogue between the visitor and the sacrificial victim, where he says he knows she's going to die but asks her to just "take one for the team" because the girl he's trying to impress is hot - such an unexpected conversation, and despite how nice a guy he is it helps to remove any pity you might feel for him before his inevitable demise!

Hi Santa, it's Charlie

Regarding Felix's comment, I think the fact it was so long was really the joke. It was enjoyably painful to watch Charlie just keep going on far too long about such a ridiculous thing. I was really impressed with how it was filmed in such a small number of takes, it is difficult to act for such long takes convincingly. It broke all the rules of what is a good film, and that was the point - it was still fun to watch and somehow not boring, when it really should have become boring after such an extended time in each take and such a simple story. Somehow it just worked.

Ghost PTSD

This was a difficult watch, a very emotionally powerful film. Well done. Great use of the ghost genre.

My one criticism is that the soldier's announcement of the death did not match the footage of the death. The soldier announced "there's been an accident". But the footage showed the man being killed with intent by a FPV drone. The announcement should have been that he had been killed in the line of duty, and that would have also been a more powerful emotional message as it would reinforce the view of the man as a hero, rather than possibly as a klutz who had a fatal accident.

It's an excellent concept, acted and shot and edited well, but more thought needed to go into the details of the script.

SCUM

I loved the completely unexpected ending to this film, which really makes you wonder about "I've seen this a hundred times, it never ends well.". Who is this guy? Is he the real villain, or a hero? What is the massive story behind this little clip that we get to see? So many unanswered questions, and that is great, lots of empty space for the audience to fill in with their imagination. Well done.

Party Puffers

It's always excellent when people act as themselves - when children act as children, and old people act as old people. I loved how the actors were happy to make fun of themselves, and lean into the caricature of old people in a rest home. It was a very fresh film because the actors and the setting were so different to anything else. Very enjoyable to watch, and it would have been even more enjoyable to make!

Unspoken

This was a very heartfelt film about the sort of struggles people actually have in their lives, covering a very difficult subject people don't talk about much. I really enjoyed it, it is thought provoking. Unfortunately, I did not understand the ending. "You've already left", and she's not in the car is great editing - but why? When did she leave? How much time just passed? This ending was the key climax of the film, but it was lost on me. Other than that, it was an excellent film, and very real.

Misplaced Death

To answer Buddy's question, as others will wonder also: Almost all the production of this was by James, who you'll probably have seen wearing a grey cloak at every heat, who is 17 years old (scriptwriting, most filming, directing on set, all editing and special effects). He couldn't have done it without a large team of enthusiastic teens brainstorming the story, acting, running extra cameras and sound and so forth, and some adults making sure they're fed and safe and brewing gallons of fake blood... But in terms of production, it's the work of one teenager. As was last year.

Family Christmas Monopoly

This was a brilliant film, very deep, and very enjoyable to watch. Also completely clean, one I can actually show the family (unlike many others in this region). The story was simple but very well thought-out, and is shown rather than told - you only gradually come to realise what's actually going on, and the audience is strongly engaged trying to understand it.

It is wonderful to see three very different siblings, who have clearly been estranged, being knitted back together as a family by their father's carefully designed will - when wills and property can have the exact opposite effect and tear families apart. Family is so important, and this film is a real inspiration to preserve and nurture our own, not just when children are young but even more so when they are adults and dealing with complicated financial matters.

Thinking films are particularly difficult to pull off, so this is a very impressive achievement. I'll be putting this on the list to get our team to watch as inspiration before next year's competition.

The Road Not Taken

The use of a pre-existing poem as a structure, with individual parts of that portioned off to different children, was a great way to get many younger children started with filmmaking. It was a great film to start off the heats.

Once Upon a Time, There Was You

This is an absolutely beautiful story. It has both a deep, powerful message - the last line brought tears to my eyes at the final - but great humour also ("I'll be your red flag" etc were great!). The balance is perfect - the interesting story and the humour carry the viewer along to the end, enjoying it all the way, until they are hit by the "punchline", the actual message of the film, what is really going on - which is a complete surprise - and this impacts so well because of all that excellent leadup, and the fact that it takes the audience by surprise. And the story being told in song takes it to an even higher level. Utterly brilliant.

I MetaMan™

To clarify my earlier comment: Firstly, this is the most professional looking film in the whole Christchurch heats, and one of the most likely to win the regional title. The team did extremely well and I am certainly impressed by what they pulled together. It is an enjoyable film and very well produced.

But, although an argument can be made that it fits the genre of "man vs nature" (as has been outlined above), an equally good argument could be made for it being the buddy movie (she's finding a buddy), cat and mouse (she's hunting for a companion), man vs machine, fairytale (finding a fake fairytale perfect man), or monster (creepy robot man). And that's half the genres in the competition. What's more, it could have been made to fit most others with minimal additions - e.g. she's a widow and her husband turns up, now it's a ghost movie; going on holiday with the robot, now it's a holiday movie, etc. It's a bit like reading the horoscopes in the paper, and noticing they're all vague enough to apply to you.

So it's not the sort of story you'd write after hearing your genre was "man vs nature". It's the sort of story you'd have written beforehand, hoping to make it fit any genre.

And it's completely understandable. This team is clearly gunning for the national title, and that's a massive challenge. Of course you'd prepare. I may be wrong in my assumptions here, but I just feel that they swung the balance a little too far, pre-preparing too much and becoming too inflexible, and it will cost them in the judging. It is possible to create a high quality film that was clearly written to fit the given genre, "Spoiler Alert" being a very good example which will give them tough competition.

Singularity

This was an excellent film, a major improvement on last year particularly in storytelling - but the set really does make it. The set is like nothing else in the competition. I hope you are able to film a few more things with that epic set before you have to dismantle it!

The Loch Nest

Great acting in this film, particularly from the murderous main character. My favourite part was actually her self-centered monologue behind the credits - a brilliant summation of her character, and a hilarious end to the film. If the dialogue had leaned more into humour and less into vulgarity this film would have been much improved, and it would have become one of the better school films.

Toast

This is a great film with a well thought out story. Interestingly there were two teams this year with the same idea of man-vs-toaster, the other one being "Burnt" in the Christchurch region, and honestly "Toast" is by far the better film purely because the story is more comprehensively thought out. Worth watching and comparing.

The only negative for me was the sexual reference with hands in the toaster. Honestly, and others will no doubt disagree, but for me it just seemed gross and detracted from the film. Importantly, it also meant I didn't show the film to the children - including references like this limits the potential audience. This one joke is the only reason the film needs to have a higher age rating. In my personal opinion it would have been a stronger film with a broader potential audience if a different idea had been used for this one joke. But that's just me.

The rest of the humour of the film was brilliant. And I really loved the team's award acceptance video, going through all the same "stages" as the film. This team has excellent writers, and you're hilarious. Looking forward to more from this team.

I MetaMan™

This was a highly polished film, very high quality, but to be honest does not feel like a 48hours film. It does not fit the genre, and the elements are included entirely as minor references. The film was clearly planned and prepared for well in advance, the team stuck with the pre-prepared plan regardless of the genre, and with the mandatory elements shoehorned in at the last minute. This results in an overpolished feel, that lacks the heart of other 48hours film entries.

Emergency Key

This film just didn't work for me for one simple practical reason, which I have been reluctant to point out but nobody else has alluded to so here goes!

In real life, if you were actually busting for the toilet in the desperate physical state evidenced by the sound effects at the end, with your only possible toilet miles away - but were starting in a setting containing both parks with trees with deep shadows under them that are jet black in contrast to the streetlights in the background, and private houses... Are you really going to go running on some insane long mission fighting past other people to get to a public toilet miles away (and risk finding after running 20 steps that you had something dripping down your leg)? Or would you just use a tree? Or knock on someone's door and ask to use their loo?

Honestly, I'd use a tree or knock on someone's door.

So for me, the twist at the end didn't make the story make more sense, it actually made it make less sense, and made the preceding 5 minutes feel rather pointless, as the reveal of the problem showed there had already been two simpler solutions right at hand at the very beginning. The twist should have showed why the running was necessary, instead it showed there had been no need for it.

As others have said, just put a bit more thought into your story next time. Bear in mind I'm a farmer so I do look at things differently! :-)

Burnt

This was an excellent man vs machine story. The idea was there. The production quality was there. It could have worked well - but it didn't.

For me, to be honest, the main issue was that the women just came across as so obnoxious it was painful to watch them. The man's struggle with the toaster was a great story, but then it kept switching over to these women acting like real - well - you know what I mean! It was jarring rather than comedic (I presume you'd intended them to be comedic?). It did not build the story, it detracted from it.

This just needed another hour or two put into storywriting at the beginning, to flesh out the man's struggle with the toaster into a compelling story that could stand so well on its own two feet that you didn't feel the need to jump to something else all the time to add interest. And that would then have been a finalist film.

Nothing Personal

This was well filmed, but I did not understand the story until the end, when they all reached for the ring and I realised "ah, they've all been running to get that". But there was no reason given as to why a valuable ring would have been dropped off to a random location on the grass, three different people would be told, and all had to run and get it.

Also, and this may have just been me being dumb, but it actually took me a long time to even work out how many characters there were, since they were all shown briefly and individually until they all came together in the final stretch. Some sort of establishing scene or sequence that showed us there were three characters and what they had to do with each other would have been very helpful.

I hope you'll be back next year, and apply your excellent acting and production skills to a more compelling story.

RED RAIN

The action in this film was excellent, a lot of thought had been put into how to kill people off in the most visually appealing / gruesome ways possible, and the team had clearly had a lot of fun. The story was funny, with all the wives being killed off, but difficult to follow - I honestly got the feeling that the planning was something like "let's all die brutal deaths - how can we make a story that gives an excuse for us all to die?". It felt that the point was the action, and the story gave a reason for it - rather than the point being the story, and the action being chosen to tell that story. This team has a lot of potential, if you can improve the clarity of your storytelling. And the moustaches are great!