Meesh.M
12 Reviews
Reviews
Emergency Key
A night-time shoot is hard to pull off, but really works for the tension in this story. My favourite shot in the film is when our character gets into his car and we see his opponent suddenly illuminated in the dark running towards him - I knew it was coming and it still gave me a jump scare. With this film we start with a great action filled opening of the main character jumping into frame and sprinting away from camera - very captivating! However, there isn't much change up from this in tone or pace from this point - I wish there had been a bit more variety here or perhaps the film could've been shortened to help it maintain impact. I did really enjoy the scenery during the foot-chase though - particularly the stunning backdrop of Christchurch lit up during the hill part of the chase.
Spoiler Alert
I always look forward to seeing what Rabid Aunty Jean do for 48 hours and this might be my favourite of theirs so far! Obviously they are very strong on the technical side, but what I love most from this team is the story.
Rabid Aunty Jean's incorporation of the elements, and the use of genre are perfectly built into this story rather than feeling shoehorned in - which is difficult to do this well! The story is clean, well paced, funny, and engaging. I loved the main actor in this - they played the obsessive disgruntled character in a charming and humorous way.
I have to disagree with the comment about the settings; while houses/nice outdoor spots are commonly used in the competition it makes sense given that these are the types of settings most teams have access to. I don't think it's a flaw if they are used in a visually interesting way that makes sense for the story being told, which I felt this film definitely achieved.
Overall this was a really visually pleasing film with a strong story - Rabid Aunty Jean continue to set a very high bar on what can be achieved in just 48 hours!
RED RAIN
This one was such a fun watch - super dynamic, with bold coloring, and a fast pace. From the first death, the action just ramps up and up. I lost it when the ghost shows up the second time with a gun and that ghostly giggle. Loved the slow motion gun shooting, complete with great music use and some nice effects on the gun shots. While I found the story a little hard to follow in parts it didn't reduce the joy at the compete insanity of this film. Well done team! Really hope to see your bright chaotic vibe in future competitions.
Flat Meeting
I really enjoyed this film in the heats - the premise had that fun 48 hours silliness that worked well for your story and was played well by your actors. Great incorporation of the miniatures element into the story. This film kept up a good sense of humor throughout, and was a very enjoyable watch! I was not expecting to go from the vibe that is initially set up to an earnest note about being vulnerable and communicating with those close to you but man that moment really hit in a very realistic and actually quite impactful way
The Pursuit Of Murder
I reallly enjoyed the opening of this film, and immediately felt like we were in for a treat! The costuming is really great for your main character, and the actor had some brilliant expressive movements and physical comedy that was fun to watch and gave a lot of character even though we can't see their face. The story was also engaging and worked well for 48 hour's short film format.
Personally I didnt think the straight to camera explanatory dialogue was needed, and that the film could've been even stronger with these parts being told within the events of the film itself.
Overall this was a really fun film to watch - as you continue to build your skills with audio/edit I think your team will do well in future 48 hour entries :)
Pop's Precious Pranks
This film was super strong - really nice visuals, and a solid story that has that classic 48 hour twist. The loving but somewhat difficult relationship between father and daughter was beautifully done - it felt nuanced and real. My absolute favorite thing about this film was just how well it achieved the switch up in tone and story. The visual elements alone did a great job at this, but what really sold it was the absolutely superb acting! I'm hoping to see this one get a nomination for best acting.
Unspoken Words
This film grabs your attention right from the start! It has classic 48 hour silliness which I love. Your actors had such a good energy together and were a perfect duo. The scene with them accidentally speaking outloud to the girls was particularly funny.
Dropping the plot entirely for an extended flat-scene might not have been the best choice for building your story which needed some details fleshed out a bit (maybe we could see some more proof that they are actually good buds without the rings? help justify them throwing the rings away at the end? why is the phone mini?) but honestly it did make me laugh a lot and built that silly feeling. Overall really good technical skills with audio,edit, and pace being solid, and even with some story elements being pretty light it was a very fun watch :)
Misplaced Death
This film is an absolute wow! By far the strongest film of the first 2 heats, and a great contender that I expect to see in the Christchurch finals. This film excelled at telling a great story - one that is clear, concise, and perfectly suited for the limitations imposed by the competition. Its a great comedic premise and the film delivers! Massive kudos for the incorporation of elements as central parts of the plot - it is a difficult thing to achieve and this team did so flawlessly. I was impressed by the visual storytelling in your film - for instance the visual techniques to make it clear to the audience that others can't see death. In doing so you save yourself a lot of time to really focus in on the core parts of your story. I was also impressed by the technical elements of the film - overall great shots, good audio, well paced and well edited. The slow-mo shot of death with cape flowing out behind him in particular was just awesome.
I have very little to give in terms of feedback for next time, my one suggestion would be to check your dialogue lines are sounding natural. I think this film could've even fully done away with the dialogue - although it has now been a bit since the heats so I may need a rewatch to see if I still agree with myself on that!
It cannot be said enough just how incredibly impressive this film is for a young team - you've excelled at things many teams with more experience struggle with. I will be keeping an eye out for your films in future competitions and can't wait to see what you do next! Ka pai to mahi!
Chaos Cabin
This was a super impressive film. I really enjoy watching 3D animation - even though how it works is beyond me, I can appreciate so much must go into an incredible piece like this, and in fact not knowing the secrets of how its done just allows for the awesome work to feel more magic. The shots were so well-thought out and visually stunning, with great dialogue and sound creating a really immersive film. I had a suspicion about the snow globe - but didn't expect that ending! Well done team :)
Reset Day
From the opening details of the implanted chip and reset day with memory loss I was expecting this film to take a sort of black mirror path - what a wonderful suprise for me to find it was actually such a heartfelt and sweet story! I wish we had a little more explanation about what kind of world this is in order to understand the existence of reset day - is it futuristic? are these chips common practice? Regardless, I thought making your own holiday for the holiday movie genre was a smart idea in letting you branch out from what other teams might do, and allowed you to tell a story that is unique to you. The ending scene was a particularly great part of the story that will hit viewers in their feels. I am personally a sucker for films in 48 hours that break the mold by not shying away from being emotional and earnest, so I loved this about your film. There were some technical aspects that could be improved upon - particularly sound levels (unfortunately this is not something I do so I have no good advice on this - but I see some other commenters have given advice!) This might be something to focus on to improve further for next time.
Can't wait to see what you do next! :)
A Silence In Sam's Town
Wow, the emotion in this film was intense. This film was very strong in many ways, but I want to highlight the acting of your main character - they portrayed a really raw grief that was captivating and heartbreaking to watch, and absolutely necessary to pull off this concept so well done! A really beautiful film - that one shot of the hands in the water was STUNNING, probably the most beautiful shot I've seen this year in the competition. We've been going back and forth trying to figure out how you did it - very impressive! There were a couple of shots that pulled me out of the story a bit - the camera went a bit bumpy during the main character walking down the sand dunes and all I could think about was your camera person trying to walk backwards down the dunes!
More than anything I loved the heart in this story, which was consistently so strong and lingers well after the film ends. As I've said in other reviews I love it when teams give us something more earnest and serious to change it up from the comedies 48 hours is known for, and your team killed it at that! Well done :)
Ghost PTSD
As part of a team who also did a sad death film in this heat I hope it doesn't sound too self-congratulatory to say I love it when teams take a chance to do a emotional and heartfelt film! As much as I love the comedies that are the staple of 48 hours it is nice to see teams break out from this and have some different stories being told alongside the funny ones. I thought the acting in your film was really good and was strong enough to carry the serious nature of the film. There were some beautiful shots in this one - particularly the locket in the water, and the scenes on the battlefield were absolute standouts. I enjoyed the play back through the scenes with the father fading out as well, leading to the final door knock. One of the things I would've liked to see included in this film is a bit more detail about what the father meant to his family - maybe a montage or some more dialogue could've been used here so that we get more of a sense of the connection between them. I think this could've made the death announcement really hit the emotional note of this final scene even harder. Well done team :)