DICK, ACTUALLY has got a lot of soul at its center and another slam dunk from the ghost researchers!

By soul I mean there are some best-in-show elements at play here, most notably a fantastic lead performance from Scott Koorey, an actor so good he should be more famous. It's great watching Scott perform a role like this and seeing his subtle reactions and nuanced expressions, and just knowing any other actor would have overplayed these moments. The film in general, I think is completely held up by Scott's performance here, as well as the award winning VFX which give the film its own identity - as with the Scottish vibes of LAST LORD OF SCOTLAND, this ia another example of a motif most 48Hours teams wouldn't think to include.

All of this being said, I'm not particularly enamored with the story - it's one of those maybe-too-simple plots which is held together mostly through the second act being a montage of funny sketches, and the rest feels very paint-by-numbers - I love the ending, but again, that mostly comes down to the performance of Scott and the reactions from the two kids.

I think SJGR's magnum opus is still their debut film CUSHY: A PULL STORY, which was a genuinely very inventive 48Hour film which would have probably done a lot better in the comp had it come out ten years earlier. The subsequent films have been great, but I feel like CUSHY is still unmatched, and I'd love to see the team tap back into whatever exactly made that film so special. Part of that was maybe that the team's serviceable but minimal technical side and production design served that story, whereas your last two films, I think, could have benefitted from flashier cinematography or a more experimental location than just a suburban house.

Things you got right: A commanding lead performance which IMO probably should have won, as well as awesome VFX which did win!

Things to work on for next time: I think ya'll are at the stage now where you need a challenge, and I think that challenge should maybe be in the aforementioned location of your next film. I don't wanna see another home base double as main location, what does a SJGR film look like set in the woods, or in an abandoned ware house, or in outer space?

Super impressive animation, a deserving win for sound design, and a great premise which maaaaaybe doesn't stick the landing.

The quality of the animation alone here secures its place in the city finals, while there are noticeably some time saving tips and tricks here (the characters not having mouths, the objects MOSTLY consisting of simple shapes), the difference is that these shortcuts are completely justified by the story, and this is a tried and true technique in 48Hours whether you're animating or not - use your limitations to tell the story.

The story here is one that certainly starts out very compelling, I love the concept of using the golden record, I love the idea that humans are already wiped out - and I love the head-to-head the dad alien and the baby alien come to, where the baby wishes to save Hamish while the dad wants to destroy him.

It just feels like the solution here should have been a compromise that completes both character arcs, but really it looks more like the Dad alien just got his way - I think I was a little turned around by Hamish being a robot as well, I was half expecting the robot to reveal it was carrying a human baby named Hamish or something like that. I'm not here to spitball, suffice to say I just know that this team (person) is capable of some of my favourite endings in 48Hours history, and this time the other penny just didn't quite drop.

Things you got right: Fantastic animation, fantastic premise, fantastic sound design, an embracing of the elements that I love to see in the comp.

Things to work on for next time: The last thing you need Andrew is my advice, so I'll just say I look forward to your next entry :)

This is probably the most I've been genuinely impressed by a 48Hours film in a long time. This is a technical feat, the likes of which I can't imagine taking on. To think there was a point where all the footage was captured and you had to just be like "Well. Time to edit this thing". Astonishing!

This is a super interesting nomination for Best Performer too, maybe the first time an actor has been nominated not necessarily for an amazing portrayal of a character, and more because of how HARD and EXHAUSTING this looked to perform.

I also love the decision to set it all on a stage - a sneaky way to achieve the Ultra while also not having to bother much with art direction or locations.

The songs are great too, well deserving of the win.

The ending seems to be a contentious topic, though it's not something I'm especially turned off by. I do think it needed a twist, and I liked that it ended with a format break, it maybe just could have been a little clearer?

I'm also torn on the subtitles - on the one hand I feel like it takes me out of the film, but then on the other, the lyrics are a little hard to decipher at points - and this could have maybe been solved by a better sound design.

A technical feat, probably deserved more awards love, and personally I think could have been a great addition to the Grand Finals.

My favourite rip focus film to date. By far. Wait actuall A Slice of You is pretty good too.

Things you got right: uhh and incredible technical feat, the likes of which still boggle my mind to this day.

Things to work on for next time: I just encourage you to keep pushing the bar. This was the much needed gearshift rip focus needed after A Nipple in Time, and I think shifting those gears even more will bring out something even more special.

Disclaimer: This is also too mean because they are also my friends and I am also aware of what they're capable of.

Awesome performances, a great premise, and as always an impressive technical achievement which creates a film that feels very complete - something plenty of teams find HARD TO DO.

While this film definitely deserves its place in the finals, I too am struggling to judge TBALC with the same grace I use for other teams, simply because for a long time they were all Christchurch had, but now plenty of other teams have caught up, and the once great TBALC is now just another great chch team. It feels like a window was missed here for TBALC to achieve greater success than they have already? NEW FISH should have won the grand final in 2009 god DAMN it.

I'm not a big fan of the mean spirited nature of this story - but I know that's just a creative decision I disagree with and not a failure on the storyteller's part, though as has been pointed out, it's certainly a story which stumbles in trying to achieve its full potential, with the many examples of ways in which the wives' relationship is clearly one-sided being pretty subdued and uhh.. under directed? Is that a term?

I said the story is too mean, but maybe it isn't mean enough? Maybe we play too much in the realm of feasibility when things needed to get fucking absurd for the meanspiritedness to be justified?

I am also at a loss for how the grandpa character ended up in the film - an actor clearly, CLEARLY wearing a cheap bald cap from LookSharp, with flour in his beard to appear elderly. You guys are TBALC! You're the team that actually find an elderly actor to play this role! Genuinely baffled by this decision and probably the most disappointing aspect of the film.

Things you got right: As said, a very complete package with elements that are all pretty good, pretty good enough to continue your finalist streak.

Things to work on for next time: I'm not sure what it is, but you really need a kick in the pants to be able to get back to achieving that same level of greatness I know you're all capable of, and that kick in the pants needs to be in the opposite direction of this film IMO. Love you guys!

I love Toot Toot.

While I think you'll probably never top THE WISH, at least in my eyes - I was delighted to see a somewhat different approach taken this year with HANNAH'S BORING LIFE.

In a weird/absurd/contextual way, this almost Toot's most mature film to date, or at least one which felt a little more concerned with its story and its characters than the expendable joke vessels from your previous films. I liked this, having a main character I could get behind in a film still as silly as it is, and Kathleen's performance is unmatched (or at least it would be if this year's Best Performer category wasn't so goddamn stacked, Jesus I'm only realizing now how conflicted I am on who deserved to take it home).

I once again appreciated the lampshade hanging on the use of elements, and while everything was ticked off, heartbeat was the stand out and sadly the only one we nominated. Ya'll basically have at least one of the element awards locked every year now, and while heartbeat is maybe your most obvious, your previous wins for best use of wind and best use of door slam give me the confidence that you'll continue to up the stakes here - if you were a lesser team I'd say something like "maybe the bubble is about to burst" here or "you can't keep doing the same schtick each year" but you're always so goddamn inventive with it that I don't mind.

Things you got right: A delightfully on brand film which embraces story and character in a way you haven't before.

Things to work on for next time: uhhh get even crazier? Idk

Hhahahahahah the ENDING! You guys are insane, this film is now a total review powder keg, a grenade thrown into an inescapable room full of us 48 veterans, anxious to explain what everyone already knows. What the hell happened! Why! How! Why!

I'll be straight up, I genuinely voted this film as my number 1 pick of the city, I wanted to see it take out the big prize - but it should also be noted, I was the ONLY judge to place it even remotely this high, so this is a film which works for some, and is a complete write-off for others.

Let's get the objectively marvelous stuff out of the way first - the cinematography, the tone, the art direction, the sound design - it's all SPECTACULAR here, it's easily the most impressive stuff PlanetFoxFilms have ever done, and its cinematography especially stood head and shoulders above the other finalists. I want to frame some of these shots on my wall.

That shot early on where we see the eyes through the reeds was what locked your best use of genre award - even though your film arguably flushes its genre down the toilet by the end - this is the Best Use of Horror I have EVER SEEN in this competition, it's genuinely terrifying, but in such a mature way which is never cheapened by a jump scare or revealing too much. It's maybe cheapened by uhhh the elephant in the room though hahah.

Still, there is some breathtaking stuff on display here, and this is before I've even mentioned the acting - the obvious nod here being towards our spooky swamp man, who is kind of typecast into one of the most specific types I've ever seen an actor be typecast into. A live action cartoon character? Who knows, but its working. I also really enjoyed the performance from the female lead, who, as I've said in previous reviews for your films, comes off pretty wooden, but this woodeness feels totally utilized by the direction - it's a trend of your films to employ intentionally "less confident" acting performances and I just love the dryness it brings to the projects. This dryness reaches its peak with the final reaction shot crash zoom of the actress, which is so goddamn funny and definitely could have won Best Reaction on a different night. The same praise for intentionally wooden performances could be said for the swamp cop - a highlight for me is how Sean clearly wasn't anticipating walking so deep into the water and sort of half breaks character for a second. I love it, it's so charming.

So let's talk about the ending! I think its important to understand the reason people are so upset is because of how incredible the first two thirds of the film are - a lesser film with this ending wouldn't have ruffled any feathers, and with that in mind it begs the question whether or not you knew how good what you'd already captured was while shooting - if you knew it was gonna be this good and this effective, would you have gone ahead with the sketch ending?

I'm not entirely in agreement with others who say it comes out of nowhere, we do learn in what is admittedly a somewhat confusing first scene that there are multiple swamp creatures hanging about, and I think some of the main character's wishes are a little too absurd (an invisible robot dog?) and I actually probably would have downplayed this absurdity so that the bananas ending hits even harder.

The reason you were nominated for Best Ending despite all this is because A) despite it being a sketch ending, indicative of a team not knowing how to get in and get out, it's still directed and told VERY confidently, it's not half-assed and is so baffling and effective, it's arguably as powerful as what came before it, just on the other side of the spectrum. Oh, and B) I wanted to stir and cause upset with everyone who felt it let the film down hahhaha.

When we vetted this film, we were completely silenced by the opening minutes, only to explode into an argument as it ended over whether it was a good ending or not, and it resulted in us rewatching the film several times.

All in all a very impressive feat, and basically confirmation that this team will probably win the city in the future. They just gotta get on the same wavelength as the audiences and the judges.

Also, fantastic Ultra entry, well deserving of its best nomination. This must have been exhausting to edit since you stayed up all night filming. I've been there.

Things you got right: A complete tonal masterpiece, legitimately some of the most impressive exploiting of genre tropes I've seen in my decade or so involved in the competition.

Things to work on for next time: Okay hear me out, maybe make a film as good as this but it has an ending which nails the genre instead of subverting the genre? Just try it out, you can always revert back next time :P

Loved every minute of this!!!! Genius!!!

What I love about THE DYING ART OF CAT BURGLARLY, is not so much the fact that it was shot in Australia and looks great, as overseas entries are such a thrill, but that it told such a clever, unique and universal tale of said robbers doing anything to get ahead in life. It's like a keeping up with the joneses times eleven, and absolutely nails the antihero character requirement the competition asked of the team.

To immediately give more praise to the team, the editing was simply out of this world. Yes stock music was used throughout, but I was so amazed on my third watch just now to learn that several tracks were used because the tonal consistency was so strong across the entire film. It was a very smooth ride that allowed the complete focus to be on the catburglars, with a feeling of danger and excitement due to sound beats that went from pulsating to drone-like in nature as the plot beats of the film unfolded.

I also appreciate that this team not only went Ultra, but actually used the darkness of night to elevate their film through not just a central plot device of the crooks looking for cash, but the elevating relevation of the home owner being at home and having their own dramatic tension to worry about, through something unpredictable that does indeed regularly happen in the middle of the night.

The comedy was also gold, with a script that threw out such gems as thinking a pumpkin would be a good take, only to be reprimanded by the old timer, who rolled off the list of what brings in the real money with aplomb.

Ending was an all-timer, for me. Sinister, yet hilarious and very satisfying, with the aformentioned characters and how well they sold the importance of the heist making it feel earned rather than shocking. Just really solid performances all round, with the would be mum being a particular highlight due to how well she played her role physically.

The very minor quibble for me was that it reminded me a lot of LOCK, STOCK AND TWO SMOKING BARRELS, but that was just in feeling rather than in terms of the actual storytelling.

Congrats on the baby by the way team!

Story: 4/5
Technical: 4/5
Elements: 4.5/5
Overall: 4/5

So goooooood.
That pay off was worth the price of admission.
I love films where they do a lot with a little. Contained and minimal location, simple cast - but brilliant writing and interplay between the leads made for enjoyable watching!!