Zack Mosley [Film Festival 12.05.12]



THE GOODS
Director: Brittany Lum Cho | 2012 | Canada | 12 minutes
What's it about? A heartbroken virgin auctions off her maidenhead to the highest bidder with the help of the campus drug dealer.
What's good? Brittany Lum Cho really understands the visual grammar of high school/college comedies. Her shot choices, editing, and scene transitions are great. She also puts familiar archetypes into a personal context.
What's bad? The story doesn't really know how to peak. The overall structure is solid, but in between a solid buildup and a satisfying epilogue, the climax fizzles. The premise asks: will this girl go through with selling her virginity? A fresh twist on the answer would have taken the script over the top. Instead, the climax may leave you feeling conflicted about the hero and her personal growth throughout the story.
Overall? THE GOODS is rough around the edges, but it's a promising first effort from a very young filmmaker who already seems to have a voice.

HARVEY'S DREAM
Director: Quinn Spicker | 2012| Canada | 7 minutes
What's it about? An old man describes a nightmare to his put-upon wife, and she begins to fear that his dream has become reality. Based on a short story by Stephen King.
What's good? That Stephen King is generous with copyright. The prolific novelist is well-known for allowing student and amateur filmmakers to adapt his stuff for little-to-no fee. Take that, Harlan Ellison.
What's bad? George Carlin once said that "nothing is so boring as listening to someone else describe a dream." That holds true in HARVEY'S DREAM, which also features egregious misuse of expository voiceover, and a twist ending that doesn't really make enough visual or logical sense.
Overall? Air ball.


THE LITTLE MERMAID
Director: Nicholas Humphries | 2012 | Canada | 7 minutes
What's it about? A cruel ringmaster forces a monstrous mermaid to perform in a sideshow. Set in a fantastical wasteland.
What's good? Amazing visuals. The mermaid looks like something out of Guillermo Del Toro's nightmares. All technical aspects of the film, from the art direction to the cinematography to the costumes to the makeup, are slick and professional.
What's bad? There really isn't much of a story here. The mermaid eventually lashes out. The end.
Overall? Put this team on a great script and they'd really work wonders. Shorts can survive on visuals alone, but a little meat on the bones of this story wouldn't hurt.

PLATING
Director: Andrew Gillingham | 2012 | Canada | 18 minutes
What's it about? A prison cook attempts to atone for past crimes by cooking a last meal for a death row inmate, and makes a promising new connection in the process.
What's good? A thoughtful and unpretentious story with strong characters and performances. The tone is sober, and the visual style is restrained. The title strikes me as a double entendre, referring to both the art of composing a dish and the armor that the protagonist has built up around his heart.
What's bad? It's a bit long, and drags in spots.
Overall? PLATING was the best selection of the WFF2012 Student Shortworks program.

RIDE
Director: Mackenzie Sheppard | 2012 | Canada | 9 minutes
What's it about? A teenage hoodlum sneaks out of his house to skateboard with his friends and engage in rebellious shenanigans, but a bag of weed gets him into trouble.
What's good? RIDE has a nice véerite style and a good rhythm to its cinematography and editing. For the most part, it's a realistic depiction of your standard Vancouver teen.
What's bad? The ending. I won't spoil it, but it has an After School Special quality to it. It's also somewhat implausible. Perhaps the climactic incident in question has happened to someone on the production, but as Samuel Longhorn Clemens (a.k.a. Mark Twain) observed, fiction must be more credible than truth.
Overall? RIDE is a nice character sketch with one big false note.

SLEEPWALK
Director: John Northam | 2012 | Canada | 10 minutes
What's it about? An adopted boy is haunted by the ghost of his dead mother, unbeknownst to his adoptive parents.
What's good? There's a great stinger in here. Most of the audience screamed. Me? I managed to calmly sip coffee at the exact moment of the jump scare. But thousands of horror movies have conditioned me to expect this kind of thing.
What's bad? The premise is generic, and the plot is all over the place.
Overall? The suspense operates as it should: the audience knows something is waiting to pounce, but the characters don't. It's hard to argue with the fact that the big scare worked, but the scene in question represents about 5% of the runtime.
Full disclosure: There were technical issues (skipping and pausing) with this screening that might have some sort of subconscious effect on my judgment.

VAN MAN
Director: Ricardo Plaza-Rosselot, Tyler Deck | 2012 | Canada | 10 minutes
What's it about? An office drone fantasizes about being a superhero. When the Vancouver Stanley Cup riots break out, he is called into action.
What's good? The transitions between reality and fantasy are cleverly handled. Vancouver indie-rock band Said the Whale provides two songs for the soundtrack. The credits feature professional-looking animation.
What's bad? With KICK ASS, SUPER, MIRAGEMAN, DEFENDOR and SPECIAL (among others) all vying for eyeball time, do we really need to keep exploring the topic of everyman heroes? The use of the Stanley Cup riots as a plot device is also a bit much.
Overall? A well-made short production that happens to be about subject matter that bores me to death.

WAITING ON THE RAIN
Director: Bernie Yao | 2012 | Canada | 10 minutes
What's it about? Two "strangers" meet at an airport terminal, and have a seemingly profound conversation as they gaze out at the tarmac.
What's good? Benjamin Loeb's 35mm cinematography is cold and austere. WAITING ON THE RAIN looks very professional.
What's bad? The story is quite vague. The strangers appear to have an unspoken personal connection, but I'll be damned if I can figure out what it was. They speak in obtuse riddles that cloud the meaning of the film in ambiguity. I'm sure there's a literal explanation, but it doesn't come across on first viewing.
Overall? I'm not sure if I "got it," but it looked great as it was confusing me.
Full disclosure: I had tacos and margaritas with Bernie Yao, and chatted with him several times throughout the festival. He's a nice kid with good hustle and a bright future.

You might also like

Leave a comment

Your Comment