On June 24th, the eGarage in Long Island City, New York presented a special evening of indie movies. The short films ranged in topics including: an artist’s struggle in NYC, fortune cookies, satisfaction, and the evil of television. Check out my reviews and comment below!
Short Film Review: ‘The Early Mixes‘
CBTS, NYC
Director:Joshua Gizelt
Writers:Daniel Alleva, Joshua Gizelt
Stars: Darren LiPari, Michael Darnell, Kelly O’Connor, Razvan Oncioiu, Andrew Burke
The Early Mixes shines a light on the deteriorating relationships that exist between hungry New York artists. It chronicles the lives of Pete (Darren Lipari) – who’s an aspiring music manager – and his best friend, Dave (Michael Darnell)- guitarist for the talented yet volatile band, Lingering Sin. Pete and Dave form a pact together to make Lingering Sin a massive success, no matter the cost. But ultimately, their demons place them at odds with each other, and their friendship soon collapses. Trapped somewhere in the chaos of this whole situation is Nicole (Kelly O’Connor), Pete’s disillusioned girlfriend, who suffers alongside the wayward duo, as they try to build their explosive road to success.
I was really impressed by the dialogue and the acting as well as the production. The dialogue is very clever, not forced and captures complete conversations, including the silly things we say to one another in real life. I was a little confused about the girlfriend character. She seemed at first like just a roommate, and I actually thought there was another girl because of how she looked in different scenes. The actors were really good, particularly Michael Darnell, who is incredibly comfortable on screen.
Rating: Dramatic, funny and leaves you wanting more. 8/10
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Short Film Review: ‘Lucky Break‘
Director: Mark Bauer
Writers: Mark Bauer, John Stevenson
Stars: Joseph Scott Abel, John Stevenson and Emily Woodruff
Travis begins seeing unique messages inside fortune cookies. The fortunes help Travis at first, but all is not what it seems. The fortunes soon turn menacing. Now, Travis must do as the fortunes ask, or risk the consequences.
Great concept for a short film. The dialogue was hokey, but I liked the different directions it went without distracting too much from the main story. I really liked the brothers history, but wasn’t quite sure how it related to the main plot. SPOILER Things that bothered me: the cash on the table (you would get a check for winning the lottery) and the fact that he doesn’t change clothes until he cleans himself up, even though it’s obvious that days passed. Also, why did he need to clean himself up if the cookie was going to get him a girl? And why not just stop reading the fortunes once they became menacing? END SPOILER The ending seemed to tie everything up, but really just left me asking more questions.
Rating: Funny and creative, just don’t read too much into it. 6/10
Short Film Review: ‘The Vibrator‘
Safari Productions http://safariproductions.net
Official Selection of the 2010 Astoria/LIC International Film Festival
Director: Richard Caliban
Writer:Kari Swenson Riely
Stars:Kari Swenson Riely and Adrienne Shelly
A young wife, new to New York City, is out of her element. She feels alone, uncomfortable and overwhelmed. Completely out of sorts, she is unable to reach out for help. Taking her happiness into her own hands, she sets out on a brief adventure.
Yes, it does involve an actual vibrator, but it’s totally PG-13. Told entirely without dialogue, the film gives you just enough information to keep you interested. The music doesn’t distract from the story, but enhances and keeps it upbeat. I was a little confused by the character’s motivation, but perhaps it’s meant to be interpretive.
Rating: Light, provocative and amusing. 7/10
Short Film Review: ‘Kill Your Television‘
http://www.killyourtvfilm.com/
Official Selection of: GenCon Indy, Atlanta Shorts Fest, Atlanta Underground Shorts Fest and Astoria International Film Festival
Writer/Director: Andrew Mitchell
Stars: Anthony Littlechild, Nick Musgrove, Olivia DiCocco, Serge De Nardo
In an alternate dystopian 1989, Hugo is forced to recruit the help of an old friend, “Crazy Eddie”, in order to help save his sister from the clutches of the evil brainwashing Television Corporation. This action packed short film project written and directed by visual artist Andrew Mitchell in Melbourne, Australia as a part of the Graduate Diploma Course at the Victorian College of the Arts.
The production value is fantastic, but it’s also distracting. I would have liked more dialogue with the characters. I didn’t care for the voiceover, it was a bit to excessive. It’s fast-paced and there’s really no time for development. I also wasn’t sold on why he needed to recruit the brother. The subject matter is intriguing, but there just wasn’t enough time to fully execute it.
Rating: Relies too much on visuals and not enough on the story. 3/10
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