[Cuts eye with straight razor]
It is round two of reviews for the Oscar-nominated Live Action Short Film category. In this edition, we look at Ivalu and Night Ride. Previously, we looked at The Red Suitcase and An Irish Goodbye.
“My sister…my blood.” Anders Walters’ Ivalu follows Pipaluk (Mila Heilmann Kreutzman), who wakes up one morning to find Continue reading 2023 Oscar Nominated Live Action Short Film Reviews: Ivalu and Night Ride
After taking a break from covering the Academy Award nominees for Best Live Action Short Film, I am returning to the fold to shed some light on these under-seen gems (they are gems more often than not, at least). The nominees this year cover a broad geographical range, with films from Ireland, Iran by way of Luxemborg, Norway, Italy, and Denmark. For now, let’s focus on the first two and take a look at An Irish Goodbye and The Red Suitcase.
Lorcan (James Martin) and Turlough (Seamus O’Hara), two brothers who don’t get along, reunite following the death of Continue reading 2023 Oscars Best Live Action Short Film Reviews: The Red Suitcase, An Irish Goodbye
With the Academy Award nominations releasing earlier today, it is ample time for me to play some catch-up. As always, there are 15 short films nominated across three categories, and it is inevitable that people will look at these titles and squint a little. These films hardly receive any buzz, particularly compared to the heavy hitter feature contenders, and they usually end up getting short shrift as a result.
Often enough, though, there are more than a few short films that make the grade and which are Continue reading 2023 Oscars Best Animated Short Film Reviews: My Year of Dicks, Ice Merchants, The Flying Sailor
Diamonds in the Rough (DitR, /dɪ’tər/) takes some of the most derided, divisive, controversial, financially catastrophic, and meme-worthy movies and tries to find the silver lining. Bad movies don’t always start as bad ideas, and flops aren’t always flop-worthy. DitR seeks to find the good within the bad, because the world could use some positivity. And when all else fails, making fun of bad movies is oh-so satisfying.
In this first installment of Diamonds in the Rough, we look at The Procedure and The Procedure Part 2, two psychological horror/comedy short films from director Calvin Lee Reeder. And boy oh boy is this a rite of passage episode! If you can get on board with these two shorts, then you can get on board with pretty much anything this series is going to contend with (although, this is no guarantee).
The narratives of The Procedure and The Procedure Part 2 are spare enough that I can outline them here in full (Content Warning: non-violent torture. Also, spoiler alert).
In The Procedure, a man leaving work (Christian Palmer) is shot with Continue reading Are The Procedure (2016) and The Procedure Part 2 (2019) Hidden Gem Movies? — Diamonds in the Rough
Alli (Maria Dizzia) and Jacob (Greg Keller) are married with two children with another on the way. They live a fairly humdrum life until they notice a young couple move into an adjacent building. The pair of 20-somethings (Juliana Canfield and Bret Lada) don’t like the idea of blinds, even when they have wild, free-spirited sex.
Alli and Jacob’s vantage point to this couple begins shifting their views on their own relationship, and these shifts continue even after they have their next child.
The first glaring issue with The Neighbors’ Window, the short film from Marshall Curry which has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film, is that Continue reading The Neighbors’ Window — 2020 Oscar Nominated Live Action Short Film Review
The 2020 Academy Awards ceremony is a week away. Delphine Girard’s Une soeur is one of the five Best Live Action Short Film nominees, and it is worth taking a closer look at.
Girard’s film begins in a slightly disorienting way. A handheld camera in closeup, positioned in the backseat of a car driving in the night, captures Continue reading 2020 Oscar Nominated Best Live Action Short Film Review — Une Soeur
With the 2020 Oscar ceremony just around the corner, now is as good a time as any to get into the nitty gritty of what are perhaps the least talked about Oscar categories. The three short film categories get a bit of a short shrift from Academy Awards viewers, but some true talent can and have come out of these categories.
Below are reviews for two of the Best Live Action Short Film nominees: Nefta Football Club and Brotherhood.
Yves Piat’s Nefta Football Club follows Continue reading 2020 Oscar Nominated Short Film Reviews — Nefta Football Club and Brotherhood
The 2019 Oscar nominations will be announced on January 23, 2019. But the Academy has already narrowed down its candidates in many categories. For Best Animated Short Film, that list is down to 10. Of those 10 shortlisted short films, I have reviews for nine.
Shall we?
In 1900, a lonely sailor (Ian McShane) sets himself adrift on his lowly sailboat, sharing the seas with huge ships. Having lost Continue reading 2019 Academy Awards Best Animated Short Film Shortlist Reviews
There are 30 short films which are shortlisted for Academy Awards across the three shorts categories—Best Live Action Short, Best Animated Short, and Best Documentary Short Subject. This will be cut in half come January 22nd. Before that happens, let’s take a look at a few of the shorts vying for nomination.
This documentary short, commissioned by The Guardian, tells the story of a man who, as a youth, Continue reading 2019 Oscar Shortlisted Short Film Reviews – Black Sheep, Marguerite, My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes
Skin, directed by Guy Nattiv from a story by Sharon Maymon, is a story of white supremacy with a twist. Film Threat equated the twist with those of The Twilight Zone, and perhaps that is accurate. But the final moments of Skin do not Continue reading Skin (2018) Movie Review – 2019 Oscar Shortlisted Short Film
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