I was really impressed with all of the films on Friday night. I thought all of the films had great moments in them and it was wonderful to see what we’re already capable of.
Milk
I enjoyed Milk. The simplicity of the story was great and I think where the strength of the comedy lay. I particularly enjoyed the milk slowly spreading across the floor and the suspense of the last two points connecting.
The actors were all great. It was shot really well – I am jealous of the motion shots of the guy on the scooter – they were really impressive.
I don’t have any criticism, I really admire the restraint in allowing the story to be as simple as it was and having fun with it.
Cursed:
The idea was great and writing to such an idea was ambitious! I would have liked to have seen more of the rapping and him trying to negotiate around the curse to actually communicate effectively at the end. I realise that that is a challenging thing to write though. The casting was good and the shots were done well. Was it a decision of production design to have the sheet over the bookshelf in his room? I found that a little distracting.
I think the story could have been a little bit more developed or the editing could have been a little tighter but for the most part I was impressed and found it to be an enjoyable film.
A Love Lost:
This has come along well from the rough cut screening. I am glad that it has been simplified and some of the special effects over the transitions have been removed. It’s enabled the shots to speak for themselves more.
Granny Theft Auto:
This was also good fun. I think it lingered a little too long on the boys sitting inside the car and I think it was a little too confusing as to what they were doing. I get the comedic element of wanting to reveal the second car at the last minute but I got quite distracted by why these boys would have broken into this car to just sit there. The casting was great and there was excellent character development with the Tiffany & Co necklace exchange.
Shelter:
I really liked the opening shot of this with the three running away from the camera through the field. I thought that was really beautifully shot. Like some of the other reviews, I do think the story seemed more to belong as a scene within a longer film rather than a self contained plot. I thought the producers did a great job in creating the illusion of the bomb shelter, it’s a bit of a shame that some of the elements roused laughter when maybe they weren’t supposed to.