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5 minute film reviews

[filmaforest]

Dawn (dir. Rose McGowan)

narrative: 9/10 cinematography: 9/10 representation: 6/10 overall: 9/10

a chilling and heartbreaking portrayal of teenage naivety and trust in the people and things we turn to for excitement and escape. visually and cinematically it started out with such a promise for a tale of youth and sexual freedom that you forget the dark omen before the film has begun; perhaps that was from something else; surely this bubblegum sixties love story can’t be the from the same film? i loved the gum motif as a symbol of infatuation because it so accurately captured a teenage crush, the thrilling romanticism of a mysterious boy asking you out for a burger at 11 o’clock at night, the pure sixties of smoking and listening to records with your friends while your parents are out. the first part captured something that every teenager fantasises about or has felt at some point in their lives. then things take a turn for the worse, and this is when you see how desperately lonely the title character is that her longing for a life of freedom and excitement is the very same that leads to her demise. in this way, dawn is your unconventional tragic heroine. the trust she places in charlie is so blind, so lonely, reminiscent of desdemona’s unconditional love as she, too, obediently follows her man to her death. tragic, thought-provoking and also a little disappointing that a representation of such naive women hasn’t changed in 400 years. that said, ‘dawn’ was a very real, hard-hitting, and thought-provoking short that i enjoyed and that will stick in my mind for a long time to come.

[filmaforest]

iMom (dir. Ariel Martin)

narrative: 9.5/10 cinematography: 7.5/10 representation: 7/10 overall: 9/10

not the type of thing i would usually go for but the type of thing i’m glad i did, a very original film in all aspects from the idea to the editing to the way it was executed whilst at the same time conforming to conventions of the horror genre enough to let us know something wasn’t right. the bible passage running through, the fear of the dark and the tv constantly playing in the background made it all the more chilling and although it was arguably predictable according to some i thought the baby being the victim was the biggest shock of all because the film was directed in such a way that the attention was diverted from the baby and you thought something was going to happen to Sam - the forcing him to read the bible, the coming to his room in the dark, the knife - it was extremely cleverly done. what stood out the most for me was, apart from iMom’s acting, the editing; it was arguably clichè but i thought it was what made the film as sinister as it was. the constant cutting, especially towards the end, between news, advert, iMom and baby’s room just made something feel not right - a too-good-to-be-true concept linked with an innocent child and a scarily perfect robot woman was never going to end well. also a chilling comentary on society, great film.

[filmaforest]

Let It Be (dir. Bertie Gilbert)

narrative: 7/10 cinematography: 10/10 representation: 6/10 overall: 7/10

it was an interesting film concept but i think the actual personification of death was a little too clichè and the whole girl-dying-of-cancer thing has kinda been done to death, excuse the pun. however i did like seeing the relationships between the three characters and it was very prettily filmed and films with a running motif are always quite cool, in this case it was the beatles, anyway i did like it.

[filmaforest]

Romeo and Juliet (dir. Baz Luhrmann)

narrative: 6/10 cinematography: 7/10 representation: 7/10 overall: 7/10

let's be honest i only watched this film for leo but turned out i should have watched it for clare too, the thing that definitely stood out for this film was the passion and love the two leading young actors had for each other's characters so that you forgot the characters weren't real. something about it that was really enchanting to watch. a lot of beautiful stills too and a very cool take on such a classic by the director. unlike the film i just reviewed it will probably not stick out in my mind but i would watch it again because like i said, a very cool and beautiful cinematic piece

[filmaforest]

52 Tuesdays (dir. Sophie Hyde)

narrative: 9/10 cinematography: 9/10 representation: 6/10 overall: 7.5/10

this film was fucking weird but original to say the least, i didn’t have a clue what was going on sometimes and in parts i felt slightly uncomfortable but it was definitely intriguing, good trans representation even if he was played by a woman and everyone was white, i think it tried too hard to be edgy in places which came off as a little try-hard but only when billie was talking to the camera; overall i think the editing was realy different and really worked. not necessarily a film i immensely enjoyed or would watch again but it’s a film i’ll remember and i applaud it for that.

[filmaforest]

Dirty Dancing (dir. Emile Ardolino)

narrative: 9/10 cinematography: 10/10 representation: 8/10 overall: 10/10 what i really loved about this film, apart from the intensely hot neck kisses while they were dancing or the romanticness of having sex in a log cabin on a rainy afternoon or the excitement of a youth filled with love and adventure, was baby. it's always so cool to see such a strong, cool, ambitious and confident teenage girl leading a story and it portrayed baby as a product of her generation rebelling against the prejudice her father had brought her up under and speaking up against paternal authorities which is all awesome and it was also so beautifully shot and edited too and the soundtrack and costuming was so key in creating the effortlessly cool 60s feel and it was all just so authentic, and beautiful

[filmaforest]

Lost Property (dir. Åsa Lucander)

narrative: 10/10 visuals: 9/10 representation: 8/10 overall: 10/10

its such a rare thing for a short film to be so touching and this film was based on such a simple concept but using such a simple metaphor brought the element of sadness round as such a shock it brought tears to my eyes. i also love when a piece of creativity inspires you and to get such inspiration from such a small creation in the first place is pretty wonderful. also always beautifully drawn and edited.

[filmaforest]

Stand By Me (dir. Rob Reiner)

narrative: 10/10 cinematography: 9/10 representation: 6/10 overall: 10/10

i was just thinking about how to improve this movie they could add some diversity and not make it all about straight white boys but then i realised that the film itself was about masculinity to a certain extent so its okay. apart from that there is literally nothing i can criticise about this film, the conjunction of the tense, action-packed literal storyline with the much more emotionally charged, touching storyline about the relationships between friends, best friends, brothers, parents and hometowns was perfect so every aspect of the film’s narrative was kept interesting and engaging and the dangerous reality of the film’s events juxtaposed with the children’s, and the teenagers’, naivety was really important in creating a film as poignant as this one. one of my favourites ever, a film that will stick with me for a long time past watching it.

[filmaforest]

We Once Were Tide (dir. Jason Bradbury)

narrative: 8/10 cinematography: 8/10 representation: 7/10 overall: 7/10 a really quite beautifully told tale of decisions and love and loss and letting go, cleverly told through minimal dialogue and sound in general so the visuals really played an important part in this but the cinematography and colouring and setting and everything supported the mood of the piece and it just came together really well, with a very calm and peaceful atmosphere. nice.

[filmaforest]

The Treehouse (dir. AJ Sheeran, Sam Shapson)

narrative: 7/10 cinematography: 8/10 representation: 6/10 overall: 6.5/10 not a startlingly original basis or characters for a film, a grieving little boy and a precocious little girl, but a creative attempt at conveying how children find solace in their imaginations. to give credit where it's due, it was quite impressive how the spaceship part of it was pulled off considering the obviously low budget and big plans and i really liked the blurred lines created between they children's reality and imaginiation. the metaphorical journey of coming to terms with the loss of his mother was simple but somewhat endearing and i while i did enjoy it at the time it is probably not a short that will stick with me.

[filmaforest]

Big Hero 6 (dir. Don Hall, Chris Williams)

narrative: 9/10 animation: 9/10 representation: 9/10 overall: 9/10

what i loved about this film was its super positive representation of female characters because there was literally no sexualisation of them at all and they’re not used as romantic interests for male characters even once and that’s literally so rare like they are completely 100% equals to the male characters and not female because they need to be female this is what i’m talking about when i say rather than making female characters strong we should make strong characters female!!! in regards to the narrative it was creative and original and captivating and gripping and touching and emotional and also its treatment of mental health as being as important as physical health like something that needs fixing like a physical injury does was so important and it was just super awesome in general plus it had an adorable giant marshmallow in it, what’s not to love there

[filmaforest]

Chasing Ice (dir. Jeff Orlowski)

narrative: 9/10 cinematography (photography): 9/10 overall: 9/10 a very hard-hitting documentary not just hitting you with fact after fact abour why global warming is bad - which it did, and those facts were very shocking - but actually showing you too. a beautiful and startling documentary with some breathtaking scenery and nature captured on camera as well as a strong message of change.

[filmaforest]

Orange Drive (dir. Mark Lester)

narrative: 7/10 cinematography: 8/10 representation: 6/10 overall: 8/10 the basic storyline was simple and done many times but this short took it and made it entirely original, which i liked a lot. in theory a year's span of one guy's life with all his changing relationships and situations should have been far too much to fit into an 11 minute film but the use of a single camera angle and setting simplified it down and made it work, as it meant the audience didn't have too much to take in at once. using it as a sort of controlled variable allowed them to focus solely on the storyline and characters, which were little more than names and faces and the set back, looking in on them through the window positioning of the camera and therefore the audience enforced this. however, it made it less personal to the protagonist and more relatable to anyone's life or recognisable as someone everyone knows, rounding off the whole film and making it a thoroughly enjoyable watch.

[filmaforest]

Me & You (dir. Jack Tew)

narrative: 5/10 cinematography: 7/10 representation: 7/10 overall: 6/10 a very simple idea, nicely executed but that's all it was for me, nice. forgettable. one thing that did stand out for me was the use of sound, the soft and vaguely enchanting music and the repeated soumd motif 'i come in peace' that played a key role in the narrative which i think was really clever. apart from that, it was cute and i liked how relatable and maybe hard hitting it would have been for so many people, but although the use of one angle and setting was original it had to be used with caution and it could have been shortened down a bit as it was verging on being boring in places.

[filmaforest]

The Sea Is Blue (dir. Vincent Peone)

narrative: 10/10 cinematography: 9/10 representation: 8/10 overall: 10/10 this short had an imaginitive and itriguing literal storyline as well as a clever and poignant metaphorical one. visually, it was a beautifully crafted and shot stop-motion. i genuinely have nothing bad to say about this film. it was extremely touching too to watch the girl's relationships with the creatures develop and i found myself close to welling up when they had to say goodbye; it was beautiful to see how the protagonist had turned something negative into an exciting and positive adventure which certainly resounded with its metaphorical meaning, and when she no longer felt the weight pulling her down was when she was finally free. it was beautiful to watch and experience and i have used that word far too much in this review but that is the closest word i can find to describe how much i loved this film. i don't give 10/10s easily but this film.

[filmaforest]

Charlie Says (dir. Lewis Arnold)

narrative: 10/10 cinematography: 7/10 representation: 5/10 overall: 9/10

this was a short about a boy who lied about a strange man trying to attack him on holiday, but really it was a short about family roles and relationships and masculinity. the way it portrayed Charlie’s annoyance at being left out was so relatable to every personal childhood experience that you weren’t left hating Charlie for his stupid mistake and the father’s pain of trying too hard to keep his family together was so raw, so real, that it really took the entire film up a notch. a wonderfully fresh approach to masculinity in family situations, with a harsh show of reality and what can come from lying or equally, thinking with your fists.

[filmaforest]

Fresh Cut Grass (dir. Robert Cullen)

narrative: 7/10 overall: 6/10 what seemed like a very cute and innocent cartoon soon took a turn for the worst and ended in really quite a sinister, seedy twist; although it was supposed to end happily it just left you feeling pretty depressed and in a 'what is the world coming to' mood. also i had some issues with the beastiality/sexualisation of animals/blurred lines between humans and animals thing, and although it was poignant i also think it was fairly forgettable.