film reviews, interviews, features | BRWC

Author: Alton Williams

  • Cover Piece : In The Bin Short Film Festival 2009 (Australia)

    An outdoor festival set to the tranquil surroundings at Parklands, which is situated at Currumbin on the beautiful Gold Coast – just one hour south of Brisbane on the East Coast of Australia. Two fields, huge inflatable screens, floodlights, pre-screening entertainment and three thousand people were in attendance on Saturday 19th September.

    Festival director Jed Cahill obviously put in a lot of time and effort to bring this short film fest to the public. He had good media support from Marc Fennell from Triple J Radio who was one of the judges on the night along with Chris Fewester, both of which I was fortunate enough to have solid conversation with pre and post screening.

    There were a total of fourteen films, eight of which I have decided to provide mini-reviews. Amongst the others were student shorts (all produced, shot and edited in only 3 days), Swings & Roundabouts (film maker Anna McGrath opts for actions and mannerisms, rather than dialogue) Two Men (an amusing tale of aboriginals set in the outback) and The Last Supper (a religious farce from Angus Sampson).

    In 2010 the festival will hit its 10th year (Jed Cahill has been the organiser and director from day one) and has been moved to an earlier date of May, so my diary is well and truly booked. If anyone would like copies of this years films, let me know and I will see if I can post something out to you.

    A special thanks to Michelle Sims who met me on the evening, organized my free entry, provided my friend and I drinks, together with front row seats. Let the good times roll !

    Luck Of The Irish : The story of Floyd – a man who’s luck is about to change – just like his Irish neighbour Felix experiences on a regular basis… but will Floyd’s luck run out ? This was quite a fitting opening to a short film festival and the type of movie you would expect to see when viewing a series of shorts. Light hearted entertainment, sharp humour and suitable for the whole family. Particular credit to Nick Eades for his editing.

    Broken Road : A father has the dreaded experience driving his two young daughters through an Australian desert – a breakdown. This is the one movie that felt as though it could of been a feature film. Young film maker Brodie Rocca makes us feel empathy for his characters, sets the tone with a perfect music score (from David Lazar) and the work by Nathan Solomon as Director of Photography is a major plus.

    Boxer : A handful of blue collar warehouse workers come across a box which has unusual contents (to say the least!) and begins to take possession of them one by one… The whole cast do a fine job with their subtle but simplistic mannerisms, portraying the everyday Australian. Deliberately paced by the film maker – particularly for the effects of humour. This is the kind of movie that stays with you long after the credits roll.

    Fences : A father who is a detective, leaves his son in the car whilst visiting a crime scene. The young boy’s curiosity leads him to witness something horrific in a suspenseful climax shot with first rate cinematography. Technically this is well crafted by Director Tim Dean – who cleverly leaves what is beyond the ‘fence’ down to the imagination of the viewer. Watch out for this film maker’s next effort.

    The Attack Of The Robots From Nebula 5 : The only foreign language film which relies entirely on a voice over to tell its story. The inner mind of a man who is convinced the world is going to end by the invasion of robots ! Written with flair, orchestrated with wit and very original. From the opening shot, you know the main character (played by Jose Manuel Ibarra) is absolutely off his rocker !

    Not So Great Eugene Green : The only animated effort of the festival is unequivocally the unsung hero. Credit and admiration must go to Michael Hill and his team for providing us with a clever, funny and heart warming story which is always compelling – but never predictable. Who needs The Simpsons or Family Guy when you’ve got Eugene Green.

    Early Checkout : Echoes of Weekend At Bernie’s (1989) is the inspiration here, in this hilarious comedy about two men in a hotel room waking up to a female corpse…after a sexual encounter ! Fast paced for deliberate impact – with a witty script by Clarke Richards and Dustin Clare and the editing from Sam Wilson is Hollywood standard.

    Miracle Fish : Winner for best film by the judges and it would be hard to argue a case against this. Film maker Luke Doolan delivers an eerie drama, which is well acted with an utterly compelling finale followed by the atmospheric use of slow–mo for maximum effect. The young boy played by Karl Beattie is reminiscent of Danny Lloyd from The Shining (1980).

    And finally, the Judges on the night awarded the following :

    Best Film : Miracle Fish

    Best Director : Luke Doolan, Miracle Fish

    Runner up : Broken Road

    Bin Laughin : Boxer

    Short short : Two Men

    Editing : Boxer

    Best male : The cast of Boxer

    Best female : The Rocca sisters from Broken Road

    Cinematography : The Attack Of The Robots From Nebula 5

    Script : The Attack Of The Robots From Nebula 5

    Production value : Not So Great Eugene Green

    Sound design : Not So Great Eugene Green

    © BRWC 2010.

  • Deep Impact

    Deep Impact is one disaster film that is very underrated, in many ways it is not purely a disaster film it is a character centred film that portrays the struggle humanity faces when a comet is on course for Earth. Real empathy is drawn from characters as families are ripped apart and faith is ultimately tested in the struggle for survival. Deep Impact is a real thought provoking film that mixes well thought out characters and story lines with breath taking special effects that makes for a truly unforgettable film.

    When young astronomer Leo Biederman (Elijah Wood) and his friend Sarah Hotchner (Leelee Sobieski) come across a star they cannot determine the name of, Leo sends his findings to Dr Marcus Wolf (Charles Martin Smith). Dr Wolf then discovers the star is in fact a comet bound for Earth. He attempts to alert his colleagues about the comet but dies in a sudden car accident. A year later reporter Jenny Lerner (Tea Leoni) is researching the sudden resignation of the United Sates Secretary of the Treasury and after following up a lead believes a woman named Ellie is involved in his resignation, she later learns that Ellie is in fact E.L.E meaning extinction level event such event has occurred once before when the dinosaurs became extinct.

    After Jenny Lerner’s discovery of the comet the U.S President (Morgan Freeman) decides to announce the presence of the comet named Wolf-Beiderman after Dr Wolf and Leo Beiderman. He tells everyone the comet is seven miles long and large enough to destroy humanity on Earth if it strikes. A team of astronauts are sent on the spaceship Messiah to break up the comet so it no longer poses a threat. The astronauts must drill into the comet before the sun penetrates the surface of the comet resulting in their deaths in this mission crew members are lost and the ship is damaged cutting off communication with Earth. With the fate of Earth looming in the balance President Beck acknowledges the Messiah did not fulfil its mission to destroy the comet and all precautions must be put in place to save as many people as possible and he announces that a system of underground caves have been constructed for an event such as this.

    Jenny Lerner delivers a speech telling America that the government will conduct a lottery to select 800,000 ordinary Americans to join 200,000 pre-selected scientists, Doctors, engineers, teachers, lawyers, artists, soldiers and officials. These people will be part of a worldwide effort to save mankind from extinction. She also has to deliver bad news that “Although some Americans over fifty years of ages have been selected for the Arc due to their expertise in a necessary field of study, no men and woman over fifty in the general population will be included in the lottery” While this is being read the camera switches between Jenny Lerner and her mother and father showing the anguish she faces knowing her parents wont be safe.

    Jenny and Leo are amongst those who are pre-selected, Leo obtains permission to marry Sarah Horchner in order to save both her and her family, but on evacuation day there is no record of an agreement to save Sarah’s family she refuses to leave without them and Leo is forced to leave without her. Jenny is told her mother is dead after knowing she wouldn’t be one of the chosen to be saved. Later when Leo reaches the Arc he realises he cannot abandon Sarah and her family and goes back for her, he tracks the family down to a grid locked highway and persuades Sarah to leave with him, she reluctantly agrees and her parents give away her baby sister in the hope that she will be safe with Sarah. Will their faith and hope prevail? Or is their last minute attempt at finding safety too late? With Leo and Sarah fleeing for higher ground Jenny is being evacuated by helicopter but she selflessly gives up her seat to a friend and co-worker and goes to be with her father at the beach house.

    There is one last attempt on the comets by missiles and the smaller of the comets Beiderman falls into the ocean creating a huge tsunami as the massive waves near the beach Jenny and her father embrace and are engulfed by water, along will millions of other Americans who did not flee or reach higher ground in time. This is one of the most heart wrenching moments of the film as the world prepares for the impact of the second and bigger comet Wolf. This comet is said to create a cloud of dust that will block the sun for several years and ultimately destroying the planet. “That’s it good luck to us all” is the parting message from President Beck. We can only watch and wait to see the outcome as these characters struggle to survive.

    The crew members of the Messiah now back in contact with Earth decide to finish the comet themselves which is ultimately a suicide mission they say goodbye to their loved ones and brace themselves for their untimely death in order to save humanity. The Messiah succeeds in breaking the comet up into smaller pieces that burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere causing little devastation to Earth and saving Humanity from extinction.
    The closing scene is a speech from President Beck with a poignant message, in front of the ruins of the white house. Deep Impact is a film that is not only a heart breaking, tear-jerking journey of sacrifice but also a journey of love and devotion, a film that shows humanity at its most vulnerable.

    © BRWC 2010.

  • Peacock Season

    There is no better film created on such a shoestring budget that actually shows you what the Fringe is like from the performers’ view. Many, many, many comedy performers are present for cameo roles.

    Stand out performances that are worth a mention are: Adam Hiles is a stand out character, playing the professional who has been doing it for over 10 years, always coming back for more. Glenn Wool plays the cool comedian who always gets women. Phil Nichol plays an over hyped agent who speaks really fast and is a joy to behold on screen. These types of comedians should be captured more for their magnetism more so in films or anything with a camera. Otherwise how they are now will just be wasted. Also starring: James Wren, Cal McCrystal, Paul Foot, Matt Kirshen, Rhys Darby, Pete Firman, Justin Edwards, John Biddle, Oliver Birch, David Glover, Nina Conti and Reece Shearsmith.

    It is an analysis of the Fringe mentality for anyone seeking fame or even any appreciation of any kind really. The first year, you don’t bother with the reviews or critics, second year you start to care about reviews, third year you care about critics, fourth year…and so on.

    The film itself has as a certain number of flaws. Such as the main acting roles needed someone with more charisma and flair to make you want to watch further. Instead of an unconvincing James Wren who fails to capture your full attention. The film lacks that element of quality within the production. I’m sure there was a lack of budget but, I would love to see a polished film that stands the test of time. I hope Peacock Season can be used as a template for an official, budgeted film shot on nice cameras as there is so much potential in this type of project.

    Lets take nothing away from this great achievement of a film showing exactly the type of thing to expect if you are a first time performer. A true examination of the explanation that anything goes laxidaisy attitude during the festival. Brilliant as it was made on a budget of about £60.

    One which you can tell was a true labour of love.

    © BRWC 2010.

  • Saw VI Poster


    Stop making these films, please!
    Although I quite like this poster…

    © BRWC 2010.

  • MJ Doing The Penguin?

    A fascinating clip from of the forthcoming memorial concert film, This Is It.
    How it show hints of MJ working on creating a new dance move before his death? A move called The Penguin?

    © BRWC 2010.