Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Reel Dreams Film Competition

Go over to GodTube(ugh, I know, but its only there so what can you do?) and check out out Regent University's Reel Dreams film contest.

This film features entries of 3-5 minute films about a person who faces a moral dilemma and then experiences the consequences of that dilemma.  
I haven't watched any of these yet(no time; work/school are killing me right now), but I noticed at least one clay animation short.  Vote for that just to give clay animation its just due!  Save This Page Add to Technorati Favorites

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I hereby commit to watching all the films and writing a short review for each. Here's the list so far:

Flee - I couldn't even finish it... ugh

Edward and the Magic Wand - I loved the attempt at claymation, Also, the first two minutes were hilarious. The "change" in the character and the reason for that change was a little cliche, but I kinda liked the action it produced.

Score - This borders on trite analogy, but holds on throughout. The concept behind the plot was extremely creative; major props for that.

Love Louder Than Words - A bold concept, decent execution, but went a tad overboard in the climax. [warning, possible spoiler ahead!] Moreover, I think the end wouldn't matter to that type of preacher... if a preacher who is really like that came upon a scene like the one at the end, I doubt he'd feel convicted at all.

Generational Curse - I strongly disagree with the doctrine behind the idea of this (wait for it!) trailer. That's right, I said it was a *trailer*. Oh well. The way it was filmed (for the first 20 seconds) was very cool, but by 1:34 it was already tired. Oh well.

Like You - OMG the writing was horrible. The acting bordered on silly, just like the plot. And please tell that one guy to quit snapping his fingers so much. Also tell the makers of this film to never rip off a scene from Napoleon Dynamite ever again; and if they do, to at least do it well.

Live By The Sword - Alright I'm going to go ahead and be snarky. I laughed throughout the first part of the film (yes, laughing *at* it). Then I was actually *shocked* by the plot twist... like, "whoa!" shocked. Anyways, I loved that plot twist, but the rest was laughable. Literally. (Dear SuperCandid, please reference the email I recently wrote you... I promise this is the film the author was talking about [told you I'd find it!])

Pursuit of the Absolute - Evidently the spoken language of the film is Czech? Cool! Too bad the story is completely unoriginal. Also, next time give me more compelling material when you say that the main character is leading a life "going nowhere."

Mercy Triumphs - Last time I checked there is a difference between criminal and civil proceedings; one trial does not mean someone gets paid and the defendant goes to jail.
The choice the main character faced was thought provoking, and may be something that needs to be explored outside a 5 minute film, because O. M. G. the ending was so... yeah...

Clay Scripts - Um, they were allowed to enter music videos? Anyway, I couldn't understand that plot because I couldn't understand the lyrics. Moreover, I feel like this was made by someone who got their heart broken and in an attempt to deal with the heartbreak decided to take the high moral ground and love "selflessly" rather than accept the fact that it's okay to be hurt and that you have to deal with it. For instance, the film description says this:
"The greatest commandments and therefore, the greatest choices, are founded in love. This film enters the experience of a young man learning real, selfless love - through his selfishness, lack of understanding and innability to see past other's flaws, even with his closest friend. Often times, we must lose or be lost to figure out what is true and right."
But instead, I think this film teaches the lesson that if you are the better person in the breakup you'll be forever happy with the knowledge that you were the better person.
Or maybe it wasn't even about a *romantic* "best friend" and was just about an *actual* "best friend" and I have it all wrong.
Whatevs.

By The River - The title is too close to the popular Chris Farley sketch.
On a side note, evidently Jack, a homeless character in the film, was played by an actual homeless guy. You know, with a little coaching and better material he could actually be a *really* good actor! Well, maybe that's a stretch, but he seems like he'd be a great guy to hang out with :-)

My Brother's Smile - Really? Slipping on the stairs? That's all you could come up with? Geesh.
Otherwise, that was a really good job by the main character with the yelling-alone-in-my-bedroom-out-of-desperation scene. But then the end just lost it for me. Typical "conversion" story.

JC Warriors - Animation!!! And it was pretty sweet!
But the sound editing was horrible. And evidently they couldn't get people to narrate, instead they used subtitles (what?!). Also, I wanted to know more about these JC Warriors (do they all ride the J Train???), especially because I could not follow the overall plot. Finally, um, "To be continued?" That's not fair...

Dial R For Russian - Despite the obvious nod to Hitchcock, that kind of filmmaking and suspense is almost nowhere to be found here. Moreover, I feel the plot was too much of an attempt to be "contemporary" and relevant. And the moral stance taken in the film, although correct, seemed too heavy-handed. Yawn.

Fallout - Daaaammnnnn that guy has some guns! Literally and metaphorically.
Overall, kind of confusing. Like another user commented, it was an interesting attempt at a film with no dialogue, which I appreciate. Too bad the execution, and story in general, wasn't the greatest.
P.S. Yes, I know one decision can change your life. But are Christian really always this fatalistic about it? Whatever happened to the transforming power of God's grace?

Drifter - Yo, the cinematography, especially due to the natural setting, was *gorgeous*. Also, the farmer was a pretty good actor: the performance came off as natural, not too stiff. I wish the sound had a better quality, because that would have taken the film to a whole other level. The end, although it might be viewed as cliche, was very moving; the look on the farmer's eyes totally sealed the deal and *made* it moving. I'm glad he was able to bring out that kind of performance. So far, this one stands head and shoulders above the rest.

I Promise - The main character's outburst in the hall is how I feel about the film in general: truly, please stop beating people over the head like this. I've grown up with the "it could be your last chance!" spiel for my whole life. If your going to hit me with that again, please handle it somewhat originally. Otherwise...

Cook To The Cross - Interesting attempt at the documentary style. But that "bad" chef is right: it's just an egg. It *is* gimmicky. I had no sympathy for the moral stance of this film. At all. Aside from that, it was executed quite well. Good editing. Acting wasn't bad. Plot was... interesting. The end? Sigh. I know I would get in very heated discussion with the writer of this film.

Don said...

i cant believe adrian watched them all... he should have our job.

well, mine anyway.

Awakenpictures said...

Maybe you guys can do a special supercandid review of short films on the net when you guys have some time.