Directed by Neil Monaghan Starring Robert Daws, Susan Penhaligon, Reanne Farley Short Film Review by Jack Bottomley In a world where Twitter has become the place of presidential address and where outrage can now stem from the fact that Kim Kardashian has opted for a gold frock over a red one, there is plenty of scope for stories about a very unfair system and how society has its priorities topsy turvey from time to time. An Unkind Word is one such story, a very stripped back, honest and internally annoyed work that reflects how many good people are made to be disillusioned by the political system and by the way of the world in general. That being said, don’t let this core theme put you off, as Neil Monaghan’s short film tackles some serious ideas but does so in an utterly charming and realistically human way. The plot sees politician Tom Spurlock (Robert Daws) unexpectedly hitting headlines as he finds himself at the bottom of a poll for Britain’s sexiest politician, this spontaneous unrequested notoriety comes as way more of a distraction than it should, during an important debate about a subject close to Tom’s heart. At around 15 minutes in length, Monaghan really weaves a compelling drama that sees a decent man, dedicated to his constituents, being forced to confront the vacuousness of a media consumed by silliness and ignorant of issues they deem irrelevant or “not our problem”. Almost recalling Armando Iannucci’s The Thick Of It with its realism and spot on production value, you really feel as though you are following a day in the life of a sole good politician struggling to make a difference due to the indifference of others. Benedict Edwards select scoring compliments Edwin Flay’s script nicely, as the story really shows us why more focus needs putting on subjects that are really important – and not just to our local area but the world – as opposed to the headline hitting frivolousness that unfortunately gets the most media traction. This is a highly relevant and stirring piece of work that is not too heavy handed and feels relatable and quite motivational actually. Seeing Tom Spurlock fall afoul of the news thanks to this, frankly, silly poll feels unjust and furthermore seeing the effect it actually has on his own mind come the climax feels a touch shattering, as it shows how the focus, when misplaced, can really make it difficult for honest people to get on. A concluding interview with some self-loving trendy reporters in particular gets you thinking and maybe even fuming. The cast are really good in their parts, though it is a showcase for Robert Daws, who gives the lead role an edge of passion and wit, as he excels in creating a likeable politician (no easy task nowadays!!). Also a welcoming presence is Susan Penhaligon, as Tom’s co-worker Caroline, who dismisses all the hoopla and simply carries on, urging Tom to do the same and Penhaligon is similarly a very warm and endearing character. An Unkind Word is a short that handles things so impressively well, feeling likable, rootable and very contemporary, as it tackles subjects like filler news and how it distracts from real world issues and there is also a lovely stance against the destructive ivory trade. A very enjoyable, compelling and superbly made short feature. #Political #Drama #NeilMonaghan #RobertDaws #SusanPenhaligon #JackBottomley #ShortFilmReviews #ShortFilms

★★★★ Directed by Greg Barker. Starring Barak Obama, John Kerry, Samantha Power, Ben Rhodes Documentary Film Review by George Wolf It may be an often misused phrase, but if you'd like an example of someone literally at a loss for words, you'll find it in The Final Year. Ben Rhodes, senior advisor to President Barack Obama, is trying to come to grips with the fact that Donald J. Trump had just become President-Elect of the United States. Rhodes tries several times to process a comment, and cannot. It's a striking sequence of an entire administration caught by horrific surprise, one of many indelible moments in director Greg Barker's compelling look inside the final twelve months of the Obama presidency. Beyond the press conferences and photo ops, the film celebrates the daily grind of governing, and builds an ironic vibrancy from the slow and often frustrating march of persistence. The goal is Obama's vision of a "global common humanity," and as the months wind down, we get close to the key players on his foreign policy team: Secretary of State John Kerry, UN Ambassador Samantha Power, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, and Rhodes. It's The West Wing with very real, incredibly high stakes, and from the Iranian nuclear treaty to the Syrian conflict, from the Paris climate accords to Boko Haram, we witness a commitment to progress that might be...steady..."harder to dismantle if we take a different turn." Which, of course, we did, a fact that lays bare the anchor in this film that's as bittersweet as it is inescapable. Government needs people this committed, this intelligent, this qualified, this decent, and right now they seem in damn short supply. Is Barker selective about what sides of his subjects we're permitted to see? For sure, as that's what a director does. But whether your political lean is left or right, the suspicion that Barker's sitting on video of Obama bragging about sexual assault or calling some country a "shithole" would occur only to the most rabid of Hannitys. It adds up to a fascinating, fly-on-the-wall account of 2016 that arrives already feeling like a freshly opened time capsule from some faraway yesteryear, a magical time when Presidents might have actually cared about other people. #movies #film #entertainment #moviereviews #GeorgeWolf #BarakObama #JohnKerry #SamamthaPower #BenRhodes #GregBarker #documentary #politicaldocumentary

★★★ Directed by Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina Starring Anthony Gonzalez, Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, Jaime Camil, and Renee Victor Animated Film Review by Niall Maggs Coco is about a young, aspiring musician called Miguel who enters the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, who is a legendary singer. What follows is an hour and forty-five minutes of harmless fun, and another solid entry into Pixar's great catalogue of successful animated films. The animation is artistically beautiful; there's a bright and vibrant colour palette which decorates the streets, characters and skeletons - and there's quite a few in this film! The use of colour really brings it to life and enhances the movie experience for everyone, this combined with the great music works really well and brings more emotion into the film, making the heartfelt message beneath the storyline even more effective than it already was. The Mexican setting is why the colours feel so appropriate; the film's narrative is told through the holiday, Day of the Dead, where artistic patterns are hung up, stuck on walls and flags propped up and down the streets. The community in the town decorate the paths with these extraordinary colours and ornaments, giving the film a warm and pleasant tone. It made me feel even more involved and eager for the main character Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) to succeed on his mission, and find the legendary musician known as Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt). The storyline is very interesting and simple to follow, Coco is quite a basic film based on plot, but it's what is beneath the surface which is what's great about it. The message the story gives is very inspiring and important, and deals with subjects like trust, friendship and family, and how you should always follow your heart as long as it doesn't hurt others around you. This is best displayed with the character of Cruz. He pursues his dream to sing, and does whatever he has to to achieve this goal, however, he hurts his family by doing it. Impacting them emotionally and completely blocking them out of his life. This is the backdrop of the film, the family banishes music from their home, and doesn't allow anyone to play it near them because of the painful memories it brings back. However Miguel dreams to be like his great-great-grandfather, the legendary singer that everyone knew about. The message of following your dreams is very powerful and impactful in Coco. The dialogue is handled very well. The screenplay written by Lee Unkrich, Jason Kratz, Matthew Aldrich, and Adrian Molina is nothing special, quite mediocre actually, but it's the way the actors deliver the dialogue that makes it work. The script's problem is that it doesn't have much flair, unlike previous Pixar films, and just feels average. It doesn't do anything different from any other animated film and does contain it's fair share of clichés, however the aesthetic of the film brings your attention away from the script, but unfortunately good looks aren't enough to make it the best animated film of all time - or of the year even. Another issue with Coco is that it's very 'by-the-books' and quite predictable in certain parts. Especially the third act, where everything is quite obvious and basic. It's nothing new and just sticks to the same formula as other films in this genre. However when emotional scenes are done well, they really work and they genuinely bring the intended effect from you and the rest of the audience. Coco does contain multiple scenes like this throughout and they do hit the right spots, but its in the last third where they start to feel forced and then become ineffective. The last twenty minutes also feel very slow and do drag; with multiple endings during this time, you start to get desperate for it to end, and that's when you begin to look at your watch quite often. The voice-acting from the entire cast is very solid. Anthony Gonzalez in particular is very good in the lead role, and handles the music and singing effortlessly. The rest of the cast are all really talented in their roles as well. The passion and effort they put into their acting gives the audience a more immersive and enjoyable experience, and I would be lying if I said I didn't have a good time watching Coco, but it's main flaws are quite important parts of filmmaking, and really is the core of the movie. These flaws really need be focused on more in future Pixar films. However the message is really effective, the animation is aesthetically stunning and the performances are all outstanding but the script is very mediocre and the runtime feels a lot longer than it actually is. Beyond it's flaws though, Coco is a still solid animation film - if a little overrated. #AnimatedFilmReviews #Animation #NiallMaggs #Pixar #LeeUnkrich #AdrianMolina #AnthonyGonzalez #GaelGarciaBernal #BenjaminBratt #AlannaUbach #JaimeCamil #ReneeVictor

★★★ Directed by Brian Taylor Starring Nicolas Cage, Selma Blair, Ann Winters and Lance Henrickson Film Review by Hope Madden I brought you into this world, I can take you out of it. It’s a joke, of course, an idle threat. Right? Maybe so, but deep down, it does speak to the unspeakable tumult of emotions and desires that come with parenting. Wisely, a humorous tumult is exactly the approach writer/director Brian Taylor (co-director of the Crank series) brings to his horror comedy, Mom and Dad. Horror films have been coming up with excuses to exorcise our forbidden desire to kill our own children for decades, mostly with little-seen cult films like It’s Alive or The Children or Cooties. In those films, the children themselves become monsters and the adults have no choice, you see. Taylor’s take is different. In what is basically a long and very bloody metaphor for a mid-life crisis, parents the world over simply give in to an unspecified but urgent need to kill their own offspring. It’s an epidemic picture, a zombie film without the zombies. Which doesn’t sound that funny, I’ll grant you, but Taylor and a game cast indulge in many of the same family tensions that fuel most sitcoms. They just take it one or two or three demented steps further. So why do you want to see Mom and Dad? Because of the unhinged Nicolas Cage. Not just any Nic Cage—the kind who can convincingly sing the Hokey Pokey while demolishing furniture with a sledge hammer. This is one of those Nic Cage roles: Face/Off meets Wild at Heart meets Vampire’s Kiss. He’s weird, he’s explosive and he is clearly enjoying himself. Selma Blair lands the unenviable role of sharing the screen with Cage, but she doesn’t try to match him as much as keep him focused: they do have a job to accomplish, you know. The result is a fascinating picture of marital teamwork, actually. Good for them. Taylor’s frantic pace and hiccupping camera mirror Cage’s lunatic energy, and clever writing toys with our expectations while delivering a surprisingly transgressive film. Others have done it better. (I'm looking at you, Babadook.) But this may be the most amusing way to spend 90 minutes watching people try to murder their own children. #HopeMadden #NicolasCage #SelmaBlair #BrianTaylor #MomandDad #moviereviews #film #entertainment #horror #horrormovies #independentfillm

Written and Directed by Rachel Stephens Starring Daisy Burns Short Film Review by Rachel Pullen We have all acted in a way that upon reflection makes us wonder who we were at that time, something so out of character that it seems to not be us, that we have lost a part of our selves within our actions. This is the powerful subject of Rachel Stephens’s short film Losing Face. We see our leading lady (Daisy Burns) enter a bar, where she quickly realises that all the other customers around her have no facial features...creepy I can assure you. She runs and hides in the bathroom where she decides to call an old friend, maybe an ex lover [wouldn’t be my first choice of person to call in a crisis, but whatever floats your boat] and begins to apologize for her past actions, actions that were out of character, actions that made her question who she really is. Through this exploration into herself on the phone as well as addressing her reflection in the mirror she begins to scrub away at her own face until she becomes just another featureless customer in the bar she first came into. Shot in black and white with a rich art house directing style, short film Losing Face is an exploration into the human condition, delving into the inner turmoils that we face when looking back over our past mistakes in life. Shot predominantly in the bathroom, Stephens creates a sense of being trapped and isolated from this location, the central character must battle her demons alone, with no comfort from her bleak and unappealing surroundings nor other people, the audience is able to be fully immersed in her mental state. Daisy Burns carries this film throughout and her confident presence in front of the camera allows for the narrative to be clear and intriguing. We are invested in her journey, in the storyline, as well as the metaphorical message that Losing Face has to offer. This is a powerful and interesting short, and although art house film is not always for everyone, it certainly has a message that can be followed by any audience member; the balance between approachable and artistic is in proportion which is something that some directors of this style often lose, and so speaks favourable for Stephens and her skills behind the camera. Direct, thought-provoking and visually intriguing Losing Face is an interesting addition to the art house genre. #ShortFilmReviews #ShortFilms #RachelPullen #Drama #RachelStephens #DaisyBurns

Written and Directed by Fred Cavender Starring Rob Lawrence, Bess Davies, Kaitlyn McGill, Lloyd Lewis Short Film Review by Chris Olson Thrilling dystopian dramas seem to be right in filmmaker Fred Cavender’s wheelhouse. Having delivered the immensely impressive short The Golden Shore, as well as a string of other movies in 2017, this latest titled The Damned, is just as thematically bleak but even more cinematic. Audiences would be forgiven for thinking that with a title like The Damned they were in store for yet another zombie outbreak flick. No, the title here is far more literal and refers to both the characters and setting of the short. Living inside a city surrounded by giant walls, the citizens of this place go about an existence which is mild and bland. Bereft of fresh food and a decent view, few things flourish in the city of The Damned. Over the course of the short film we see a potential romance blossom, a young woman express her futile revolt, and a few other inhabitants looking to improve what little joys they have by seeking home improvements or new experiences. For a short film to be so immediately arresting, you cannot help but notice that Cavender is a storyteller who knows his trade like the devil knows dark. Visually, his approach is never direct enough to be predictable, and yet within minutes he manages to establish a sci-fi landscape that could rival that of Blade Runner or Children of Men. From the towering opening shot of the city to the intimate dinner of two of the citizens, it's a short film bursting at the seams with flair, capability, and intrigue. From a storyline aspect, The Damned takes multiple threads and weaves a simple yet compelling watch. Compared with The Golden Shore, there is not as much meat on these bones, but what it lacks in depth it more than makes up for in gripping tension and terrific visual spectacle. It would have been really interesting to chop one or two of the subplots and see what Cavender did with a more linear and svelte approach in this fantastically created world, if only to engage with the drama as much as the atmosphere. That being said, what The Damned is is just as entertaining, especially if you are a viewer with a penchant for immersive and palpable tension and stunning visuals. The performances are decent, in particular Bess Davies who captures more of the emotional fragility of the story through her facial expressions, coping well to balance the light flirtations with one of the residents against the tragic reality of her surroundings. Films of a similar genre will often opt for a lengthy exposition sequence (often using splatter gun news footage to do the heavy lifting) in order to explain the plot and even the morality lessons for the viewer. What was so intelligent about The Damned was its ability to let the audience fill in the blanks if they want to and to not bombard them with copious and unnecessary filler. Instead, they get a watertight cinematic experience with a short film that knows it's strengths and uses them with sturdy craftsmanship. Watch the official movie trailer for The Damned below... Or watch the short film for free below... #ShortFilmReviews #ShortFilms #ChrisOlson #Dystopianfilms #MovieTrailers #FredCavender #RobLawrence #BessDavies #KaitlynMcGill #LloydLewis

★★★★ Directed by Jason Lapeyre Executive Produced by Anna Skorzewska Edited by Maya Maffioli Documentary Film Review by Seamus Conlon Ingmar Bergman claimed that the human face was the greatest subject of cinema. He would’ve probably been dismayed by the absence of it in this documentary by Jason Lapeyre, whose title, Faceless refers to the camera’s general avoidance of the faces of psychiatric inpatients, presumably to protect their anonymity. The result is a film that’s arguably much bigger on verbal rather than visual stimulation; Faceless isn’t just light on spectacle, but also on body language and facial expression. While the result isn’t cinematic, it is perhaps more successfully voyeuristic than a more traditional and invasive documentary would be – since inpatients are not confronted head-on by the camera, they are freer to display their quirks and delusions without a sense of being scrutinized. The goal of the documentary is naturalism rather than narrative. Because the film is not entangled in the weeds of trying to economically communicate the information necessary to convey a narrative, it manages to be a thing of disinterested beauty, not a grimly economical arrangement of the information necessarily to string together a story. The documentary dwells upon and revisits the situations of various Toronto psychiatric patients over the course of the film, with the faces of the patients almost always unseen, meaning that it’s easy for the audience to have trouble identifying if they are already familiar from a previous scene with the patient they are watching. The staff members of the hospital provide the most assuring and recognizable references points, since they are always visible to the camera’s eye. We do gain a sense of familiarity via anecdote with the mental health situations of certain patients. One suffers from intense feeling of anxiety and paranoia about the autonomy of her own body, and tells the story of a fearful interaction with a stranger in which she constantly suspected (rightly or wrongly) the man’s desire to physically infringe upon her sense of sovereignty and space. On the other end of the spectrum is a woman whose manic periods seem to resemble uninterrupted divine madness – she describes an ecstatic sense of union with all, a sense being unbound by arbitrary distinctions between her self and other selves. She has an intriguing interaction with a religious staff member in which they discuss the disconnect between the secular viewpoint of most psychiatrists and the avowedly metaphysical dimension of much insanity. Perhaps the most memorable interviews are those with a woman who unhesitatingly displays her face to the camera as she describes the quasi-addiction she developed for the oblivion induced by electroconvulsive therapy. Faceless nobly lacks a sense of time and space, of contingency. Episodes fleet before our eyes without any sense of a relationship of consequence, causality, or even necessarily of chronology governing the sequencing. The imagery is often dreamily disorienting, since the camera must be evasive to protect the facial privacy of so many of its subjects. Laypeyre’s gorgeous cinematography often peers out the window at Toronto street life, or fixating on details such as the abstract expressions paintings of xylophone playing of patients. Some might find this willful lack of clarity frustrating, but it is the positive sign of a documentary for which aesthetics matter. The solemn, worthy nature of the film’s subject matter fortunately doesn’t stop Lapeyre from painting the frames with bold, saturated colours, or from injecting decorative shots that make the most of the hospital’s spacious corridors and reflective surfaces. Faceless is certainly too word-focused to be a work of pure cinema, but the documentary nevertheless has a beauty that much kitchen-sink realism lacks. #IndieFilmReviews #IndieFilms #SeamusConlon #DocumentaryFilmReviews #Documentaries #JasonLapeyre

★★★★ Directed by Luca Guadagnino Starring Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer, Amira Casar and Michael Stuhlbarg Film Review by Hope Madden It’s a languid Italian summer circa 1983 and everything is just so ripe. Call Me by Your Name, the coming-of-age drama from Luca Guadagnino (I Am Love, A Bigger Splash), swoons. Precocious seventeen-year-old Elio (an utterly astonishing Timothée Chalamet) is surrounded with luscious fruit from the trees, lovely girls from the village, books and music to fill the hours spent with his parents (Amira Casar, Michael Stuhlbarg) in the rural villa where they research Greco-Roman culture. Then their seasonal research assistant Oliver (Armie Hammer) arrives. Awash in sensuality, Guadagnino’s love story is unafraid to explore, circling Oliver and Elio as they irritate each other, then test each other, and finally submit to and fully embrace their feelings for one another. Theirs is a remarkable dance, intimately told and flawlessly performed. Enough cannot be said for Chalamet’s work. He is astonishingly in control of this character in Call Me By Your Name, and were that not the case, the age difference between the two characters (Oliver is meant to be 24, though Hammer is 31 which makes the gap seem more disturbing) would have left things feeling too predatory. Hammer has never been better. Though the young Chalamet's performance is Oscar-caliber, Hammer matches him step for step, creating a character both vulnerable and authoritative. A standout in a solid ensemble, Stuhlbarg, looking almost alarmingly like Robin Williams, brings a quiet tenderness to the proceedings, a tone he elevates in a late-film monologue that could not have been delivered with more compassion or love. It's breathtaking, perfectly punctuating the themes of acceptance and self-acceptance that permeate the film. But even before Hammer or Chalamet can seduce you, Sayombhu Mukdeeprom does, lensing a feast for the senses. Together he and Guadagnino immerse you in this heady love story, developing a dreamy cadence and alluring palette that invites you to taste. #CallMeByYourName #independentfilm #movies #entertainment #moviereviews #ArmieHammer #TimothéeChalamet #LucaGuadagnino #AmiraCasar #MichaelStuhlbarg #Oscarcontenders #HopeMadden

Directed by Patrick Ireland Written by Sam Wise and Patrick Ireland Starring Mark Keegan and Patrick Ireland Short Film Review by Euan Franklin You can’t expect to walk in a city like London and not be struck by the issue of homelessness. More than 300,000 people are homeless in the UK, 8000 of whom reside on the streets of London. Roll up Patrick Ireland, the creative director of Shout Out UK – a political website for the youth of today. In his mockumentary short The Director, he tackles the attitudes surrounding the homeless with a funny yet poignant twist. The title character is Patrick (played by Ireland), an egotistical filmmaker, striving (supposedly) for a realistic examination into the life of Liam (Mark Keegan), an ordinary man sleeping on the streets. However, we soon come to realise that Patrick is making the film for himself rather than to raise the issues of homelessness. Warning sirens went off when seeing the tagline “A Comedy About Homelessness”. My first thought was: what’s funny about homelessness? Even worse was the asterisk on the poster, indicating that this is not a film for “snowflakes” – a term that is a needle to the liberal-minded (including myself). However, within 30 seconds, you realise Ireland isn’t mocking the homeless or the people standing up for them. He isn’t even trying to be comically controversial. He is mocking the ungrounded assertions made about homeless people by the wealthy. Patrick’s character is like a bourgeois David Brent: completely ignorant, but funny in his stupidity. The Director struggles in its balance between satire and human empathy. Ireland and co-writer Sam Wise draw the wealthy characters like sketches in Private Eye, without any empathy or understanding as to the reasons behind their ignorance. There is an enormous amount of empathy afforded to Liam’s character, presenting a realistic depiction of homelessness, but Patrick’s character doesn’t encourage the real bourgeoisie to change their perceptions. Patrick doesn’t change, and so The Director’s grasp for profundity weakens. It’s like Ireland is saying that everything will stay the same, and the divide in attitudes will never be bridged – a takeaway that he clearly didn’t intend. The performances attack each other, and to great effect. Ireland’s cartoonish acting fits with Patrick’s absurd personality, clashing with Keegan’s friendly, naturalistic approach to Liam – perfect for the fake-documentary format. Keegan is sometimes patronised by emotional music – implying that Ireland wasn’t confident enough in his performance to tell the story – but this isn’t an overwhelming problem. The passive conflict between the two characters is hilarious, particularly since neither of them likes the other. And it’s always funny to see a rich snob look uncomfortable in a soup kitchen. The Director is often hilarious, and deliciously awkward. Despite Patrick’s unwavering attitude, he’s a funny character to watch self-destruct – particularly when Liam is exceedingly normal by comparison. As a political short, Ireland has done his job and makes us examine our own attitudes towards the homeless with more care and consideration. #MarkKeegan #PatrickIreland #SamWise #TheDirector #Homelessness #UKFilmReview #EuanFranklin #London #ShortFilmReviews

Directed by Bruno Mourral Written by Jasmuel Andri, Gilbert Mirambeau Jr. and Bruno Mourral Starring Jasmuel Andri, Rolaphton Mercure, Manfred Marcelin, Rolando Étienne, Marcus Boereau, Ralphe Théodore, Sionel Dorcély Short Film Review by Chris Olson Haitian dark comedy Kafou is a riotously funny short film from Jasmuel Andri, Gilbert Mirambeau Jr. and Bruno Mourral that combines a buddy road trip with a thrilling crime caper, resulting in a laugh-a-minute journey through the dark streets of urban Haiti. When hired to operate as a couple of ‘delivery’ boys for a criminal kingpin called Fritz (Manfred Marcelin), Zoe (Rolapthon Mercure) and Doc (Jasmuel Andri) had no idea their night was about to be filled with so many twists of fate. As they traverse the dark and empty streets with their ‘cargo’ in the trunk, they are met by numerous crossroads which offer up a delightful array of mishaps and altercations, such as a dog that becomes windscreen fodder and cops that uphold far less of the law than they should. Coming in at a touch over fifty minutes, Kafou only just qualifies as a short film but it is one which delivers on so many levels. First and foremost, the chemistry between Mercure and Andri is rapturously funny. Several hijinks are played by Zoe on the always-serious Doc, and it is these lighter camaraderie moments that are some of the highlights, such as a brilliantly simple sequence where the former childishly stops Doc entering the car by pulling away slightly and then bursting into gut-busting laughter at his own hilarity. Director Bruno Mourral utilises this awesome chemistry and backs it up with some excellent filmmaking. The entire short film has a strong quality to it, with daring camera angles and editing to keep the pace nippy, and some wonderful aerial shots that provided a compelling glimpse into urban street life in the ghetto. Kafou could have easily stretched to a feature length on the strength of the performances and filmmaking alone. However, the film contained even more impressive elements for audiences to thoroughly enjoy. On a thematic level, the story was a wonderful exploration of self-preservation done in an authentic manner. These two characters could have so easily become caricatures of criminal street thugs, only serving to bumble and buffoon their way through assemblage of scuffs and scrapes. Instead, Doc and Zoe are interesting and well-rounded characters, with believable motivations and are still highly entertaining. The comedy also gives way to some palpable tenderness and pathos in the latter third of the movie which was superbly done without spoiling the tone or atmosphere. Inordinately enjoyable with character and charm to spare. Watch the official Kafou movie trailer below... #ShortFilmReviews #ShortFilms #ChrisOlson #MovieTrailers #Crime #Buddymovie #BrunoMourral #JasmuelAndri #GilbertMirambeauJr #RolaphtonMercure #ManfredMarcelin #RolandoÉtienne #MarcusBoereau #RalpheThéodore #SionelDorcély #WorldCinema

Written and Directed by Andi Osho Starring Cat Van Dort, Will Finlason Short Film Review by Chris Olson Tackling the totes emosh world of pop music fandom, filmmaker Andi Osho's short film Amber adds a deliciously macabre streak to this tale, and the result is compelling and enjoyably twisted. Cat Van Dort plays the titular Amber, a fan girl of fictional boyband One Summer (most likely a reference to One Direction, of which there are several others), in particular one of its members called Charlie (Will Finlason). At the beginning of the short, we see her entering a police station and being taken in for questioning, her mother notices she has been cutting herself again. What transpires through flashback is an atmospheric and psychologically thrilling encounter between Amber and Charlie, when she breaks into his apartment. From the outset, Osho captures the polarity of emotion in its central character brilliantly. Vibrant scenes of Amber declaring her love for the boy and excitement at sharing the fan fiction she has created, are masterfully juxtaposed with the perilous apartment sequences where she poses a considerable threat. The tension continues to build throughout, culminating in a totally satisfying final third which can be rare in short thrillers. Van Tort is a perfunctory lead, coping well with the majority of dialogue but coming across wooden at times. Her best interaction is actually the more physically demanding moments with Finlason, who is a more commanding on screen presence. His motivations are expressed well during the whole movie, and Finlason delivers a very believable jaded pop star. Thematically, short film Amber is an intoxicating combination. Stories that depict the uneasy relationship between the youth and the digital age are becoming increasingly popular and potent. The role of social media in the development of young people and the responsibilities of celebrity role models is a fascinating topic. All of this and more gets churned up in Osho's film, with spectacular results. Aside from a few amateur dramatics and line delivery, Amber is a striking and relevant piece of modern storytelling. Containing impressive visuals, a formidable atmosphere, and a story depth that are utterly impressive. #ShortFilmReviews #ShortFilms #ChrisOlson #AndiOsho #CatVanDort #WillFinlason #Drama

★★★★ Directed by Steven Spielberg Starring Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Tracy Letts, Sarah Paulson, Bob Odenkirk, Bradley Whitford Film Review by Hope Madden It is Oscar season, people, and we have a big story to tell. Assemble the heavy hitters! Spielberg – check. Tom Hanks – check. Where do you go from there when you’re making the Big Important Film? The one with potential blockbuster legs? Correct: Meryl Streep. It is official: The Post has it all, beginning with the almost-too-relevant story of a newspaper casting off its personal associations to hold the government accountable by sharing actual news with citizens of the United States and the world. “If we live in a world where the government tells us what we can and cannot print,” says Ben Bradlee by way of Tom Hanks, “the Washington Post has already ceased to exist.” The year is 1971. The New York Times has just published parts of the Pentagon Papers, a decades-long study that proves the government lied for years about what was happening in Vietnam. The Washington Post wants desperately to be seen as one of the big news outlets, so they’re working to publish similar content of their own when Nixon decides it’s in his purview to suppress the freedom of the press. A timely reminder of the struggle to maintain an informed public, Spielberg’s latest is also a testament to Post publisher Kay Graham (Streep). The film offers an insightful image of her difficult road and her courageous actions. Like Spotlight, also co-written by Post co-scribe Josh Singer (writing here with Liz Hannah), this story encapsulates a watershed moment in journalism. No, not the struggle for a free press. The introduction of profit into the mix. Part of the film’s tension comes from the fact that the Pentagon Papers became available at the same time that the Post was being made public, which introduces yet another powerful contributor toward determining what is and is not deemed appropriate news: money. It’s a lot to tackle, but naturally, Spielberg has it all well in hand and he doesn’t limit his spectacular casting to Streep and Hanks. Look for great ensemble performances from Tracy Letts, Bob Odenkirk, Bradley Whitford, Sarah Paulson, Bruce Greenwood and about 30 others. Spielberg’s passion and polish come together here as an expertly crafted rallying cry. He’s preaching to the choir, but he preaches so well. #ThePost #MerylStreep #TomHanks #TracyLetts #BobOdenkirk #StevenSpielberg #HopeMadden #Movies #film #entertainment #basedontrueevents #Oscarcontenders