★★★★★ Directed by: #AlbertSerra Written by: #AlbertSerra Starring: #BenoîtMagimel, #PahoaMahagafanau Film Review by: Alex Matraxia Albert Serra’s Pacifiction was a delirious surprise at this year's Cannes Festival, wielding audacity and style into a quietly intense character study. Part-political-piece, part-tropical-dreamscape, with a disquieting sensibility for the absurd that finds familiarity with the likes of Lynch and Fassbinder. It may not have the makings of a classic, but it gave us hope at this year's festival that not all filmmakers are satisfied with mediocrity. Set in Tahiti, Benoît Magimel plays M de Roller, a commissioner of French Polynesia. Magimel is not only insidiously foppish in the role, but balances this slimy demeanour with sincere melancholy, the combination enchanting to watch. Credit to Pahoa Mahagafanau whose performance as Shannah alongside Magimel makes for the most memorable and modest relationship. And every periphery character is so integrated into the tone of the film that they’re enough to keep our intrigue lingering, even when the plot descends into mist. There’s a meticulousness to Pacifiction which reveals all too well Serra’s interest with artifice. The luridly purple sunsets of Tahiti are almost painterly; and it’s no coincidence that the local club is decorated with murals of mountains. Here we have a film where exterior and interior spaces collide, of physical and psychological terrain. Even the outfits are carefully complimentary to the surroundings; floral shirts that have characters blending into wallpaper and wildlife. The landscape has a hold over its characters, and inflects the film with a tint of paranoia. This is further reinforced by the work of DP Artur Tort, each frame of his being a work of art that never isolates the story. Pacifiction is indulgent filmmaking that still has control over its material, and shapes it beautifully. Perhaps some will find this film tiresome, the way it lacks resolution and disintegrates into a series of vignettes, of peculiar set-pieces, as we’re taken into the heart of darkness. It is style as substance (and substantial), and at no point does the film lose itself in its digressions. In the hands of Hollywood, a film like this may have received the tightening it momentarily needs, but its richness and delirium would surely be lacking, if not intentionally erased. Serra’s film may be too esoteric for some movie-goers, but it’s impressively unique and distinctly cinematic. In this regard, it’s what movies should be.

★★ Directed by: #LouisGarrel Written by: #LouisGarrel, #TanguyViel Starring: #LouisGarrel, #AnoukGrinberg Film Review by: Alex Matraxia While it tries to play like a characterful crime-comedy, Louis Garrel’s feature L’Innocent is a saccharine misfire. An Oedipal comedy that’s empty of charm, especially when it tries to be so charming. Abel (Louis Garrel) is dubious when his sixty-year old mother Sylvie (Anouk Grinberg) decides to remarry. With a snobbish sense of prejudgement, Abel disapproves, especially as his mother has fallen for Michel (Roschdy Zem), an ex-con. While trying to prove that his new step-dad’s still a crook, Abel finds himself sucked into a caviar-heist, which Michel is spearheading in order to fund Sylvie’s flower shop. These are the ingredients for a potentially brilliant farce, a comic-book misadventure where Step-Father and Son realise they’re not so different; all it takes is a ludicrous crime to bring them together. Sadly, we have cliche after cliche, two-dimensional characters and a neediness to prove itself moving; this is comedy obliterated by schmaltz. Its romantic interludes (of course) take place in the aquarium where Abel works, and we have silhouettes kissing in front of school-trip backdrops. Anouk Grinberg and Roschdy Zem are perhaps the highlight of the film; they do their best with the material, both wielding a mature sense of comedic timing, and they play their roles well. Their love is sincere, with the right touch of desperate. Louis Garrel does nothing apparently wrong in his performance as Abel, and yet the character feels wooden and disposable. Perhaps its intentional, but it weighs the story with unneeded awkwardness. The film reminded me of Judd Apatow's The King of Staten Island in the way both films focus on maladjusted man-children, trying to come to terms with their mother’s rekindled love-life. Pete Davidson’s Scotty wasn’t the most likeable character and yet we liked him. The film was working in synch with his personality. In L’Innocent, Abel feels like he’s getting in the way of a movie we’d rather see; something in the periphery like Sylvie and Michel’s romance. I can admire Garrel’s film for what it wants to be: a feel-good film with a poignant resolution. And a few ironies along the way. But its structural ironies are so transparent, practically rubbed into your face, that it's hard not to resent them. L’Innocent is a film which strives for comedic unity, but delivers a forgettable faux-farce.

★★★★ Directed by: #MarioMartone Written by: #MarioMartone, #IppolitaDiMajo Starring: #PierfrancescoFavino, #TommasoRagno Film Review by: Alex Matraxia While Mario Martone’s latest film Nostalgia is rather on-the-nose with its title, why beat around the bush with a film this emotionally direct, with a heartbeat that gloriously bridges the past and the present. Crafted with sensitivity, care, and candour, this nostalgic excursion proved surprisingly modern, being one of the strongest films at Cannes. Having left his home-city of Naples at the age of fifteen, Felice (Pierfrancesco Favino) returns after his self-exile, having established a successful life in Cairo. At first we think his return home is motivated by his elderly mother, nearing the end of her life. But memories of his Neapolitan childhood reveal the friends he also left behind, and one friend in particular, Oreste Spasiano (played by Tommaso Ragno). Like brothers in childhood, a petty crime-turned-sour forced Felice to flee the city, and the two men haven’t exchanged a single word since. Befriending the local priest, Father Luigi (Francesco Di Leva), Felice learns that his childhood friend is now one of the most feared mobsters in Naples. Felice tells his wife that the city hasn’t changed, but while the city hasn’t changed, the people have. Combining elements of the crime thriller with a tale of lost-brotherly-love, Nostalgia is more than just a trip down memory lane. With Sorrentino’s The Hand of God released last year, it’s interesting to note just how different the two directors interpret the city of Naples. Sorrentino’s is a poetic-realist dreamscape, subjective and fanciful. Martone’s Naples is more concrete; noir-like, corruptive. In both films, it’s a city of memories, tinged with regret. Despite its frequent flashbacks (shot with super-8 flare and a Tangerine Dream soundtrack) the film effectively builds towards its climax where Felice and Oresto reunite in confrontation. Since their adolescence, Felice has grown into a successful man, but Oresto lives a life of violence and squalor; Felice’s own family-dynamic is parodied in the criminals and urchins who hang around Oresto’s crumbling apartment. The two men poignantly realise that they are now strangers, their friendship irretrievable. Masterfully acted by all those involved - especially Favino whose physical stature still nurtures the melodramatic guilt of a teenager; his scenes with Di Leva’s Father Luigi are especially powerful, both performances being mature but casual. Though its emotional nuances are a little too drawn out, and its ending a little abrupt, Nostalgia is a beautiful character-study, a real treat at this year’s Festival.

★★★ Directed by: #DavidCronenberg Written by: #DavidCronenberg Starring: #ViggoMortensen, #LéaSeydoux Film Review by: Alex Matraxia David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future seems to be the talk-about film at Cannes; while Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis may have generated the most hype, Cronenberg’s latest sci-fi has us talking in the queues, asking peers and strangers ‘What did you think?’ There’s a general consensus: it’s vintage Cronenberg, with comparisons being made to his body-horror classics like eXistenZ, Videodrome, and Crash. And yet Crimes of the Future was less a film than a series of Deleuzian soundbites - ‘Body is Reality’ and ‘Surgery is the New Sex’ - and while these postmodern aphorisms are supported by engorged visuals, they fail to deliver the drama which remained dormant by the end of the movie. In fact, what we have here isn’t a movie, but a point-to-be-made. Viggo Mortensen plays Saul Tenser, a performance artist suffering from the pulpish disorder of ‘Accelerated Evolution Syndrome’. Inside his body, tumours are manifesting into new organs. He works with fellow artist Caprice (Léa Seydoux) who removes Tenser’s organs in a public display of surgery. They stage these surgeries like experimental theatre - in brutalist auditoriums where art-lovers gawk and applaud and record the artwork on their super-8 cameras (like Warhol’s factory had a cyberpunk makeover). To the film’s credit, this vision of the future is by no means unrealistic. Crimes of the Future is sharp as a satire, often relatable, and the leads fulfil their roles with substance; Mortensen’s Tenser is especially captivating on screen, his intensity is slow, visceral, and nuanced. And Léa Seydoux manages to bring warmth to an unlikely role. Their relationship is often undercut by dialogue that’s either too artful to seem real or not artful enough to be intriguing (a la Crash). Kristen Stewart gives a taut and nervous performance as Timlin, a National organ Registry investigator who takes obsessive interest in the collaborative duo. Unlike her co-stars, Stewart never feels present in the world of the film; her self-consciousness, worn on her sleeve, offers nothing to discover in her performance. Perhaps because she’s performing. Although the drama’s subordinate to slogan-making, the film’s climax rescued it from total indifference. While some critics may have been put off by scenes of dissected bodies, this has never been a personal issue with watching Cronenberg, because his films are never gratuitous; Crimes of the Future is still delicately-performed gore; its gaping wounds are never repulsive, always inviting and charged with desire. In the past, Cronenberg could tell a story well and still maintain ideas. But by platforming theory in his Swiftian satire, the emotional landscape seems as artificial as the plastics that wash upon the polluted shores.

★★★★ Directed by: Joseph Kosinski Written by: Ehren Kruger, Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie Cast: Tom Cruise, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly Film Review by Robert Stayte One of the most popular and sometimes mocked 80’s movies of all time, Top Gun, has had a sequel in development for a long time, but it finally entered development properly in the age of the legacy sequel. And in the recent canon of legacy sequels, Maverick is a rare one that manages to be an improvement on it’s prior iconic film. 34 years after Top Gun, Pete “Maverick” Marshall (Tom Cruise) is a captain in the US Air Force. He is asked to command a group of pilots that includes the son of former best friend Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, this being Brad “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller), all to complete a deadly mission. He has to prove himself to his superiors and move on from difficult past events, whilst striking up a romance with old flame Penny Marshall (Jennifer Connelly). There’s been a director change from Tony Scott (R.I.P, stay through the credits for the dedication) to Joseph Kosinski of Tron: Legacy and Only the Brave, and Kosinski helps this transition by opening his film in a very similar fashion. Generally speaking, he does a great job at making it feel like the same world that’s moved on several decades, the production design and cinematography feeling very in tune with that film and just being great on their own. The only flaw is that the first 30 minutes does feel too reminiscent of the beginning of Top Gun, but as the film goes on, that feeling lessens and the film justifies any future call-backs. The drama has a greater punch and impact than the first film because this one builds upon it and takes the consequences of it seriously. The theme of moving on from the past and making up for it, whilst still proving yourself now. There’s a lovely sentimental feeling that is totally uncynical and the best call-backs are the ones that invoke this feeling the most. As good as the drama with Maverick is, his scene with Iceman is not only the best acted scene of the film but also packs a punch on multiple different levels. The way is Iceman is worked into the narrative is perfect and the way Kilmer is used is honest yet touching. The narrative is also better overall because there is a better sense of structure, not to mention a good balance between the training narrative and the personal drama. The first film felt like a slice of life romance with dogfighting, but this film makes the air sequences just as important as the dramatic scenes in between, with neither suffering. The final act soars the highest, as whilst it is a little overextended, it manages to be thrilling, intense and satisfying. Even the romance, whilst not hugely important, is decently handled, being sweet and tying into the themes and story well. The acting and characterisation is good too, as Tom Cruise not only slips back into the role like he never left but brings a new dimension to Maverick. A more desperate, sad yet determined guy that isn’t always happy with his positions in life. Cruise’s role reprisal brims with sincerity. Elsewhere Miles Teller is very convincing as Rooster, selling the resentment and bitterness as well as the eventual trust, and Jennifer Connelly is the most charismatic and fun she has been in a long time. It's been a good time for legacy sequels and Top Gun: Maverick is among the best. It proves it’s worth by expanding on the first film in dramatically fulfilling ways and is just an enjoyable visual spectacle all around.

★★★ Directed by: #JimAllison Written by: #JimAllison Starring: #KeithRajala, #ChristianSvizzero, #RaymondPental Short Film Review by: Emily Davison A poor prospector who happens to stumble upon extreme wealth, finds out quickly - grand riches may sometimes complicate things. Fools, Gold (2020) is a short comedy running at just under five minutes and was filmed in San Jose, California. The narrative is simple, yet charming and makes for an easy, entertaining watch. We open with a suitably Western ‘cowboy’ style, immersing viewers from the opening shot, which reveals a barren scorching land and Aaron Burnham’s jovial score features that familiar twang of old Western movies. A gold-era prospector (Rajala) is lucky enough to spot a golden nugget in a shallow river when he is washing his bowl and the short quirky takes a quirky, dark tone when he immediately falls off a cliff. The build up to his fall is signalled well through hand-held shaky camera, as he clumsily surveys his surroundings, seemingly overcome with excitement over finding his gold and a passing eagle above appears to knock him over. The short takes an unexpected turn by treading into supernatural territory by the appearance of the literal Grim Reaper and deadpan humour ensues as the prospector is completely unaware of his fatal circumstances. Director and writer, Jim Allison, an award winning filmmaker and visual artist, displays a playful scenario here with some nice use of lighting and convincing special effects with the appearance of Death, who uses his scythe to summon lightning to attempt to silence the delirious prospector. It is humorous to think on the concept of Death itself buying in to materialistic gain, despite what the apparition presents otherwise. Although this film does not deliver on anything ground-breaking, the performances are enjoyable, there is plausible humour throughout and a concise screenplay keeps engagement high. There is clear talent here to be seen on both sides of the camera and optimism is high for future projects by Jim Allison. #EmilyDavison Fools, Gold (2020) trailer:

★★★★ Directed by: Stuart Rosenberg Written by: Sandor Stern, Jay Anson, George Lutz Starring: James Brolin, Margot Kidder, Rod Steiger and Murray Hamilton Throwback Film Review by: Rachel Pullen The Amityville Horror (1979) Film Review We are living in a time of having to choose, do we get rid of Netflix or stay loyal despite the rising prices and addition of ads? My plan is to lose The Flix and stay with Prime, and why you may wonder? Prime has ads, Prime even makes you pay for certain titles! And while this is all true, they have, hands down the best selection of B-rate #horror movies around and I live for them. And while I waded around in titles such as llamageddon and Killer French Fries, I started to notice something; there are a lot of sequels to the Amityville Horror…a lot! 10 in fact, and I, your prestigious and dignified, favourite film critic, am going to take on a task so mammoth, it’s harder than reaching the top of Everest, watching them all so you don’t have to. Let us start at the top: the 1979 classic, The Amityville Horror. If you don’t know the story already, I shall catch you up: young couple George and Kathy Lutz move into a beautiful old house that is going super cheap! Something that we now as a society will never know, but let’s continue…The family, blissfully unaware of its evil past, move on in and feel swell and grand, people are wearing flares, it’s the 70’s things are mustard coloured, whoooo the 70’s, glowing red eyes appear at the children’s window…not the 70’s. That is because the home they purchased was not only built on an Indian burial ground, but then some satanic priest lived there, and to top it off, not months before they brought the damn thing a young man slaughtered his whole family while they slept in their beds…I mean in this economy I don’t think that would stop many people anymore, but remember…the 70’s. Stuff starts to get super ham in the family home, the dad is all moody and only cuts wood and looks at the boathouse, windows shut on kiddies’ hands, priests come, and flies appear, basically, the house is a real bummer for anyone who visits, and despite their best religious efforts, the house seems to be winning. So, after much research and weird burial site discovery, the dad goes full Jack Torrence and tries to kill his family, and like all good wives Kathy stops him, and they escape the house never to return, I would take it…seriously, renting is killing us all, gimmee the murder house. This Amityville Horror is a 70s classic, the clothing, the weird softcore love making scene, the super red blood, it’s got it all! And to top it off it’s a well thought out and developed story, that builds and climaxes at just the right place. We are not thrown in at the deep end, we are not exposed to a literal evil being, chasing them down the halls. In a way, the house starts by almost gas lighting the family into believing that it could just be reasonable situations, then maybe they are tired, no wait am I mad? And so on… Unlike a lot of horrors of the time, considering we were moving into the slasher era, there is no real physical manifestation of evil, it is simply an idea, a presence that stalks the family, as an audience, we watch over an hour of a family questioning their own reality, and the true horror unfolds with the mistrust of each other, the falling apart of a person's physical and mental health, all at the hands of something that cannot be seen, and not being understood by those you love is sometimes the worst horror of them all. So onwards, I now dive into 9 more films of a house being mad at people…I’m ready, but what have we learnt this week? Houses were once cheap. Everything was once mustard. And if your husband checks the boathouse a lot…he was once a sailor. #RachelPullen

★★★★ Directed by: #JaimeFidalgo Starring: #RaúIInsa, #Poyetethecat Short Film Review by: Alexandra James Trapped Cat is a short Spanish film which shows the frustrating side to the lockdown mayhem. One man is caught looking after his friend’s cat, agreeing that it will just be a couple of days. However, he becomes caught up in the pandemic and is unable to escape, did I also mention that he is allergic to cats? This short is stir crazy and many of us I am sure experienced this feeling in lockdown, however, this man takes madness to another level. Trapped Cat is funny, weird, and dramatic and is a more extreme emotional response to hearing that we are heading into yet another lockdown! RaúI Insa is our main character, and the scene opens with him phoning his friend about how long it will be until he returns home. As the conversation develops, the audience can see a clearer view of the home as RaúI paces anxiously around the flat. We notice oddities, such as pictures half off the wall and the main character already having a big glug of wine when it seems to be morning time! The poor cat is out on the balcony and along the balcony window, there are red markings counting the days our tormented protagonist has been watching over his friend’s pet, as if logging the day’s he has left in a prison! The camera follows the characters frantic movements around the small flat which adds to the chaos and reveals just how small his living space is, and only makes the character feel more confined and unable to escape his feline friend without going bonkers! The film was only 2 minutes long and that is all that was needed for this funny short. Within the midst of the pandemic, many of us had moments like this so it was a great snapshot of what we have all had to endure over the past 2 years. Trapped Cat is a brilliant connector of all our emotional states during lockdown, feeling imprisoned, claustrophobic and unbelievably restless. However, it just becomes funnier when you add an innocent feline taunting a man full of allergies and on the brink of a mental breakdown. A very amusing short film which also brings back traumatic memories of the pandemic…so if you are ready to relive those emotions again for a second time around this is the short film for you.

★★★★ Directed by: #JaimeFidalgo Starring: #JuanCarlosParra Short Film Review by: Alexandra James Don’t Do It is a short film based on the poem by Charles Bukowski, ‘So, you want to be a writer?’ The poem highlights the passion and admiration one must have to become a successful and aspiring writer. To write for yourself and not for others, to only become a writer if you have a burning desire. If you do not have this absolute passion and just want the fame and riches or if you feel uninspired by your own words, then just ‘don’t do it.’ The poem is direct and does not beat around the bush, Charles Bukowski is to the point in his writing but also shows the importance of having this amount of adoration for your own work, otherwise there is no point to it. Jaime Fidalgo takes this poem and puts his own interpretation and creative flare to Bukowski’s words. Jaime has focused particularly on the lines ‘if you have to wait for it to roar out of you, then wait patiently. If it never does roar out of you, do something else.’ With this he has taken the word ‘roar’ and suggests that we all have a dinosaur inside of us which is childlike and ready to burst out allowing us to become our authentic selves. There is no dialogue throughout this short, just upbeat music in the background and the words of the poem spoken over the top. The notable line within the poem, ‘Don’t do it,’ echo throughout the entirety of the film. I think that it would be best to read the poem before watching the film as the context becomes much clearer. However, it was quite a positive short film in a way. A man who seems to be pressed by his publisher to have his work ready, but he chooses to ignore this pressure and decides to escape these restraints by dancing through the streets in a dinosaur costume…. odd but it really works! This short was filmed in the city of Toledo, Spain and it looks truly magnificent. Jaime used some fantastic shots and reveals the vastness of the medieval city as well as exposing the cobbled streets and small, hidden alleyways which look so quaint. There was some great editing here and beautifully executed shots, the cinematography really cannot be faulted. The location was brilliantly scouted and helped to feed into this idea of freedom especially the end shot, away from the city and overlooking the small homes as the sun goes down. There was that element of escapism to this short film and freeing yourself from our inner thoughts which prohibit many of us from being and doing what we really want. This film made me want to invest in my own dinosaur costume and run through the streets, although I think I may receive a few strange looks from some of my neighbours! Still, this was a great snippet into what it looks like when you let your inner child out and stop yourself from trying to control every little decision you make, this was a very positive message.

★ Directed by: #PritankoGhatak Short Film Review by: Alexandra James Frenzy shows the audience the festival Aadi Vel held in Bandel a town in West Bengal. The festival is colourful and full of dance and music played by windpipes and drums. It is held annually and is a version of the Thaipusam festival help in Sri Lanka. The festival celebrates Parvati giving Murugan a ‘Vel’ meaning ‘divine spear’ to vanquish the evil demon Soorapadman and his brothers. During Aadi Vel people dance frantically and many devotees pierce their skin, tongue and can become possessed and lose themselves within the festival. It was fascinating to see how different cultures and religions celebrate and the history behind the festival. However, I did have to research this festival and the story behind it myself. This would have been a good opportunity to teach the audience a bit about the festival and the practices that take place. Perhaps some form of narration over the top of this documentary for some context would have helped as there was a limitation to the information provided, apart from the brief description at the beginning of the film which did not reveal a lot about the celebrations. It was great to see raw footage of the festival, the people and the colourful and bright outfits along with the music. There was a vibrancy, and you could see the excitement and joyous emotion scattered within the endless crowds of people. This created a lot of impact, and it would have been good to see more of this footage. The editing slightly took away from this liveliness, as it was very jolty and did not seem to match well with what was playing out on screen. The music was upbeat and put the viewer at the heart of the festival, you were able to envision yourself within the busy crowds and immerse yourself within the culture. However, it would have been good to leave out the trance-like music played over the top. As a documentary, I think it’s best to stick with the topic at hand, keep the original music that was a part of the festival. This would really help to elevate this piece and to learn more about the proceedings and the type of music which can be heard. Frenzy allowed us to explore the ways in which different religions celebrate. The piercings that were being administered seemed scary but were captivating as it allowed us to see the devotion people have for their beliefs. This was a good start at a documentary style film, but it would have been beneficial to have a lot more information and facts so that the viewer can truly understand the importance of this festival.

★★★★ Directed by: #RyanYJafri Starring: #TomMartin, #AlexHebert Short Film Review by: Alexandra James The Call is a short film set in 1965 and one man struggling with the daily grind of his corporate job. The film is in black and white which is a smart move when trying to convey this mundane and bleak lifestyle that the average work obsessed stiff must adopt in order to keep a roof over their head. This job is life to our protagonist, the audience are not made aware of who or what the main character does for a living, but it is evident from just the 10 minutes of footage that he is trapped in this world of eat or be eaten. With just one character and a single room, the audience witness the mental state of this worker deteriorate rapidly as he is patronised by his brute of a boss and his future career with the firm hangs in the balance. A tension fuelled film that becomes ramped up to the max with the incessant ticking of a clock, counting the hours going by and accentuating the little time the worker has left to fix the mistakes made before receiving that fatal call from his boss. The cinematography was wonderful as it told a story, setting the narrative as a black and white film gave this short that nostalgic appearance and the piece a sleek and sharp look. Much like the image the character himself was trying to portray but could never reach. The character’s apartment looked simple and plain, nothing lavish or expensive, which highlights the character only buys within his means. It demonstrates to the audience that this is all the character can afford and he earns enough to just get by. From this image, our main character is, to put bluntly, trying the best with what he can. Ryan Y. Jafri, director of The Call, wanted to show the more depressing aspects which come with the ‘working man life’ and to highlight that working beyond your capabilities doesn’t always pay off or is recognised by the big bosses above. The phone call from the main character’s boss is very animated and extremely intimidating, I think I would be writing a strongly worded email to HR if I received this kind of call at home! Nevertheless, the worker takes this call and the abuse that comes with it. Crumbling under the pressure to set things straight, he has a pressing deadline but discrepancies in his report forces the man to try again. However, was this him who made the mistakes? Or Shirley his colleague? Was this sabotage? Or a way to get rid of him altogether? Many questions arise from this short and it’s for us to determine what the truth is and what is fiction, it is the ending which completely turns the narrative on its head and is a definite thought provoker. The tone of the boss’s voice was very brooding and totally over the top so I would suggest a less exaggerated voice as it almost made the piece comical at times when it should not have been. However, it was great to see this style of film making, very Hitchcockian with the climactic plot twist and average people placed in difficult or destructive situations. It’s always fantastic to see directors paying homage to that which has come before, it’s a grateful tip of the hat to great directors and their work.

★★★ #TurnshoeProductions Short Film Review by: Alexandra James This Sci-Fi short takes the audience on a wild trip through space. After the assassination of General Zarco, our main protagonist Kirk DeVille flees the scene on a HyperBridge transit vessel, heading towards the nearest black hole. However, with the Praesidium Empire fast on his tail, will he be able to make it out alive? I assume so because there is also a part 2! This isn’t your average Sci-Fi film, there’s funky music and comical wit throughout this piece which really lifts this short and keeps the audience entertained throughout. The Space Adventures of Kirk DeVille was light-hearted and kept the viewer on their toes with funny dialogue and even some good zingers from the spacecraft itself! The graphics are a tad amateurish and cartoon-like, but this is understandable when dealing with a small budget. However, because of this, it would have been good to include more dialogue and closer shots of our protagonist within the spaceship. This would allow the audience a chance to see all aspects of the craft from a variety of angles. We could also invest in the character himself, by witnessing his reactions and emotional responses to the action happening around him. Nevertheless, the back-and-forth quips between Kirk and the automated voice within the aircraft was thoroughly entertaining and made for a light and less intense watch allowing this short film to connect to everyone of all ages. The chase between our main character and the Praesidium Empire was the only scene which stirred some tension, but even this was layered with comedic elements whilst keeping you on the edge of your seat and desperate to know the fate of our assassin Kirk DeVille. The voice of the aircraft was unlike what you imagine the voice of a gigantic spaceship to adopt. You assume a cold and robotic voiceover would be fitting; however, this female’s voice used a lot of colloquial language and it felt as though Kirk was talking to an actual human being. This was interesting as the voice became another character even though we do not actually see them. Kirk was able to interact and had another intelligent being to bounce off, perhaps even more intelligent than him! The short was left on a climactic ending but just to put your mind at ease there has been a part 2 has released as well, so you won’t be left in the dark too long! TurnshoeProductions has created a skilful and humorous short which can be enjoyed by many.