Perhaps one of the most controversial and polarizing short films of the year, “Shower” has inspired a lot discussion among the media. Is it shocking just to be shocking, is it exploitative, or is there an actual message to be absorbed here? I don’t think there is a wrong interpretation, but I will find it fascinating to see how audiences respond to it after watching it. It’s become a very volatile short film with a climax that I kind of knew was coming, but still left me pretty shocked. Love it or hate it, you have to ask yourself if it’s art, or just a ploy to shake audiences up?
Tag Archives: Drama
Message Received (2016)
Stephen Herman and David Chin’s “Message Received” is one of the sharpest and slickest revenge shorts I’ve seen all years, bar none. Herman’s knack for storytelling is evident in a short film that relies very much on pacing and deliberate twists in what is only a ten minute long narrative. Director/Writer Herman and Director/Star Chin thankfully manage to set up and deliver the gut punch of their film within a ten minute time span and I never felt like time was wasted at all.
Gotham: The Complete Third Season [Blu-Ray/Digital]
Now that the gloves are off, FOX has managed to embrace the comic book universe tropes of “Gotham” and no longer have molded “Gotham” as an abysmal crime thriller. It’s now working as a somewhat new and radical take on the origin of Batman and Bruce Wayne’s molding in to the dark knight. The writers have taken even more liberties with the universe, centering so much more on Commissioner Gordon now and slowly sliding Bruce Wayne in to focus. The third seasons is a much lauded improvement over the former seasons for fans, as “Gotham” goes all out weird and eccentric, re-thinking the Batman universe and his origin in a new and often bold method.
The Lion King (1994): Signature Collection [Blu-ray/DVD/Digital]
“The Lion King” is still one of the most entertaining movie going experiences of my life and one of the most moving animated films I’ve ever seen. With the anticipation of the live action remake growing, Disney has granted fans a new release with their Signature Edition. This new edition packs in the DVD, a Digital copy, and of course the new Blu-Ray with changes that are interesting and more geared toward meticulous hardcore fans of the film more than anything. It’s certainly worth a double or triple dip, especially if it’s your favorite of the Disney animated library (and on your top ten), as it is mine.
Death Note (2017)
I’ve been a casual fan and observer of “Death Note” since the mid-aughts and have always been fascinated with its premise and the moral dilemmas it props up for the audience and its characters. It’s almost like “The Box” but with a hit of adrenaline and more complex ideas and philosophies. Director Adam Wingard adapts “Death Note” for a new audience, taking the material from Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata, and adding his own quirks, ideas, and dashes of dark comedy. What we get is a stark, entertaining horror movie that is very much a “Death Note” tale, but one that works in its own rhythm for a broader audience, without alienating the core fan base.
30 Minutes with Laura (2017) [Oceanside International Film Festival 2017]
A man meets with a woman in a restaurant where they get to know each other. As they talk, not everything is as it seems.
Written and directed (and edited) by Juanjo Haro, this short film takes a simple premise and spins it on its head. It builds what looks like a meeting between two lonely people in a restaurant through their conversation into something quite different. About halfway through the film, something happens that greatly affects the plot. As this is an important factor into this film, it shall remain a secret here. The film takes this and works with it, explaining itself in images, something that may not have been needed, but works well nonetheless.
Blood Honey (2017)
A woman returns home after an extended absence to find that things have not changed much, yet they are not what it seems.
Written by Doug Taylor and director Jeff Kopas, the film works with themes of family, grieving, mental illness, trauma, and related ones. As it delves into the family dynamics and relationships between daughter and father, sister and brother, and others, the film develops characters that all have a connection one way or another and whose relationships are strained to say the least. The characters created seem a bit limited as they pretty much only exist in relation to each other, except for the lead who is a somewhat more fully fleshed character. Her trauma and evolution are central to the story here, so she makes a decent lead. Her story is interesting and the twists keep the attention, however, the story feels like something is missing. But, by the end, things feel more complete in a way.