My Name Is Lisa

By:Sheltonfilms

REVIEW

Concept

It is based around a girl, Lisa, and her relationship with her mom who is suffering from a disease that I shall not mention so as not to give the story away.

Direction

While the camera work does seem a bit shoddy at times, the direction is pretty satisfactory overall. One thing I would certainly like to mention is the soundtrack. Keeping in mind the nature of the movie they could have made it pretty heavy and sad. They could have tried to make the viewer really sad and depressed. Thank God they did neither. The background music while sensitive to the situation does not try to take advantage of the viewer and that’s cool.

Acting

Carlie Nettles as Lisa was brilliant. This is not the first time she has appeared in a short and she has some serious talent. Her acting was very realistic and she really did seem like a kid who is having trouble dealing with all the problems.

Sally Smythe as her mom did well too. I actually started feeling sorry for her.

Overall, this short has some of the best actors on display and its nice to see such good acting in a short.

Conclusion

My Name is Lisa doesn’t try to force the viewer into liking it, but it’s the subtle things that make this a short worth watching. The acting is really good and the concept is different. We mostly see mothers having ill children in shorts, but it’s the other way round here.

This short will certainly touch you. It might not make you cry or feel depressed, but its not there to do all these things. It’s not even about the disease itself, but about the people who have a loved one suffering from it. It’s their plight that this short portrays and its darn successful in doing it too.

Recommended for sure.

Score: 7.5/10

Sikumi (on the ice)

By: Sikumithefilm

"An Inuit hunter drives his dog team out on the frozen Arctic Ocean in search of seals, but instead, becomes a witness to murder. Winner of the Jury Prize for Short Filmmaking at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival."

Hearing that Sikumi or “On the Ice” had won awards I was very excited to watch this movie. My expectations were really high, what could it be, what could it be. What turned out was a touch disappointing. It’s a nice little movie no doubt, but an award-dinner at Sundance…that can’t be right. The start is promising – as the protagonist Apuna, rides his sled through the icy terrains of Arctic he finds a murder taking place. But, what transpires next is well nothing much actually. With such a great start the story could have evolved into something better, but the writer just didn’t want to take any risk it seemed. Moreover, the acting was rather poor and dialogue-delivery shoddy.

While saying all this I do want to mention that the place where this movie is shot is one of the hardest places on earth to make a movie. So kudos to them for trying and actually managing to get some great shots of the landscape. With snow and ice all round you it’s very difficult for the cameraman to maintain correct exposure…but you won’t find any such faults here.

Lastly, I think my expectations were a bit too much. If I had watched it without knowing it’s an award winner I might have enjoyed it more, and since I have told you that….ooops!!! :p

New Boy

By: NITV Shorts

"A young African boy with a haunting back story starts school in Ireland, and finds out quickly exactly what it means to be the new kid. Winner of Best Narrative Short at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival and nominated for an Oscar."

Short in length but certainly big in character, New Boy makes a lot of good points and pulls you in with its simple yet mesmerizing storyline. Even while featuring a lot of young actors, acting remains good through out the movie and all the kids do a great job. The director does not over-complicate things and that’s the best thing about the movie – its simple yet gripping. As the title suggests this movie is about a boy with a haunting past who is trying to adjust to a new environment. Through flashbacks the movie delves into Joseph’s past and tries to explain his behavior.

While all the actors do a good job some extra credit must go to the director who presents the whole tale in just 10 minutes in a very nice commanding way. No scene seems out of place and no dialogue seems inappropriate. The story might not blow you away but it will certainly touch you and make you think.