Catalysis, Always, The Gift, Unbalanced Love, The Temptation Game & My Father’s Tools
Review by Paul Preston
Welcome to Today I Watched…, a series of posts documenting my new challenge – watch a movie a day for the rest of my life. Keep coming back to TheMovieGuys.net to find out what I watch each day…and get my take on it.
When I see a movie that’s a new release in theaters or for home viewing, I’ll give it a proper review in the “Reviews”, otherwise, I’ll write about it here.
April 7, 2017 – Catalysis
Two things are going to have me on a short film jag this week. First of all, we’re launching The New Movie Show over at The Movie Guys. Our first two shows are in the books and post is being cobbled together. Lots of creating, writing and recording is going into these shows, the latest version of our podcast, so I hope you’ll tune in. Watch TheMovieGuys.net and our YouTube channel closely for the new show! Also, I’m headed out of town for a couple weeks, between the travel and the new show, I’m time crunched, so I’ll only have time for a short film most of the next few days. Let’s get some good ones!
Well, it didn’t start well. I received an email to check out what they were doing over at Frausun Media Productions and the newest/latest project of theirs was something called Catalysis. The concept is outstanding – a choose-your-own-adventure series of short films! I’ve read the old choose-your-own-adventure stories, they’re usually about kids finding a secret door in their house, and they realize their dad is a mad scientist. What do you do? Drink the potion he left on his lab table? Or start mixing ingredients of your own? Sadly, Catalysis has none of that fun. In fact, there is no dialogue and no actors. It’s odd images that look like stock b-roll, with the occasional title card that explains a plot that is little more than words that feel like poetry explaining themes and ideas.
What I’m saying is that this film missed the mark by a MILE as to what a choose-your-own-adventure is supposed to be. At the FIVE MINUTE MARK, there was a choice I could finally make. I didn’t make it. I tapped out at five minutes. I had no idea what was going on in the story, which again was mostly composed of shots of clouds and people in shadows with prose about desire and the city. Lame. Great idea, though – I hope it gets a great short film someday.
April 8, 2017 – Always
Here’s another short film that saved money on a sound guy by having really no dialogue. Just mostly, like Catalysis, images (they spared us the title cards). But they did have actors! And Always has a lead actress that plays her part believably, but the story is familiar and I got way ahead of it and predicted the ending. A couple seems like they’re having trouble in their relationship and then to say anything else would be a spoiler. Sorry I can’t give you more plot, but I’ll save you six minutes and tell you to skip the short Always, it’s got nothing new to offer a familiar story.
April 9, 2017 – The Gift
The Gift is a short film that is a commercial for Yamaha musical instruments. The description as given to me by the PR firm who sent me the link reads, “The nearly six minute long piece follows a single Yamaha guitar over four decades and three familial generations.” So this struck me with good and bad vibes. The first good vibe is that it’s a promotional piece not just for Yamaha, but for live music. The loss in popularity of live music in our culture is something that really depresses me. I find the rise of electronic music innocuous and repetitive, so here’s a short that champions not just playing the guitar, but also playing the piano and keyboards, sound mixing, orchestral music and conducting and more.
But the bad vibe is just the overall feeling that this is just a marketing piece. The heart’s in the right place, but the onslaught of the Yamaha brand on all the instruments coupled with people smiling gets overbearing (seriously, the actors just smile and smile more through this whole piece. I’ve never smiled this much). Good message, exceptional production value, but many of the awards this award-winning film has taken home are Tellys, given out to commercials. That’s because it’s an amazing and effective commercial.
See for yourself:
April 10, 2017 – Unbalanced Love
I got an email from a 17-year old filmmaker who made a horror short. What if a story started out as Romeo & Juliet, but HE was a SHE? She thanked me so many times for reading her email and considering watching her film that I feel like a bully for saying it’s awful. So I won’t. Damn, too late. This short is more proof that despite the quality of cameras that are now available to everyone, story, sound and acting….are still important. This movie felt like it was missing about ninety minutes, but don’t expand this story on my account! Go another direction for your next effort…with different actors.
April 11, 2017 – The Temptation Game
This short is about a crazy wife. Point blank, that’s what it’s about. There’s a husband who apparently cheated on his wife many years ago, and now his wife is tempting him in bed to treat her like a famous actress from one his film sets. If she comes on to him, as this actress, will he give in? Or resist? Meh. Despite risky performances by the lead actors, these people don’t talk like people talk. Sure, they talk the way people talk in a heavily-stylized movie, but this is not a good one of those. Didn’t do it for me. Next.
April 12, 2017 – My Father’s Tools
Who knew it could be this simple? My Father’s Tools is about a guy who goes into the woods, cuts down a tree and makes a basket. THAT’S IT. Was it good? I guess so. I mean, the production value is top notch, leagues better than what are probably numerous YouTube videos instructing you on how to make a basket. I feel like I wish I hadn’t known it was a basket he was making, because then the suspense of “what’s he making?” would at least be something resembling drama in this documentary short. Instead, it’s just a guy making a basket.
Don’t be disappointed that I spoiled it for you, and told you it was a basket he’s making, ‘cause I can now vouch for how intricate and difficult it is to cut down a tree and make a basket by hand. I want you to have the respect for basket-making that I now have, even if you never see this short.
Basket-making. No fucking joke.
