Ranger : A Wonderful Fantasy Killed by Bad CGI

Ranger

Today we have a larger short film. This piece if almost thirty minutes long. And this is a JRR Tolkien middle Earth tale loosely based on the Simarillion, which is a book I never read but it didn’t keep me from watching a fantasy film. So we’re going to review this film, Ranger. The film is a 2012 film directed by Josh Fuluce.

The film follows Ranger aimlessly wondering throughout middle earth on a journey to find a purpose and meaning. But one day he sees an elvin girl dancing in a woods. There they fall in love. But their love is not approved by her father. There are three elves left in the woods and he doesn’t want his daughter marrying a man. So he offers him a deal. If he can steal a gem from the dragon’s cavern to return life to the forest, he can marry his daughter. Of course, this is meant to send the ranger to his certain death, but the young man is willing to defy the odds.

So let’s start with the good here. The writing is wonderful. It hits all the right notes being enchanting, whimsical and epic at the same time. The acting is top notch. In some ways this could easily be smuggled into a Lord of The Rings films and you wouldn’t notice a difference in quality.

The bad? Everything in this film falls apart when it comes to special effects. The orcs look okay, and they most definitely deserve a cookie for trying. But the dragon? Its hits the scene where he enters the can and then jumps to where’s he’s running out of the cave with the stone. That is disappointing and cheap, as there was not dragon. And when the dragon came out to attack later, I was in total shock that it looked like plastic. After everything done so well, why couldn’t they find some other method than terrible CGI.

Overall this film is both wonderful and tormenting at the same time. It’s just so perfect and great on so many levels. But the dragon? It just hurts the film so much. I was going to give it three and a half flicks, but I have to knock it down a grade. It’s just a film I want to love so much, but they killed it. I still think it’s worth checking out, but consider yourself warned.

2 ½ Flicks out of four

Overall Rating: A Wonderful Fantasy Killed by Bad CGI

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The Curse of the Sad Mummy : A Beautiful Moving Painting Worth Checking Out

The Curse of the Sad Mummy

Okay. Someone told me to check this out. They told me to look into this amazing League of Legends Film. And I wasn’t willing didn’t believe it. I mean League of Legends? Really? But I couldn’t find anything one night, so I checked out the League of Legends film called The Curse of The Sad Mummy.

So what is the Curse of the Sad Mummy? It’s an animated film presented as a fairy tale format focusing on an adorable little mummy who is cursed to be eternally alone. The narrator sings a lullaby chronicling the mummy’s quest to find a friend.

The good? This film was a complete surprise. The film is so beautiful. Its CGI with a slight over lay of hand drawn animation. It is just so gorgeous. This has to be one of the most gorgeous animated films I’ve seen. The music is wonderful. The tale flows fluidly and tugs at some heart strings. Its just so darn good.

The bad? The film has nothing to do with League of Legends. So I was quite confused as to why the company is using this film to advertise of league of games. It’s quite baffling.

Overall the film is a masterpiece. If you love arty pieces and fairy tales you’ll love this. Who would have thought the League of Legends guys would makes something like this.

4 flicks out of four

Overall Rating : A Beautiful Moving Painting Worth Checking Out

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The Seraphim Prophecies – Mystic : A Nonsensical Fantasy Worth Skipping

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The Seraphim Prophecies – Mystic

Today for short film theatre is a little fantasy, because I need some fantasy. I mean did you see the mid-season finale of the Walking Dead. Yeah. So I wanted to watch something wouldn’t bum me out. Today it is 2014 film by Mark Kreiner called The Seraphim Prophecies.

So what is it about? Well is starts with this girl who is carving a spell in stone. When she finished it causes a meteor shower. The girl and her dog see lightning strike the top of a hill where she makes an angel appear. But the angel is actually a demon who eats her? You know what? I don’t know what is going on here. I explained it the best I could.

The good? The film has a whimsical fantastical tone that flows well. The cinematography is great. The incredibly well shot and well produced.

The bad? It doesn’t make much sense. I couldn’t gleam any story form it. Also the CGI bits at the end are not that great.

Overall, this seemed like an experiment in film making rather than a film itself. It’s something that is pretty watch because it’s a film so well, but not worth your time. This is unfortunately a skip.
1 flick out of four.

Overall Rating : A nonsensical Fantasy worth Skipping.

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The Flying Man : A Flying Vigilante Delivers A Surprisingly Well Made Film

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The Flying Man

I took a bit of a break with short film theatre and I apologize for that. Life gets busy sometimes, where I have no access to the computer. But now that things slowed down I return with a review of an odd superhero short film called The Flying Man by Marcus Alqueres.

The film is about a city experiencing an odd phenomenon. A man is flying through the sky snatching up criminals and killing them. Nobody knows anything about him, like here he came from, or even if he is human or not. The film follows two crooks who encounter the mysterious flying man.

The good? It is imaginative. Simple yet completely original. It’s well acted. The effect are great and the story are good.

The bad? Well the climax is disappointing. Given the buildup, I half expected a shoot out or something. The film just cuts away as the action begins instead.

Overall, the film is very good. It’s almost a must watch. If not for the lack luster climax it would have been. It’s still worth checking out from a narrative stand point though.

Overall Rating : A Flying Vigilante Delivers A Surprisingly Well Made Film

3 Flicks out of Four

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Peter Goes To Hell : A Classic Tale of a Deal Between A Man and the Devil

Peter Goes to Hell

Its Halloween, (Or it was. I realize how late this is going up.) so I decided to watch something scary or at least Halloween themed. And guess what, as I searched I found our recent friend and somewhat favorite of these reviews, Danny Dunlop made a Halloween short film called Peter Goes to Hell. And seeing how A Short Story and Dear Eva was incredibly well made films, I thought I would give this a chance.

The film focuses on Peter. A teenage trouble maker, who is visited by the devil. They chat and the devil says he needs his help on Halloween for a simple task. Peter reluctantly agrees with and from there, things go south.

The good? It’s a clever little flick. It may be predictable to appoint, but this is all smartly done. Also since Danny’s previous films were all narration, I was impressed by the good acting and great soundtrack.

The bad? The camera work is all or mostly natural lighting which left a few scenes grainy. Also the part where he goes to hell, is disappointing as the film switches over to black and white in an empty room with very fake looking fire effects.

Overall, its an incredibly well made fun dark little piece that is fun to watch. Though its low budget, it cleverly made, making up for any effects. So I recommend this to everyone.

4 flicks out of four

Overall Rating: A Classic Tale of a Deal Between a man and the devil

Here’s the film below.

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Sharp Fires : Dumb Fun Featuring Assassins

Sharp Fires

Today I wanted to watch a short film with some action to it. So I did a little youtube search and selected an action short movie at random. The film is 2013 short called the Sharp Fires which is written and directed by Justen Helson.

So what is the film about? It about a hunt for these stones that give the possessor god like powers. The government, mob, and even assassins are after these stones. The films follows a kid who is abducted by some bad people who know that he knows who has those stones. He knows it’s in possession of an assassin but will give nothing other than that. So the bad guys take him to the desert to kill him. There they all encounter the assassin he spoke of and action pursues.

The bad? The acting is pretty bad. Not the worse. But it was pretty bad. The sound is also a bit off. Also most of people had their funny little mask that made it silly at times.

The good? Though it’s not groundbreaking, it’s imaginative. The mystical stones made it a little more fun than the typical action flick. Also the choreography is really well done, making it enjoyable watch. The cinematography is well done and special effects are great.

Overall, its dumb fun. It’s not brilliant or divine story telling. If you like comic book stuff and can tolerate a bit of bad acting, then you’ll enjoy it.

3 flicks out of four.

Overall Rating: Dumb Fun Featuring Assassins

P.S. If you like books then check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/

Reborn : An Oddball Shape Shifting Adventure of a Thespian

Reborn Short film review

Today is another student project film. It’s an animated French film called Reborn. The animated film is a fantasy that is made by Sylven Wolff.

The film focuses on a somewhat obnoxious aspiring thespian who is obsessive with works of Shakespeare. But while he’s complaining after a show, time suddenly stops and he’s pulled into an jungle where a strange old man turns him into a series of different animals. Baffled and confused, he bears with the ordeal until he discovers the meaning to it all.

The good? The aspiring actor character is an unusual and somewhat original character to work with. The guy seems to have a good heart being somewhat egocentric. So way to go not creating a 2D generic character. Also the ending was kind of charming.

The bad? The movie has very little story. Even at the end the point as to why this happen is not all that clear. Also the while sub titles are placed against a lot of light colored scenes making it hard to tell what is being said since its French. So if you’re not fluent in French be prepared to struggle to read what is being said.

Overall, the film is almost kind of sort of good. I can just tell the person was trying to make something meaningful and missed the mark. But it’s still a descent little flick but not a must watch.

2 Flicks out of Four.

Overall Rating: An Oddball Shape Shifting Adventure of a Thespian

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Mighty Antlers : A Surrealistic Tale Featuring an Antlered Monster

Mighty Antlers

Today we have to short film theatre with a rather bizarre film. It’s a pseudo horror piece called Mighty Antlers. It’s a 2011 film created by Sane Recnchardt Fogtmann.

So what is Mighty Antlers? It is an animated film that starts with a guy driving down a back woods road on a sunny day. But when he sees a deer, instead of stopping, he presses his foot down on the gas pedal with full intention of murdering the animal. Right before he hits the deer, it suddenly goes dark and strange creepy man with antlers is sitting in the back seat. Angered by the man’s desire to kill the deer, he punishes him.

The good? We’ll start with animation. It looked like a cross between paper mache and subdued cell shading. It has a bizarre unusual look that matched the surrealism of the craziness of this film. The concept and monster in this film is original. The sound design is wonderful, doing its best to give the film a creepy vibe.

The bad? Well it’s very short and I feel it could have been longer. Also film tries so hard to be creepy when it’s not. But I give them a cookie for trying.

Overall, this is a pretty good film. It’s bizarre and well made. And it’s probably one of the most unusual shorts you’ll see. So I recommend it to most.

3 flick out of four.

Overall Rating: A Surrealistic Tale Featuring an Antlered Monster

Here’s the film below. I recommend you to check it out.

Agni’s Philosophy: A Beautiful Final Fantasy Worth Watching

Agni’s Philosophy

For short film theatre today, we are entering back into the video gam world. This time around its final fantasy. Reading those words either gave you a sense of joy or dread as it’s a love it or hate it series. But I love final fantasy and I decided today I would review the 2013 short film Agni’s Philosophy.

The film is a four minute short created by the Square Enix studio to show case a new graphics engine as well as ask the public if they liked the potential setting for a new final fantasy game. Which they should ask. The franchise has lost its way a bit. Any ways its set in an Arabic, heavily middle eastern influenced setting where a religious leader and his followers are trying to bring alive this creature. Whether it’s a god or beast, is unclear. What is clear is that a number of rebels don’t agree and rush in guns blazing. A hooded follower turn out to be a young witch and takes a valuable crystal from the leader during the attack and runs. The rebels along with their mutant dogs chase after her.

The good? It’s a wonderful film that is fun to watch. Its down right beautiful. There is so much detail to every little scene. And the portrayal of something as simple as a potion pulling bullet out of her flesh is something I wouldn’t expect. The film is darker than recent final fantasies, reflecting something closer to final fantasy seven than the recent iterations. And the setting is great. I just adore the look of it all.

The bad? Not much to say. I wish it was longer, I guess. And most of the film is in chants or in a foreign language of the rebels so don’t expect to know what they are saying. Also story is a very piece it together yourself sort of thing.

Overall it’s a beautiful movie that everyone should watch. If you love fantasy and action you’ll love this If you like animation you will be wowed. So check it out.

4 Flicks out of four

Overall Rating : A Beautiful Final Fantasy Worth Watching

P.S. If you like books then check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/

Dark Noir : A Stunning Imaginative Must Watch

Dark Noir

So it’s been a long time since I reviewed an animated film. So I thought I would return to the world of animation for a review or two. So I decided to review this little film called Dark Noir. It was a 2014 film directed by Rafeal Grampa.

So first off the film has an interesting mythology. Everyone has these spirits attached to them called daemons. They are part of their souls in a sense that allows the person to come up with new ideas and creativity. It’s part of the person. If you ever read the His Dark Materials trilogy you’ve seen this done before and may a better understanding than with my explanation here. But in the film people cannot see the daemons they’re paired with. Our lead though is a detective who all his life could see these spirits attached to people. One day in a bar an old man asks him to find the woman who stole his daemon and all his ideas. So he goes to find the woman and learns some things about his own past.

The good? This film has incredible animation. Not only is the CGI down right beautiful, but the spirits are all hand drawn. The blending of the two animation styles are phenomenal. Its something that I have never seen before and its gorgeous. The imagination here for the story is fantastic. The world, the characters, and spirits were like a breath of fresh air.

The bad? This film is too darn short for having such a great story and world. I wish it was a longer film. Four minutes is just too short.

Overall, this I a gorgeous film. And its something never seen before and I’m sure most people haven’t seen anything like this before. It’s just down right annoying. I recommend this to everyone. Now go watch it.
4 flicks out of four

Overall Rating: A Stunning Imaginative Must Watch

Here’s the film below. I recommend you to check it out.

P.S. If you like books then check out my book and ebook website Lelue’s Realm. Google it or go directly to http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/