Showing posts with label review of Auckland final. Show all posts
Showing posts with label review of Auckland final. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

48 Hours of disagreement with the judges

As usual I didn't agree with the judges at the 48 hours Auckland finals on Saturday night. I felt there were at least three movies among the 16 finalists that outdid the winner and runner up.
Runner up was Confessions of a Fabricator - dodgy undergraduate sexual insinuation with a sock (yawn). Winner was Only Son, by the Downlow Concept who have won before with something very similar. This wasn't a bad movie, just not exceptional among the 16 on offer.
One made it from our heat (heat 10). This was Humanity: the Last Seven Minutes which was at least original - the filmmaker obviously has contacts all over the world and they sent in their contributions over the net - and IMO boasted the best performance by an actress of the night (a woman in a subway train somewhere - in Europe or Australia, I couldn't quite figure out where). The judges' "best actor" was one decision I agreed with - this was the desperate father in Carousel - a magnificent exercise in suspense, marred somewhat by a weak ending.
OK - my favourites (I actually can't pick a winner):
The Pool - car pool goes wrong. Clever idea, neat trick ending, cool use of the required line.
Lost Call - ghost movie. An idea I have heard somewhere before, but still very well done and subtle.
Two Timer - a rarity. A love story that champions commitment, marriage, kids - the whole deal.
There was some stylish work among this lot - how the judges came up with the two winners is beyond me.