The Reviews for Night 2 of the C.W. Post Student Film Festival 2011

Before we begin, allow me to repost my Disclaimer from last year:
Disclaimer: I wrote these reviews for my own sake, and as there have been some interested parties, I have posted them here on my personal blog. Participants in the film festival are more than welcome to read these, but it should be warned across the board that I am not kind and complimentary in all my opinions. This is Read At Your Own Risk material, and are simply critiques of the film, and should in no way be perceived as personal attacks or insults at the individuals behind them.
It is my conviction that if we have any hope of breaking into an industry as competitive and vicious as the film industry, than we had ought to do our best to be as honest with each other as possible. It is unfair to any creative individual to coddle them and say "Good job" if that's not how we truly feel. Roger Ebert doesn't give out A's for effort, and we owe each other the same courtesy.
There is always a courage that comes with presenting something one has put their heart and soul into. Bearing one's creative products before a mass audience is an act which requires some level of bravery, and that bravery should be commended. However, that bravery stems from the fact that one bears their soul in the knowledge and awareness that their creative wok may be subject to ridicule and criticism. Take out the possibility of said ridicule or criticism, and you remove the bravery. And in removing criticism from a learning environment such as film school, you abolish any possibility of improvement. So it is with this sentiment in mind that I encourage those open to critiquing, no matter how harsh, to read on.

As it was a film I was heavily involved in, I would not feel right reviewing Shadowplay, so it has been omitted from my reviews, as well as from my lists of what to see or skip.



Raw Umber- Josh Paige (Thesis)

Photos courtesy of Marc Riou

Steve White and Caitlin Gold

Mike Tiscia and Scott Churchson

To be fair, many of the sound issues Raw Umber suffered at last night’s film festival were due to the laptop and it’s connection to the projector. To be even more fair, though, the film should have been rendered and burned on to a DVD by then. Raw Umber tells the story of Max, a mental patient in an asylum, played with to a manic perfection by Steve White. Max longs for freedom from the oppressive institution, an oppression we never see (but we’ll get to that later). He befriends Beatrix, another asylum inmate, played by Caitlin Gold in my favorite performances of the night. She and him plot to break out, and wacky misadventures ensue. Or so I’d assume. Raw Umber was near impossible to follow, and ended up become a misunderstood mess. How? It’s very rare a film’s failure can be blamed on one single factor, but it seems clear that was the case here. Caitlin Gold and Steve White give fantastic performances, and the supporting cast is great if under-used. What could be heard and salvaged from the dialogue seems really good, and the cinematography is gorgeous. Josh Paige directs the film well, so how exactly did it become an incoherent mess?


Well, to understand that, in might help to have a bit of background. Now, if you’re like me, you don’t wanna know anything about the behind-the-scenes bullshit and want to judge just from what you saw on screen I’ll give you that option. For those interested in the back story, though, simply highlight the white bar. Raw Umber exists in a 44 minute director’s cut. Though I have yet to see it, I have been informed that it is far superior; makes much more use of supporting actors Scott Churchson, Mike Tiscia, Nicholas Wilder and Zeshan Bhatti; and plays out scenes seen briefly in the festival cut (particularly the aftermath of the fire alarm scene). Unfortunately, the University demanded a maximum run-time of 30 minutes on all films, and whereas Deleted circumvented this, Raw Umber attempted to fulfill the requirement. I assure my readers that when I am provided the original cut of the film, I will gladly review it as well.

The factor that hurts Raw Umber is it’s editing. Where it’s cinematography captured each scene with masterful precision, the film appears to have been edited with mad abandon. Scenes flicker onscreen and fizzle out without any semblance of explanation. Characters change without elucidation (the “evil” guard played by Scott Churchson inexplicably turns on his boss without any build-up as to why), storylines are brought up and abandoned often within one scene (Nicholas Wilder, whose opening scene is one of my favorites in the film, is apparently dead. You would not pick up on this fact if you miss the one line it’s mentioned it, but not to worry, because that whole subplot is never touched on again), it is never even broached what is so terrible about the institution, we're just simply meant to assume that it must be a terrible place, and by the end of the film, wherein the characters change costume for a never clarified reason in what looks like a continuity error, the film completely derails.

Nicholas Wilder and Steve White

It is a shame. The trailer looked so extraordinarily promising. This was one of the films I was most excited for. Sincerely, everything else in the film is terrific, particularly the cinematography and the two leads, and it had the best opening credits sequence I’ve seen from this school, but the editing just makes the whole film unravel. The amount of sub plots brought into play and then just forgotten are upsetting, and the film takes so much care to establish the characters in the beginning, and seems to just stop caring towards the end. The more the film picks up speed, the more it comes apart.

As previously stated, I’ll gladly review a director’s cut, but as of now, Raw Umber seems to tackle more than it can handle, and is edited more incoherently than if they tried to put Deadwood on basic cable. Great performances, great footage, but chaotic editing.

Steve White and Caitlin Gold

Ride Along- Jeremiah Wenutu, Adam Kampfer & Chris De Monte (Production Lab)
Ride Along is a weird little film. At points I enjoyed it, at points I hated it. The actors performances could go from engaging to horrific in the space of a single line. The cinematography was nice to look at, but the car scene got repetitive, reusing the same three or four shots. Many of the lines had me laughing, but some of them weren’t supposed to be funny. There are factual errors abound, from the cop committing acts of kidnapping and brutality, to the woman who was allegedly beaten “to within an inch of her life” not only standing on a train platform the next day, but with only one bruise on her eye, which is revealed in a shot reminiscent of the opening of CSI: Miami. Is Ride Along the best film of the festival? Far from it. But is it the worst? No. It’s tolerable. Flawed, but not a failure. Decent, but not spectacular. Ultimately, what Ride Along is is forgettable.

Bike Story- Kenny Yu (Thesis)
Is Bike Story a bad movie? Despite the griping you may hear from others, no, I don’t believe it is. It’s a simpre story about a boy, his father and his bicycle. Does it’s ten minute run-time seem to drag? Oh, yeah. But you can at least follow the story, which is more than can be said for a couple of the films that night. Yet, as nice as it was to look at, it was dull, at felt like the simplistic, under-ambitious story you’d expect from a freshman film. From a senior thesis, I expected a little more. I had an old mentor who used to say “Bad is better than boring”. Well, Bike Story wasn’t bad. But perhaps it would have been better if it was.

Dark Circles- Patrick Mackey (Thesis)

 Leading up to the festival, there was buzz abound for certain films. Raw Umber was getting plenty of hype and based on last year’s success of Hansel and Gretel, on had to expect great things from The Pornographer. The sheer scope of Deleted’s shoot had many people intrigued, and across Youtube and Facebook, Super/Heroes teased us more than Tawny Kitaen on the car hood in that Whitesnake video. Yet it was Dark Circles, the near buzz-less thesis by Patrick Mackey, that truly captivated everyone at the festival, myself included. Dark Circles tells the story of Allen, a young cop (Greg Cioffi, who also co-wrote the film) drawn in by the allure of the dark kinship he shares with his neighbor William, played to absolute terrifying perfection by Alan Bendich. The cinematography is brilliantly sedate, he dotingly deftly seamless, and every scene feels like it belongs. At no point does the film drag, nor does any moment seem superfluous. Even scenes which have no direct impact on the story, like when the main character and his wife Gwen (in a great performance by KT Briodo) are out at dinner (the type of scene that would slow down the pacing so much in other films, to the point where anyone watching would demand it be cut out, deeming it “pointless”) seems to fit perfectly in the film, and helps define the characters, rather than hinder the story.

It’s opening and ending scenes give the film an air of mystery, and at points in the film one could actually observe audience members shifting uncomfortably in their seats. Are there a few flaws? Perhaps, but not many I caught. Perhaps in certain scenes Cioffi doesn’t show as much emotion as I would like, and some shots go a tad long, but these minor imperfections do nothing to hinder my enjoyment of this film.

As impressive as the cinematography and editing are in Dark Circles, however, Patrick truly took a risk by crafting a film that so heavily relied on one performance. Indeed, the whole film’s success or failure seemed to ride on the shoulders of the actor playing William. This risk paid off, however, as Alan Bendich gives a stellar performance in the role, making William the type of man who both repulses and intrigues the viewer. One feels sympathy for the man’s tortured past, but also fears that any minute he might snap. This impressive feat elevates the whole film to another level.

Dark Circles has been almost unanimously declared as one of the highlights of the festival, and I cannot disagree. Great scenes, great shots, and my personal favorite performance in the entire festival, Dark Circles is absolutely worth seeking out. See it as soon as you can.

The Pornographer- Michael Staffieri (Thesis)

People who have read my reviews sometimes think that I speak too highly of Michael Staffieri. Indeed, they suggest that I don’t have nearly as many positive things to say about any other filmmaker in the department, and that it isn’t fair. To that I say: find me another filmmaker in the department who continues to make films that each have a fresh sense of style and yet hold true to the filmmaker’s distinct voice, and I’ll gladly heap the same amount of praise on them (or, as I believe the youngins would say, "smd byotch").

A glance back at last year will show that I had nothing but good things to say about Hansel and Gretel, Michael’s last film, and yet I have to say this year he most certainly outdid himself with The Pornographer. The story of Egon Schiele, a obvious passion project for those who remember 2008’s Schiele, is at points both minimalist and yet vastly deep. Told with only three actors, mostly within the confines of a single room, The Pornographer builds upon every strength of last year’s Hansel and Gretel.

After their stellar work in Hansel, we’ve come to expect great things from Maria Arenlind and Josef Urban, and not only do they deliver, but particularly in the case of Urban they go above and beyond. Maria plays Schiele’s muse, before Kristin Cooke enters the scene, and her final scene is by far the film's most powerful, with her cold, hurt delivery so deep and convincing the viewer might simply seethe in anger towards Schiele. I must say, while I expected an engaging performance from Arenlind and Urban, it was Cooke who truly drew me in. Her virginal gentility makes viewers both revile Schiele and be further enticed by his dark, tortured allure,  and her wordless reactions during what might be one of the most beautiful, bold and strongly erotic scenes of sexuality I’ve seen is absolutely flawless.

Flawless (barring some sound issues) might be how I’d label this film. Call me hyperbolic if you will, I truly thought this proved the high level of work that can be produced at this university. From Sean Costello’s starkly enthralling cinematography, to Michael’s daring choice of shots and actions, so ingenious as to even make Josef simply spitting on a mirror more engaging than the most heated dialogue from any other film that night. Undoubtedly my favorite Staffieri film, and a fantastic final note to his tenure at the university, The Pornographer may not be accessible to all, but it’s without a doubt worth viewing.


Super/Heroes- Joshua Paige, Carrie Ferrante, Marc Riou, Nugent Cantileno, Alan R. Holloway & Robert LaRosa (Production Lab)

Every year a production lab film finds a way to build up buzz. In The Name Of Cinema used posters, Hansel and Gretel had word of mouth (including many people talking about the audacious grandeur of converting the dull blue room into a period-accurate WWII German cabin), and this year’s buzz-filled film, Super/Heroes, had teaser trailers. Multiple teaser trailers, including one filmed before a cast was assembled. (I am aware I’m supposed to review the film, not the promotion, but I promise it relates) The public perception of all this pre-production promotion was that it veered into the area of self-indulgence, with the filmmakers promoting it as if there were a huge public anticipation, perhaps in an effort to build up said public anticipation. Indeed, the same tactic seemed to be used with In The Name of Cinema’s posters. Yet, if one takes this tactic too far or pushes it too much, the public’s opinion can easily shift from the desired “I’ve heard this is a really good movie” to the dreaded “This shit better be good, after all I’ve heard.”

Unfortunately, that dreaded atmosphere is what the film debuted in, though the crew seemed to be blissfully unaware. “This shit better be good,” we all thought “damn good.” And you know what? It was. It absolutely was. From it’s meticulously crafted opening dream sequence to its tender montage ending, Super/Heroes comes off with very few hitches. The pressure created from all the buzz does cause the viewer to apply a heavier microscope to it than one would apply to, say, Ride Along, but let me first stash away that magnifier and discuss the film’s positives.

The film, for those unaware, tells the story of a retired superhero, Brainstormer (Brian Edelman) in the aftermath of 9/11, grieving his inability to help. Confronted by not only his wife Eileen (Lindsay Hicks) but his arch-nemeses Mr. Cutting (Steve White), Brainstormer discovers the true definition of hero.

Credit must be given to the film’s direction, as the opening scenes of the film work with a rapid-fire brilliance. The attention to detail within the setting of the summer home (which is set on the day of September 11th, 2001), with period accurate books and even VHS tapes. Carrie Ferrante’s dialogue flows quite naturally from the cast’s lips, particularly on the part of its supporting actors. The film is edited almost seamlessly, with rarely an awkward shot. Too much praise cannot be given to Luke Paige’s wonderful and emotive score, and this reviewer sincerely hopes his song “Tilling”, a strong contender for this year’s best original song prize, is made available for download.

Lindsay Hicks in Super/Heroes.

The performances in the film are at times stellar, particularly on the part of its supporting cast. Though only featured in the beginning and end, Lindsay Hicks leaves such an indelible impression in a scene in which she confronts Edward (a.k.a Brainstormer) for his cowardice that were she never seen again in the film, we’d still all remember her. Within the span of mere minutes, Hicks ranges from relief at her father’s safety to fury at her husband’s weakness, to finally the most seething contempt as she reminds Edward “You used to be so good at being selfless.”

By the end of this scene, the viewer finds themselves in contempt of a character they’ve had barely an opportunity to know, which gives Brian Edelman the great challenge of having to redeem his character for the audience by the end, and indeed he certainly does. Edelman shines, not through dialogue like the others (which at times come out awkward, but we’ll get to negatives later), but instead in his solitary scenes. As he watches the news coverage of 9/11, or the video of his deceased partner Roman Candle (played with such adroit frivolity by Costa Giannakopoulos as to make viewers wish his character had more screen time, or that they had ventured more into he and Brainstormer’s past {prequel?}), or even as he has a somber cigarette out on his porch, Edelman says more with his face and eyes than he does in any of his lines.

Steve White and Brian Edelman in Super/Heroes

Yet, truly, the most powerful performance in the film is that of Steve White. Though nothing in the film can be described as flawless, White’s performance as the deranged arch-villain is pretty damn close. Managing to be both terrifyingly mad and in flickers sympathetically human (as he seems to almost feel as betrayed by Brainstormer’s failure as Eileen), in his one scene Steve White manages to steal Super/Heroes, making his confrontation with Brainstormer the most memorable scene in the film. Though in two extraordinarily different contexts, the tensions between the two seemed reminiscent of that between Valjean and Javert in Hugo’s Les Miserables (particularly the 1998 film version). That same level of chemistry as was between Neeson and Rush was in that scene, and that’s one of the highest compliments I can give a film.

Though, as much as I can praise the performances, they would simply make Super/Heroes a good film, better than some. What elevates the film to the level of “great” is the film’s wow factor, the factor that allows one to not notice the films flaws (and perhaps perceive it as a tad better than it actually is). Marc Riou’s cinematography has never been shy from praise within my reviews, but Super/Heroes is Riou at his finest. Working with the Canon 7D belded with Marc’s eye for shots and his unparalleled color-correction make Super/Heroes the undisputed most visually pleasing film in the festival, and indeed of all the films I’ve seen in my time at Long Island University. It would take a critical eye to pick up on any of the film’s stumbles, as it’s too easy to be swept away in the stellar cinematography. From the perfectly executed alley scene to the gracefully moving camera throughout the scenes at the beach house, there is not a single frame from Super/Heroes that could not be isolated and treated as a brilliant photograph. Marc Riou proved his undeniable talent with this film, and I defy anyone to show me a Post student film, from any years past or indeed in any years to come, that will match the visual mastery of this piece.

Brian Edelman and Steve White in Super/Heroes. Photo Courtesy of Marc Riou

Yet Super/Heroes is not without its flaws. While Edelman’s subdued, subtle Brainstormer may have been a directorial choice (and a choice that does indeed pay off in his solo scenes), he gets completely buried and overshadowed in scenes with such strong, confident, extroverted performances by Hicks and White. It’s a shame, but in scenes like those, Edelman comes of as a weak performer, which as one can tell from his solo scenes he far from is. Some of his lines are a bit clunkier than the others in the film, and the scene in which he talks with a boy whose father was lost in the tragedy seems very cliché, the writing very bland, the type of scene anyone who’s seen a feel good movie could write, which is surprising from Ferrante, whose dialogue, particularly in Super/Heroes, is typically fresh, exciting and unique. The film also seems to end three times, with Brainstormer’s confrontation with the child, his reunion with Eileen by a bridge (which seems to serve no purpose other than for Edward to tell Eileen everything we the viewer have already seen in the film, and is the first scene to slow down the pacing of the otherwise fast-moving film), and finally the actual ending.

Though the main problem to be had with Super/Heroes is its inaccuracies. Yes, those reading this in Maine or Alabama may find the following criticisms nit-picky, but if you make a film about 9/11 in New York, you better damn sure get it right.

Luke Paige, Yaseen Al-Saladin and Henry Gonzalez in Super/Heroes.

For example, let’s examine the scene with the most inaccuracies, the conversation with the child. Complaint 1) I was there for 9/11. I lived in New York through it. I lost a family member in it. No one, I mean no one would have the balls to mock the son of a fireman who died in the attacks. Sure, wouldn’t it be a stretch to assume some little bastard would make a dead dad joke months later. But the next day? Never. Absolutely never. Satan himself wouldn’t mock a dead fireman’s son the day after 9/11. Complaint 2) There is no way that kid would have his father’s helmet (nearly clean, mind you) the day after the attacks, before they’d even found whole people’s bodies. Plus, that helmet should be dusty. Weeks after the attacks, dust still fell from the shoulders of the FDNY.

Yet, the dust is the main problem with the film. The streets of Brooklyn are clean and full of sunshine, with people shopping and going about their daily business. The slightest bit of research would reveal the boroughs to be a wasteland, people too terrified to leave their homes, and if they did, it was in surgical masks on their mouths and fear in their eyes. Clear skies? No way. Ash-less streets? Absolutely not. The film seems to convey a post-9/11 New York that looks like 9/11 never happened.

Brian Edelman in Super/Heroes. Photo Courtesy of Marc Riou

The film seems to pay little attention to actually getting the facts of 9/11 right, making the even feel more like a plot device than a historical event. Unfortunately, this makes the film potentially take on the same offensive tone as Remember Me, wherein the viewer feels as if 9/11’s memory is being evoked more to elicit emotion from the audience than to express the filmmaker’s own emotions. If you’re going to tackle a major historical even, especially one still so fresh in people’s memories, you had best get it right, and Super/Heroes utterly fails in that one respect (even though that is the only respect it fails in). They’re going to have a hard time breaking into the New York festival circuit for this reason, and perhaps this reason alone.

All in all, Super/Heroes is a great film, one of the best of the night. Does it live up to all the hype? Not completely. It has its flaws if you’re willing to accept that it can be flawed, and if you don’t get two swept away in Riou’s astounding shots (which its easy to do). As I type this review, I’m listening to Bruce Springsteen’s “My City of Ruins”, which seems to pack more of the real emotion of 9/11 in it than Super/Heroes, to the point where I can feel the ash in the air. If you’re looking for a film about 9/11, Super/Heroes is not for you. But if you’re looking for a brilliantly executed film, from script to shots to finished product, look no further than Super/Heroes. One of the best of the night.  

Brian Edelman and Lindsay Hicks in Super/Heroes. Photo Courtesy of Marc Riou

Fall- Robert LaRosa, Mike Weinstien, Jeremiah Wenutu, Dani Teman & Jess Frederickson (Production Lab)

Where to begin with Fall? Well, back when I saw the rough cut (cheating, I know) I dubbed it “Carousel 2”, as it was an utter cacophony of mistakes and nonsense. In the time they’ve had to revamp the film, Fall became…slightly better? Without a doubt the worst of the production lab films this year, Fall falters in almost every area, from almost universally weak performances (though lead actor Daniel Blatman does try his damndest to make it work, and Jack Hayflick gives the only truly good performance of the film) to awkward cinematography, to a dreadful script. What Fall turns out to be is two good vignettes (the two scenes involving Jack Hayflick) loosely tied together by awkward hallway scenes. The film’s premise is a man walking down a hallway, looking at the life he abandoned for the sake of his job, trading in a suitcase full of talismans representing his family life in exchange for a bar of gold (in a scene that so looks like a drug deal), and eventually watching his son through a window (that makes no effort to not be a window obviously hanging by a hanger facing towards a white wall) making the same mistakes he has, and the gold bar turns to ash.

With a premise that reads like the same pretentious “symbolic” (as symbolic as a god damn stop sign) story we all pitched freshman year of film school trying to show we’re cool and deep (then later grew up and realized was just silly), Fall was doomed from the start. The awkward dialogue doesn’t help, and neither does the fact that the film drags like all holy hell. The only real enjoyment one can get from Fall is the perverse joy one feels watching the lead actor’s eyes lose a bit of their glimmer as the film progresses, clearly realizing more and more what a bad film he is in (though god bless him for doing his best). With the exception of the editing and special effects (a man is replicated three times. That’s kinda cool), literally anyone could make this film. From conception to execution, a person who has never been in film school a day could make this film. In truth, I doubt anyone in the Fall team would disagree with me, as thy have no doubt seen the same footage of actors acting directionless, and the atrocious shot of a door in the middle of a field, and the myriad of other mistakes that comprise Fall.

Fall’s one redeeming factor was that it was followed by Game Day, Mike Weinstien’s triumphant return to the style of my favorite films by him, his TDC days, with films like Hook Hands, A Day To Remember, and the stellar Locked In The Bathroom: Official Trailer. Game Day is a success in every aspect remaining a favorite for many of those in attendance at the festival. Without an ounce of pretentiousness, Game Day was short and sweet, and a hell of a lot of fun, and eradicated all memory of the abomination before it. Skip Fall for your sanity’s sake, but definitely check out Game Day. 10 times shorter and 10 times better. In every area Fall fails, Game Day succeeds.

The Brigade- Tyrone Holguin (Thesis)
I’ll give The Brigade this: It had a lot of potential, and picked up in the second half. But the first half was a mess. The story of two older musicians trying to make it to a battle of the bands had the potential to be a good comedy. Unfortunately, it didn’t really seem sure what it wanted to be until the car broke down. Minor storytelling issues, however, are nothing compared to non-existent green screen (not bad green screen, mind you, non existent. Literally, there was a green screen in the car window, that had not been replaced with digital imagery) and the film’s most major flaw, the fact that it’s about musicians who aren’t really playing their instruments! Not even, like, minor things that musical people like me would be anal about. If he was playing a G but the chords we heard was a G minor, ok, whatever. But this didn’t even try and get it close to right. Strumming off-beat, hands on the upper frets during low notes, to the point where even the least-musically inclined people could tell. The Brigade actually had some fun parts, but this is one of those rare films that could have been one of the best of the ‘fest, but was so, so poorly executed. Perhaps it was a work in progress, and there will be a new, improved cut of the film with the musical aspects tweaked and the green screen fixed. I sure hope so, because the film has a lot of potential, but as for what I saw on screen, it faltered and fell many times.
 

The Black Book- Sandy Sonera (Thesis)

Notice any similarities? Somebody had to be the one to say it. I could comment in the cinematography, the awkward fight scenes, the many lapses in logic the film suffers. I could pontificate for paragraphs on the uncomfortable looks on many people’s faces as the reality of this unauthorized remake dawned on them. Or I could just post the above Wikipedia link and let people draw their on conclusions. It’s not laziness or cowardice, just disinterest. A terrible movie? Not really. I've seen worse thesis films. Far worse. But the obvious plot theft just kills it for me.



Welcome Back- Justin Toulon (Thesis)

I have been dreading writing this review. I guess I just don’t have the vicious streak I did last year. Maybe it’s because this film feels so autobiographical on the part of the filmmaker that to say “Basically, the movie sucks” would be like saying “Basically, your life sucks”. So I promise that at no point will I say the film “sucks”. I will say the plot is hard to follow, the fight scenes are bizarre and uncomfortable, the cinematography is dreadful, and that the performances are…well, the type you’d expect when a director casts himself in his own film (Tyler’s Story excluded). I never like when directors so clearly air their personal business in their films, but I also hate criticizing it. The film is bad, writing-wise, acting-wise, visually and audibly (except the fairly enjoyable rap soundtrack. I’ll give Welcome Back that) the worst of the night. But no matter how much I didn’t like the film, as I said, I will never say “Basically, the movie sucks” as this is autobiographical, and as such would be saying “Basically, your life sucks”. so I won’t say it. On an unrelated note, here’s a comic my friend drew:

Deleted- Jason Hess (Thesis)

Photos courtesy of Marc Riou

I spit a lot more venom last year than I did this year. Sure, have I been kind and loving to Fall, or The Black Book, or Welcome Back? Christ, no. But take a look back at my reviews last year for, say, Collision, or Harvest. Take a look at what I had to say for a little film called Loaded. Yes, if there was any film I reviled and hated last year, it was most certainly Loaded. So when I heard Jason Hess, the film’s director and writer, had a new film coming out, I’m ashamed to admit I started sharpening my teeth early, calculating potential bad review sentences the more I heard about the plot. I couldn’t help it. Loaded was one of the worst god damned things in last year’s festival. So it thrills/shocks me to say that Deleted, Jason’s newest film, was without a doubt one of the best god damned things in this year’s festival. Clocking in at 44 pulse-pounding minutes, Deleted was so much fun to watch that, when my praise is met by any nay-sayers (some who were just pissed at the film’s length, some just unable to separate the filmmaker from the film {I couldn’t give two shits about whatever personal drama took place}) I respond with a hearty (and highly professional) “Go fuck yourselves”. Yes, you read that right, I have passionately insulted people due to my sheer admiration of a Jason Hess Film. The guy who made Loaded.

My narcissism wants me to believe that Jason took all my criticism from my last film to heart and the helped him craft Deleted (don’t tell me it’s not true. Let me lie to myself) because Deleted succeeds in every place Loaded failed. Starting from the script, a sci-fi-tinged action thriller, which are three genres that rarely work in a low-budget student film, get pulled off with masterful precision in this. Darkly complex, at points deeply moving, and an absolute joy all the way through. The cinematography is done by Marc Riou, who as you may have noticed from the last few films, cannot do wrong, but working with the many varied environments of Deleted (my favorite being a church) Marc gets some amazing shots, and Jason makes them work in scenes that are acutely compelling.

The plot takes so many twists and turns that to talk about it would do the film a disservice. I’ll simply say that while the film has many great performances, it is lead actor Jeff Moffitt who chews up the scenery in all the best ways. Dark, brooding, and yet utterly human, Jeff is half of the reason Deleted is as enthralling as it is.

Jeff Moffitt in Deleted

Again, this is a film that relies on tension and release, suspense and surprise, so I won’t talk too much about the plot, except to say that it’s surprisingly deep and engaging. Sure, there are storylines that are half explored, feeling at times more like a TV pilot than a film, but that’s worked for films before, most famously David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, and it works again here. I will say my one issue is the film has a minor 9/11 themed sub-plot I could do without, as it feels a tad forced, but that’s about the only thing I’d change.

After being burned by Loaded, I sat trough the whole 44 minutes, loving each scene and thinking “Ok…now it’s gonna suck.” and yet I was constantly proven wrong. At points as gritty and human as The Wire, and as surreal and sci-fi as Dead Zone, Deleted is a success in every way in my eyes, without an ounce of film school pretension. Deleted lacks the refined, high-brow art of the night’s other great success, The Pornographer, but they exist on opposite ends of the spectrum. If you don’t like one, you’ll damn sure love the other (I’m on both sides of the fence, but I’m used to it).

A terrific cast, a sharp script, gorgeous cinematography, and grade A cinematic thrills, Deleted is a triumph. Miles beyond the chaos of Loaded, it’s hard to believe they even came from the same filmmaker. Deleted is definitely 44 minutes most viewers won’t regret spending (I sincerely hope it will soon be made available for public viewing. I got a buddy of mine station in Korea who would absolutely love it), and though we don’t often see eye to eye on the subject of film theory, for this fine work, my hat is off to you, Mr. Hess.

Andy- Eric Brecka (Thesis)
There’s that cliché phrase that was the famous last words of the great George Bernard Shaw, “Dying is easy, comedy is hard”. Had Shaw tried to do comedy in short film form, he’d realize how right he is. Feature films? Easy, because you can really develop characters and scenarios, and make deeply complex and evolved jokes. 30-second shorts? No problem, their just a one-joke blip. But that middle ground is hell. It’s so, so easy to fail. So god bless Eric Brecka for amazing us all and walking that tightrope with utter finesse. Andy is the best comedy I’ve seen in my time at Post, and while a lot of that relies on the brilliant physicality of Adam David Jones, it is the sharp writing and directing that helps the film to fully flourish. The fun story of Andy, an OCD afflicted janitor, Andy feels like a short film should. It tells a simple but complete story, looks and sounds exactly how it should: light, frivolous and fun. Laugh after laugh erupts from the audience during Andy, most from Jones’ pitch-perfect performance, though admittedly the biggest laugh came from Brecka’s brilliant choice of Sean Brogan to appear briefly as a psychology patient with sever anxiety issues, whose bleep-filled appearance guarantees him a nomination for Best Cameo (can we note Sean Brogan not only wrote and directed one of the best Thesis films this year, but also gave one of the best dramatic and one of the best comedic performances this year? And he’s not even a professional actor. Not…not like I’m jealous or anything…but seriously, f*** you, Sean Brogan).

Andy was the perfect way to end the night, when after all the serious drama, we had the release of a good laugh. It’s very clear Eric has taken his four years and honed his comedic craft while others struggled to be “deep” and “serious”. Andy is the type of film that could actually go places, and I hope it does. It’s a film everyone can enjoy, and indeed, I’m sure everyone will. If you need a good laugh, look no further than Andy.

Mike’s Picks from Night 2:
5 Must-See Films:
1. The Pornographer
2. Deleted
3. Dark Circles
4. Super/Heroes
5. Andy

5 You Can Skip:
1. Welcome Back
2. Fall
3. The Black Book
4. The Brigade
5. Bike Story

So there end the reviews of the 2011 C.W. Post Underclassmen film festival. Once again, this was intended as healthy criticism, and was not meant to make anyone cry. I welcome all disagreements and commentary (beyond "You suck") and encourage a healthy dialogue, as that is the only way we are going to improve. If you wanna weigh in, please leave a comment on the post. If you want to contact me directly for any reason, feel free to do so here.