"Dinner for Schmucks"
Nearly 2-hours of distinctly average material. Neither funny nor unfunny, the film merely exists with nothing to break the viewers indifference to the proceedings.Date Night - Online Premier, Monday December 5th!
386 Films "Date Night" will be available for online viewing through Vimeo on December 5th. Click the image above to watch the film (Again... Available December 5th), or click here to read Critical-Film's review of this incredible short.
'Date Night' Review | Critical-Film.com
Synopsis
He was everything She imagined. An unexpected night offers the truth about the perfect dream date in this black comedy short.
'Beneath the Veneer of a Murder' Review | Critical-Film.com
Synopsis
A brief yet tense phone conversation between politically connected powerhouse Tom Buchanan (Mark Grant) and a desperate lower class thug named Judd (Eric Scheiner) over Buchanan's bisexual wife Daisy (Jennifer McCartney), her working class lover Lolita (Christy Scott-Cashman) and Bartlesby (Angel Connell), the enigmatic head of Buchanan's personal security force, results in an interlocking series of actions which culminates in a brutal murder. Thereafter the Buchanans in a subsequent phone conversation grapple with the fallout from the crime, its alleged resolution, and the effect the incident has had on their open marriage.
'Eyes Beyond'
"Eyes Beyond"
After my first viewing of "Eyes Beyond", I was nearly ready to dismiss the film as an average attempt to rattle the viewers consciousness through a few well-timed directorial 'shifts', which altered the audience's collective perception of the events occuring. For a 25-minute short, this is an ambitious feat indeed, and one that succeeds surprisingly well. My initial problem, however, was not the film's deliberately unfocused structure, it was the film's resolution and the succeeding title cards which provided numerous statistics regarding mental illness. It was seemingly so far removed, in both tone and context, from the opening sequence, that I couldn't quite grasp the point.
'2:22'
'You Know My Name'
Synopsis
A comedic musical short inspired by an obscure Beatles novelty tune. While visiting a mysteriously surrealistic dating agency, a lonely woman (Betty Taylor) checks out the video tapes of one male prospect (Angel Connell) who seems to have multiple personalities. With remote in hand, the woman speeds past those parts of her character she finds unattractive and zeroes in on the aspect of his personality she finds most attractive. Her decision to commit to this appealing part of his persona results in a dramatic change in her life - or does it?
'Stocking Stuffers'
"Stocking Stuffers"
I don't think many people fully understand how difficult it is to properly review a short film. When you watch a full-length feature, you're given a reasonable amount of time to witness the developments in both character and plot, and perhaps become emotionally attached to the characters. Or… Perhaps not. That would depend on the success of the film. A short film must generally be taken on different merits, as it's very difficult to genuinely involve the audience in the occurrences in such a short period of time. As such, short films generally need something else, a niche of some sort. As a film reviewer you must distance yourself from any preconceived notions that all films are created equal, and attempt to understand each film's intention and ability to stay true to that intention in order to form a proper critique.
'She's So Cold' Review | Critical-Film.com
Synopsis
The gossip between three government office clerks over the relationship between a mysterious woman, her deceased sister, and the madman loved by both women takes a twist in its implications when the clerks discover a photograph left behind by said mysterious woman after visiting their office.
'Now You See Me, Now You Don't'
"Now You See Me, Now You Don't" 
aka "Most látszom, most nem látszom"
I seem to have a sort of dilemma at the point of writing this review. You see, when I view an independent short film, the film usually falls into either the category of very good, or very bad. In my experience, there have been few short films that sit on any sort of ‘middle ground'. The film is usually either very well crafted in nearly every respect, or some sort of abysmal failure that can't seem to get anything right (Luckily, I've had to write very few negative reviews on independent shorts). Regardless of the film's overall quality, I don't often have a problem pointing out the film's positive or negative aspects. In the case of "Now You See Me, Now You Don't", however, I fear that by revealing details of the plot I may lessen the film's emotional impact, so I will attempt to reveal as little as possible about the film. This may make for a slightly shorter review than usual.
'Death is a Very Long Time'
"Death is a Very Long Time"
I think I've mentioned a few times that Josh Darling's "Death is a Very Long Time" was my favorite thing that I saw at this year's Freakshow Film Festival. If you hadn't heard me say that, allow me to repeat. "Death is a Very Long Time" was my favorite film at this year's Freakshow Film Festival.