Released in theaters: 02/19/2010 (Limited)
Kavi, written and directed by Gregg Helvey is a USC student’s senior thesis about a young boy who attempts to escape from the brick-laying job where he is forced to work with his family as a bonded labor slave in India. The boy resembles one of the little boys from the movie Slumdog Millionaire, and it also has a similar uplifting story. This short was the least appealing on the eyes, as it seemed to move along agonizingly slow, and definitely gave off the student film, by the book, filmmaking. It lacks imagination and originality compared to the other stories.
Imdb: 7.4/10
Moviewiseguys: 6.0/10
The New Tenants, directed by Joachim Back, is a unique story about two gay roommates who just moved into an apartment and is set amidst the unopened boxes and the hopes for a fresh start on what might just be the worst moving day ever. Their new apartment reveals its terrifying history in a film that is funny, frightening, and very random. It stars familiar faces Vincent D’Onofrio and Kevin Corrigan. The story takes a little to unfold at first but then it gets interesting while watching all the pieces come together. It was out of the ordinary, and the end scene was a little head scratching, while it was ended a little silly this probably had the best acting of the bunch.
Imdb: 7.9/10
Moviewiseguys: 7.5/10
The Door, directed by Juanita Wilson, is a very bleak and depressing story of a Russian family that is evacuated from its apartment in the midst of some kind of war. The father of this family breaks back into his apartment to steal the door and return to his sick daughter who now lives in a crowded apartment. The story was a little hard to follow but the art direction and cinematography were outstanding. This was the saddest short of the crop but it also had the most impressive production values. If made into a feature film we could of seen more of the characters develop and felt for them more in the end. This should be the frontrunner to win though because of its technical prowess.
Imdb: 7.8/10
Moviewiseguys: 7.0/10
Instead of Abracadabra, written and directed by Patrik Eklund, is a quirky foreign comedy about a man who still lives with his parents and tries to realize his dream of becoming a magician, and impress the girl next door by putting on a show for her brother’s birthday party. This reminded me a lot of Napoleon Dynamite, and I think if it was adapted into a feature film could be really funny. I was laughing out loud more then any other foreign film I’ve ever seen. The lead actor was very good as the strange young man but most of the jokes are a result of the fantastic writing and crisp editing. If comedies held more weight in the Oscar shorts I could see this walking away with it, unfortunately they don’t usually fair well.
Imdb: 7.8/10
Moviewiseguys: 7.5/10
Miracle Fish, written and directed by Luke Doolan, is a suspenseful film with a solid twist that absolutely makes this short what it is. I’ll give away what I can about the plot without spoiling anything. It follows an 8-year old boy on his birthday in a catholic school. He is bullied and ignored and seems to only want to be alone. During lunch he gets a surprise in his lunchbox from his Dad, and later in the day he seems to get his birthday wish when the rest of the school goes missing. This film had me hooked from the first couple minutes and when things get strange it’s really cool to see everything pan out. The acting is solid and the editing and score were phenomenal. I give props to the director for putting it all together and getting it to work. The story has stayed with me for a week now and I can’t wait to see it again. Miracle Fish gets my vote, if that counts for anything.
Imdb: 7.1/10
Moviewiseguys: 8.5/10
