Release Date: 2/11/11 (Limited)
In past years, I have been fortunate enough to see most Oscar-nominated movies before the big day, at least for all the main categories. The only one I haven’t seen yet is 127 Hours because I’m not looking forward to watching him cut off his arm, but I will most definitely see it by Sunday. Unfortunately, most viewers don’t get the opportunity to see the films in smaller categories, like foreign film, animated short, and live action short. What makes this so frustrating is that important ballot we all fill out to pick a winner. It’s a total guess. There’s of course some online searching that can help your decision, but I want to base that decision on what I really think should win. For the first time, I saw all five live action short films nominated this year. Very exciting. None of them were absolutely amazing but a couple stood out from the rest. The main theme through four of them would be, in a word, cute. The fifth was more heartbreaking so of course, my favorite.
Wish 143
This film had a promising start but went downhill as it progressed. David, a tough cancer patient who wants no one feeling sorry for him is asked to fill out a form for the Make a Wish Foundation. He is asked to close his eyes and think if he could be anywhere in the world where would he be. He closes his eyes and sees a really cool sports car bumping up and down. The windows are steamy and David is inside having sex with a hot girl, beer cans strewn about. Quite hilarious. So that’s his wish – to have sex with a hot girl before he dies a virgin. The kid is likable if not the best actor, but some of that may also be poor writing. The ending is extremely anti-climatic.
IMDB: 7.6/10
Moviewiseguys: 6.0/10
God of Love
The lone American film looks – in the words of fellow wiseguy Mike Manfre – like the work of a film student. It’s not bad, but the acting isn’t great. Three of the five shorts had child actors who were better than two of the main mid-20’s actors in God of Love. The best friend, Fozzie, was the only highlight in this silly story of a love triangle. Ray is in love with Kelly who is in love with Fozzie (Ray’s best friend), who swears he wants nothing to do with her, especially since Ray is in love with her. Shot in black and white with a very old-time feel and a lot of close-ups, the movie is cute but there’s not much of an ending.
IMDB: 7.5/10
Moviewiseguys: 6.5/10
The Crush
A little boy has a major crush on his teacher and proposes to her in the first scene, giving her a ring. Miss Purdy is extremely flattered and continually sweet to Ardal, who is awkward and somewhat robotic when he speaks. One day while out with his Mom he sees his teacher walk out of a store and then a man walk out behind her. She excitedly shows Ardal and his mother her engagement ring to marry this man. The boyfriend is a total jerk and rushes her off. Heartbroken, Ardal tells Miss Purdy after class the next day that the man is no good for her. Again, she thinks he is very sweet but underestimates what he plans to do about it. That night, Ardal spies on his father and sees him safely hide a gun in the top of his closet. His plan is obvious. After school the next day he approaches the boyfriend and demands that he stop seeing his teacher. When the boyfriend laughs and refuses, Ardal challenges him to a duel. He accepts. The dismissiveness of both Miss Purdy and her fiancé is completely normal, but the viewer is definitely unsure about how serious this crush really is. It has one of the better endings, but the actual quality of the film wasn’t that great.
IMDB: 7.5/10
Moviewiseguys: 6.5/10
Na Wewe
There’s a civil war in Burundi as a van full of family and friends gets bombarded by a group of people of Hutus descent. They order everyone out of the van at gunpoint determined to find out where they are all from. If any of them are a Tutsis, they vow to kill them. One ruthless man leads the interrogation but everyone carries guns or machetes, including the children. Every scared individual has a story about their ancestory and where they are from, defending themselves that they are not a Tutsis. While nerve-wracking at times, the film ultimately has a feel-good ending. It almost pokes fun at the ridiculousness of punishing people for not being of the correct ancestral descent. Its upbeat message that all people are equal – that people are just people – will probably resonate well with the Academy. The Confession is a better film, but Na Wewe could steal the win.
IMDB: 7.1/10
Moviewiseguys: 7.0/10
The Confession
This was by far the saddest of all five films. It was also the most professionally shot and well acted. It centers around two nine-year-old boys, Sam and Jacob, who have to make their first ever confession at church. A genuinely good kid with no real sins, Sam is very nervous about what to confess. Jacob, who isn’t too worried about it, comes up with a prank to play on the local tractor driver who is constantly yelling at them. The boys steal the scarecrow from his cornfield and lay it in the middle of the street so that when he drives up to it, he’ll think it’s a dead body. Their innocent prank is done all so Sam will have something to say at confession. Without giving too much away, their prank goes horribly wrong and Sam is tortured by it. The film’s strong and powerful ending will have you thinking about it for days.
IMDB: 7.8/10
Moviewiseguys: 7.5/10