3/3/2022 - 2022 Oscar Shorts - Animated

My Favorite: Boxballet

Oscar Probable: Robin Robin

Robin Robin (2021) – Daniel Ojari and Michael Please (UK/USA, 32 min.) - 6+/10

An achievement in felt. Cute and certainly most kid friendly. The heart of a Disney mini-musical feature in a small wooly body.

Boxballet (2021) – Anton Dyakov (Russia, 15 min.) - 7-/10

Probably my favorite of the animated shorts. A juxtaposing hard-hearted romance of ballet and boxing. Cute, kind of gross, and nicely told.

Bestia (2021) – Hugo Covarrubias (Chile, 16min.) - 7-/10

A Lynch-meets-Tarantino-esque f*ed up world, this one was a doozy. I enjoyed it, its surreality and disturbing material. Certainly not for everyone though.

Affairs of the Art (2021) – Joshua Quinn (UK/Canada, 16 min.) - 6/10 

Exuberant and wild, in style and substance. I can’t say that it hooked me fully, but it was a light fun watch.

The Windshield Wiper (2021) – Alberto Mielgo (USA/Spain, 15 min.) - 5/10

 Stream of consciousness with the variety of love, sex and art styles. It was solid but unspectacular.

2/28/2022 - 2022 Oscar Shorts - Live Action

My Favorite: Ala Kachuu - Take and Run

Oscar Probable: The Long Goodbye

Ala Kachuu - Take and Run (2020) – Maria Brendle (Switzerland/Kyrgyzstan, 38 min.) - 7/10

Oof. What a hard film to watch, but really well done. Strongly constructed and delivered.

The Dress (2020) – Tadeusz Lysiak (Poland, 30 min.) - 6+/10

Another sad and difficult watch. Gloomy in mood and measure, with performance and palette. Main actress does a fine job.

The Long Goodye (2020) – Aneil Karia (UK/Netherlands, 13 min.) - 7-/10

A nice slice of life that devolves into horror. I don’t think that the spoken word rap finale worked for me, but I appreciated the sentiment.

On My Mind (2021) – Martin Strange-Hansen (Denmark, 18 min.) - 7/10 

Maybe the most efficient and complete of these shorts. Blending intrigue, humor, sadness and poignancy, it delivered.

Please Hold (2020) – KD Davila (USA, 19 min.) - 7-/10

 A fun yet disturbing look at a disenfranchising social justice system cranked to 11 once dystopian automation gets involved. A great design and enjoyable dispatch.

2/27/2022 - 2022 Oscar Shorts - Documentary

My Favorite: Audible

Oscar Probable: Queen of Basketball

Audible (2021) – Matthew Ogens (USA, 39 min.) - 7/10

sharply edited like an HBO/ESPN feature. It is engaging and ranging within the life and lives. The sound design could have made it feel more like their experience, but that is just my personal preference.

When We Were Bullies (2021) – Jay Rosenblatt (Germany/USA, 36 min.) - 6/10

Like a friend of mine said, it’s a this American life episode but did it need to be a film? An understandable statement but I think this was a perfectly reasonable, viable, and even fun. It is a bit light but somewhat thought provoking.

Three Songs for Belizar (2021) – Elizabeth Mirzaei (Afghanistan, 22 min.) - 5+/10

Endearing and pointed slice of life highlighting Afghani refugee experience. Poignant but a bit ethereal in its completion.

Lead Me Home (2021) – Pedro Kos and Jon Shenk (USA, 39 min.) - 6-/10 

Emotionally volatile and some riveting points though it seemed more inclined to romanticize the plight of the unsheltered than masterfully empathize. With the editing, cinematic scopes, booming “Dark Knight”-esque layout and pop music placements. It should have been more feel or more detailed, instead of slick production.

The Queen of Basketball (2021) – Ben Proudfoot (USA, 22 min.) - 7-/10

A gentle and smile enduring look at an important sports figure lost to the past. Charming and genial.