COMPETITION (Released to DVD USA 2015)

 

Ben Meyers’ Rating: 3.9|5.0 Starsììì  Competition—cute Minions short film—has good presentation and suitable portrayal.   Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images  Storyline  The Minions are drawing and one rolls his drawing into a ball and chucks it in the trash at the other end of the room. The other minion thinks he can do better and the story is on.      Additional Thanks  Thank you to Directors Kyle Balda and Julien Soret for directing effort. Cast includes Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud. Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?  Maybe. It serves child entertainment needs more than adult needs. This short film writing is not high quality.  Video Critique Available Here: Ben Meyers

MYSTERY IN YELLOWSTONE (Released World-Wide 2015)

Ben Meyers’ Rating: 3.8|5.0 Starsììì  Mystery in Yellowstone—short film—creates the impression that it will be an environmental message movie in its first 10 minutes. Stay with it because it ends as a very educational piece that is worth watching as biologists endeavor to solve aging, declining elk populations only to find the beginning of that decline began over a hundred years ago in the oddest of places. The film is a little slow but paces well. The interviews are not as strong as they could be. The last 20 to 30 minutes solve the mystery. This information could be presented as a quick read in the Smithsonian Magazine rather than a film production.  Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images Storyline  Scientists are trying to figure out why the elk in Yellowstone are dying off in rapid numbers.  Additional Thanks  Thank you to Director Manfred Corrine for directing effort. Thank you to Smithsonian Channel for producing the film. Cast includes John Beach.  Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?  Maybe. This movie does do a good job of showing how everything in our world links to affect everything else.   Video Critique Available Here: Ben Meyers

 

ALIKE (Released to the Gijon International Film Festival Gijon Spain 2015)

Ben Meyers’ Rating: 4.0|5.0 Starsìììì Alike—short film—is cute, inspirational, important, and well-written. It's worth a watch. Film Poster Courtesy of Google Images  Storyline  A dad gets his son ready for school, takes him to school, and then goes to his job across the street.  Additional Thanks Thank you to Director Daniel Martinez Lara and Rafa Cano Mendez for directing effort. Thank you to Producers Daniel Martinez Lara and Nicolas Matji for making the film possible.  Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe? Yes. This short story evaluates breaking out of assembly-line thinking. Video Critique Available Here: Ben Meyers

 

JINXY JENKINS & LUCKY LOU (Released to the USA 2014)

 

Ben Meyers’ Rating: 3.9|5.0 Starsììì  Jinxy Jenkins & Lucky Lou—very creative short film—has animation that is well received, real, and  has the human touch. This is a well-written, 'feel good' movie that is more than worth its time and money investment.   Film Poster Courtesy of IMDb Storyline A bright, positive woman and a negative, seemingly jinxed man, who plans for every possible negative event, meet in unusual circumstances, connect, and go on the adventure of their lives. Additional Thanks Thank you to Michael Bidinger and Michelle Kwon for directing effort. Cast includes Ed Skudder and Lynn Wang.  Buy a ticket? Yes? No? Maybe?  Yes. This is a film that needs to be made. It has depth and meaning. Video Critique Available Here: Ben Meyers