Category Archives: Oscar Shorts

“God of Love,” Luke Matheny‘s lighthearted, comedic tale combining romance with bromance, grapples for ground as an artsy short film using silky jazz and a black-and-white monotone, but slips nonetheless into a muddle of familiar storyline that leaves even its characters oddly uncomfortable.

A modern-day twist on the endeavors of a jazz singing, dart-throwing oversized Cupid who really just wants a little bit of lovin’ for himself from the love of his life, the drum-thumping Kelly— played by Marian Brock—Mr. Matheny’s second short film, which began as his thesis at NYU’s prestigious graduate film program, quickly climbed its way to the big leagues. Recently nominated in the Best Live-Action Short category for the 2011 Academy Awards, along with four others from the UK, Belgium, and Ireland, “God of Love” shows us that sometimes love just doesn’t go the way we want it to.

A scene from "Earano," a short film directed by Luke Matheny

Mr. Matheny, a Brooklyn-based filmmaker, writer, and actor, won numerous awards and recognition for his previous short film, “Earano,” a comic retelling that loosely follows the Cyrano de Bergerac tale. “Earano” is the story of Earl, a big-eared bighearted man with a one-sided love, who forsakes his happiness and love in order to woo the love of his life on behalf of his conventionally handsome, but inarticulate Ukrainian friend. It is clear that Mr. Matheny is not a rookie director, so why didn’t he try harder to cover new grounds? Beats me.

Like many romantic comedies of today, take “He’s Just Not That Into You” for example,  “God of Love” echoes a familiar narrative that is all too predictable for us to follow attentively with any degree of surprise or newly made revelations. We all know that love can’t be firmly controlled, even by love-inducing darts from God, so it’s difficult to understand why this film was even chosen as a nominee.

Roberto Lobianco agreed. He said, “I liked the fact that they used black-and-white visually, but it was more lighthearted and that might have worked if it had been on its own, but compared to the other movies, it seemed less sophisticated and more clichéd.”

“The Crush” has proven to be one of the most outstanding, comical short-films that have modernized the acts of childhood love and admiration. Director Michael Creagh, 37, honed his passion for movies and took the next step by producing this short-film, which is also his very first film that has received several praises inclusive of the current Oscar nomination and award for the Best Irish Short at the Foyle Film Festival in Ireland. “The Crush” tells the story of a clever eight-year old, Irish youngster who proclaims his undeniable love for his teacher by igniting a duel to the death with her distrusting fiancé in efforts to reveal the truth and win her heart.

First and foremost, the movie was filmed in Ireland, and produced entirely with capital resources received from the bank and the director’s father. This notable contribution and investment facilitated Creagh’s ideas which swiftly developed into the worthwhile film being nominated at The Oscars on Sunday evening. As a newcomer to the world of short –films, I overly enjoyed this well-developed short; it was astonishing, humorous and memorable. Despite the brief running time of fifteen minutes and a cast of novice actors; this film successfully captured the viewer’s interest using a charming storyline that utilizes the care-free yet common emotions that have stirred in many middle-aged children and teenagers.

Out of the five short-films that we watched at the IFC theatre last week, “The Crush”, provided a nice, lasting impression that made me smile. Specifically, it was the generous amount of creativity employed, which was one sweet element in the film that aided in the dazzling delivery and performance from Oren Creagh, the 10-year old, director’s son and main character in the film. Honestly, I thought Oren Creagh was spunky, witty and bold; he dominated the role by displaying an adorable sincerity throughout the film. In addition, Oren quickly won the audience over when performing the clever, hilarious scheme his character cooked up to humiliate his competition in the pistol duel.

What I loved most about “The Crush” was how the genuine emotions of the schoolboy was demonstrated in the very first scene. In this scene, the director effectively showed viewers the strong, cute infatuation he held for the teacher when he presents her with a ring, which represents the traditional token of love in most films. Director Creagh re-introduced a commonly used theme; in general crushes on teachers are unavoidable but it can be the right universal and relatable experience to illustrate in a film’s storyline in efforts to engage viewers. For example, in an episode of the television show, Glee, female lead character Rachel Berry develops a tremendous, school girl crush on Will Shuester, the New Directions Choir Director.

Initially, Rachel begins to demonstrate her fondness for Shuester by giving a tie gift to get his attention and shortly after surprising him with a home visit to present the home-made dinner she prepared for him. Meanwhile, Shuester struggles during the episode as he contemplates the best way to stomp out her devotion for him without hurting her feelings. This comparison reflects on the youthful storylines in both “The Crush” and “Glee” and its amusing portrayal of the informal, anticipated actions and behavior during a crush period.  

Finally, the award committee for the Oscars may not be open-minded about films that acquired the combined themes of love and comedy but as a longtime fan of movies that captures your heart by employing those themes, I hope they will decide on “The Crush” for the prestigious winner of the best short-film award.

 If you are excited about the Oscars on Sunday and are prepping for the big night with your family or friends, here is a list of 10 appetizer recipes: http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Recipes/10-Oscar-Worthy-Appetizers.html?zeta_mid=HFM2_329452&zeta_rid=80198334 . These recipes will be perfect for your award party, as they were created to feature the nominated movies for the award of Best Motion Picture!

Also, if you are have been interested in reading the select novels that some of the nominated films were based on, here is a list for you to check out during your free time; http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ebooks/category.asp?r=1&PID=33145&[email protected]&cm_mmc=Targeted-_-Digital_Targeted-_-110226_TD01_T6EBOOK-_-digeboosca

I’m not going to lie: I suck at predicting. No, really, I’m awful at it.

You think you’re bad? I’m worse. In 2006 and 2007, I had the Los Angeles Dodgers not only reaching, but winning – winning! – the World Series. This year, I predicted a Super Bowl of Atlanta Falcons vs. New Jersey Jets. I thought Death Race would be a bad movie, but it turned out to be one of my favorites of recent years.

Having read all that, I hope you can see why prognostications are not my bag. Therefore, I won’t waste your time or mine by telling you who WILL win the Oscar for Best Live-Action Short at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards. No, I’ll tell you who SHOULD win.

The Crush. I saw this short – along with Na Wewe, The Confession, Wish 143 and God of Love – at the IFC Center, 323 Sixth Avenue at West Third Street. It was great, mostly because of frequent references to westerns, hands-down the greatest genre in the history of film. These references included 8-year-old Ardal Travis’ (Oran Creagh) cowboy boots, the “showdown” poster in his bedroom, and the final, climactic confrontation between Travis and Miss Purdy’s – li’l’ Ardal’s love interest – fiancee.

The western motif, however, wasn’t the only thing that led to my crush on the film of the same name. It was the fact that this short didn’t take itself that seriously; at least, not as seriously as the previous shorts. Hell, between *SPOILER ALERT* Sam and Jacob killing a family of three, then Sam subsequently killing Jacob and lying about it to a priest in The Confession *SPOILER ALERT* and the armed-to-the-teeth prepubescents in Na Wewe, IFC might as well have called this festival “Killin’ Kids.”

The Crush had a healthy sense of humor, aided tremendously by Creagh’s near-Nielsenesque deadpan delivery, which is why it won’t win. The Academy, in an endless quest to legitimize its annual “Hey, let’s pat ourselves on the back” festival, loves to reward serious films. Three out of the five nominated live-action shorts were mostly humorless serious films. So serious, in fact, that me and the rest of my class watching the films last Thursday had to laugh when it turned out that Travis shot Purdy’s fiancee with a toy gun (wait, that might’ve been a spoiler, too), because we were so conditioned to expect another killin’ kid.

Anyway, just as a change of pace they should award The Crush, but they won’t. Don’t bother asking me who will win, though. My track record should speak for itself.

The live-action shorts at ifccenter.com: http://www.ifccenter.com/films/2011-academy-award-nominated-live-action-short-films/

Puzzled about the phrase “Nielsenesque”? This might help: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000558/

Last year’s live-action short film winner, among other things, can be found here: http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/82/nominees.html