The film follows Shirin and Soran, two teenagers in Iraq secretly in love with each other. But things take a turn for the worse when Shirin’s father vehemently goes against Soran’s proposal of marriage with Shirin after he selfishly wants her to marry someone else for his own advantage. That’s when Shirin and Soran decide to run away to Arbeel to start a new life away from their family. But hardships come in their way and the road isn’t as rosy as they made it out to be.

One of the most attractive qualities of the film is how beautifully it’s been shot, and that’s the key reason I actually went out to see the movie. It’s a professionally shot movie with picturesque locations and landscapes that add a lot to the story it’s trying to tell. The actors do a great job in their roles for the most part and there’s a charm to the early segments of the film that offset the fact that the plot isn’t moving forward at all. But then the plot kicks into gear right around the end of the first act and it’s actually gripping to watch the turn of events. One feat for the film is definitely the fact that you actually relate to the characters and root for them to succeed in their goal, which is half the battle won right there. Part of the reason for that is because they’re in a relatable situation and clearly being forced into things they don’t want to do. It’s a very watchable film because of that and keeps you engaged in the fate of these characters that you’re following.

But at the same time, I found the film to be incredibly generic in the progression of the plot. We’ve seen this film a hundred times before especially in independent festival-oriented films. An innocent girl runs away with a guy that she loves and imagines a happy life, but then hardships upon hardships begin to fall upon her. Sadly, ‘Red Heart’ doesn’t do anything different or new with that premise. That’s not to say that the events that take place aren’t gripping to watch – they just seem very manipulative and you can see them coming from a mile away. And that takes away a lot of power from those scenes.

‘Red Heart’ is an engaging romantic drama that does a lot of things right and has noble intentions, but it just doesn’t do things differently enough to really matter in a sea of similar independent films.

The film begins with two friends, Saif and Rashid going on a simple trip. All goes wrong when they are attacked by zombies in the middle desert. Saif manages to escape, but his friend Rashid is not as fortunate. Saif’s fortune doesn’t last long however, as he is imprisoned by a mysterious military group who seem to have a strange relationship with the occult. Saif finds in a prison filled with strange creatures and monsters, all of whom are awaiting the arrival of the mysterious Shahdab to set them free.

This is the filmmakers’ debut feature film, and it is admirable that they tackle horror films, a difficult genre, on their first effort. Unfortunately, their inexperience in storytelling is very apparent. While the film’s beginning does its job in introducing the story, the plot soon slows down to a lumbering pace that does very little to move the story forward, and despite the lengthy monologues scattered throughout, the characters remain drastically underdeveloped. The doctor was really cool though.

This is especially sad considering that from a technical point of view, the film is very good. The filmmakers know exactly what they’re doing in terms of filming, lighting, and special effects. The direction sets the mood perfectly for a horror film, and the special effects are surprisingly good for such an independent project by first time filmmakers. As such, it is sad that there wasn’t a good story to go with it.

Arabic horror films are almost unheard of, and we commend the directors from bringing such a genre in Arabic form. However, the Arabic region is ripe with stories and myths that would be great for a horror film, and Arabs don’t need to borrow western horror myths (vampires, werewolves…etc) to make their own horror films, especially when theirs plenty of Arabic material to draw from.

Despite the shortcomings of Lockdown, it is a commendable effort on its makers’ part, and we look forward to future projects from the filmmakers.

Quote:-
“Ever seen a vegetarian zombie?”

Trivia:
The actors of the film all used to be part of the same workshop organized by the filmmakers.

“We’re aiming to have something for everyone at MEFCC – from the 5 year old who loves Spider-man to those of us who loved Avatar and Iron Man as well as the hardcore fans out there who are looking take part in gaming competitions with PLG, get autographs from artists and so much more,” said Arafaat Ali Khan, PR Director at ExtraCake PRA, the team behind the event.

Below are ten reasons why you should be looking forward to the first ever Middle East Film & Comic-Con this weekend. Stand a chance to win a pair of tickets to the events by entering our competitions here and here.

1. Hollywood Celebrities

MEFCC has gone to lengths to make sure that the guests attending the event do not disappoint. And hence they’ve got an impressive roster of guests that includes actors from ‘Lord of the Rings’, ’24′, ‘Battlestar Galactica’, ‘Game of Thrones’, ‘Conan the Barbarian’ and ‘The Walking Dead’ among others. Even the writer of the hit movie ‘Chronicle’ is attending the event. It doesn’t get any better than that.

2. Comics and Manga

Needless to say, Comic-Con is a haven for comic minded individuals. If you like comics and manga, then it is almost a scientific fact that you will be present at Comic-Con. Marvel comics, the company responsible for some the world’s most famous comic book characters, will have its own stand and exhibitions at the events. Furthermore, Jashanmal Comics Village and TV Manga Town will feature some of the most popular comic titles (such as Everlast, The Darkness, Kill Shakespeare) and international comic and manga artists.

3. Cosplay

Unleash your inner otaku with the Comic-Con’s Cosplay contest. Dress up as a film, comic book or anime character and participate in the cosplay tournament judged by the Cosplay Queen herself, Alodia Gosiengfiao. Comic-Con will also have the folks from Mr. Ben’s Costume Closet present at the event with their own costume filled booth. So, if you aren’t able to prepare a costume by the time of the event, Mr. Ben will be there for the rescue.

4. Panels

The veterans of the comic and film industry that we’ve mentioned above? Not only do you actually get to meet them, but you also get to hear them in some smartly devised panels at the event that cater to the niche manga and comic market as well as filmmakers who want to learn a thing or two from the pros of the industry. Highlights include ‘Character Creation with Mark Smylie (Archaia), Sohaib Awan (Jinnrise) & Mark Sable (Hazed)’, ‘Film Making Panel with Ali Mostafa, Ashraf Ghori and Max Landis’, and ‘The Art of telling the story with Conor McCreary & Anthony Del Col’.

5. Workshops

Paranoia

Animation has always been successful at the box office in terms of features, but if you really want to see creativity in the genre, look no further than amazing indie short films that take it to a new level entirely. One such simple but very effective short film is ‘Paranoia’ directed by Sandeepan Chanda. The plot follows a guy at night travelling in a Mumbai local train when a mysterious passenger sits in the same cabin. Just check it out:

A very effective piece that actually delivers on the suspense level and stays true to its title. Great way of telling a story. Let’s move to the next one.

On Time

Our short film collection is never finished without a bit of romance thrown in, but here’s something different – the short film ‘On Time’ is actually about something else even though it deals with love and heartbreak in some sense. Directed by Ted Chung, it’s about a man heartbroken in love at the airport who receives a visit from a mysterious stranger offering something to him. It’s great storytelling all the way through and a powerful ending that re-enforces the theme of the film beautifully. Great acting as well here. Check it out:

Wasn’t that a memorable ending? Didn’t see that coming at all. Now, onto our final short film of the day.

Sign Language

If you found the first two short films a little on the heavy side, here’s our final short film that will definitely bring a smile on your face as it ends. Certainly did that to me and I got a little emotional to be honest. Directed by Oscar Sharp, it’s about a man who works as one of the sign board guys you see at streets promoting shops around the corners. As he narrates and takes us through the last day of his job, a surprise awaits him. All I can say is you’ve got to watch it:

A charming short film that looks beautiful but has a great message as well.

And that’s it for this week. Next week, we will bring to you a short film that I personally watch again and again and may be one of the best short films on Vimeo.

That’s it for this week. If you’ve seen a great short film that you would like me to feature, shoot me an e-mail at faisal@tbreak.com and I’ll be sure to check it out.

Here are nine excellent directors that we believe are perfect candidates to take over the franchise starting with its sequel ‘Catching Fire’ and our reasons why:

1) Neill Blomkamp

Here’s a perfect candidate to direct a sci-fi action franchise like this. Neill Blomkamp already more than proved himself with the excellent ‘District 9′ which shared the same ‘set in the near future’ setting, a grounded approach to sci-fi and similar thematic material with “The Hunger Games”. He’s in post-production with his next feature ‘Elysium’ at the moment, but he’s the guy who can not only direct excellent kinetic action scenes when the series requires it, but also have that touch of humanity and depth that not every director can. Plus, he can make a modestly budgeted film look like a billion dollar blockbuster. Consider that ‘District 9′ was shot for $30 million while ‘Transformers’ was $200 million.

2) Alfonso Cuarón

Anyone who has seen ‘Children of Men’ knows that it’s one of the most well-directed sci-fi dramas ever. Alfonso Cuarón is a director with tremendous amount of visual flair, especially when it comes to long breathtaking one-cut sequences that blow your mind away. Imagine the action scenes of ‘The Hunger Games’ in that format and you can clearly see why he could bring a lot of new elements to the table. Plus, he also has experience directing a young adult franchise after he delivered ‘Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban’ which was personally my favorite installment of the series. He could bring a lot in terms of stylish visuals as well as a strong command over theme and emotion which is what set ‘The Hunger Games’ apart from other wannabee franchises for me in the first place.

3) Duncan Jones

One of the most criminally underrated movies of recent times is Duncan Jones’ ‘Moon’ and it was a perfect example of a director handling a complex and daring screenplay with suitable finesse and at a strikingly low budget. He got a chance at the studio system with ‘Source Code’ that was also an exciting action movie that clicked with audiences and critics alike. I think a director like him will handle character development very well without skimping on the sci-fi elements of ‘Catching Fire’ and ‘Mockingjay’. But he’s unlikely to be a part of the franchise because he has quite a few original ideas he rather work on instead.

4) Joe Wright

Before Katniss came about this year, I would say that last year’s kickass female protoganist had to be Saoirse Ronan in ‘Hanna’ where she kicked major ass to say the least. Joe Wright proved that he can direct a Bourne-like action movie with the film and perfectly handled a well rounded female action heroine. Considering one of the themes of ‘The Hunger Games’ is female empowerment, it’s definitely right up the director’s alley especially considering that his previous work including ‘Pride & Prejudice’ and ‘Atonement’ are primarily from the point of views of a female protagonist. If he ends up directing the sequel, expect some very fast paced and beautifully edited action sequences that will be the highlight of the film.

5) David Slade

Normally I would never suggest a director from the wretched ‘Twilight’ series to come even a mile close to ‘The Hunger Games’, but the difference here is David Slade has two bad-ass feature films to his credit way before he took on ‘Eclipse’. He showed his flair with genre films with ’30 Days of Night’ and ‘Hard Candy’ and that’s the kind of style that could benefit the sequel ‘Catching Fire’. Besides, his ‘Twilight’ movie was by far the most male-oriented thanks to some effective action sequences that made you forget about the soap opera melodrama for the most part. With his experience of directing a big budget franchise coupled with the style and tone of his darker work, he could deliver a quite potent sequel.

]]> http://tbreak.com/movies/23048/featured/9-directors-perfect-to-take-over-the-hunger-games-franchise.html/feed 23 http://tbreak.com/movies/22873/blog/weekly-short-films-vol-2-tune-for-two-inside-the-crush.html http://tbreak.com/movies/22873/blog/weekly-short-films-vol-2-tune-for-two-inside-the-crush.html#comments Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:37:12 +0000 Faisal Hashmi http://tbreak.com/movies/?p=22873 It’s the second edition of our weekly short film column, where I link you three of the best short films from around the web of varying genres that will make your day.

To start off with our first short, here’s an extremely brief but hilarious short film called ‘Tune for Two’ by Primodrom Productions. A murderous situation takes a bizarre turn midway and leads to darkly hilarious results. I wouldn’t say more. Check it out.

Short, but very effective. Let’s move on to something less hilarious and more dark.

‘Inside’ is a thriller short film directed by Trevor Sands that will have you guessing throughout. It’s about a man with a destructive case of multiple personality disorder and he’s on his way to meet a doctor. But not everything is what it seems. It’s a very clever and creepy film with an excellent performance and a twist ending you won’t see coming. Check it out:

Wasn’t that clever? Now for our final short film of the week.

‘The Crush’ is an Oscar-nominated Irish short film that will capture your heart. Directed by Michael Creagh, it’s about a boy who has a cute crush on his school teacher and then he finds that she has a boyfriend. The result is a heartfelt and extremely cute film that deserves the attention it got. Check it out and you won’t be disappointed:

That’s it for this week. If you’ve seen a great short film that you would like me to feature, shoot me an e-mail at faisal@tbreak.com and I’ll be sure to check it out.

Next week, I’ve got some twisted and some very emotional short films for you so stay tuned.

Being a filmmaker myself, I’m always on the lookout for excellent short films online and I’ve watched more than a fair share of them online. So I decided to create this weekly column here to post 3 great short films every week of different genres for your sensibilities and you can not only enjoy them but tip me off of anything great you’ve seen that you’d like featured.

So let’s get on with it.

Chatter

First off, we have a horror short film that may just creep you out majorly. It’s called Chatter and it’s written and directed by Leo Resnes, and it follows a girl in her apartment at night having a webcam chat with her boyfriend until her venture into an online website leads to horrific results. I really love the music and the sound effects used here and it definitely manages to freak you out more than most horror films of late.

Give it a watch below:

That was pretty damn good, wasn’t it? Let’s move on to something more touching.

Back to Solitude

Next up, we have a very artistically done and touching short film called ‘Back to Solitude’ directed by Joschka Laukeninks which tells the story of a breakdown of a relationship between a man and a woman. Its structure and style of telling the story is what makes it so effective, not to mention that it looks very beautiful.

Check it out:

Very heartfelt way to portray the start and end of a relationship. Now, to something more light hearted.

Table 7

Our final short film of the week is a very creative one to say the least. It’s called ‘Table 7′ and it’s written and directed by Marko Slavnic, and follows a couple having an argument on their dinner table at a restaurant and they realise that they’re being watched. It’s engrossing to watch at the start and when the twist is revealed, you can’t help but smile at the ingenuity of it. Probably the best film you’ll ever see with fortune cookies in it.

Here you go:

Pretty cool stuff right here. Short but sweet.

That’s it for this week in short films. If you’ve seen a great short film that you would like me to feature, shoot me an e-mail at faisal@tbreak.com and I’ll be sure to check it out.

Until then, watch out till next week when I’ll have another assortment of short films to make your week.

In the scenes where the character of John Carter is transported to Mars and encounters the alien race for the first time, you can hear the martians speaking in an alien language that the character is unable to understand. You would think that you as the audience aren’t supposed to understand it as well, but then you notice something – there are Arabic subtitles at the bottom of the screen appearing with whatever gibberish they speak.

You also notice that the dialogue sequences run way too long for something that’s meant to be gibberish. You look down and see Arabic subtitles perfectly in sync with character names and everything. You begin to wonder whether these are actual movie dialogues that you’re supposed to understand but are unable to. And you would be right.

An emotional and impactful moment in the film that makes you wish you could read Martian or Arabic.

This is a major issue facing cinemas in UAE at the moment, and it isn’t the first time I’ve seen it happen. Way back in 2009, when I was watching ‘Avatar’ in IMAX 3D at Grand Cinemas, this exact issue persisted. The Na’vi dialogue sequences are extremely important to the movie and impactful during the finale, but unless you can read Arabic you wouldn’t get a single word from them. This again occurred at VOX Cinemas when I was watching the premiere of ‘John Carter’ and is in fact happening at every major cinema that the movie has released in.

The original film print is supposed to have the English subtitles to go along with what the aliens are saying. However, in the print that’s displayed in UAE cinemas, the English subtitles are entirely removed and replaced with Arabic subtitles. It’s an utterly nonsensical decision by whoever decided to do so, and can effectively kill your experience of watching a movie. Basically, any movie with the character speaking a foreign or alien language that was originally subtitled in English for the audience is mostly subtitled only in Arabic. And it doesn’t only apply to dialogue.

This glaring problem dates back to 2009, or even before. We just noticed it first then.

There are moments in ‘John Carter’ that show a date and place. For example, ‘Virginia – 1888′. Well, you wouldn’t know that because the subtitle to show you that doesn’t appear on screen in English but only in its Arabic translation at the bottom. These could very well be important plot points of the movie, without which the entire movie could make a lot less sense to you and could hurt your experience. And that’s not it – it doesn’t necessarily happen in these big-budget sci-fi epics.

Over the past year, I’ve seen a number of normal live-action films that had instances of this same problem. There were foreign characters that sat around to speak, and you wondered whether you’re supposed to understand them because clearly there are Arabic subtitles underneath. Most people didn’t bother thinking too much about it because minor scenes like those are gone before you put two and two together. But ‘John Carter’ might be the most major occurrence of this issue. Those scenes are critical to the character development of the aliens themselves and what they think of this mysterious new human among them. Through a convenient plot device thankfully, the aliens begin to speak English mid-way through the film and never have I been more thankful of a filmmaker than at that point.

So what is the issue here? If it’s the movie studios who do this, then it’s a very stupid thing for them to think that just because it’s an Arab country that’s the only subtitles required for a scene. Though UAE is what you would call an Arab country, the majority of the movie-going audience is not. There are Indians, Pakistanis, Filipinos, British and American and many other kind of audiences that come and watch movies in cinemas here that do not read Arabic and will not understand a single word of those important scenes in your movie.

If it’s the national film board here, then it’s a very short-sighted thing for them to think that everyone watching the movie should be speaking Arabic or suffer this way. I’m of course assuming here because I frankly do not know what the cause of this is, but I’m going to be contacting the three big cinema chains in UAE – Grand Cinemas, VOX Cinemas and Reel Cinemas to find out from them why this happens.

But whatever the reason may be, the fact of the matter is that it effectively kills the movie-going experience for Non-Arab speakers and something has to be done about it. The next time you see an instance of this, go tell the theater representative of the problem. You might even ask for a refund and they might have to give it to you since it’s not your fault at all.

Have you ever encountered something like this happening in any other movie? Do share with us and we can work together in fixing this issue once and for all before all the big summer releases come our way and we’re sitting in a dark cinema hating ourselves for not taking an Arabic course before a movie night.

Best Picture

War Horse
The Artist (WINNER)
Moneyball
The Descendants
The Tree of Life
Midnight in Paris
The Help
Hugo
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Best Actor

Demian Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist (WINNER)
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Best Actress

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Rooney Mara, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Viola Davis, The Help
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady (WINNER)
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Best Director

Michel Hazanivicius, The Artist (WINNER)
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

Documentary Short Subject

The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face  (WINNER)
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Short Film (Animated)

Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore  (WINNER)
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Short Film (Live Action)

Pentecost
Raju
The Shore (WINNER)
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic

Best Original Screenplay

Michel Hazanivicius, The Artist
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, Bridesmaids
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris (WINNER)
J.C. Chandor, Margin Call
Asghar Farhadi, A Separation

Best Adapted Screenplay

Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, The Descendants (WINNER)
John Logan, Hugo
George Clooney, Beau Willimon and Grant Heslov, The Ides of March
Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin and Stan Chervin, Moneyball
Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Music (Original Song)

“Man or Muppet” from The Muppets, Bret McKenzie (WINNER)
“Real in Rio” from Rio, Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett

Music (Original Score)

John Williams, The Adventures of Tintin
Ludovic Bource, The Artist (WINNER)
Howard Shore, Hugo
Alberto Iglesias, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
John Williams, War Horse

Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners (WINNER)
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Visual Effects

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo (WINNER)
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon

Best Animated Feature

A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango (WINNER)

Documentary Feature

Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated (WINNER)

Sound Mixing

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo (WINNER)
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon
War Horse

Sound Editing

Drive
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo (WINNER)
Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon
War Horse

Film Editing

Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Kevin Tent, The Descendants
Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (WINNER)
Thelma Schoonmaker, Hugo
Christopher Tellefsen, Moneyball

Supporting Actress

Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help (WINNER)

Best Foreign Feature

Bullhead
Footnote
In Darkness
Monsieur Lazhar
A Separation (WINNER)

Makeup

Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle, Albert Nobbs
Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland, The Iron Lady (WINNER)

Costume Design

Anonymous
The Artist (WINNER)
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.

Art Direction

The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo (WINNER)
Midnight in Paris
War Horse

Cinematography

The Artist
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo (WINNER)
The Tree of Life
War Horse

We here at ME-Movies count down the categories and predict who will win, debate about who actually should win, and consider who might just win instead. So let’s begin.