Reviews

"The Diary" is a well-constructed film from David Covarrubias. This film transcends the definition of a traditional horror film- a dramatic piece that can be watched repeatedly. The music by Aaron Marshall is very memorable, employing a simplistic theme that conveys the seeming serenity of the ill-fated house. The performances were memorable too, especially from Scott St. Blaze and Larry Butler. Their interaction and chemistry made watching this film very memorable. The acting of John Zacchino and Rachel Oliva was a bit weaker but still good. All in all, it is a very memorable film. Looking forward to the director's next venture, "Perfect Red"!

I recently had the honor of seeing "Mavet" at its World Premiere at the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival. I must say it was the best of the bunch in its time slot – Program 43, Examining Eternity. Unlike the other films, it actually LOOKED professionally made, with exquisite camera moves, great use of lighting and color, a memorable score (from what I see the composer Neil Argo has been the same for all the films by Russem Productions including this one – keep him on for your future films, he's good!).

I especially enjoyed the montage sequence in the middle of the film, where the two guys were really entwined in their chess game, as if they had something to lose. And it turns out there is a surprise twist at the end which explains why they were both playing the game so fervently! To sum up, it's less than 4 minutes long, but feels like an "eternity" in a good way! I'd recommend this film to anyone who's able to see it in other film festivals or on DVD.

The film displayed notable technical and artistic elements, and the story was interesting. The score was well done and had a celestial yet melancholic sound to it. However, the character development and cohesion of the overall film was somewhat lacking (but was understandable for a short film), and the end was predictable.

The film opens with a painting-like scene representing Anne's dream and shifts into a normal view representing Anne's reality. The use of CG and color were used well in this film to create the struggle between her recurring dream of being rescued by an unknown Byzantine knight and the reality of spending her time with a party-boy boyfriend who has no interest in her Byzantine passion. The character Anne seemed over-dramatic in her unhappiness over being misunderstood by her boyfriend and friends, which made her appear to be a weak character.

David, an Asian-American man who happens to take interest in Anne while spotting her in a coffee shop, happens to have a passion in history as well, Asian history in particular. This coincidence brings the two close together as friends, but it occurs as a chain reaction of over-dramatized events.

The film's characters start to grow at this point, though late in the film, as the friendship ends up in chaos when the boyfriend finds out about Anne's new friend. Her tempered boyfriend gets in a fight with Anne's new friend, which parallels Anne's recurring dream. The fight scene looked very nice with a CG-painting-like background and good score to support it.