Reviews of The Ballad of Bernie Bear 114

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  Insightful
  A review of The Ballad of Bernie Bear
  by KWS on 01/30/2007
  There is a wonderful narrative thread to this ballad. First, you think "oh it's one of those idiotic evil kid stories." That's based on the notes, BTW. Otherwise I would have thought it was a simple kid's story. I liked that, keeping us guessing where the film would go. A bit less of the evil father would be fine and you'd lose nothing and gain speed to your climax. Best... There is a wonderful narrative thread to this ballad. First, you think "oh it's one of those idiotic evil kid stories." That's based on the notes, BTW. Otherwise I would have thought it was a simple kid's story. I liked that, keeping us guessing where the film would go. A bit less of the evil father would be fine and you'd lose nothing and gain speed to your climax. Best of luck in the fest. My god you must be going nuts with how long this fest has taken to wrap up. I believe it will be worth the wait for you. Peace. read
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  Strange one
  A review of The Ballad of Bernie Bear
  by cptmorgan on 01/30/2007
  This film was clever in one way, the illustrations. The acting was so-so, the story was not that interesting, and the production quality was average. Some of the shots were pretty messy, especially the dolly shots. Some of the dolly shots made no sense, and were dollying across parts of the frame that had nothing in it. for whatever reason I have no idea, but it didn't... This film was clever in one way, the illustrations. The acting was so-so, the story was not that interesting, and the production quality was average. Some of the shots were pretty messy, especially the dolly shots. Some of the dolly shots made no sense, and were dollying across parts of the frame that had nothing in it. for whatever reason I have no idea, but it didn't look very good.
  
  I couldn't quite tell if the vacuum sucker thing was in her imagination or if it really happened. It also happened so suddenly and randomly that made very little sense. sure, she was getting back at those nasty men. I guess I just didn't get it.
  
  All in all, there were some good ideas here. the illustrations starting off each little scene was a very clever idea. I enjoyed the narration of the girls voice. But in the end, this one fell short for me and didn't keep my interest. read
• 
  liked it
  A review of The Ballad of Bernie Bear
  by moviecre8r on 01/07/2007
  great contrast with the book/animation sequences. added a very disturbing fairy tale element to it. wasn't disturbing for shock value etc, i loved the vacuum pipe bit. meant a lot metaphorically. sorry if the review comes off short, i tend to only point out problems for corrections in reviews, and i didn't really have any for this. one of the better shorts around this... great contrast with the book/animation sequences. added a very disturbing fairy tale element to it. wasn't disturbing for shock value etc, i loved the vacuum pipe bit. meant a lot metaphorically. sorry if the review comes off short, i tend to only point out problems for corrections in reviews, and i didn't really have any for this. one of the better shorts around this site. read
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  Twisted fable.
  A review of The Ballad of Bernie Bear
  by agaul on 01/07/2007
  First of all, I think the idea of transitioning between illustration and live action was a great decision, establishing the link between fantasy and reality in a vivid way. One issue I had was picking up on the tone of the piece. Initially, I found the acting and actions of the protagonists to be too over-the-top. But I soon remembered that this is a child's yarn, and it... First of all, I think the idea of transitioning between illustration and live action was a great decision, establishing the link between fantasy and reality in a vivid way.
  
  One issue I had was picking up on the tone of the piece. Initially, I found the acting and actions of the protagonists to be too over-the-top. But I soon remembered that this is a child's yarn, and it only follows that a child would imagine broadly-drawn characters and actions (of course, this explanation does not cover the overacting of the child's father). It would have helped if the staging of the story was similarly over-the-top, rather than being in an ordinary residence, with ordinary-looking people. Technically-speaking, I thought the film was a little rough, from the editing to the shot selection. Perhaps it would have benefitted from an equally quirky approach to these technical aspects.
  
  Overall, I commend this effort. Good job. read
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  Some Sucks and Some Blows
  A review of The Ballad of Bernie Bear
  by johndominic on 01/05/2007
  Vacuuming aside, this short has a naughty twist and a pretty good payoff. Our underdog woman gets relief. Strong editing and basic story-telling here. Yes, the sound was a bit challenging, but OK when I got closer to my speakers. Could follow it. The voice-over didn't play well with its picture when the woman mouthed language in the little girl's voice. Somehow, it seemed... Vacuuming aside, this short has a naughty twist and a pretty good payoff. Our underdog woman gets relief. Strong editing and basic story-telling here. Yes, the sound was a bit challenging, but OK when I got closer to my speakers. Could follow it. The voice-over didn't play well with its picture when the woman mouthed language in the little girl's voice. Somehow, it seemed our cad in residence came off less scary and mean than completely not good at acting the part. I think it was the acting, but it could have been the choices taken. The boot kicking the plate, the messing of papers deliberately all seemed forced. Did think the coal was going to cause fire to be the final resolution of the problem of how to get out of a terrible relationship.
  
  It is hard to keep a viewer's interest when it is clearly an undesirable situation being addressed. Humor and visual techniques did help keep it flowing and kept the story until its resolution. However, I don't think this story merits a sequel. Keeping the culprit in the can doesn't seem final enough for me. Burn him up.
  
  Good animated drawing. read
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  The Ballad of
  A review of The Ballad of Bernie Bear
  by purplestickydemon on 12/30/2006
  The Look of this film is Nice the Acting is great the editing is great and the whole production in general looks great however for some reason i just couldnt get into it i liked the story and i liked the way it moved but theres somthing i just cant put my finger on which put me off it i watched it last night and again this morning and i dont know what it is. but in general... The Look of this film is Nice the Acting is great the editing is great and the whole production in general looks great however for some reason i just couldnt get into it i liked the story and i liked the way it moved but theres somthing i just cant put my finger on which put me off it i watched it last night and again this morning and i dont know what it is. but in general i liked how it was made and shows theres alot of talent there. read
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  Bernie, I have a TOUGH CALL for you
  A review of The Ballad of Bernie Bear
  by **DELETED ACCOUNT** on 12/21/2006
  Okay, if I were to isolate this movie by itself, as if I haven't seen a host of other short films at TS, I'd regretfully report that the story was surprisingly hard to follow. I mean there's a girl, her book, her mean Dad, then she grows into a woman with a mean man, and then kills him with her big vacuum hose thingee. Freud aside, it's a little convoluted somehow. The childbook... Okay, if I were to isolate this movie by itself, as if I haven't seen a host of other short films at TS, I'd regretfully report that the story was surprisingly hard to follow. I mean there's a girl, her book, her mean Dad, then she grows into a woman with a mean man, and then kills him with her big vacuum hose thingee. Freud aside, it's a little convoluted somehow. The childbook tone drew me in at first, but as the non-childbook story progressed, it drew me out. So overall, I'm sorry, I got sort of an EHH impression.
  
  But now, when you compare this film to the films I've seen on TS, it sticks out like a sore thumb. Why? It's incredibly unique in style, tone, casting, story-- you name it-- and not in a bad way. Very refreshing, in fact, to see a story where the woman isn't the victim but the victor.
  
  So although I wasn't so sure about this film, I was left very interested about this filmmaker.
  
  If that made any sense. read
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  A mixed bag
  A review of The Ballad of Bernie Bear
  by albaz on 12/12/2006
  In my opinion, this film is a bit mixed in terms of quality, but overall I thought that it came out well. There was a nice vein of rich, dark humour running throughout, which I enjoyed. Also, the story and the basic idea were solid. Elements of the script worked well, others less so: for example, in the second section, when the guy is being really rude to his wife, the characters... In my opinion, this film is a bit mixed in terms of quality, but overall I thought that it came out well. There was a nice vein of rich, dark humour running throughout, which I enjoyed. Also, the story and the basic idea were solid. Elements of the script worked well, others less so: for example, in the second section, when the guy is being really rude to his wife, the characters come across as slightly unnatural and the script doesn’t help in this respect. But I think that this is understandable given the run time of the film, and it works, in this respect, as a short hand. Personally, I found some of the editing a bit quick, and there were some clash cuts between moving and stationary shots which didn’t quite work. However, the editing in the third section, just before the woman hoovers up the man was excellent, and the combination between sound design and editing during this part was very effective. I thought that the storybook structure of the film worked very well, although some of the text would have benefited from being left on screen for longer. Finally, I found that, for the most part, the performances and the cinematography were perfunctory. Overall, though, I enjoyed this film and I wish it the best of luck in the festival. read
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  What is this rated??
  A review of The Ballad of Bernie Bear
  by HolySmokes on 12/11/2006
  I like the graphics and transitions from cartoon to video segments. The story connects the child's point of view to the father and his terrrible behavior toward wife effectively. It is hard to understand why the woman puts up with it at all. It is also a bit comically bizarre how she vacuums away her problems.
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  Metaphoriffic
  A review of The Ballad of Bernie Bear
  by ArthurCullipher on 11/15/2006
  I liked this very much. I'm always pleased to see childhood infused surreality/fantasy. I loved that Jenny "couldn't use a knife", so she used her vaccuum. Sexy. Also, the ending had a "Monsters", "Tales From the Darkside" kind of atmosphere. The animation worked very well. I'd like to see more.