Gray Christmas

I had a chance to see this film at the YoungCuts Film Festival, and I was really impressed with (a) the production quality, (b) the writing, (c) the film score, and (d) the overall performances of the actors. I don't think you can pigeon-hole this film, it's a bit of drama, comedy, satire, and a dig at traditional Christmas movies.

Production quality: I believe this was shot on a high-end miniDV cam, and you can really see the difference. You'll notice the quality from the very first frame.

Writing: the writing is really tight, I like the way the different stories are somehow linked together. A clever idea, but also well executed.

Music: I loved the jazzy score, with a hint of Christmas jingles. Really catchy, I was still humming it to myself days later. Acting: Solid performances from this young group of performers (under 25 years old).

If you get a chance, contact the filmmaker and ask for a copy.

Great piece of cinema, truly a showcase of young talent with a future.

The cine is quite nice, certain shots and rack focuses show that the filmmaker has a sound knowledge and talent for photographing the moving image.

The DV short looks remarkably like film.

Storytelling and editing is very cinematic. It's not easy to have three planes of stories develop individually and then climax collectively, but Mike pulled it off, with a quality reminiscent of Ritchie's "Snatch".

Well Done Donis.