Sleep in Heavenly Peace

How can anyone in their right mind say this was a good film??? Unless that person is a relative or a good friend of the director. It was utter garbage. I've seen better films from 8th grade class projects. I can't blame the actors because you can't make gold from dust but come on. I've seen more believable acting at the local Starbucks. Again, it's not their fault when they are obviously not being directed by anyone with their salt. It doesn't take much to get a performance from even a non actor but this director doesn't know what to do with anything he has in front of him. I laugh at anyone who says this short film is anything other than pure D level trash.

This is a remarkable short film and rewards multiple viewings - the director is obviously working on a level beyond the average film student. Or maybe I shouldn't say 'obviously' because the film works on a very subtle, dry, understated level that many might miss on first glance. On one level it's a gory comedy, but there are other levels of deep emotion and questioning, thanks in large part to the dedicated performance from the lead actor. True, some of the other performances are uneven and there are some redundant scenes, but on the whole this is a clever, sharply written and directed movie. Great cinematography and music too. You'll enjoy this if you like the films of the Coen Brothers, Polanski, or Hitchcock's darker movies.

Maybe it is just me but I am sick and tired of sitting thru hack inspired work. Even in short films. These directors, and yes I use that word as loosely as I can, should be about originality. The director here makes this mistake. There is nothing original about this short film. If you have seen any horror movie the past three years you have seen this. Maybe this is a good thing since the general public dooesn't have to see unoriginal directors getting feature length deals. Maybe it is a good trial for prospective directors. They blow their shot here and they are done. I just think it is a huge waste of time for anyone to work on something this totally boring and unoriginal. Why even make this film in the first place? I can't blame the actors since they are second rate to begin with. The blame begins and ends with the director.

This sick comedy of errors and accidents takes a real-life incident and turns it on its ear. It's the sort of story (involving a grisly accident and a desperate survival attempt) that could be -- and probably has been -- turned into a treacly, uplifting TV movie; but the execution here may remind you of the Black Knight Sequence in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It would seem far-fetched if something very much like it hadn't actually occurred and been well-documented.

Production values are surprisingly decent (props include an ambulance and giant drill-thingy), makeup effects are sufficient to pull off the necessary illusions, and the acting ranges from competent to very good. Fortunately, the best performance is by the actor who's on screen for the entire runtime. This guy's a trouper, and pulls off a couple of pratfalls Bruce Campbell would be proud of.

(This is not some over-the-top, "splatstick" gorefest, by the way, contrary to another reviewer's comments. You'd see more grue on the average CSI episode, and the humor here is mostly derived from the situation rather than spurting karo syrup.) Good score and nice crisp cinematography, particularly for the outdoor scenes.

The ending threw me at first; I expected a final capper, some kind of dark joke to top the previous ones, maybe an E. C. comics sort of twist. The actual conclusion is more subtle. It struck me as ambiguously bleak, and goes for pathos and irony rather than an in-your-face "gotcha." On those terms, it works quite well.

Good, economical visual style, great use of real snowy locations and some laugh-out-loud funny moments (watch out for that fence!) make this one worth your time. I'll be keeping an eye on Mr. McMahon.

The death of family dog before Christmas can be, for a woman, good example of responsability and respect for pet for education of her son.

So, her husband must digg a grave for poor animal. But the ground is frozen, the machine works not so well and when it works the man lost his arms.

It is beginning of a series of events . And for a compensation - his pray is accepted, his faith becomes strong, like the dependence by his wife.

A bitter - sweet comedy, with touch of horror - the last miniminalized by unrealism of situation , seductive for religious message for me. And , sure, for nice performance of Bowd Beal.