Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Contentar Best movie of this year hands down!

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

ccthemovieman-1 We first witness a robot, in the form of a expanding metal arm, mixing a drink for the "maestro" who is sitting in front of a mirror in his dressing room apparently preparing to perform somewhere.The expanding arm also reaches into a top drawer and brings out selected items for the man. It's his makeup, which the mechanical arm puts on him, along with other chores such as dusting his top hat so he is totally ready for his performance. Meanwhile, the man gets his voice ready with some notes, so our guess is that he's an opera singer.Two things stood out for me in this animated short: the direction and the ending. The "camera" roams 360 degrees around the little room so we see what's going on from all angles. The ending I can't give away but it was a stunner and made me smile with appreciation for the cleverness. Rarely have I seen an ending so good.

Polaris_DiB This short film has two things going for it, and makes the best of both: one, it uses it's clock motif to constantly change the angles, making every moment seem fresh and original while the cuckoo and his attachment make preparations, and two, the clockwork and timing itself rhymes with a constantly changing lighting set-up that gives a lot of life to the short even during times when the angle becomes awkward or something gets in the way.I think timing is the best thing about this film, in every respect. Where the "camera" is at any one point, what it reveals, what we see, and how the field widens as we get closer to the revelation at the end. Then the lighting at the end helps underline said revelation, resulting in the best audience reaction I've seen in years: a pause while the moment is understood, and then hysterical reaction. This short is incredibly creative, even if it really is just a gag with a single punchline.--PolarisDiB

Niffiwan This is funny, well-crafted, computer-animated short film that'll give you a good laugh if you watch it. You can find it for free online (and legally) by searching for it at the "Portable Film Festival".The fact I'm giving the film a 6 does not at all mean that I disliked it - as another user said, the film moves in a very deliberate way to a funny conclusion that you the viewer will probably not expect. It's definitely worth a look.The thing is, that's all there is to it. The film sets its target low and does a great job of achieving it, but it's still a low target. I'm not sure that it has enough in it to deserve an Oscar nomination (especially when exemplary artistic masterpieces such as Aleksandr Petrov's "My Love" were left out of the list). It's a fine film that's worth watching, but it's still only based around a rather short, simple joke and doesn't aim for anything higher.

Skeeter700 This short animated film shows a great performer preparing to take to the stage in the last few minutes before the curtain rises. With the help of a mechanical arm, a feathered "Maestro" is groomed and exercises his voice. "The Maestro" was directed by The Hungarian film maker Géza M. Tóth and it competed in over 40 international animation competitions and gained a nomination for an Academy Award. The Maestro is well-animated slowly builds for its five minute run up to one fantastic joke. The animation is solid and the technique of having the camera circle three-hundred-sixty degrees around the characters helps build the suspense towards its funny finale. The sound is well dubbed and matches the tone of the images being presented. Overall, "The Maestro" is a short of great quality.