“God of Love” by Luke Matheny was both a surprise and a breath of fresh air. In a style reminiscent of French New Wave, the short is shot in black and white and features average type people in all the character roles. From the beginning voice over until the end credits “God of Love” takes us on an emotional journey from laughter to tears, but leaves us with hope and a smile as our main character drives off into the sunset. Of all the shorts we’ve watched so far this is my favorite. I found the cinematography and camera angles/movement actually lended feeling to an already saturated script. Touching on a subject that is easy to relate to and adding the power of an artistic vision “God of Love” is a short I would recommend to anyone.
"God of Love" was such an upbeat film. It put a smile on my face throughout. I loved how he just kind of became the matchmaker for all of his friends. I felt the acting was top notch and that all of the characters were likeable. The supernatural element to this short film really added a lot of fun quirkiness in that the love darts were a good use of story mechanic. The film being in black and white really added to the mood of the main character. I thought it was clever that the guy didn't get the girl in the end but it still felt like a happy ending. On the other hand the only thing that I found a little weird was how the film objectified people. I guess the idea of being forced to love someone kind of rubs me the wrong way but I think the film kind of addresses that at the end. Overall a very entertaining film that left me warm and fuzzy inside.
Initially, I was nervous about a short film being eighteen minutes, but I was captivated from beginning to end. I thought the acting was largely above average. The main character played that type of pretentious that was well structured for the ending because rather than wanting him to be happy, I wanted him to be more receptive to the needs beyond his own. The black and white was an excellent choice because it reinforced the idea that how and when love comes to be is a huge, sliding gray scale issue. I thought the large typeset over the action was clean and modern, which played well into the modern-cupid story. The entire piece was well-shot, but I found the scene with him and Kelly at the ballet particularly striking. The entire moment was captured entirely in close-ups with only their faces in focus. This way, the intricate confusion in her face can be seen and the concerned disdain in his. I liked the fairy tale play that suggested that Cupid adjusts the timeline of love, rather than the dispersion.
I tend to have a bad feeling for anything that has a voice over that says profound ideas, because in my head I can't help but think of the "no reason" monologue from Rubber. But once, I pushed that idea out of my mind I really enjoyed this piece. The dialog stole the show for me; with lines like "you can't just stab people" and "you know, like Witness". This film just made my heart happy. The main character grows so much within the short time of the piece. He does a 180 and goes from someone who cares mostly for their needs to one who aims to make his friends and others happy. The overall aesthetics of the short film are incredible and the various close ups throughout show the true emotion behind the characters. I honestly believe that if this piece had been done in color, the story would have a totally different feeling, more like a corny rom-com as opposed to the harm warming story it is.
This was a great short. The camera work was phenomenal, I liked how the shots were framed as well as how smooth the movements were. The dialogue was good and kept me interested, and the ideas and plot twists of the shorts were very clearly hinted at as they lead me through the story that Luke Matheny sought to tell. There are little things, such as the black and white, that I'm not sure if I would have used myself but I legitimately can not imagine the film having been in color. Everything came together perfectly. I guess Cupid struck me with one of his arrows while I was watching this short film because I love it.
While watching "God of Love", for the first half or so I didn't really have an idea of what this story was getting at but soon made the connection between the darts and cupid and "Olympus" which is a Greek mythological society in which the cupid concept came from. The subtle hints of allusion in a relatively modern looking set up really made for some major interest that pulled me into generally cliche story line. I think the black and white also made for some intrigue, creating a romantic or warm environment. It seems as if many short films we have been watching don't have that feature film look, but this story looks almost like it could be extended into a two hour movie in production terms. The camera angles, tripod presence and other elements seemed to emulate that of a big box office film.
I thought this was a cute idea. I liked the way it was paced and edited. I wish Kelly had more to say. She has two guys in love with her for some reason so I would like to know why she is so appealing. I thought it was clever how Greek mythology was thrown in there. It was not a typical prayer to God but rather a group of Gods. The ending was a unique twist. He did not find love but he now has control of it. The film was light, not too dramatic. I thought it was really cute.
"God of Love" was a great short, following a man in search of his true love, but faces some interesting drawbacks. I really liked how they began with the main character narrating, before coming down to a close up of his monologue. I also liked how they tied the beginning and ends together, to wrap up the film. I thought the camera work was great, they really followed the shots well, and the black&white added a great effect. Overall it was an interesting, and visually pleasing short, that left me curious about the God of Love's next move.
I don't have anything bad to say about this film. Wow I really enjoyed this film. I liked the black and white to help set the mood. The writing was great. Each scene flowed really great throughout the story. The concept was great and it was executed perfectly. It was cool that the darts were from God as you can tell with the title "Olympus" that was clever. I enjoyed that the movie started out him on the bike and came to it in the end. That really made the story seem or become full circle. The lead actor was great portraying Ray.
"God of Love" is a film shot in black and white. Black and white films such as this set what type of mood of the story right away. It sort of gives off an emptiness to the film, letting you know right away that something in the film is missing. The one thing missing in this film is the love from Kelly to Ray. Ray loves Kelly but Kelly loves someone else and all throughout the film Ray tries to get the attention of Kelly. Despite the way this film is shot, in black and white, right away the narrator gives us what the story is going to be about, a fight for love. I didn't enjoy this short as much as the others, mostly because I'm not into love stories but also because it failed to keep me interested. As a filmmaker though, it wasn't that bad!
“God of Love” by Luke Matheny was both a surprise and a breath of fresh air. In a style reminiscent of French New Wave, the short is shot in black and white and features average type people in all the character roles. From the beginning voice over until the end credits “God of Love” takes us on an emotional journey from laughter to tears, but leaves us with hope and a smile as our main character drives off into the sunset. Of all the shorts we’ve watched so far this is my favorite. I found the cinematography and camera angles/movement actually lended feeling to an already saturated script. Touching on a subject that is easy to relate to and adding the power of an artistic vision “God of Love” is a short I would recommend to anyone.
ReplyDelete"God of Love" was such an upbeat film. It put a smile on my face throughout. I loved how he just kind of became the matchmaker for all of his friends. I felt the acting was top notch and that all of the characters were likeable. The supernatural element to this short film really added a lot of fun quirkiness in that the love darts were a good use of story mechanic. The film being in black and white really added to the mood of the main character. I thought it was clever that the guy didn't get the girl in the end but it still felt like a happy ending. On the other hand the only thing that I found a little weird was how the film objectified people. I guess the idea of being forced to love someone kind of rubs me the wrong way but I think the film kind of addresses that at the end. Overall a very entertaining film that left me warm and fuzzy inside.
ReplyDeleteInitially, I was nervous about a short film being eighteen minutes, but I was captivated from beginning to end. I thought the acting was largely above average. The main character played that type of pretentious that was well structured for the ending because rather than wanting him to be happy, I wanted him to be more receptive to the needs beyond his own. The black and white was an excellent choice because it reinforced the idea that how and when love comes to be is a huge, sliding gray scale issue. I thought the large typeset over the action was clean and modern, which played well into the modern-cupid story. The entire piece was well-shot, but I found the scene with him and Kelly at the ballet particularly striking. The entire moment was captured entirely in close-ups with only their faces in focus. This way, the intricate confusion in her face can be seen and the concerned disdain in his. I liked the fairy tale play that suggested that Cupid adjusts the timeline of love, rather than the dispersion.
ReplyDeleteI tend to have a bad feeling for anything that has a voice over that says profound ideas, because in my head I can't help but think of the "no reason" monologue from Rubber. But once, I pushed that idea out of my mind I really enjoyed this piece. The dialog stole the show for me; with lines like "you can't just stab people" and "you know, like Witness". This film just made my heart happy. The main character grows so much within the short time of the piece. He does a 180 and goes from someone who cares mostly for their needs to one who aims to make his friends and others happy. The overall aesthetics of the short film are incredible and the various close ups throughout show the true emotion behind the characters. I honestly believe that if this piece had been done in color, the story would have a totally different feeling, more like a corny rom-com as opposed to the harm warming story it is.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great short. The camera work was phenomenal, I liked how the shots were framed as well as how smooth the movements were. The dialogue was good and kept me interested, and the ideas and plot twists of the shorts were very clearly hinted at as they lead me through the story that Luke Matheny sought to tell. There are little things, such as the black and white, that I'm not sure if I would have used myself but I legitimately can not imagine the film having been in color. Everything came together perfectly. I guess Cupid struck me with one of his arrows while I was watching this short film because I love it.
ReplyDeleteWhile watching "God of Love", for the first half or so I didn't really have an idea of what this story was getting at but soon made the connection between the darts and cupid and "Olympus" which is a Greek mythological society in which the cupid concept came from. The subtle hints of allusion in a relatively modern looking set up really made for some major interest that pulled me into generally cliche story line. I think the black and white also made for some intrigue, creating a romantic or warm environment. It seems as if many short films we have been watching don't have that feature film look, but this story looks almost like it could be extended into a two hour movie in production terms. The camera angles, tripod presence and other elements seemed to emulate that of a big box office film.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a cute idea. I liked the way it was paced and edited. I wish Kelly had more to say. She has two guys in love with her for some reason so I would like to know why she is so appealing. I thought it was clever how Greek mythology was thrown in there. It was not a typical prayer to God but rather a group of Gods. The ending was a unique twist. He did not find love but he now has control of it. The film was light, not too dramatic. I thought it was really cute.
ReplyDelete"God of Love" was a great short, following a man in search of his true love, but faces some interesting drawbacks. I really liked how they began with the main character narrating, before coming down to a close up of his monologue. I also liked how they tied the beginning and ends together, to wrap up the film. I thought the camera work was great, they really followed the shots well, and the black&white added a great effect. Overall it was an interesting, and visually pleasing short, that left me curious about the God of Love's next move.
ReplyDeleteI don't have anything bad to say about this film. Wow I really enjoyed this film. I liked the black and white to help set the mood. The writing was great. Each scene flowed really great throughout the story. The concept was great and it was executed perfectly. It was cool that the darts were from God as you can tell with the title "Olympus" that was clever. I enjoyed that the movie started out him on the bike and came to it in the end. That really made the story seem or become full circle. The lead actor was great portraying Ray.
ReplyDelete"God of Love" is a film shot in black and white. Black and white films such as this set what type of mood of the story right away. It sort of gives off an emptiness to the film, letting you know right away that something in the film is missing. The one thing missing in this film is the love from Kelly to Ray. Ray loves Kelly but Kelly loves someone else and all throughout the film Ray tries to get the attention of Kelly. Despite the way this film is shot, in black and white, right away the narrator gives us what the story is going to be about, a fight for love. I didn't enjoy this short as much as the others, mostly because I'm not into love stories but also because it failed to keep me interested. As a filmmaker though, it wasn't that bad!
ReplyDelete