Hey film fans it’s Slick Dungeon! I’m back to review the Oscar nominated Live Action Short films for this year. This is a category where I wish all of the films could win because for each and every one of them there was great effort put in. For that reason, I am going to keep the spoilers as mild as possible here because you should all go and watch them. Still, to talk about them all there will have to be a little bit of spoilage so if you want to go into these blind, watch them first and then come back to read the review. I’ll also give you my prediction for the winner.

the After

This film is hard to describe without spoiling but let’s just say an unexpected incident occurs early on and the rest of the film deals with what happens after. It is heart wrenching and surprisingly emotional. It’s a fantastic little film and absolutely worth watching.

Invincible

This is the only film in this category based on a true story. I can spoil a little more of it than some of the others without giving anything away. This is about a troubled youth in Canada who lives in a youth detention center. It gives us a portrayal of the young man and the lengths he will go to in order to change his circumstances. Another film that is heartbreaking here and quite well made.

Knight of Fortune

This is a drama with a bit of graveyard humor in it. It tells the story of Karl who has come to the morgue to identify and say goodbye to his late wife. There are awkward and hilarious moments all wrapped into one here and it leads us to some unexpected places while still being grounded. In the end it’s a sweet film and fun to watch despite dealing with death.

Red, White and Blue

This is a film that leads us in one direction and wallops us into another direction in a jaw dropping manner. I can’t say much more than that other than to say this is a very American film dealing with a very current American problem and is just utterly excellent. If I could give out the awards, this is the one I would give it to, but it’s probably not going to be the winner.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is a short film based on a short story written by Roald Dahl. It has major stars in it, including Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley and Richard Ayoade. It is directed by Wes Anderson. It’s as wild as you can get when it comes to the imagination of Roald Dahl, and while I am not typically a Wes Anderson fan, his style really does work well here. Because it is so chocked full of big names and has such production value, this is almost guaranteed to win. It’s a fun watch for sure but it still wasn’t my favorite out of all of these. Definitely worth watching though.

In Conclusion

While I would love for any of these films to win, I’m convinced The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar is the only prediction that makes sense here. I urge all of you to go out and watch these and judge for yourself. Short films don’t get the attention they deserve and audiences should watch more of them when they are accessible.

Awardingly yours,

Slick Dungeon