synevy

Not many days have passed since "Shadow Warriors" premiered at the Fighting Spirit Film Festival in London. I was waiting for its release and I was pleased to see another short film revelation.

Great atmospheric night scenes in the city, beautifully choreographed and edited. Promising acting talent by Linda Louise Duan, Samuel Mak, Blake Ridder and a solid score by Saul James.

Having followed Bulent Ozdemir's previous work, one can't help but notice that he keeps getting better and better and this is definitely another full-length movie material, just like his "Setback" short film in 2011.

Giving chances to Woody Allen's work is… what I do but, Blue Jasmine didn't make that much of an impression to me. I admit I had high hopes after Midnight in Paris –which I found brilliant- but it didn't work out that well with this one.

Blue Jasmine tells a story about a woman who loses everything after getting a divorce from her crook husband. The film has an overall meaning (don't fall in love with money) but hasn't much to give to the audience than the multiple states of depression the "heroine" goes through.

The cast's consisted of a few good actors like Cate Blanchett and Alec Baldwin and that's just about it. It's been a low to average film. I don't think I'd recommend it to someone who wants to cheer up. Maybe the only people who would want to see it would be those who are related to the character's struggles. Then again, nothing raises the moral in the end

A guy walks into… a murder! Hard to get out of it that easy, especially when he is the prime suspect.

Setback is a crime short film written and directed by Bulent Ozdemir and independently produced by Wolf Valley Films.

The thing i enjoyed most was the chance that's given to the viewer to solve the mystery him/herself, looking for clues, as the story goes on. There can be multiple speculations until one gets to the last minutes and says "Oh that's what it's all about". You may be right, you may be wrong but in the end it totally makes sense. I find that special in such a short duration film and perhaps that's what I was waiting for to say that it would make a great start for a full-length movie.

Protagonist Andrew Dowbiggin brings out wonderfully the character's confused and desperate emotions whilst the rest of the cast supports great the film to its completion.

It's a smart, mysterious concept that gives Ozdemir another shot to prove his unique suggestions in condensed storytelling and atmospheric cinematography.