A Review of a Cyn'ful Short

A year ago at least I told you about a short movie called BROKEN ( watch the BROKEN trailer, seriously do it ) and it absolutely blew my mind what they did with a few thousand dollars. Well the same guy who made that film is now back with a new short called CYN. For some reason the director Alex Ferrari decided I should review it. Probably because I enjoyed Broken so much.

 

"Cyn is a twisted tale by writer/director Alex Ferrari about Cynthia, a young woman who is taken by two psychopaths (Mr. Sugar and Otto) in the middle of the night to an old abandon kindergarden. Cyn quickly turns the tables on them soon the night becomes a cat and mouse mind game. While this drama is unfolding a lone figure watches from a close circuit monitor. Who is Cynthia and what the hell is going on in this twisted tale?"

 

CYN is an interesting tale and obviously a show piece to sell a feature. It is interesting to see how the directors attentions have changed since his first film BROKEN. It feels that Alex has learned from Broken. Not only has he absorbed the high praise it has gotten but it seems he is polishing his trade and learning from the small criticism. I know I picked up on some corrections in CYN that I pointed out in his first film Broken. The audio is more polished, and the acting is much improved. I am far from a filmmaker but its good to see one that recognizes logic and good ideas and implements them to improve his craft.

 

CYN has more polish to it, then his first project, even though it is only a 5 minute short, and has some nice touches that were missing from Broken. Better Dialogue, less over the top visuals and a more gritty visual take. When i saw BROKEN I was absolutely stunned what Alex could do with a few thousand dollars. Think Sin City for a couple grand and you will see what I am saying. Its nice to see that he has continued that in CYN but this time he has toned it down a bit. No longer feeling the need to overwhelm with a mind dizzying array of FX but rather using dialogue and natural story telling to lead the film along, in conjunction with his Oscar Quality FX skills. He has shown the world what he can do FX wise and now he is toning it back it seems to show he is not a one trick pony.

 

When I saw BROKEN I compared Alex Ferrari and his style of filmmaking to Robert Rodgriguez. Now that I have seen CYN I am glad to see he hasnt made a liar out of me. CYN delivers just as much impact as his first short film, if not more. Visually it is second to none. With all the horrible CGI work going on in Hollywood its Ironic a guy in Florida working on shorts in his spare time is doing A++ cgi work that film fans can love!

 

The FX, the overall look and feel for CYN is just like BROKEN, it is 10 out of 10 stars. Alex was one of the first to prove that digital filmmaking for indie filmmakers doesnt mean cutting corners and CYN is a digital production that looks as good as what you would see at the IMAX.

 

There are some flaws but it is likely that average film goers wont notice them. I am highly critical and I know this. The acting is a bit wooden at spots and some of the dialogue is a bit cliche but its easily overlooked with good direction, stunning visuals and some great writing. You go into the short wondering what is going on, and you finish the short hoping Alex will finish this with a feature film and unravel the mystery that is CYN! I cant share the entire short with you ( not yet but I am sure at some point we will ) so in the meantime checkout the trailer below and remember the name Alex Ferrari. Someday somebody who wants to make a ton of money off Alex is going to produce a film for him and we are all going to benefit from it.  One of the greatest mistakes Hollywood power brokers could possibly make is to NOT give Alex a shot at a feature. CYN is a short well worth watching. I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

 

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