Peak

This review contains minor spoilers.

After being impressed with Ice Cream Man, Kyle Magocs comes out with Peak. Just like Ice Cream Man, Peak is pretty much just a music video, but this time it involves a boy, recently dumped by his girlfriend, who sets out to find a new job and a new life. Of course, this would not be any good if the backing song was terrible, but don't worry, it is a decent tune, better than Ice Cream Man in my opinion. Mind you, if you hate Badly Drawn Boy, you would probably be best advised to avoid downloading and watching Peak.

One thing I really liked about Peak was its cartoony look. It tells us to relax and not to take it seriously; it's all light-hearted fun. The look helps bring out those awws and giggles and I genuinely did sympathise, smile and had a quick laugh at the main character. On the whole, it was also technically better produced than Ice Cream Man. Animations were more fluid, scenery was on great form with its cartoony look, most of the camera angles were done well, and we've already covered the music. And the ending? Well, there was only one expression for that: a big smile. It was executed so well, especially with the view from his eyes, opening.

Bad points? I suppose this lacks some originality, but really, who cares about that when you are watching a music video? A couple of scenes were played perhaps a little too fast to catch what was really going on, but that is only a minor point. And I suppose you could say more effort should have been spent on the credits, but are you that fussy? Peak is not meant to blow you away; it's just a short, simple, feel-good movie, and it was done well, good enough to compete against Bruised. I smiled, I laughed, and I aww'd. Shorts like these which make us actually feel something are rare. And guess what, I would welcome more movies like Peak.

Score: 81/100