Better Late Then Never

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

This short film is about the minutes that an opera singer preparing for a performance."Maestro" is funny and entertaining. It features a cute chicken like opera singer, preparing for a performance with the help of an automated arm device. The angle is constantly shifting, so it gives the viewers different perspective every second. The music is nice, the opera singing is convincing. The end twist is unexpected and funny, and it certainly made me laugh. However, as a stand alone animation, I think it is a rather forgettable effort. It gives a laugh, and nothing else. I can't say it is particularly artistic or groundbreaking.

This short was nominated for the Academy Award, Animated Short category. It's difficult to discuss a five minute cartoon without giving away details, so consider this your spoiler warning: The visuals in this are very good, with the character design particularly-the detail is fascinating. As is to be expected with a five minute short, there is a slender plot here and the timing is key to this working. It's a one-joke premise and the director builds to it magnificently, with the image of a pampered superstar carefully created in a surprisingly short space, with the ending coming as a surprise, at least to me.The trouble is, while most excellent shorts merit repeated viewings (there are animated shorts I've seen dozens of times and they always seem alive and fascinating however often I see them), each time I watch this one, it impresses me a little less than it did before. Knowing the payoff has a lot to do with this (though I've seen Balance at least a dozen times and even knowing the ending makes no difference, as I still get chills every time I watch).The only thing I can figure is that, if you're telling a joke (and that's what Maestro is, ultimately-a visual joke), knowing the ending often reduces the humor.This is on DVD-The 2006 Academy Award Short Films, released by Magnolia and this and the entire disc are well worth watching. Recommended.

This is one of the short films nominated in 2006 for an Academy Award, it is part of a collection on DVD. It is done is modern computerized animation and is very well made. Watch it if you ever have the chance.The tile of the DVD is "A Collection of 2006 Academy Award Nominated Short Films."SPOILERS - DO NOT READ FURTHER IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE FILM SHORT YET.We see what appears to be a bird who is an opera singer, he is in his dressing room, warming up his vocal cords, while his robotic assistant helps dress him, tend to his makeup, and prepare him for the upcoming performance. It has all the trappings of a real opera singer getting ready. Only at the end do we realize that he is actually inside a clock, and the performance is the hourly chime "coo-coo" in the clock.

This is funny, well-crafted, computer-animated short film that'll give you a good laugh if you watch it. You can find it for free online (and legally) by searching for it at the "Portable Film Festival".The fact I'm giving the film a 6 does not at all mean that I disliked it - as another user said, the film moves in a very deliberate way to a funny conclusion that you the viewer will probably not expect. It's definitely worth a look.The thing is, that's all there is to it. The film sets its target low and does a great job of achieving it, but it's still a low target. I'm not sure that it has enough in it to deserve an Oscar nomination (especially when exemplary artistic masterpieces such as Aleksandr Petrov's "My Love" were left out of the list). It's a fine film that's worth watching, but it's still only based around a rather short, simple joke and doesn't aim for anything higher.