Short Take: The phrase comes from the film industry, originally, and it means a short bit of recording or “something that only takes a short time,” especially if a longer version may be done later.
Short Take review: A short review of a film with potential discussion points
🥜 (out of 5 nuts)
Synopsis: In the cryptocurrency world, Brendan Brandon (Arj Barker) has established himself as the guru everyone is watching as he has tapped into the secret of making the imaginary currency increase his personal worth. Yet, the trader is left with nothing when the algorithm fails him, and he loses his net value. Until he gets a call from the lawyer for his long-lost Australian uncle, who has left him the family macadamia nut farm. Since Brendan has nothing else, he heads to Cobweb, Australia, to see if he can make farming work for him and reverse his fortunes. The white-collar investor discovers how hard things are to make a living off the land, especially when the manipulative New Zealander land developer, Zoron (Jonno Roberts), does all he can to get his hands on the property.
Review: There have been a multitude of stand-up comedians who have managed to transition to the big screen with their unique styles and antics. Unfortunately, Arj Barker’s comedic manner is not one of those comedians. Director Scott Corfield’s film feels like a poorly executed ABC (PBS) comedy that tried to make as much out of a script designed for a Horrible Histories episode loaded with more nut jokes than a bad Dad Joke convention. Even with the casting of Madeleine West, Tiriel Mora, and Roy Billing, very little can salvage this embarrassing lesson in an idea developed during a drunken night at the local pub. The Australian, Kiwi and American stereotypes cross the line of cringe-worthiness to show how one person’s comedy is another's reason for offence. In an attempt to find something worth acknowledging from this project, a positive element could be that farming is hard work and that farmers should get more recognition for their labour. Yet, to think Arj Barker could ever become a farmer makes this point moot, leaving The Nut Farm nothing to offer audiences except an empty shell of comedy opposed to being a nutty bag of laughs.
REEL DIALOGUE: Why does money rule our world?
“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.” Matthew 6:24
Most people do not know that Jesus had much to say about money and not just how they should give to the church. His words dealt more with mankind's priorities and, specifically, that money cannot be the primary focus of our lives.
Not to be misunderstood, Jesus did not state that money is evil or that he was not anti-money. His teachings went to how it ranked in our lives over other things, specifically to God. The words in the above passage could be asked a question: Who is your God? No one may say it is money, but if it takes precedence over all other things, it has become your god.
The Nut Farm is a horrible film, but there might be something worth learning from this screenplay on the impact of money. Specifically, money cannot buy happiness or satisfaction. The film shows the painful lessons that money can disappear as fast as it comes in, that we are not the masters of our domain, and that money is the master of our lives. The only absolute freedom and satisfaction can be found in God. Money is a vicious master, while the God of the Bible is a gracious and loving one.
The word becomes film
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