Colin Firth, Keira Knightley, Judi Dench, Kenneth Branagh: Stars in Shorts: Film Review 8:17 AM PDT 9/27/2012 by Frank Scheck (MY SAN ANTONIO)

Seven short movies of varying length and quality are being released theatrically by ShortsHD, the cable channel behind the annual “Oscar Nominated Short Films” presentations.

“Stars in Shorts” lives up to its title by offering the like of Judi Dench, Colin Firth, Jason Alexander, Keira Knightley, Lily Tomlin, Kenneth Branagh and Julia Stiles in films ranging from 8 to 25 minutes.

The best of the longer segments is “Steve,” a piece of Pinter light starring Firth as a passive-aggressive neighbor from hell who repeatedly turns up at the door of a bickering couple (Knightley and Tom Mison) to register a series of baseless complaints, which he tops off with an infuriated demand for tea and biscuits.


Branagh’s sinister side comes to the fore in “Prodigal,” a sci-fi tale about agents struggling for control over a girl with daunting psychic powers. This piece has the air of an old “Twilight Zone” episode.

“Friend Request Pending” is an amiable short with Dench as a mature woman comically tiptoeing her way into the world of online romance.

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