"Wow... you guys are like little Cusinarts, aren't ya?"

The Chubbchubbs!

2002; USA; 6 min.

Director: Eric Armstrong

Screenplay: Jeff Wolverton

Music: Chance Thomas

Cast:

Meeper (voice) - Bradford Simonsen

ChubbChubbs (voice) - Jeff Wolverton

Glorfs (voice) - Justin Adair, Eric Armstrong, Yakov Baytler, Mary Biondo, Sumit Das, Layne Friedman, Robert Gordon, Sully Jacome-Wilkes, Franco Pietrantonico, Rick Richards, Chance Thomas, Julie Zackary

Singing Diva (voice) - Mortonette Jenkins

Zyzaks (voice) - Peter Lurie

Bouncer (voice) - Rick Zieff

"The Chubbchubbs!" is a cute little film about an alien janitor (Bradford Simonsen - voice) who aspires to be a great singer. He has a little crush on the Singing Diva (Mortonette Jenkins - voice) at the "Ale E Inn." When he hears that the Chubbchubbs are invading, he tries to warn the people in the Inn, but they don't listen to him. When the Chubbchubbs finally come, everyone is in for a surprise in an ironic twist. I would recommend this film as a really fun short film!

iRate: 4/5 mops

Trailer: *Since the film is so short, just click here to watch the whole thing!

"... shoot the dog..."

Inja

2001; Australia & South Africa; 17 min.

Director: Steve Pasvolsky

Screenplay: Steve Pasvolsky

Music: Ilan Kidron

Cast:

Young Thembile - Anele Vellom

Older Thembile - Lizo C. Makambi

Johannes - Danny Keogh

Hettie - Terry Norton

Angelina - Mantoa 'Kuku' Mamputa

Dora - Nomasomi Fini

Friend on bicycle - Kulule Salman

Here's another short review for a short film... "Inja" was an interesting film about the relationship between Thembile (Anele Vellom and Lizo C. Makambi) and Johannes (Danny Keogh). The film begins with Thembile as a young boy witnessing a dog being beaten by Johannes. After a notable shift in the country's political power signified by a change in the flag on the flag pole, the roles are reversed. "Inja" is a unique film for discussion and brings about many ideas and possible symbolic meanings such as apartheid in Africa. I would recommend the film as a good short film for discussion.

iRate: 2.5/5 dogs

Trailer: information not available

"A house that is neglected is a house that may be doomed in the atomic age."

The House in the Middle

1954; USA; 13 min.

Director: information not available

Screenplay: information not available

Music: information not available

Cast:

information not available

Here's a short review for a short film... Produced by the Federal Civil Defense Administration and the National Clean Up-Paint Up-Fix Up Bureau, "The House in the Middle" is a short public service announcement film. I found it interesting to watch a film that happened to be a piece of American history. It was amazing to see the perspective that these people had on the atomic bomb. Ultimately, I found this film to be very dated (obviously), and therefore, I had trouble staying interested throughout the film.

iRate: 1/5 houses

Trailer: *Since the film is so short, just click here to watch the film.

"Does it hurt?"

The Big Empty

2005; USA; 20 min.

Director: Lisa Chang, Newton Thomas Sigel

Screenplay: Lisa Chang, Newton Thomas Sigel, Alison Smith

Music: Carlton DeWoody

Cast:

Alice - Selma Blair

The Specialist - Elias Koteas

Talk Show Host - Richard Kind

The Thoughtful Man - Gabriel Mann

Arctic Explorer - Simon Cole

Gynecologist - Richmond Arquette

Cartographer - Ezra Buzzington

I don't know what to say (that's a first!). Why exactly did we watch this, Mr. D?

__________________

*UPDATE (12/07/08):

At the time of the first post on this film, I really didn't know what to talk about with this film. It was just extremely peculiar and very different, to say the least. After reading some of my peers' blogs about "The Big Empty," I gained a little bit of insight into the film. The movie is definitely on an abstract level. Other than its less than conventional topic, I'm not exactly sure why we watched the film. Was it for cinematic reasons? Anyhow, I wasn't overly impressed with it and I'm ready to leave this film in the past and move ahead. If you're in the mood to think, I would recommend watching it. It's defnitely a short film that you could ponder for days.

iRate: 2/5 tundras

Trailer: n/a

"Hello sweetheart..."

Lilo and Me

2003; USA; ?

Director: Kip Fulbeck

Screenplay: Kip Fulbeck

Music: n/a

Cast:

n/a

"Lilo and Me" is a sort of short documentary film about Kip Fulbeck and his life desire to fit in with a racial group. Fulbeck brings the audience into his family by playing various recordings of phone calls with his mother and his father. Fulbeck then goes on, explaining how growing up with an Asian mother and Caucasian father had left him with a sense of uncertainty as a child. Fulbeck humorously talks about the Disney characters that allegedly look like him. Pocahontas, Aladdin, Mowgli, and obviously Lilo are some of the "ethnically ambiguous" Disney characters with whom Fulbeck identifies. I would recommend this film - it's quite clever and very funny.

iRate: 4/5 ethnically ambiguous Disney characters

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTS0xu-Bwqk

(*NOTE: The trailer not only includes a clip from "Lilo and Me," but all of the videos on the short film collection, "Slant.")

"Boys like Peter are not afraid of wolves..."

Peter & the Wolf

2006; UK; 29 min.

Director: Suzie Templeton

Screenplay: Sergei Prokofiev, Suzie Templeton, Marianela Maldonado

Music: Mark Stephenson

Cast:

n/a

This short film is the most current adaptation of the famous tale of "Peter and the Wolf." At this year's Oscars, "Peter and the Wolf" won the award for the best animated short film. This film has won many other awards in other countries as well. I had never heard this famous story before, although I have heard of it. The story was semi-interesting. The animation was pretty good. (I guess I just didn't get that into this, so I'm not exactly overly enthusiastic in my post now.) I liked the scene where the animals were ice skating. The lesson about forgiveness at the end of the story was interesting. I don't really think that the lesson was so easily extracted from the film. After watching, I knew that there was some moral lesson, but couldn't figure it out. Maybe it was because I wasn't paying thorough attention, maybe it was the film's fault... I'm not sure. Either way, I'm not exactly a fan of "Peter and the Wolf."

iRate: 1.75/5 keys

Trailer: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1484783897/

"If I have a mixed cube, I'll solve it. If I have a solved cube, I'll mix it. The entire day can pass that way..."

Piece By Piece

2007; USA; 15 min.

Director: Sachi Schuricht, Emma Thatcher, Isaiah Allekotte, Grace Rathbone-Webber 

Screenplay: n/a

Music: n/a

Cast:

- various people including Lars Petrus, the 1982 Swedish speedcubing champion and the directors of the film

"Piece By Piece" was definitely one of the most interesting short films that I have ever seen. (This is therefore going to be a short entry due to the length of the actual film.) The film focuses on the enigma behind the popular Rubik's Cube by following around various "speedcubers." Speedcubers are extremely quick Rubik's Cube solvers. It's absolutely mind blowing to watch these people solve the puzzles so rapidly. I couldn't believe some of the statistics that accompanied the film as well. The number of possible combinations of the cube is enormous! I also liked the sound of the Rubik's Cubes moving and spinning. This movie prompted my friend, a fellow peer blogger, and I to go to Barnes & Noble to purchase our own Cubes in hopes of becoming speedcubers (yes, I am that dorky, I guess!). Sadly, I don't think that this is going to come true (on my part at least)! As I type, my rejected Cube is sitting on the table near me, scrambled and unsolved. I'll keep trying though, and hopefully, someday I'll solve my Rubik's Cube just once!

iRate: 4.5/5 Rubik's Cubes

Trailer: This film is so short that it would be pointless to put up a trailer. So, go watch it! It's a fun and extremely entertaining short film!

"... now comes the squat that is taking America by storm."

How to Do the Asian Squat

Tagline: "You Don't Know Nothin' If You Don't Know Squat!"

2002; ?; 5 min. 

Director: Daniel Hsia

Screenplay: Daniel Hsia

Music: Alison Plante

Cast:

Dr. Mario Ezekiel Chang-Goldstein, Narrator - Michael McConnohie

Man in Suit - Ewan Chung

Spokesmodel - Yee Yee Lee

Asian Squat Student - Jeff Lam

Western Squat Student - Paul Apelgren

Cool Cat #1 - Schumetta Lanier

Cool Cat #2 - Garrett T. Thompson

Sexy Legs - Garz Chan

We watched this short film as our first short film of the course, although I just got around to blogging about it now. (It really should have come right after "North By Northwest" in true chronological blog fashion.) The film is a documentary, possibly a "mockumentary," of a new Asian form of squatting. The film is set in a 1950's style, in black and white. The film uses "scientific" examples to prove that the Asian squat is far more effective than your average Western squat. The film is pretty funny, and definitely is worth watching. What I found amusing was when I googled the Asian squat, it actually came up with numerous hits! Apparently this squat is totally legitimate! After the film, Mr. D had us do the squat, because we were obviously all itching to try it. It's actually somewhat difficult to do - I guess I wasn't brought up squatting Asian-ly (Yes, I know that's not a word!). So go watch this short film and practice your Asian squat!

iRate: 3.5/5 squats

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?=vy76UbfBr5vo

*NOTE: This is not really a trailer, either, because it's technically the whole film. So, now you can watch the film in it's entirety with the link above.

"My wife asked me to get rid of these oranges. We have three trees and they won't stop producing."

Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody?

2005; USA; 4 min.

Director: Miguel Arteta

Screenplay: Miranda July

Music: Miguel Arteta

Cast:

John C. Reilly

Mike White

Miranda July

Chuy Chavez

This film was SO short... How short was it?! (I don't know if anyone understands that was supposed to be a reference to an extinct game show, "Match Game." As lame as it may be, I actually enjoyed watching reruns of 1962 TV show when I was younger.) Anyhow, this has to be the shortest of short films. It made me wonder if anyone has ever made a five second (or shorter) short film and succeeded. This short film starred John C Reilly, who interviewed three people, asking them if they were the "favorite person of anybody." He then had them rank their certainty on a one to five scale. The whole question in itself is so awkward, and the answers that followed were quite humorous. It actually got me thinking about who my favorite people were and if I was the favorite person of anybody. I would recommend this short film - it's funny and if you don't enjoy it, it's over in four minutes. 

iRate: 3/5 oranges

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t-5PLQgcSA

*NOTE: This is not the trailer to the film! It is actually the entire four minute film! (I'm guessing it would be pointless to make a trailer that would be half as long as the film.)

"Is that your dead kid? Give us a look!"

Six Shooter

2004; Ireland; 27 min.

Director: Martin McDonagh

Screenplay: Martin McDonagh

Cast:
Brendan Gleeson - Donnelly

Rúaidhrí Conroy - Kid

David Wilmot - Man

Aisling O'Sullivan - Woman

"Six Shooter" was our first Art of Film black/dark comedy experience. What this type of comedy does, is it takes a topic that is taboo and not humorous at all, and turns it into satirical comedy. Dark comedy solicits many laughs of discomfort and unease. Nervous giggles erupt from viewers who aren't exactly sure how to respond. There were many of these moments as our class watched the film. The topics that the film dealt with included cot death (the equivalent of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)), suicide, and murder. The plot begins with the death of Donnelly's (Brendan Gleeson) wife. We see her lying in her bed in the hospital room. One of my favorite moments in the film occurs right after. Donnelly is talking to his late wife and says, "I brought you the photo of David." The camera then zooms in to a close-up shot of the photo of David, a rabbit. While this may not sound funny in writing, the scene was very amusing. Donnelly later boards a train in which he encounters a couple (David Wilmot and Aisling O'Sullivan) dealing with the loss of their child due to cot death, and another strange man. The man on the train is, in my opinion, the funniest character in the film. There's one hilarious scene that involves him telling a story about his experiences with a cow. Another funny line that I like that this man says is, "I would have shot Marvin Gaye if I was Marvin Gaye's dad." The last scene of the short film is both shocking and so very comical at the same time.

Another thing I found interesting about this film is the fact that none of the characters have names except for Donnelly. Maybe it's to emphasize the fact that these people could be average people you could encounter. They come with their own background and stories. It shows how people have so many problems. Maybe Donnelly being the only one named is to demonstrate that he's in his own world after having to face his wife's death. Overall, I would recommend this short film - it was quite entertaining!

iRate: 3/5 cows

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63HZq85qe1Q

"What are you good at?"

Les Mozart des pickpockets

(The Mozart of Pickpockets)

2006; France; 31 min.

Director: Philippe Pollet-Villard

Screenplay: Philippe Pollet-Villard

Cast:

Matteo Razzouki-Safardi - L'enfant

Philippe Pollet-Villard - Philippe

Richard Morgiève - Richard

I found this short film to be somewhat entertaining. This is a story of two men who are professional pickpockets. The duo sets up scams in order to steal people's wallets and take their money and credit cards. When they begin to be followed a young child, they decide to take him in. He appears to have no parents, and to be a deaf mute. The men cannot communicate with the boy, even through sign language. They start to use the boy in their pickpocket scams, and after a while, the boy begins to catch on. He develops his own successful method of theft when he is taken to the movies one day. The boy earns a plethora of money for the two men who have taken him in. However, by the final shot of the short film, it is apparent that the young child doesn't comprehend the consequences of his actions.

The film is pretty cute little comedy, especially the scenes with the young boy. It's nice to see a different side of the two pickpockets when they take in the young boy. I would recommend this short film, although, it's not as good as some others that I have seen. 

iRate: 2/5 wallets

Trailer: http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi871432473/

*This is more of a short scene from the movie rather than a trailer!