Jericho

“Jericho” is a quick film about death, mourning, and memory.  Liam Gavin, an Irishman, has gone a very strange route to tell his story of death, he incorporated puppets.  These puppets, from the main character’s childhood, keep him company and convince him to not kill himself.  It’s a quirky one for sure.
There are two puppets in the film, and they’re very detailed and original.  This will pull at your heartstrings and probably push you to watch “muppet” clips on youtube.

Faceless

This FC Rabbath short involves a man of many faces, or masks.  “Faceless” is a short festival entry that pushes the viewer to think about their lives and what we share with others.  The main character, Jeremiah, is guilty of using masks for every situation in his life.  He’s a drug user, a bad boss, a lying son, and a cheating husband.

 

The end of this short has some incredible makeup effects and is well worth the watch.

Prometheus

“Prometheus” is a film by Ridley Scott that will be arriving in theaters this summer.  The trailer is amazing and I for one could not be more excited about the movie.

Scott is responsible for many amazing films including: Gladiator, Alien, and Blade Runner.  That being said, it’s interesting for him to travel back to the same universe as his film “Alien.”  He’s a bit of a stickler for making original content, so this is a strange move for him.  In one recent interview Scott actually mentions that he thought it was strange that no one had ever gone back in time with the Alien series.  Sequel after sequel was created, but none of them touched on the origin of the creatures. Prometheus aims to do that.

 

“Prometheus” opens June 8 in theaters and IMAX.

Big Dreams Trailer

F.C. Rabbath recently posted his trailer for “Big Dreams”.  The trailer is well put together and definitely shows the level of dedication Rabbath has for his productions.

The film appears to be about a man abusing a drug that lets him control his dreams.  The themes of the film look like they will touch on lust, self control, and family addiction issues.

The release date is April 14, 2012, expect a post reviewing the short around that time.

To Be the Best

“To Be the Best” is a short film starring Kyle Gas and Jack Black of the rock duo Tenacious D.  This short film is meant to help advertise and entertain.

 

The story opens as a follow up to their feature length film.  Jack is filthy rich and famous while Kyle is clearly insane.  Val Kilmer, Dave Grohl, and Josh Groban make cameo appearances that add to the overall theme of ridiculousness.

I rate this short at a PG-13 level for some strange violence and crude humor.

Sleeping Betty

“Sleeping Betty” is a short from our neighbors up north, Canada. The National Canadian Film Board produced the animated film.

 

The story opens on a girl asleep in her apartment. Her parents, apparently royalty, have surrounded her and are upset at her “illness.”  There is some obvious sarcasm here.  The humor comes into play when a doctor is called and the King decides to go another route.

 

The hand drawn animation is definitely worth taking in. It’s very impressive.

Electroshock

“Electroshock” is a French animated short about a guy trying to impress a girl with his newly found superpowers.

 

Buck gains the ability to slowdown time and decides that the best way to use it would be to impress a girl.  Unfortunately, everytime Buck jumps to the rescue he just ends up making the situation worse.  It’s pretty funny to watch and several different mediums of animation are used to tell the story.

 

The animation style is reminiscent of “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.”

RUIN

“RUIN” is an animated short from Oddball Animation.  It is the first in what will apparently be a series.

 

There isn’t much of a story.  Our main character is shown in a city overgrown by trees, he steals what appears to be some sort of data and then a chase sequence begins.  The real star in this is the visuals.  Everything is incredibly detailed and beautiful throughout.  I highly recommend watching this in fullscreen with HD turned on. The action is very fast-paced and leans towards and apocalyptic/science fiction feel.

 

Keep an eye out for the next video!

Time to Dance

“Time to Dance” is a music video starring Jake Gyllenhaal.  The video was made for promotional purposes for a French band “The Shoes”.

 

The music drives throughout the whole video and helps guide the viewer into what the main character is thinking.  Unfortunately the main character is thinking about killing people.  That’s right.  Jake Gyllenhaal plays a serial killer.  With no prior knowledge of what was going to happen I was caught way off guard when he violently assaults someone.

The video is an interesting premise and I definitely recommend a watch.

Bobby Watkins

Bobby Watkins is a cautionary tale in the vein of a Dr. Suess Book.

The entire story is narrated in a simple rhyming pattern.  Bobby Watkins is a young boy who decides that he wants to alter his Mother’s day planner so that his birthday is everyday.  This sounds like a good idea at the time.  But the parents catch on and teach him a lesson the hard way.

This is a fun little film to watch and is a big departure from the norm for Whitestone Pictures.  This also makes me reminisce about birthday parties of my own childhood and when those started to go out of style.  The film does an excellent job of painting a surreal childhood.