If I had to guess, I’d say that approximately twelve million people descended upon the movie theatre tonight to see Avatar in regular 3D or IMAX. I’m not understanding what is bringing out the crowds in such huge numbers so long after the film has been released; you shouldn’t have to stand in line for an hour when a movie has already been out for three months. The only explanation I can see is if they’re trying to see all the Best Picture nominees before the Oscars on Sunday, only I have difficulty accepting that of all the movies you haven’t seen on that list, Avatar would be one of them.
Anyway. I think I like animated shorts as a genre. I feel like they’re able to squish so much more into them than the live action shorts I saw the other day did, even the ones that are less than ten minutes long.
French Roast
The homeless guy in this had amazing hair; it looked like an Elizabethan ruff framing his face. I liked how most of it was shot from a front angle, with the mirror in the background giving us glimpses into what was going on outside. The nun was kind of awesome because, like the Spanish Inquisition, no one ever expects a nun!
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
This one was definitely my favourite and definitely the funniest. Everything about the way the grandma was telling the story with dramatic echoes to the animated version of the story (WHY DOES A FAIRY FLUTTERING IN THE AIR NEED A WALKER?!) was just killing me dead left, right and centre. Oh my god, just go watch it. This probably won’t win, but it’s my choice hands down.
The Lady and the Reaper
This one was pretty spectacularly fun and I loved how macabre it was to actively root for the Reaper and ultimately wish death upon an old lady, even if that’s exactly what she wanted herself so she could be reunited with her deceased husband. The douchey doctor was hilarious, although I think I could have done without his team of nurses who looked exactly like every depiction of a stripper in a nurse costume that you’ve ever seen in a movie. I think my favourite part was either when the Reaper’s face fell back into his hood, when he got home and used his remote lock on his boat, or when the old lady threw the radio (speaker? toaster? not sure!) in the bath.
Logorama
I am not a fan of this one at all, oh my god. Without fail, there was always a version of this on display somewhere during every single high school art show I was ever a part of. Less technically sophisticated, of course, but with the same unsophisticated “woe, corporate culture will erode our lives and cause oil spills” themes. I hated this when I was fifteen and I hate it now. Sidenote: I didn’t even recognize half the brands in this short, so I’m not sure if that reflects well on me as a consumer, poorly on the choice logos, or is symptomatic of my not living in the U.S. and not encountering a variety of highly U.S. specific brands.
Wallace and Gromit in ‘A Matter of Loaf and Death’
I have a Wallace and Gromit DVD that I won in a Yankee Swap at work a couple of Christmases ago and I’ve never watched it. I probably won’t now, since I didn’t find this to be all that great and it hasn’t spurned me into wanting more. There were a couple of cute moments here and there, but overall I was pretty indifferent.
This is the last week that Avatar will be out in IMAX 3D, which could account for some of the crowds (but still… tsk tsk people waiting until the last possible minute).
Thanks for the Granny O’Grimm link. It looks fun.
Oh right, I completely forgot it’s getting kicked out of IMAX by “Alice In Wonderland”.
There’s a new Wallace and Gromit short?? I MUST SEE THIS ASAP!
My favorite is A Close Shave. It’s a spoof on old Hitchcock-type suspense movies and has all these great homages.
I’m trying to find the rest of these shorts on Youtube, and the granny one (I loved that little silent kid just looking terrified the whole time) and the reaper one both are totally insanely great. That chase scene with the reaper and the nurses with the stairs made my frakking day.
The logorama one’s animation isn’t nearly as awesome as the other two, although I did LMAO at the little AIM logos walking around everywhere. Only good thing about the video.
They don’t show these in the theaters, that makes me kinda sad.
I got confused, the one I loved best was the lady and the reaper it was SO great and upsetting and hilarious at the same time. The electrical thing tossed on the water was the best/most disturbing part!