Hello ladies and gentlemen, Muldoon here and I hope you're all enjoying the creepy Halloween season upon us. I've yet to check out my nostalgic go-to: HOCUS POCUS, though TRICK 'R TREAT, HALLOWEEN, and THE FRIGHTENERS have played on multiple screens in my house. Welp, last weekend I had quite a bit of horror for you guys and gals, so this week I thought I'd ressist the urge for even more. This week is a lovely mix of science fiction, documentary, and just things I think are cool. (There just might be a horror film in there after all... I can't help it). So while you're drinking your pumpkin beers, munching down on squash/candy, or getting hives from your 8th pumpkin spice latte (Thanks for the obesity, Starbucks.) hopefully you're able to enjoy a few of this week's shorts, despite the fact that this week is a little light on the gore factor. At any rate, I think this week offers up something a little different, but still something you folks ought to get a kick out of.
*I'll be in Los Angeles this next Thursday through Monday, and more than down to check out cool things/places/people. So if you're on a movie (big, small, tiny, massive, whatever) or just know of any cool places/tours to check out - be cool and shoot me an email! (Mike@aintitcool.com)
Go grab yourself some popcorn, lock your kids in a closet, kill the lights, relax and check out this little weekly film fest we've got ourselves here:
LA LUZ DEL MUNDO (THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD)
TRT: 16:20
Right out of the gate, we have an incredibly kickass short from directors Fernando J. Martínez and Alfonso García, which was sponsored by the Mexican MegaBeast: Guillermo Del Toro! "The future. After an attack coming from somewhere outside of our planet, mankind abandoned the cities and took refuge underground. There the human race has lived for generations, losing the ability to see and also forgetting they ever had it. Thus, when a number of people begin to ‘gain their sight’, the underground government condemn them as sick and they are forced to flee and return to the city where once lived the human race. But where these rebels believe they can find a haven of peace and a new future, they will find terrible revelations about the past of humanity and a dormant threat that has been hidden for generations."
La Luz del Mundo (The Light of the World) | Short Film from Fernando J. Martinez on Vimeo.
NITRO WARRIORS: DARE TO CONNECT
TRT: 3:22
Zip. Zoom. (I know... I sound like Bill Cosby...) Vroom! Okay, up next we have the latest in the Nitro Warriors stop motion franchise. I've shown both of Vangaurd Pictures' previous Hot Wheel driven videos here before and am a big fan of what they did with those two. Apparently Mattel was also a big fan, ("Holy shit, these guys are making better commercials than we ever could've asked for!"), so they reached out to the Vanguard folks, gave them a budget, and boom - that's our video today. This is pretty badass, but it is also a giant commercial. Regardless, this is still pretty freaking cool! "Two high-octane race cars embark on an epic journey at breakneck speeds across the rocky, treacherous terrain of Jurassic Falls."
FRACTURES
TRT: 4:22
Matthew Chuang brings us right into the heart of Chernobyl with our next film. "A man returns to a place he once called home. Nature and decay have taken over but the memories are still strong. He brings life back to Pripyat, Chernobyl - hoping to capture how it was and how it could have been." FRACTURES is a beautifully haunting reminder of the past. This is a solid film and gives us a glimpse into the aftermath of one of the more tragic disasters in the past few decades.
Fractures - It's Alright from matthew chuang on Vimeo.
JOHNNY'S SPEAKEASY
TRT: 11:01
As an Austinite (Austin, Texas), every place you go in town has some sort of live music playing, some kind of magical musician strumming out something, so there's an appreciation of "the performance" that's pretty much burned into you. Cruce Grammatico and Charlie Steen bring us a damn interesting doc from Ann Arbor, Michigan about a pretty cool joint: "Johnny's Speakeasy."
Johnny's Speakeasy from ThoughtWell Media on Vimeo.
TWILIGHT
TRT: 10:18
This next one hit my inbox with just a link, no description, background info - nada. I like it. From director Andy Fernandez we get an interesting science fiction tale.
"Twilight" - Short Film from Andy Fernandez on Vimeo.
ARRIVAL
TRT: 0:59
If you regularly check SATURDAY SHORTS out, then you know I don't post many trailers or Kickstarter things, unless they actually seem pretty cool. Well, this short (or teaser for a feature I believe) seems pretty cool to me. I just really like the angle they took to give us clues of "shit's going down." I am curious to check out more from director Michael Matzur if this indeed becomes a feature or even an expanded short. I like the lack of dialogue and want to see more!
Ka-Boom! Okay, that's it for this week's selections guys and gals. I'll catch you all next week, but really - if you know of something kickass to do in Los Angeles, hit me up! (Mike@aintitcool.com). In the mean time, feel more than free to peruse the library of short films I think are worth your time:
SATURDAY SHORTS 2012
SATURDAY SHORTS 2013
The Misinventions of Milo Weatherby; Lifted; The Rinsing; Ashes; M is For Maltese (1/25/14)
Rivotanana; End Of Dates; First Date; The Last Girl (2/1/14)
Cockatoo; Hematiet; SLR; Sheridan; A Horny Ghost Named Buster (2/8/14)
Poppetje; In Vain; The World Is Burning; The Central Park Snowman Project; Mission (2/22/14)
La Boca De Leon; Bedbug; Wax; Skin; Something (3/1/14)
Luna; Logan Must Make Star Wars; Rocco; No Strings Attached; Blessing In Disguise (3/8/14)
Plastic Love; Audrey Moon River; The Afrobats; The Flying Lesson; Strike (3/15/14)
Timeholes; Child Eater; Walter Don't Dance; Low Hanging Fruit; Love Hitch (3/29/14)
House of Thrones; The Hunt; Tumbleweed!; Tolerated; The Colour of Her Eyes (4/5/14)
#PostModem; No Help; The Hobbit Games; College Romance; Lost Voice (4/12/14)
Book 1; Compliments; Twiller Parkour #2; They Say; Bikini Girls Vs. Dinosaurs Trailer (4/19/14)
Chomp!; NSFL; In The Black; Everyone's A Comedian; Zenith (4/26/14)
Caterwaul; First Sight; Man Vs. Woman; Say Cheese; The Train (5/17/14)
Booby Traps; Hard Love; That Guitar Man; Ask An Astronomy Brain Parasite; Dada (5/24/14)
Fear, Inc.; Lights Out; 2AM: The Smiling Man; Sneeze; The Music of Erika Zahn (6/21/14)
Mis-Drop; Mech: Human Trials; The Sunman; Time Travel Lover (7/5/14)
Sky-Caper; Goodnight Harvey; Bro; Buck Shot; The Art of Motion; Ticked Off (7/12/14)
Foam Drive Renegades; How To Survive Working 9 To 5; Fantastic Foe; Abinormal; Banana Seat (7/19/14)
Tiny Dancer; Spacewalk; Sissy Boy; Witchfinder; Uncanny Valley (7/26/14)
Bobby Beats; Birth; I Am Become Death; In A Dream; A Bloody Shade of Red (8/2/14)
Between Days; Blue Balls; The Amazingly Ordinary Story; The Gunfighter; Short Love Story (8/9/14)
Rise Of The Kitchen Appliances; The Apprentice; The Koan; White Meat (8/30/14)
Common Shiner's "Social Mediasochist;" Antiheroes; Tandem; The Answer (9/20/14)
Where The Red Fox Lies; The Keeper; Envoy; Spontaneous Amphetamines; The Golden Ticket (9/27/14)
Mouse-X; The Hitch; Dosing; Nightwatch; Resignation (10/4/14)
If you have a short and think it belongs here or are on the fence about whether to send it in, please do send it in - I'd love to see what you've put together. I've already seen hundreds of fresh new filmmakers' shorts and like any good addict, I need more!
Shoot me an email at "Mike@aintitcool.com"
In the subject line include:
“SHORTS” + “Your film’s name” + “The film’s genre”
Then, in the body of the email, please include a synopsis of the film and any contact information you might think I need or would want published. The more info you send my way, the more info there is to put with your short.
Please don’t feel the need to submit multiple times.
Remember, the filmmakers might still be in the audience, so feel free to share your thoughts in Talkbacks below. (JUST DON'T BE AN ASSHOLE). I picked them, so you know I think highly of all of these, but how about you fine folks? How'd you like 'em?
BY THE WAY: If you've had a short featured here, that means that I personally am a fan of your work, so feel free to shoot me any kind of news on new projects/films/whatever. I can't say I'll be able to help or in what capacity, but I'm interested in your work and am always down to see more! (Keep making cool stuff, everyone!)
- Mike McCutchen
"Muldoon"
Mike@aintitcool.com
