Hello ladies and gentlemen, your pal Muldoon here with this week's fun selection of interesting shorts I think you might want to check out. All but one of the films below were submitted by the filmmakers themselves, AICN readers like you and me. This week's lineup starts up with a little science fiction, then skyrockets into the land of absolute absurdity. If you're hoping to crack a smile (or possibly lol irl), then you've come to the right place as four of the five shorts are comedy. Each week I hope to bring you folks something interesting, something that pops with originality or has a spin on a given genre that you just don't see every day - this week is no different. So without further ado, let's get this cinematic party started.
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:
UNCANNY VALLEY
TRT: 8:52
Our first short of the week is the only one not to have been submitted by the filmmakers. I saw this film, was blown away, and felt I had to share it with the rest of the class. It's just awesome. Writer Director Federico Heller brings us one hell of an interesting look into the future of virtual reality. "In the slums of the future, virtual reality junkies satisfy their violent impulses in online entertainment. An expert player discovers that the line between games and reality is starting to fade away. 3DAR’s latest short film explores the frightening potential of our next technological revolution." The film raises a few questions about where to draw the line between living in reality and living in an artificial one, ultimately reminding us all how important it is to log off and experience life a little. Be sure to check out the production company's website for more info on the film.
UNCANNY VALLEY (2015) from 3DAR on Vimeo.
BLACK CHRISTMAS
TRT: 19:18
Next up is an incredible short from director Juuso Räsänen. Juuso describes the fim as "a celebration of deadpan humor and introverted joy, I like to think of it as a Finnish ode for the spirit of John Hughes." "Samuel, an Ethiopian immigrant, has the most ungrateful job in the world – he works as a Santa Claus in Finland but doesn't speak the language. Samuel’s Christmas gigs don’t go according to plan and he faces different kinds of prejudices. Samuel gets the last chance when the father of a Finnish family has forgotten to order a Santa for Christmas Eve." If you're not yet in the Christmas spirit, this short is sure to get your there!
Black Christmas - festival edit from Writer's Block on Vimeo.
THE HOBBIT: KINGDOM OF MIDDLE EARTH - DANCE BATTLE
TRT: 3:08
Our next short is a wild mix of dancing and Middle Earth (as the title suggests!). It features Rudy himself, Mr. Sean Astin as a bar tender with an imagination watching a STEP UP style dance off between different groups of heroes. It's utterly well done and includes a few wild moves, definitely worth checking out. You might remember director Alberto Belli's past work featured here (or not!); the guy's an incredible talent and I'm always on the look out to see what he's up to next. Also, this short is an ad - so Belli's done the (near) impossible by creating an advertisement so fun I just had to post it.
BIGHEAD HUNGER GAMES MOCKINGJAY PART 1
TRT: 3:29
With so many parody videos out there that just seem to fall flat, it's rare to find one that's actually funny. Welp, Zoran Gvojic has captured lightning in a bottle with his "Bighead" take on poking at Hollywood films. While this film was my first glimpse into Zoran's bighead empire, if you get a kick out of it, then fly over to his JURASSIC PARK parody, his YouTube Channel, and Facebook page!
DOLPHINMAN VS TURKEYMAN
TRT: 6:06
To wrap us out we've got one of the most bizarre things I think I've ever featured on SATURDAY SHORTS, a Thanksgiving short from Troma's John Brennan. Troma absolutely has a specific style of doing things, so I have a feeling most of you already know what you're in for. What follows in John's short is six minutes of eye-crack, full of Troma cameos and oddities I can't even begin to describe. Be sure to check out Troma's YouTube Channel as it truly is a treasure trove of bizarre films gathered from Troma's 40 years of existence. Cartoons, movies, web shows... the channel's got it all!
Boom! That's it for this week, ladies and gents. I'll catch you all next SATURDAY with a handful of interesting shorts you might want to check out. Have a great week, be safe, be crazy, go make something awesome!
SATURDAY SHORTS 2012
SATURDAY SHORTS 2013
SATURDAY SHORTS 2014
The Off Season; Why Does My Girlfriend Text So Much?; Landscape; The Magician (1/3/15)
Atropa; Good Conduct; Ulla; Blackouts; Pizza And Bullets (1/10/15)
Vicki; Strange Thing; Kill The K-Cup; The Grandson; The Dark Walk Backward (1/24/15)
Leonard In Slow Motion; A Good Man Is Hard To Findl The Baker; Certified; Chloe (1/31/15)
Old/New; Alexia; The Beating; Temblor; Royal Blood "Out of the Black" (2/7/15)
Hibernation; Good Morning; Refrigerator; Bar Talk; A Lady & A Robot (2/15/15)
Fish Friend; The Outer Darkness (Part 1); Bus Stop; Don't Look There; Valentine (2/21/15)
The Gold Sparrow; The Brain Hack; Blood Drinker; Meet Your Maker; Al Pacino As Han Solo (2/28/15)
The Pavement; Breathe; The Black Rock Mountain; Plain Clothes; Whispers (3/7/15)
Sequence; Teasers; Static; I do; Point Of Interest (3/14/15)
Moonwatch; Robert's Circle; Tongues; No more Tomorrows; Slit (3/22/15)
Terminal; Windscreenwiperman; Ringo; Sunglasses; Sundays (3.28.15)
Trunk Troubels; The Last Time I Saw Richard; One Thousand Years; Tourists; Tides Of Change (4/4/15)
Moments; SBCR | The Grid; If One Plays Music; One In A Million; Don't Hug Me I'm Scared 4 (4/11/15)
Burnt Grass; Manicorn; Dear Friend; L'invitation Au Voyage (4/18/15)
Bad Guy #2; State Zero; No Help; Attack of the Brainsuckers; Super Mario Taken (5/23/15)
Predator: Dark Ages; Imprints; Back To The Fuhrer; Crime And Punishment (5/30/15)
Frames; Crow Hand; Streamline; Good Treatment; Remains; Scorpion Vs. Jason (6/6/15)
Dollar Night; A Modern Marriage; Hideaway; Jurassic World Trailer Parody (6/13/15)
Waterborne; Gotcher; Bloomers; Savage | Like Michael Jackson; A Killer Of Men (6/21/15)
The White Wolf; What You Can Burn; Pedal; Domestic Protocol; Grady Franey - Safe Word (6/27/15)
Meltdown; Blood From A Stone; The Gate; Memorize; Abe; The Visitant (7/4/15)
The Lamp; Time To Kill; Woodchuck City; A Good Fish; The Untrained (7/25/15)
Night Before The Morning Sun; Exit Strategy; DEADline Dawn; Derby City Rollergirls (8/22/15)
Whistle; Becoming; City In Crisis; Las Cosas Raras (8/29/15)
Grand Zero; Gummi; Dave Ruins Wedding; Andras Ostrom - Massive Sonata; Thoughts (9/5/15)
Bookie; Coup Mirage: Destroying The Illusion; Redaction; Wicked Sway; Double Trouble (9/26/15)
Bobby & The Samurai; The Pale Moonlight; Sector Zero 4; Singularity; Valentine Surprise (10/10/15)
Mineral; The Challenger; One Behind; Charile; Frank & Zed Official Trailer (10/17/15)
Time After Time; &U&I - The Artist; Future Loins; Hippo Funk; Jurassic Job Hunt (10/24/15)
Invaders; Singularity; Whispers; The Present; The Ramens (11/28/15)
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
