Atom Films
Out There
Sunday, April 6th, 2008John Coven, 7:35—Originality is one of the greatest virtues a film can have. But few films are original, not in any grand way. Rather, they tell stories we’ve seen and heard and read hundreds of times before. The better ones present it a little differently, but the basics are old friends. […]
The Pearce Sisters
Sunday, March 2nd, 2008dir: Luis Cook, 9:15—In the words of its makers, The Pearce Sisters—a short film based on the story by Mick Jackson and produced by Aardman Animations—is “a bleak hearted tale of love, loneliness, guts, gore, nudity, violence, smoking and cups of tea.” And you know how well tea parties and loneliness mix. Enter the sisters, […]
Puppet
Sunday, December 16th, 2007Dir: Patrick Smith, 6:31—A wickedly funny short, Puppet is the latest work from master animator Patrick Smith. He’s made a name for himself as a fine artist as well as an animator, and even did a work-for-hire stint as a director for MTV on the surprisingly refreshing Daria. His four previous short films (the surreal […]
Holiday Romance
Sunday, November 18th, 2007dir J.J. Keith, 18:21—It amazes me that even Oscar nominated shorts are rarely seen by the general public and their names rapidly disappear into obscurity after the awards are announced. Well, here’s your chance to recall one into the light. And it’s just in time for the holiday.
Holiday Romance is a 1998 British comedy that’s […]
Dog
Monday, October 1st, 2007dir: Suzie Templeton, 5:38—We like stop-motion animation here at ShortoftheWeek. The first two reviews we posted, Game Over and Creature Comforts were both stop-motion (though we’ve inexplicably ignored the form since), but we are not blind to the perceived diminishing of its stature. The dawn of CG brought about a lot of eulogizing on stop-motion […]
Fourteen
Sunday, June 10th, 2007dir: Nicole Barnette, 6:22—A young girl somewhere in middle America turns 14 and her life is poised for a momentous change. The camera follows her on that fateful morning as she and her family prepare themselves for the new beginning ahead. That description may seem somewhat lacking, but it can be hard to write a […]
Rabbit
Sunday, June 3rd, 2007The children prepare to dissect a rabbit to retrieve a valuable idol that is hidden inside.
dir: Run Wrake, 8:34—This strange short story tells an old tale in a new way. Two ambitious, young children chase down a rabbit and find a small idol hidden inside. This idol has the odd power of turning insects into […]
Hello
Sunday, May 6th, 2007dir: Jonathan Nix, 6:32—An endearing animation about the struggles of love and self-expression. Hello’s characters are created from common audio devices—forced to communicate with what technology they have. A bumbling, young cassette player fumbles with his tape deck as he hopelessly attempts to capture the attention of the cute, digital girl next door. His earnest […]
Learn Self Defense
Tuesday, April 24th, 2007dir: Chris Harding, 5:05—This instructional film places our average Joe deep into a satire on modern foreign politics. When diplomacy fails (or is neglected), it’s time to fight. And as mathematics has proven, it’s always helpful to have God on your side. All you need now is an oversized cowboy hat and a jumbo pistol. […]
Spin
Sunday, April 15th, 2007dir: Jamin Winans, 8:15—In Spin, an angelic DJ is sent to a busy city block to mend a tragic accident only to find deeper issues bubbling beneath the surface. Using his “wheels of steel” to turn back time, the DJ finds that solving one problem creates another. When every element is brought in sync, a […]