Hello ladies and gentlemen, Muldoon here writing within the safe confines of my office away from all the hordes of Black Friday lingering zombies outside. I hope you fine folks had a truly exceptional Thanksgiving and got a lovely reminder of all you should be thankful for, for instance: not having a bunch of pilgrims arrive on your land then kill you after taking practically everything you hold true and dear. (Hey... wait a second...) I kid, I kid... But what I don't kid about is something I'm truly thankful for, the opportunity to share fun films with you all. What a lucky guy I am to get to see so many unique films created not by money hungry DVD sales driven silliness, but by passion from thousands of hardworking elbow grease powered filmmakers like myself. Sure you and I might not always see eye to eye, I'm certain there have been weeks you've scratched your head and thought "Muldoon's smoking crack, there's nothing here that interests me." Yet here you are today with fingers crossed hoping this week's selection might be right up your alley. Well my friend, I'm hoping and thinking you're going to be pleasantly surprised. The following films all contain one crucial element that I find special and worthy of my time and yours, audacious tenacity and the "do whatever it takes" attitude that it takes to complete something you care about. Sure, some might be a little rough around the edges, but there's a charm in that, a charm I'm willing to suspend a little disbelief for. So let's hop on into this week's picks, eh?
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:
HORRIFIC
TRT: 6:35
Director Robert Boochec's helping us kick off this week's picks with his horror comedy about defending one's castle. "It's Tom and Jerry meets Evil Dead in this story of a man defending his doublewide from an unknown predator." Boochec's also got a film, "M is For Masticate" that's actually one of the finalists in the ABCs OF DEATH competition. Congrats and nice work on both accounts, Boochec. Keep 'em coming!
HORRIFIC from Robert Boocheck on Vimeo.
REYNOLDS
TRT: 13:50
Gear shift time: Up next we've got a drama from director Jacob McCafferty that digs deep into the idea of PTSD, a genuine illness that lingers with our heroes well after they've arrived back at home, away from having their life on the line in the face of the enemy. "My brother Cutty Cuthbert plays the title character Marine Corps Staff Sergeant James Reynolds. Cutty also wrote and produced the film. I am an Iraq/Afghanistan veteran, and a former Army Ranger, and I can tell you, as a vet, that this film takes a significant look at PTSD, the veterans who have been illegally discharged from the military on the basis of personality disorder, homelessness among young veterans, and in a more general sense, the deep challenges of reintegrating oneself back into civilian society. I am very proud of what my brother and the Reynolds crew have accomplished." You should be proud, guys - damn fine film. If you want to check out more info on the film, be sure to check out the film's website: http://www.reynoldsthemovie.com.
STAR WARS DOWNUNDER (FAN FILM)
TRT: 30:58
Michael Cox, hats off to you. Director Michael Cox has been working on our next film for roughly ten years, shooting on film and working on VFX whenever he had the time. That's an almost palpable amount of love for STAR WARS right there. As much as I love STAR WARS, I think beer would win in a toss up for which I'd rather not live without. Beer happens to be exactly what this mini scifi epic is centered around. Bizarre, yes. "Star Wars Downunder follows one man’s quest to restore order to the galaxy with the purest substance known to Australians: Beer." For more info on the film, head over to its website.
PAPERBOY 3
TRT: 3:06
Pixie sticks and Surge/Jolt Cola. That's all I can seem to think about when it comes to our next short. Imagine if Uncle Lloyd Kaufman and the fine folks at Troma got their hands on the rights to make a Paper Boy movie. (Mind blown yet? No? Okay, then give the short a watch and that shall be remedied shortly). Newton Wallen's made quite a fun video here, so pop it in and take a quick dip into your childhood.
PLAN C
TRT: 7:33
50% live action and 50% animation? You've got my attention, but can you keep it? Joey Boukadakis sure as hell can with his odd film that explores unborn baby life (wait... I swear that's not a good way to describe it. Just watch it and ignore my two cents).
GIRL
TRT: 8:00
"In the dark woods, a girl in a cage awaits the return of the man with the knife." Bam! Simple premise, but a curious one that leads to quite a few questions. Charles Quinn Frutos has written and directed an engaging tale of terror, a lovely little lethal tale of suspense that'll give you the willies - the perfect short to leave you fine folks with for this week. Check out the film's Facebook Page or its website if you dare (Okay... I just couldn't resist a little cheese with my cliched text. Fun film, go check out what else he's got cooking.)
Girl from NW Filmakers on Vimeo.
KaPow! That's it for this week's selection ladies and gents. I know it was a little longer than the norm, but hey - hopefully it all just flew by like a jankety roller coaster of cinematic joy. I'll see you all next week with yet another wave of fun films created and submitted by fellow AICN readers like you and me. In the mean time, keep making awesome stuff.
Supernatural Goodness (6/30/12)
SciFi Explosions With Aliens (7/14/12)
Dark Comedy Extravaganza (9/8/12)
Goofy Comedy Laughsplosion (10/6/12)
Genre Basket of Awesome (12/1/12)
Horror-ish Creepfest (12/22/12)
Assorted Bits of Genre (2/16/13)
Laughter in Film Form (3/9/13)
The Sphere; Montauk; Meth; Anamnesis (3/30/13)
Stan Lee Parkour; Mediating Kidnapper; Red; Bullet Head; Shadow (4/6/13)
Carrot & Stick; Queen of Hearts; Paintwork; Trophy Wife; BFC: Big F*ckin Chicken (4/13/13)
Victorian Undead; The Glitch; Saw Misgivings; Dave Vs. Death (4/20/13)
Gratitude; Boo!; Game of Dim(Wits); How I Met Your Father (4/27/13)
Allure; Titans of Newark; The Knightswoon; The Magic Box (5/4/13)
Don't Move; Experimental; Blackout; Birthday Boys (5/11/13)
Abe; Judge Minty; Robto; The Bubble (5/18/13)
Unsaid; Time; Spare The Bullets Not His Life; The Forge; The Mortician (5/25/13)
Ice Cream; Giraffic Park; The Spell Book; Pop; Chris' Wire (6/1/13)
The Tea Party; Dawn; The Earth Rejects Him; Hangin; Faces: Why Do We Have Them? (6/8/13)
Dead-Funny; Dead Reel; Buckles; So Dark; Secret Identity (6/15/13)
A Killer Surprise; Hitchcock Assembled; The Arsehole Gene; Kill Him; Only in Dreams (6/29/13)
Mirage; Laundry Night; Kiss; Mathilda (7/6/13)
Machete Get Ready; En Passant; Eg Anda; Fade To Black; Shocker (7/13/13)
PostHuman; The Flying Man; Departure; Lucy; Nemesis (7/20/13)
I shot JFK; List; Ten Thousand Days; Sick Day; Bolero (7/27/13)
I'm Such a Carrie; Motherland; Mutt; Falling Apart; Save The Kiss (8/3/13)
The Olympians; Land Of Giants; Genesis; Melissa!; Vaccine; Promotion (8/10/13)
The Video Dating Tape of Desmondo Ray, Aged 33 & 3/4; White With Red; Sinkhole; The Autumn Girl; Melt; Ghost Train (trailer) (8/24/13)
Nitro Warriors 2; Vindicate; Ashtray; Three Legged Horses (8/31/13)
Sleep Walk; Star Drunk; Obsolescence In Love; Sunisoid (9/7/13)
Neon Killer; Future Duck; It Felt Good To Have This Pain; The Golden Age; Minotaur (9/14/13)
The Troll; Boats; Lucy; Until The End; We Are Brothers (9/28/13)
Battle For Employment; Mapper; Deep Red Dandelions; Applications; Trailer: The Fuzz (10/12/13)
M Is For Merry Christmas; Shellshock; Deadly Garden; A Decision; Elite Comics Commercial (10/19/13)
M is for Merman, M is for Midget, M is for Missing, M is for Messiah, M is for Monstricide (11/9/13)
Onionhead; Click; Tosser; Psycho Gunslinger; Bedbug trailer (11/16/13)
I am Vengeance; Silver Stiletto; Sleep Fighter; Frame of Mind; Trim (11/23/13)
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
