Before the Dawn of the Apes

I have been posting a lot of short film on the blog of late so I apologize to those who don't care about such things or, like my wife, refuse to click on video links.  That being said- Here is another series of shorts that I absolutely love.
When Rise of the Planet of the Apes came out I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and was happy with the direction of the reboot.  Movie reboots can be just plain awful and Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes reboot was a prime example of this.  But this latest attempt has been infinitely better, and I think it's even better than the old movies (aside from the original Charlton Heston one).
I had been looking forward to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes but wasn't crazy excited until I stumbled onto these short films that were made by three different directors and meant to show what happens during the 10 years between the first and second movies.  They make the post apocalyptic world feel very real and involve the viewer on an emotional level during a time that would never have been depicted in the actual feature movies.  Then there was the latest Dawn trailer and that solidified my new found excitement.


Spread of the Simian Flu (Year 1)


Struggle to Survive (Year 5)


Story of the Gun (Year 10)- I think this one is my favorite.  Following one shotgun and it's different owners from before the epidemic all the way through to the beginning of the upcoming movie is genius.  It expertly depicts the passing of time as well as show the severity of the human situation in a mere 10 minutes.

-Brian

Wes Anderson/Robert Yeoman Short Films

Over the past few months, I have been assembling all of my movies (DVDs and downloads) and organizing them on iTunes.  I then "Home Share" through my Apple TV which in turn gives easy access to my movie collection on one Apple TV app. It is truly awesome and it has made me acquire more of my favorites just to have them on there.

It's almost becoming a hipster cliche to talk about Wes Anderson movies, but I don't care.  He makes some great films but I also think we need to give a little more credit to Robert Yeoman, his cinematographer.  He has worked on nearly every Wes Anderson project and his shooting style is really what gives Anderson's movies their unique feel. Outside of the quirkiness of the scripts, the cinematography is truly what stands out most in their movies.

That being said, I wanted to post three Wes Anderson short films that I think are great.


Castello Cavalcanti is a funny little film with Jason Schwartzman being Jason Schwartzman.  I think this one is my favorite.


*Nudity and Sexual Content* Hotel Chevalier is a very cool short because it extends the Darjeeling Limited world past the feature movie with Schwartzman playing the same character in a moment before his fraternal adventure.


Bottle Rocket (1994) was Wes Anderson's first project and was a 10 minute short film before he got up the funds and support to make it into his first feature.  Yeoman was not working with him on this one and you can really see the difference.  It is cool to see the Wilson brothers even younger, but in the same roles as the '96 Bottle Rocket movie.

-Brian

Short Film of the Month- Mis-drop

Mis-drop by Ferand Peek from Ferand Peek on Vimeo.

I like a lot of different movie genres but recently I came to the realization that I am a huge Sci-fi nerd.  It is the genre I will always gravitate towards and am very happy when I find a well made sci-fi short.  

This one is shot completely from a future soldier's helmet cam. Nearly the entire film is just looking at his face and how he reacts to what is going on around him.  You get glimpses of action reflected through the glass but most of the story is built around the sound as well as his facial expressions.  It is a creative way to tell a story and forces you to focus on things you might not have, if they showed everything.  

-Brian

Short Film of the Month- The History of Typography - Animated Short

The History of Typography - Animated Short from Ben Barrett-Forrest on Vimeo.

This is an interesting educational short about the history of Typography.
I recently was designing a full page ad that was to be in a Hong Kong antique magazine and was having trouble finding the right font.  I am not a graphic designer but when it involves photography I can wing it.  I ended up going with a font called District Thin, which is a Helvetica based font and I sort of felt like it was an easy cop out since Helvetica is always used....everywhere.  But I didn't have time to play around with it too long.  My trouble with the font finding made me think of this animated short I found a year or so ago .  It's very interesting and the animation keeps you involved.
The only real issue I have with the video is the doughy softness and rosy knuckles of the dude's hands.  Not that I have Viking hands but guys with hands like that need to get out and do some hard labor and toughen them up.  If not, every meeting will start with a disappointing hand shake. Just saying.

-Brian

Short Film of the Month- Alive in Joburg

Here is my next installment of Short Film of the Month



This one is made by director, Neill Blomkamp, and was the short that inspired his feature length film, District 9.

District 9 is one of my top 5 favorite Sci-Fi movies.  It is a "realistic" vision of what our relationship could be with an alien species that comes to earth and tries to live among us.  Being from South Africa, Blomkamp, has good reason to imagine the human response to difference as one of fear and violence.
This short film is shot in the same documentary style as the movie and even has Sharlto Copley as the lead which makes both movies feel that much more real.

-Brian

Short Film of the Month- Robbie

Robbie - A Short Film By Neil Harvey from Neil Harvey on Vimeo.

With the movie Gravity winning Oscars for best directing, cinematography, sound, score and editing, I thought this short film I found a year ago would be fitting.  Gravity was an amazing movie and deserved all it won.  Robbie has a similar feel in that it's about one survivor on a space station living out the rest of it's time in space....alone.  The unique thing about this one is that the survivor is an android who has been around for a very long time, is self aware, and slowly running out of battery in the far distant future.  He is making his final journal entry to whomever may stumble upon it. It is surreal and sad, but interesting.

-Brian

Short Film of the Month- The Flying Man

Grace and I have switched days so now I will be the Tuesday poster.  I also wanted to do my Short Film post the last week of every month but that hasn't really worked out so now I am going to attempt the first Tuesday of the month.
Here is the next installment:

The Flying Man from Marcus Alqueres on Vimeo.

Superhero/Comic book movies are the big thing in Hollywood right now.  They have become a legitimate genre and with the help of the great Christopher Nolan, are award winning serious drama/actions.
This short film attempts to explore how a super powerful vigilante would actually be viewed (and feared) by the general public as well as the media.  It is under 10 minutes but within this short time frame it builds a very interesting story with some impressive CGI.  I would love to see this adapted to a full length thriller.
Man of Steel had a similar theme of humans fearing the unknown super being and I am curious if Zack Snyder saw this short before making his blockbuster.  I like this take on superhero movies because if I ever saw a dude who could fly, had the strength of a hundred men and could shoot heat rays from his eyes I would certainly be frightened and suspicious.

-Brian

Short Film of the Month- The Adventures of a Cardboard Box

Due to the Christmas and New Years breaks I haven't been able to post a short film for some time.  This is one I found a couple years ago and I never get tired of watching it.  It's clever, nostalgic, and just makes me feel good.

At some point every child finds the perfect size box that ignites the imagination and creates countless hours of escape to other worlds and exciting adventures. This film successfully builds a character from an inanimate box and even crafts a sentimental friendship between it and those who play with it.
The film itself isn't masterfully shot but it's simplicity and theme keep you involved.

The Adventures of a Cardboard Box from Studiocanoe on Vimeo.

-Brian