The 5th Short Film Hall of Fame

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Brats (1930) -


Eh, it was okay. Slapstick comedy is fine and all, but I found the jokes in this one to be a mixed bag. Some of the gaps, like the ones where Hardy was hit in the head by various objects, for instance, were overused and stopped being funny fairly quickly, while some other gags were rather straightforward and had somewhat predictable punchlines. On the other hand, there were a couple of well-executed gags here and there, like the pool table and bathtub scenes, but I'd say the jokes missed more than they hit for me. I did enjoy the practical effects though. The oversized props were creative and I had a blast watching Laurel and Hardy interacting with them. That the props looked identical to the furniture they were based on further added to my enjoyment of them. This definitely made up for some of the jokes which fell flat for me. Unfortunately though, they only made up for so much and I'd still call the short average.

Next Up: Goodbye Mommy
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I forgot the opening line.
I might have a better feel for the short film format after this Hall of Fame is completed, but what the hell - nominating a film doesn't hurt, even if it comes dead cold stone withering last. I'm in, and after watching some neat horror shorts from Alter (check out Home Education), Oscar-nominations and winners plus general shorts from the likes of Jim Cummings and Guy Maddin I went with what was on my mind at the start. But I enjoyed my little short film festival, and I reckon I'll enjoy this Hall of Fame.
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Brats (James Parrot, 1930)

I don't know anything about Laurel and Hardy but there's not a lot here that would make me want to seek out more and whichever the skinny one is has like no charisma lol. The oversized props are good and there's a couple good bits but nothing really got a laugh out of me. Just kind of came and went.



Goodbye Mommy

This movie made me think about this quote from the movie Henry Fool: "an honest man is always in trouble." I mean, why bother being an investigative journalist, detective, or signing up for any other truth-seeking profession? When you're not watching your back, you're lamenting the breakup with your romantic partner, who probably left you because your job took up all your time. That's the situation in which our hero and hard luck case finds himself in this odd, funny and slightly frustrating short. I mentioned investigative journalist because the detective's city reminds me of the equally distinctive and weird dystopian metropolis in one of my favorite comic books, Transmetropolitan. That this city is ruled by a king and queen instead of a mayor is nice touch because it's funny, obviously, and for how it emphasizes how badly and like pond scum guys like our hero are treated by the very powerful. As for the aesthetic, it's delightfully odd - I'd describe it as looking like the video game Another World, but in 3D and filtered through a kaleidoscope - the highlights besides the city being the detective's constantly changing Memento-like tattoos. I can't say many good things about the sound mixing, however, especially in terms of the dialogue, which like the contrast between YouTube commercials and content ranges from too loud to unintelligible. Other than that, I enjoyed this tribute to the truth-seekers of the world and the strange way it empathizes with the overly tough lives they lead. Hopefully, there will come a day when they won't have to pin all their hopes and dreams on a Close Encounters of the Third Kind-like alien intervention for their lives to improve.



I might have a better feel for the short film format after this Hall of Fame is completed, but what the hell - nominating a film doesn't hurt, even if it comes dead cold stone withering last. I'm in, and after watching some neat horror shorts from Alter (check out Home Education), Oscar-nominations and winners plus general shorts from the likes of Jim Cummings and Guy Maddin I went with what was on my mind at the start. But I enjoyed my little short film festival, and I reckon I'll enjoy this Hall of Fame.
What was your nom?



Let the night air cool you off
@PHOENIX74 nominated the great The Heart of the World by Guy Maddin

I'll get the OP updated later today, but just wanted to make sure that it was known what was nominated.



Let the night air cool you off
Also, quick poll for everybody who is participating:

If the film The Act of Seeing With One's Own Eyes was nominated, would you still participate in this hall of fame? If you don't know what it is, I'd say google it before answering. This is a hypothetical, but if the only choices were to participate or not based on this one film being required viewing.



Also, quick poll for everybody who is participating:

If the film The Act of Seeing With One's Own Eyes was nominated, would you still participate in this hall of fame? If you don't know what it is, I'd say google it before answering. This is a hypothetical, but if the only choices were to participate or not based on this one film being required viewing.
I like gore and extreme gore but I know it's fake.

Not into real sh*t.



Also, quick poll for everybody who is participating:

If the film The Act of Seeing With One's Own Eyes was nominated, would you still participate in this hall of fame? If you don't know what it is, I'd say google it before answering. This is a hypothetical, but if the only choices were to participate or not based on this one film being required viewing.
Why do you ask? Just curious.



Why do you ask? Just curious.
Someone probably wants to nominate it.

If it's allowed, I will drop. Reading about stuff like this, I'm ok with. I know films are fake. Documentary like this aren't.



I've seen enough of it to know that I'm not in the mood to try again.
This is only my first HoF but it would never occur to me to force something like this on others. I mean, you can still nominate it but that doesn't mean I'll watch it. It's not like I'm going to jail for not following the rules.
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Someone probably wants to nominate it.

If it's allowed, I will drop. Reading about stuff like this, I'm ok with. I know films are fake. Documentary like this aren't.
I totally understand where you're coming from, I won't watch that either. Now, I've seen some gruesome fake stuff (thanks PahaK) and while I don't like it, I can watch it...but a real autopsy no thanks. I think that could trigger people in ways that are pretty bad and cause some real mental discomfort & mental issues for some.



Let the night air cool you off
Nobody is trying to nominate it. I'm just asking to find the line, so to speak. It seemed pretty clear to me that is past the "do not nominate" line, but I wanted to hear what the actual responses would be to the question. I don't know where the line is for what I wouldn't watch, but I would like to sniff out the general line.



I'm not crazy about seeing something like that either, I'm afraid. Besides, based on what I've seen of Brakhage, I feel like I'd struggle to write anything about it.



I totally understand where you're coming from, I won't watch that either. Now, I've seen some gruesome fake stuff (thanks PahaK) and while I don't like it, I can watch it...but a real autopsy no thanks. I think that could trigger people in ways that are pretty bad and cause some real mental discomfort & mental issues for some.
At least when I read the biography about Armin Meiwes, I could put the book down at times to let my stomach settle. Also, my own visualization is different than someone projecting what I have to see.



i do find it fascinating that we can all watch docs about the most horrendous things in human history no problem but the human body in a strictly medical context is way too much.



I mean, we do have Night and Fog though, which is about as disturbing as you can get with real-life footage of dead bodies.



I mean, we do have Night and Fog though, which is about as disturbing as you can get with real-life footage of dead bodies.
I have seen Night and Fog and even shared my dvd with ppl who enjoy WW2 stuff like that. I have seen several documentaries about the war camps but that one, for only being 32 minutes, hits the hardest.