“Chainsaw Maid” is a short animated film by Takena Nagao, an awesomely disgusting claymation blood feast. The film tells the story of a sexy faithful maid who will go any distance to give satisfaction to her employers. She certainly won’t be stopped by a bunch of bloodthirsty brain eating zombies. The brutal clay splatter starts out slow, but it quickly turns into a blood bath as the devoted maid tries to fend off the zombies and takes the last resort of wielding a chainsaw. Clay never looked so wondrously violent until “Chainsaw Maid” came along!
This piece presents a number of colorful illustrations from the film, as well as the wicked claymation blood feast, “Chainsaw Maid.”
Please visit my website to view the colorful illustrations and this wondrous, disgustingly violent claymation blood feast:
“The Grey Dress in New York” is an intriguing, captivating short experimental art film by Pierre St-Jacques, which has been screened at art and film festivals around the world. The film is loosely based on Alain Robbe-Grillet’s novel “Project for a Revolution in New York.” Robbe-Grillet’s novel (as well as many of his films) exploits pornographic motifs and the imagery of potential sexual violence. “The Grey Dress in New York” focuses on short moments of longing for love and the need to desire. A woman in her apartment is getting ready to go out, she's ironing her grey dress. A man comes up the stairs, presumably to meet her, but this uncertain. The style echoes that found in Robbe-Grillet’s book, one of elipses and repeating patterns, and because of those structures one is never quite certain what the intentions of the characters are.
The central theme of “The Grey Dress in New York” is one of longings for desire. Desire for the other and also for the self; each character is very self possessed and in many ways very full of flourish. The film is ultimately a test of desire for the viewer, who sees the story evolve and builds certain expectations that are as much a part of the story as is the main narrative thread.
This piece presents a number of color photographs, the intriguing and engaging surreal film “The Grey Dress in New York” and the extended trailer for Alain Robbe-Grillet’s darkly dreamlike 1961 film, “Last Year at Marienbad.”
Please visit my website to view the photographs, as well as the very compelling short films:
Unfortunately, Andy Warhol’s not around to enjoy the fabulous joke of his pictures of money grabbing so much money. His 1962 silk-screen painting “200 One Dollar Bills” sold for $43.8 million at Sotheby’s this week, more than four times its estimated selling price. The seven-and-a-half-foot-wide canvas, one of Warhol’s first silk-screen paintings, looks like just what you’d think: 200 one-dollar bills. The current record for a Warhol painting is $71.7 million for “Green Car Crash,” which was sold at Christie’s in 2007. Yes, if you just take a wide look at today’s contemporary art world, that confection of bucks, puff and street smarts, you realize anew that Andy Warhol was the big daddy of it all.
But is this painting, a solid wall of greenbacks, really beautiful? Well, in the art world Warhol completely changed our idea of beauty so, yes, it is. He was also one of the first modern artists to say out loud that money itself is beautiful, is art, which has helped create the reality that, aesthetically speaking, it is as often as not, the price tag, not what it’s attached to, that generates value. So the new owner of “200 One Dollar Bills” got a funny old print on canvas all tarted up with some paint, which he or she succeeded in making super-famous and valuable by paying so much for it. Wow. That’s talent. And as for Warhol, did he already suspect in 1962 that in making his art he would be so good at printing money for many, many years? He was such a cultural clairvoyant, you just know he knew.
This piece includes photographs of Warhol's painting, as well as the short video, “Warhol's 200 One Dollar Bills.”
To view Warhol's painting and the video, please visit my website:
Snaking along, cutting through fields and streets, the 28-mile-long Berlin Wall stood as a border between East and West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. On November 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall, a symbol of oppression since it was erected, was opened by East Germany, leading to days of emotional celebrations. The fall of the Berlin Wall set in motion several important events, including the eventual reunification of the two countries on Oct. 3, 1990; the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe; and the eventual dissolution of the Soviet bloc in December 1991.
This piece includes a number of vintage photographs, as well as a historical short film on the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Please visit my website to view the vintage photographs and the historical short film:
Grizzly Bear’s new album “Veckatimst” has given birth to another aesthetically appealing video. Artist Allison Schulnik has created a mesmerizing smeary rainbow-dripped claymation landscape for “Ready, Able.” It’s a hauntingly surreal mix of sadness, repulsion and a kind of otherworldly beauty. Why is that one blob thing melting? Why are those faces turning inside out? And why do I get so depressed watching all of it?
This piece includes colorful illustrations, as well as the surreal music video, “Ready, Able.”
Please visit my website to view the illustrations and this very strange music video:
Yes indeed, Susan’s Back! I must admit, no matter how many snarky comments people make about Susan Boyle, I have a very warm spot in my heart for her. On Tuesday night, Susan Boyle made her American television singing debut in Los Angeles on Dancing with the Stars, and she's sounding and looking better than ever. Susan sang “I Dreamed A Dream” while Dancing With the Stars professionals Tony Dovolani and Chelsie Hightower danced.
This piece includes a number of color photographs and a HQ music video of Susan Boyle's performance on Dancing With the Stars.
Please visit my website to view the photographs and wonderful music video:
“Lucky” is a 2-minute animated short film by Yibi Hu, who describes his main inspirational idea as an enigmatic but riveting vision of the potential warmth of humankind. “Lucky” is an illustrative and evocative portrait of captivated animals, who suffer but ultimately survive in the gap between nature and humanity.
This piece includes a number of illustrations from the film, as well as the emotionally evocative animated short, “Lucky.”
To view the illustrations and this wonderful animated short film, please visit my website:
American’s are deeply saddened by the shooting tragedy at Fort Hood, an attack by Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan on Thursday that killed 13 people and wounded 30 others on the Texas base. Fort Hood is the largest U.S. military facility in the world and a major center for soldiers being deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. It also also houses the Army’s Warrior Combat Stress Reset Program, which helps soldiers deal with post-traumatic stress when they return. In both cases, upon deployment and return home, soldiers attempt to deal with serious emotional issues and many seek tattooing as a way to express them or even see the process as therapy.
“Tattooed Under Fire” is a documentary that follows the young men and women at Fort Hood who seek solace at the tattoo studio, confessing fears, expressing anger, sharing secrets and relaying personal stories about the war. Watching clips from the film now, seeing young, buzz-headed men and women describe their motivations for getting inked with caskets and corpses, one can’t help but to begin getting a feel for the intense experiences that become material for their body art.
The film was created long before Thursday’s mass shooting; isn’t a retroactive explanation for the shootings on Thursday. But the film may nevertheless offer some insight into the tragedy in its depiction of the stress and anguish of military duty, of the horrors of war even in the relative comforts of home. As one soldier explains, “The more times I go over, the more of Iraq’s going to come back with me.”
This piece includes a number of color photographs from the film, as well as two videos from the documentary, “Tattooed Under Fire.”
To view the photographs and watch the two very powerful videos from the documentary, please visit my website:
“Starless Night” is a beautiful, inspiring 2-1/2 min. animated short film by Spanish filmmaker Carl Luc Campbell. This “tradigital” animation is about a cat, a dog and a long sleepless night. It tells the story of a cat who’s in love with the stars and becomes very sad when they suddenly disappear one night. Fortunately, her canine friend comes up with a plan to make the night sky shine for her once more. You see, even dogs and cats can find a way to help each other out on a starless night. Sweet.
This piece includes a number of colorful pictures from the film, as well as the very tender and moving animated short, “Starless Night.”
Please visit my website to view the illustrations from the film and this inspiring animated short:
OMG...that sure is a very tall, high wooden fence they built right there. Makes that Mr. Rogers type of guy be wondering why on earth he should be worrying about a little dog kept back in the yard behind such a big, tall fence. But that fellow had better watch out for himself. Why? 'Cause that little dog behind there is like super-dog, faster than a speeding bullet, able to leap tall buildings at a single bound! Yep, I'd tell that Mr. Rogers-guy that he sure better watch out!
This piece includes color illustrations and the very funny 15-second animated short film.
Please visit my website to watch this weirdly funny animated short:
“Un Tour de Manège” (A Ride on a Fairground Carousel) is an enchanting animated short film by Les Manèges, four young French filmmakers from Gobelins in Paris. The film is a metaphoric fairy tale in which a magical carousel takes a little girl on the ocean voyage of a lifetime. It’s a story about childhood fears of early separation from the mother, and of being thrust all alone into the vast ocean of life.
On the little girl’s voyage she’s cast adrift in the ocean where other carousels abound, some inhabited by boys with threatening wolves, and where she must navigate dangerous whirlpools with the assistance of fluttering insects. In the end, the girl is magically saved and returned to the soothing arms of her mother, at which point she secretly turns to the audience and mischievously winks to let us know that in spite of the dangers, she had quite enjoyed herself.
This piece includes a number of pastel watercolor illustrations from the film, as well as the enchanting animated short, “Un Tour de Manège.”
Please visit my website to view the colorful illustrations and this wonderful film:
“Kicks 4 Cranes” is a hauntingly lovely short film by Seattle-based filmmaker Matt Cibelli, a film that’s sure to please both crane lovers and shoe fetishists. Cibelli’s work shifts between narrative and experimental styles with a beguiling sense of simplicity, contrasting beautiful scenes of construction cranes with a bemused audio track of women talking about their collections of shoes.
“Kicks 4 Cranes” is a hypnotic piece of work, and like all good experimental films, in the end its subjects are even more mysterious than before. However, it also evokes considerable attention to the way in which beauty often needs to be constructed and maintained, not unlike a giant office building. And the film does the obverse as well, showing us that a giant, gleaming construction crane against a sky can, in its own way, be as enticing as a pair of fashionable pumps.
This piece includes a number of colorful photographs from the film, as well as the amazingly hypnotic short, “Kicks 4 Cranes.”
Please visit this website to view the photographs and wonderful short film:
The Iron Boy (2006) is a gem of a short film from Australia. This eerie and dramatic film is wonderfully shot with dark undertones, and the spooky soundtrack compliments it perfectly. It stars Rebecca Cole and Peter Anderson and was created by Swingtime Creative. (full review: http://www.dainsmoviereviews.com/2009/11/iron-boy-film-review.html)The Iron Boy (2006) is a gem of a short film from Australia. This eerie and dramatic... more
“Between” is a 4-minute short experimental film by the German filmmaker Tim Bollinger. The film has been described as a dark, surreal piece that travels through grounds and walls and into moments stuck in time. As Bollinger describes it, “It’s a journey through worlds of the subconscious, allowing us to catch sinister glimpses of the human psyche’s ambivalence.” Its complex combinations and the resulting visions evoke a stroll in between different senses, caught up in an endless loop within our inner life, where the exit is the only entrance.
This piece includes a number of color photographs from the film, as well as the surreal experimental short, “Between.”
To view the photographs and the short film please visit:
Woweee, I certainly didn't expect to run across such a scene like this right in downtown New York City! I mean, I've heard about some of the big high roller whales in some of those big casinos, like in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. And even read about ever-so-richly-rich peoples, who spend crazy-freely and extravagantly for all kinds of luxuries and weird entertainment. But I never actually saw a high roller like this one, right smack-dab in the middle of Manhattan. Nope, never did...'til now. So I just had to put a music video in here, to go along with this picture of the incredible city-guy high roller.
And you can take a big looky-see and also hear it all for yourself right here:
“George Washington” is David Gordon Green’s acclaimed impressionistic Southern Gothic debut film, which one reviewer described as “within a heart-shot of William Faulkner.” Green won the Best First Film prize from the New York Film Critics, the Discovery Award at Toronto and the Best Director Prize at The Newport Film Festival.
Green’s feature debut is a seamless blend of subjectivity, pseudo-documentary, evocation of childhood and mythopoeia. In an impoverished small town in North Carolina, various misfit and poor children converse. “Look at this place,” one boy says to another. “It looks like two tornadoes came through here.” The town is dilapidated; one of the “tornadoes” may have been the Great Depression. Shots of railroad tracks suggest dreams of getting out. But during the course of the film, death hovers: a boy dies; as a result, another boy feels that God’s judgment is close; another boy almost dies; a boy’s dog dies. The underlying theme of “George Washington” is clearly “the loss of all things.”
This piece presents a number of color photographs from the film and three videos. The videos include the hypnotic opening sequence of Green’s auspicious debut film “George Washington,” another video from the film described as an influential scene in modern cinema and an interview with Charlie Rose, where Green talks about his film “George Washington.”
This short film is about John who was born deaf and has gained his own understanding of the world through his conceived notion of what the world sounds like. At this point in time in his life, he is presented with a reason to restore his hearing. After gaining the ability to hear, he realizes something about the reality of sounds.This short film is about John who was born deaf and has gained his own understanding... more
“Skhizein” is a humorously strange animated short film by the French filmmaker Jérémy Clapin. The film has earned several awards, including The Cannes’ Kodak Prize for Best Animated Short and Animafest’s Best Film; it was a 2008 Oscar nominated animated short film.
What would happen if a 150-ton meteorite fell on you? “Skhizein” tells the very sorrowful story about sad little Henry, who did experience the terrible misfortune of being struck by a 150-ton meteorite, which resulted in the poor fellow being “split” away from himself, forever having to live precisely ninety-one centimeters from himself. If Harry wants to move or do anything like answer the phone or sit in a chair, he has to measure his distance 91-centimeters (3 feet) away, because he always exists 91-centimeters from where he used to exist. And if insanity is measured in centimeters….
This piece includes a number of colorful illustrations from the film, as well as the award-winning animated short, “Skhizein.”“Skhizein” is a humorously strange animated short film by the French filmmaker... more
This is an amazing picture! It has such graphic power, nifty use of a slight lens distortion, and some nostalgia too. Checkers were once synonymous with taxis, but they're very rare these days. Such a shiny Checker, it looks brand new! But really, this is a nicely restored very old Checker for sure; the last year that Checker cabs were made with chrome bumpers like this was 1972.
When I first looked at the picture, I personally found it hilarious, seeing it as a big yellow face. But then, when I thought of it again as the shiny taxi, I saw the man in the shadows back there getting into the car. And that reminded me of Joni Mitchell's sad environmental song, “Big Yellow Taxi.” This photograph is beautiful in and of itself, and there are so many things in here.
This wonderful photograph is accompanied by a vintage video of Joni Mitchell singing, “Big Yellow Taxi.”This is an amazing picture! It has such graphic power, nifty use of a slight lens... more
