In these three short films, we examine key issues in the American cultural conversation—incarceration, race, life, death, digital culture, gender—through a distorted lens. They may be fictional, but these dizzying one-take videos do have the ring of truth.

David (segment "Hydrangea")

In these three short films, we examine key issues in the American cultural conversation—incarceration, race, life, death, digital culture, gender—through a distorted lens. They may be fictional, but these dizzying one-take videos do have the ring of truth.
2017-06-01
10
7.5Four tales unfold in Wes Anderson's anthology of short films adapted from Roald Dahl's beloved stories, "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar", "The Swan", "The Rat Catcher", and "Poison."
7.4This collection of 11 short films produced by Illumination includes: From the "Despicable Me" franchise: Mower Minions (2016); Yellow Is the New Black (2018); Competition (2015); Cro Minion (2015); Binky Nelson Unpacified (2015); Panic in the Mailroom (2013). From the "Secret Life of Pets" franchise: Super Gidget (2019). From the "Sing" franchise: Eddie's Life Coach (2017); Gunter Babysits (2017). From the "Lorax" franchise: Serenade (2012); Wagon Ho! (2012).
6.9While changing clothes in a getaway car, escaped convicts Stan and Ollie mistakenly put on each other's pants. They spend the rest of the film trying to exchange pants in various unlikely settings.
6.7A documentary filmmaker interviews the now-famous Trevor Slattery from behind bars.
6.9Mater the tow truck travels from country to country as he retells his infamous but unbelievable stories.
7.1A burned-out paramedic tries to survive his last 24 hours on the job while training a new recruit.
7.1The Driver drag-races the Devil, in order to earn James Brown his soul.
6.3Charlie is released from prison and immediately swindled by a fake parson. A fellow ex-convict convinces Charlie to help burglarize a house.
6.7An aspiring young filmmaker gets involved with an eccentric gangster for the financing of his first film.
7.3A gentleman deals with the consequences of a car accident, which has left him with a spinal injury that means he has a permanent smile on his face.
6.3Seven mini-stories of adultery: a widow misbehaves at her husband's funeral, a wife turns to streetwalking for revenge, a prudish girl surprises, a neglected wife vies for her husband's attention, a fight over a dress, a death pact, and a detective revealed as a jealous husband's spy.
6.7Sometimes first love is found in the most unlikely of places, like in the carpark outside the Te Kaha pub.
5.9Kevin Hart - playing a version of himself - is on a death-defying quest to become an action star. And with a little help from John Travolta, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Josh Hartnett - he just might pull it off.
7.0The toys throw Ken and Barbie a Hawaiian vacation in Bonnie's room.
6.8The film tells futurist, architect, and inventor R. Buckminster Fuller's incredible story through two teens hoping to get laid, become punk gods, and survive high school.
6.0Stan complains of a toothache and he and Ollie visit the dentist. Ollie gets his teeth pulled by mistake. Under the influence of laughing gas, they leave and cause much commotion on the road annoying a traffic cop.
8.3Created for Disney's 100th anniversary, the short features Mickey Mouse corralling a gallery of legendary Disney characters for a group photo.
6.7A young golfer is mugged by an escaped convict and finds himself in a prison where he foils a jailbreak.
6.5In a life full of triumph and failure, "National Lampoon" co-founder Doug Kenney built a comedy empire, molding pop culture in the 1970s.
4.4Humans use technology to improve their lives, to forge connections, to create time that doesn’t exist, to replace real interactions. When we devise a second version of ourselves on social media, do we lose a piece of our true selves in the process? Do our digital connections threaten our real life relationships? What happens if the filtered characters we’ve imagined take on a life of their own?
A recent widow's life changing experience when her useless husband returns from the grave.
0.0An important man's death brings forth a secret, revealing a daughter from another woman, previously unknown to his wife - and bringing about the meeting of the two sisters.
Dot Farley is throwing a benefit for cats but hasn't any. This means she calls up her husband, Edmund Breese, to bring some. He being busy with business deputes the job to Franklin Pangborn. Pangborn gets office boy Ray Cooke, and in no time at all, Breese has fleas.
2.7An archaeologist and his assistant discover two female mummies in an Egyptian tomb with a warning in hieroglyphics not to wet them with the water in an urn. When they do, one mummy gets up to hi-jinks, while the other, Princess Itmay, does a burlesque dance.
7.0This delightful short is a world away from Tomomatsu's later works. It's a lovely story, told well. The reason that I tracked it down is because I'm quite a fan of Alice Sailor's music. She fronts new wave band Amaryllis and I was curious to see her acting. She has frequently supplied theme songs and other music to several of Tomomatsu's films. Indeed, the most disturbing sequence in this movie is accompanied by a psychotic Amaryllis track, 'Haha', and the closing piece is another Amaryllis song, 'Usagi'. This rip comes from the 'Eat The Schoolgirl' DVD, where it was one of the extras. Having just watched the main feature from that disc, I can say with some certainty that I found this tale far more enjoyable.
7.7In Donald Duck’s Christmas Favorites you’ll be treated to some of the best and most hilarious cartoon shorts from the days when Walt Disney himself added his magical touch to each film. The full effect of his presence can be felt in these sparkling gems that for generations have brought joy and laughter to kids and families everywhere. Want to find out how a real snow ball fight is done? Discover how to replace snow with popcorn? Learn how an alpine expedition should not be done? You’ll get all the answers you need in this collection of Donald Duck’s Christmas Favorites – a delightful winter collection from all of us to all of you. Features: Hockey Champ (1939), Snow fight (1942), Rescue dog (1947), Chip an' Dale (1947), Winter storage (1949), Toy Tinkers (1949), Corn Chips (1951), On ice (1935), Alpine climbers (1936), The art of skiing (1941)
5.3A desperate computer scientist struggling to fund her anti-depression AI application faces her toughest challenge yet.
0.0This is a sad tale of a noble lady who is entranced by an opera singer. Hoping to get closer to the singer, the lady takes up lessons with her. Despite their affection, they must face obstacles.
0.0The documentary sheds light on the lives of children who suffered physical and psychological trauma due to the terrorist attacks by Armenia on the eve of the Second Karabakh War.
0.0For love to travel for thousands of years, they will eventually meet.
2.8A ghostly love story unfolds as two men look for answers where ocean meets sky and city meets wild in Rockaway Beach, NY.
A high schooler who dreams of leaving her rural town for Tokyo puts out an ad for her job at her family's restaurant. Satoshi Yamaguchi directs.
The bobbed-head Ryoko is a shy middle school student. She has been living with her dad, just the 2 of them ever since her mother died of an illness. It was in this Aizawa household that 3 months ago, suddenly, that the Kansai dialect wielding Michiko with her hair fastened tightly above her head came in. This is the story of amber of the three whom were like a family and yet not.
6.9During the holiday season, when the animals of the Central Park Zoo are preparing for Christmas, Private, the youngest of the penguins notices that the Polar Bear is all alone. Assured that nobody should have to spend Christmas alone, Private goes into the city for some last-minute Christmas shopping. Along the way, he gets stuffed into a stocking
7.0In this animated short, a terrible curse deprives Balthasar's kingdom of its stories. Taking the unicorn's horn back into The Belly of the Earth is the solution. Poppety will lead an expedition, by chance uncovering a hitherto closely guarded family secret.