Oscar-Nominated Short Films

Saturday was The Other Place.  Sunday was The Monuments Men.

Monday I went to a screening of all the Oscar-nominated animated and live action short films.  The shortest summary I can give you is that it was a great way to spend an evening, and I definitely got bang for the buck.  For the price of a regular movie ticket, I left feeling like I had seen a half dozen animated movies.  And then I did it again an hour later for the live action shorts.

I'll give you a brief thought or two on each of the films, but I highly recommend checking theaters around where you are to see if there are any screenings coming up!  (Links are to websites and/or trailers.)

Animated

Feral: A well-told tale, but definitely the darkest of the five.

Room on the Broom: A cute adaptation of a children's book, but a bit longer than seemed necessary.

Mr. Hublot: my favorite - a tale of a lonely man and his new pal.  Simply adorable.

Possessions: my friend M, who knows much more about Shitoism than I do, appreciated this one more than I did.  Even without that background knowledge, it was still an enjoyable tale.

Get a Horse!: classic Mickey, re-imagined.

Live Action

That Wasn't Me: the cringe-worthy tale of a child soldier in Africa.  I watched much of this one through one closed eye.  Part of it I could only listen to.

Just Before Losing Everything: I was surprised by how involved I got in the plight of a woman trying to escape her abusive husband. 

Helium: heart-wrenching.  Great.

Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?: an amusing peek into life with kids.

The Voorman Problem: exactly what you want from a short film.  Tells a story, makes you think, ends.