The Shorts of Blood in the Snow 2016 – Part One

infernoGhost Can (Canada) (2016)
After going on a dark ride with her bad date, a young woman comes home with a surprise.  Written by Jordan Barnes-Crouse and Carolyn Williams and directed by the former, this short is fun, cringe inducing in parts and funny in others.  The acting by leads Ariel Hansen and Tyler Weeks is decent with a few hiccups, but the story and the titular thing that comes out of the titular ghost can are interesting with effects by Carolyn Williams.  The ghost is well done and the rest of the effects of the effects are uneven which does not take away from the ending.

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Birthday (2016)

birthdayWith “Birthday,” writer and director Chris King tells the story of thousands of heroic veterans and their courageous wives. Many of whom have to endure hardships and years of struggles after their loved ones have come home disfigured or crippled after being injured in combat. Stars Mandy Moody and Chris Gouchoe are superb as a husband and wife separated by thousands of mile as her Marine husband, played by Gouchoe, fights in the war. After being injured in combat thanks to a land mine, he arrives home with both legs and one arm amputated.

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3 Great “Harry Potter” Fan Films to Prep for “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them”

the-omen-hp-short

Pictured: The OMEN Chronicles

With “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” coming to theaters this week, some will binge watch (or read) the Harry Potter series (which in film form is just under 20 hours without breaks) while others won’t have time.  That does not mean there’s nothing out there for those with less time to get hyped about going back into the magical world created by J.K. Rowling.

One quick search will give you hundreds of Harry Potter related videos and shorts that you can watch on You Tube.  Of course, the quality of these varies greatly from “I can’t believe this is fan made” to “I can’t believe they’re letting people watch this” which is why we went through a ton of them to bring you some of the best ones out there.

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The Short Films of Ithaca Fantastik 2016 [Ithaca Fantastik 2016]

curveAs only a few short films were seen, here are mini-reviews for each of these titles.

Curve (Australia) (2016)
A young woman wakes up sitting on a curved surface, clinging to it for dear life.  This short is very simple in concept, yet possibly one of the most grim and dark short seen this year.  There is not clear, or unclear, way of the situation this young lady is in and signs are accumulating that others did not have any luck in her position.  Written and directed by Tim Egan, the film has no dialogue and only one character, making the most of its location and the situation the character is in.  The star, Laura Jane Turner, gives a very good performance and keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat as she tries to get in a better situation.  The film is grim and her performance suits it well, showing desperation and a need to survive.

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Hive (2016)

hiveIn the end what will win out and be our undoing will be apathy. It’s the willingness to just sit back and allow evil, to apathetically cling to our faith without challenging those that seek to do wrong. It’s our talent for not doing anything, and allowing injustice. It doesn’t matter what we believe, what politics we subscribe to, but when the world comes literally crashing down on us, we’re all just bugs ready to be squashed. “Hive” is set in a world where its breed of insectoid people have been split and divided by beliefs, religion, and class.

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Numb (2016)

numbRebecca Martos is a pretty fantastic and mesmerizing actress who manages to successfully lead what is an utterly compelling look at the state of grief and depression. Martos plays Astrid a young woman who has been driven to alcoholism thanks to her utterly consuming depression. Most of her time is spent in a perpetual state of numbness as she hangs out in bars and looks for new ways to feel something. She’s accepted a long time ago that she can’t feel anymore, and now looks for new sensations that could potentially drive her down a dark road.

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Gary from Accounting (2016)

garyfromaccounting“Gary from Accounting” sets the stage for the ultimate in awkward encounters where a mix up transforms in to basically a life crisis. After being invited to co-worker Nathan’s house, Gary from Accounting finds out that his wife Hannah, and her friend are staging an intervention to get him in to rehab for his alcoholism. What’s worse is that Gary wasn’t even invited and Nathan’s closest friend, coincidentally named Gary was the one actually invited for very crucial get together.

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