Monday, April 12, 2010

Playlist: "Whistle"

I've always found most DVD extras just filler for filler's sake. Really, there are just so many gag reels and green screens someone can reasonably be expected to pretend to be interested in. (And I'm not talking about director commentaries, Vin.) However, one of my new favorite things is getting a director's earlier short film as a bonus feature.

"Whistle" was a particularly fun find on Duncan Jones' Moon because it's his only other work to date (2002 to be exact). And it's not just an experimental novelty, but an actual short film. It's the high-concept story of a really long range assassin who specializes in precise computer-guided laser killshots (yes, that is extremely freakin cool). But, of course, something happens--damn you, something! Since it's only 28 minutes, I won't say anything more, other than it's definitely worth watching if you get the chance.

As for Moon, Vin covered it in one of our first posts, but I'll chime in with a couple of things. If you don't know, Sam Rockwell plays multiple characters who are quite often filmed together in the same scene. The combo of his acting and Jones' directing actually made me forget at times that I wasn't watching two separate actors interacting with one another and that's a helluva feat. Also, I've heard this mentioned, along with Danny Boyle's Sunshine, as some sort of start to a smart sci-fi renaissance. God forbid. I'd rather get these gems every so often then have it become a "trend" to be co-opted and Hostelesque tortured into mediocrity by some studio hack.

No comments:

Post a Comment