Love Death and Robots: Volume Three (Netflix)
Onto it's third volume, this now annual short animated buffet of the best of the best as curated by Netflix has become an undeniable treat for me personally. It's dark, tragic, scary, comical and horrific by turns, depending on the short, but they all fit into that category of short visual sci-fi thrills that only the most talented short film-makers can provide.
Three Robots: Exit Strategies
Our now three familiar robots are back again pontificating on humanity in the wake of its fairly recent demise as a species. This time we're led on a trip to look at what happened to both the richest and the poorest of human society and why it happened to them. Chirpy, quippy and witty most often, these three characters have become something of a regular and welcome feature of the Love, Death and Robots volumes. Really this is more of what you already know and probably already love.
"So long, and thanks for all the fish!" "Choke on it, skin-bucket."
We may have come so far, yet we still have Douglas Adams to thank.
Bad Travelling - Stunning. I do love a bit of crab.
The Very Pulse of the Machine - Pretty, trippy space walk but still a bit of a drag, if you'll pardon the pun.
Night of the Mini Dead
Unique, original, chaotic, terrifying and hilarious. All at once. I literally beamed all the way through. The most perfect ending to an animated short about the apocalypse I've ever seen.
Kill Team Kill
"FUCK YOU HONEY BADGER!!
I really felt it. Loved the script though not really my cup of tea and probably the weakest of the collection. Looks like someone watched The Second Renaissance a couple of times too many.
Swarm
Disappointing overall with an interesting premise. It looked fantastic. I think there may be a lesson of morality within, hence the title. I think calling it 'Hive', for example, may have been inappropriate if the short was anything other than it is. Needs a longer version as this feels unfulfilling.
Mason's Rats - Tender, easy on the eye, often very funny and reliably ultraviolent.
In Vaulted Halls Entombed
And the winner for best title goes to....
If you go down to the caves today, you're sure of a big surprise. Looks glorious and horrible at the same time. A little too much like someone commissioned a teaser for a new first person shooter, but then changed their minds about making it. Highly polished and quite grisly, but it lacks the soul it deserves. Cthulhu with guns.
Jibaro
Crikey, oh blimey. This is what you can do these days?! The animation is literally jaw-dropping and what I would have to describe as next level in quality. Never seen anything quite like it before. We all know what technology and a little imagination can do, but really, do we need real actors anymore? This brings that question closer than ever. Any relationship is doomed if your quarry is deaf and all you can do is scream. Powerful and insanely gorgeous.