Medium Cool: 3 (not so) Shorts

Shorts Program, Festival Favorites
D: Spike Jonze (“I’m Here”), Jordan Vogt-Roberts (“Successful Alcoholics”), Holden Abigail Osborne (“Solitary/Release”)

Being realistic, most people attended this program of half-hour short films to see Spike Jonze’s “I’m Here.” And while it reminded me of Jonze’s video for Daft Punk’s “Da Funk,” the robots manage to be remarkably lovable despite the fact that they only have CGI eyelids and mouths to express emotion. The robot romance has impeccable pacing and a hipster cache that Jonze has always used as a tool rather than a weapon. “Successful Alcoholics” is the story of a remarkably wasted couple and their even more remarkable ability to succeed in life. The movie is thankfully short of obvious pratfalls, instead opting for out-of-the-blue one-liners that floored the audience again and again. The third offering, “Solitary/Release,” had a narrative portion starring James Franco bookended by two documentaries about the brother of director Osborne and his trips in and out of jail. The end result is a bit convoluted but never lacking in originality.

Wednesday, March 17, 6:30pm, Ritz 2

This article appears in March 19 • 2010.

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James graduated from Columbia University in 2000 and moved to Austin a year later. Ever since, he has followed the arts and video game scene in ATX, editing and writing stories for the Chronicle along the way. Over his more than 20 years with the paper he has climbed the "corporate" ladder from lowly intern to managing editor.