Boogaloo

Yesterday I went with my friend and debate partner and his girlfriend to the Detroit Film Theater for the films nominated for an Oscar in the categories of Short Animation Films and Short Live Action Films. The five animated nominees, plus an honorable mention, were short enough to all fit within an hour. My favorite was "Feast" by Disney, in which we see the love life of of a man through what gets fed to his dog. Great fun!

The five live action films took two hours. I have a couple favorites. The most bizarre was "Yak Butter Lamp" in which an itinerant photographer and assistant takes portraits of Tibetan peasant families in front of various backdrops of Chinese and Tibetan scenes. Yes, that's the whole 15 minute movie.

One that was merely strange was "Aya." She is waiting for someone at the airport in Tel Aviv. A driver is paged to move his car and hands her his sign identifying his passenger. When that passenger shows up she decides to pretend to be the driver and take him to Jerusalem. Along the way she wants him to talk to her rather than get some work done. I didn't care for this one.

Another I did enjoy was "Boogaloo and Graham" from Ireland. The father gives his young sons two chickens to raise. The boys give the chicks the names in the title, then overdo their tasks, taking the chickens to bed, declaring they'll grow up to be chicken farmers, and have become vegetarian (except for sausages and hamburgers). Quite cute.