Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Rectangular_businessman While at first this animated short seems like another random comedy from Don Hertzfeldt (Like the hilarious "Rejected") he truth is that this is something much more complex than that, being both nightmarish and thoughtful.Like in most Don Hertzfeldt's shorts, everyday life is portrayed as something incredibly bizarre, and while there are several hints of black humor, the mood in this short is somewhat different than in the other works from the same director: In many ways, the story is way darker and (even) more surreal. There are reminiscences to the works of David Lynch (For example, at one moment, the nightmares of the main character are portrayed through live action; while that sequence is quite brief, the imagery used on it is incredibly unsettling) I think that in the hands of other director, the same story would have done as something boring and melodramatic. But Don Hertzfeldt manages to make even the most twisted aspects of the stories from his shorts into something fascinating, being truly unpredictable in its development.Hertzfeldt, like Jan Svankmajer, the Brothers Quay and Bill Plympton remains faithful to his particular style (Both in the narrative and visual aspect) having a unique vision of the world and the reality, a quality that only the greatest artist have.

ccthemovieman-1 At 17 minutes, this is a long animated short and one that might bore a number of people, but it was strangely intriguing. Basically, it's just a narrator seen on screen as a stick figure talking about life as it passes him by, his thoughts and some of things that happen to him. It's hard to explain, because it's bizarre humor. As someone who appreciates the absurd, I laughed out loud a half-dozen times at some of the crazy "observations" the narrator made.Our host, our main figure, has mental problems. Socially, he's a real loser but you root for him and even in monotone delivery, you hang on each word he says.....at least I did. Be warned, however: some of it is a little gross and once the narrator blatantly profanes. (This isn't something a kid would watch, anyway.) Visually, the artist varies from individual to multiple drawings on screen at once. You can literally see several of the man's thoughts at once as he thinks them. Most of the visuals are the stick-figure drawings but there are photos as well. You get a little bit of everything in this strange film.I also thought the first half of this was far more entertaining and the story and words get darker and more depressing and disturbing as the animation short goes on. If you are familiar with the work of the author of this piece, you know how sick and demented this "movie" might be to many people.This was included in the DVD, "The Animation Show, Vol. 3" and is very original, as the other entries are on this disc. It's also "not for all tastes."

J. Spurlin The banal life of a young man is represented by stick figures and described by a monotonous narrator. We hear about his moments of awkward social behavior, the silly ideas that occur to him, his goofy thoughts about death and dying; the stick figures and the narration make the banality funny. The audience laughs.Then the one-joke premise overstays its welcome. We're waiting for this thing to end, barely aware that the writer and director Don Herzfeldt, through his narrator, is sneaking in some disturbing items on the list of banalities. It hits most of us that something is seriously wrong when the young man notices a trickle of urine sliding down his pants leg. Is he sick? It turns out he is, both mentally and physically; and it seems he may die. We see, and hear about, the reactions of his mother and uncle. They buy a casket for him. He loses control of his mind.I found this animated short about illness and madness very moving. I know how I feel about it, but what did I think of it? Did Herzfeldt intend to make a short that initially appears to us as a one-gag cartoon? Whether he intended it or not, was this a mistake? Did it add to or subtract from our reaction to the second half? Did Herzfeldt intend to amuse us, then bore us, then frighten us, then sadden us? Is telling a serious story with stick figures a kind of joke? Or were the stick figures the most effective way of telling the story? Or both?In asking these questions, I think I've come up with my own answers. I think Herzfeldt intended the effects he got, and I think they were good ideas. This film is highly recommended.

flux-compacitor This Animation was truly wonderful, I saw it during the Animation Show 3, and was simply amazed. People may call Hertzfeldt's work "bad" because of the lack of detail in the frames, well, I oppose that. Hertzfeldt wastes no time in making his frames into ultimately perfected pieces of Art. The narration (which I assume is Hertzfeldt) is hilarious as it revolves around a "special" time in Bill's demented life, ranging from trips to the local grocery store with the crotch-fruit to having his head sent in to space (which his ex-girlfriend feels uncomfortable about). As the film progresses, you find out that not "everything will be okay", but then it is for two days, then it isn't, but the next day, he feels better, and truly, everything will be okay.