I Killed My Lesbian Wife, Hung Her on a Meathook, and Now I Have a Three Picture Deal at Disney (1993)

Director:  Ben Affleck

Writers:  Jay Lacopo, Kamala Lopez

Starring:  Jay Lacopo, Karla Montana, Johanna McCloy, Tommy Hinkley, Harry Victor, Marilyn Pitzer, Harvey Stephens, Ellie Winkleman-Cabbage Valleau, Maria Dolores Rodriguez Garcia De La Pepa

More info:  IMDb

Plot:  A first-time feature-film director (who's also the writer and producer) is casting the lead actress. We meet him talking to his wife about the picture and the process. We meet the actress, Sandy, negotiating with her roommate and talking by phone to her mother. Then, we watch Sandy audition for the director at the call-back session; also attending are the casting director and the production company's sycophants. The wrinkle is that the director is a homicidal misogynist, his wife is tied up and hanging from the ceiling, and Sandy has something in her purse that bodes a rocky future.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  Nah.

This 14 minute film is most notably know as Ben Affleck's directorial debut.  Half of the plot is in the title and the other half is an audition for the lead female role in The Director's (Lacopo) first movie.  Lacopo knocks it out the park.  This guy looks the Hollywood type and looks like he's a nice guy until he opens his mouth.  And when he does, he's intense and scary.  The only other actor given a chance to show any skill is Karla Montana as The Actress who auditions for The Director.  She's great, too.  The auditions are taking place in a very small room in front of 5 people and it looks like a frightening process for the auditioners.  I like it just for the two lead performances.  They do a great job and it's surprising that neither one of them have done much on film or TV.   It's definitely worth a look.

The Autobiography of a 'Jeep' (1943)

Directors: Irving Lerner, Joseph Krumgold

Writer: Joseph Krumgold

Starring: ???

More info: IMDb

Plot: The invention and use of a jeep are described, from the viewpoint of one of the vehicles.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  Maybe.

Back during WWII they were churning out one Jeep every two minutes.  Wow!   This picture throws out a lot of information in nine and a half minutes and it's entertaining to boot!  It's great seeing WWII footage of the different locales from across the globe as well as, my favorite, seeing the vehicles go through obstacle courses.  The film is very informative and entertaining.  The way this film portrays it, this is one hell of a versatile vehicle and you'd almost be lead to believe that it was was going to almost single-handily win the War.  I can imagine how uplifting this would be to audiences at that time.  It's optimistic and enjoyable.

Android 207 (2006)

Director: Paul Whittington

Writer: Paul Whittington

Starring: Robots

More info: IMDb

Plot: An android is trapped inside of a large maze. The maze is vast and filled with many surprises.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

Anything stop motion animated has my attention.  This short film (10 minutes) is creative and fun.  The robot, Android 207, makes its way through a maze facing obstacles and solving puzzles.  The results of some are not as you'd expect.  It's got humor, suspense and it's clever.  Writer/director did a fine job.  Hell, just the design of Android 207 is creepy and badass.  The whole thing has a 1970s vibe.  If this had been presented as being made in the 70s I would've totally fallen for it.  It's on YouTube in full so stop what you're doing for ten minutes and perk up your day with this.  While you're there take a look at what else he has on his channel.  You can also get a DVD of Whittington's short films on Amazon that looks to include a bunch of extras as well.  I might have to pick it up.

George Lucas in Love (1999)

Director: Joe Nussbaum

Writers: Joe Nussbaum, Timothy Dowling, Daniel Shere

Composer: Deborah Lurie

Starring: Martin Hynes, Lisa Jakub, Jason Peck, Jeff Wiens, David Young IV, Timothy Dowling, John Rafter Lee, Ben Livingston, Jeff Statzer, Patrick Kerr

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Dozens of years ago, in a nearby galaxy...

Plot: 1967 film student George Lucas has writer's block trying to finish his "Space Wheat" script, until a beautiful fellow student with a familiar hairstyle teaches him that the best stories are in plain sight.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Maybe.

"Well maybe you just weren't meant to write agricultural space tragedies." says the Princess Leia lookalike to the young George Lucas.  This is a cute story about the influences that surrounded a filmmaker struggling with what would later become the biggest movie franchise in history.  It's all for laughs and there are some clever gags and some too-obvious-and-silly-too-be-included-yet-they-were jokes.  The filmmakers go for the obvious but the final gag before the credits start rolling is hilarious.  I've seen this a couple of times now and I think I'm done.  Maybe in 30 years I'll dust it off.  It's only about 8 minutes and it's worth your time.