The Most Interesting Ball
November 4, 2014 7:27 PM   Subscribe

Interesting Ball (NSFW) - A red ball bounces past a cafe and a couple folks’ houses and then goes to the beach.

From the filmmakers most recently famous for the music video for Lil Jon's Turn Down for What, this short film starts off slow before picking up into strange and new territory.
posted by CrystalDave (43 comments total) 30 users marked this as a favorite
 
WE WARNED YOU NOT TO TAUNT IT
posted by Mr.Encyclopedia at 7:40 PM on November 4, 2014 [16 favorites]


What is this I don't even.
posted by adamp88 at 7:46 PM on November 4, 2014


Well. That was weird. Any hints?
posted by twsf at 7:47 PM on November 4, 2014 [1 favorite]


I'm pretty sure this is a gutsy criticism of the cinematic 'perfect world' myth but it might also be a very creatively executed cliché that inadvertently functions as a gutsy criticism of the cinematic 'perfect world' myth.

Probably don't google cinematic perfect world myth. I made that bit up just now.
posted by an animate objects at 7:50 PM on November 4, 2014 [1 favorite]


best comment "Yes! I love how much heart this has mixed in with all the butts and murder."
posted by idiopath at 8:01 PM on November 4, 2014 [4 favorites]


I liked it. But a movie like that can't be cheap. Is it a viral ad for something, or is an art project?
posted by Dip Flash at 8:24 PM on November 4, 2014 [1 favorite]


This is the craziest Scientology superbowl commercial I have ever seen in my life.
posted by oceanjesse at 8:25 PM on November 4, 2014 [14 favorites]


My favorite part was the beach dudes forming into Voltron. It was reminiscent of Clive Barker's story "In The Hills, The Cities".
posted by cazoo at 8:34 PM on November 4, 2014 [4 favorites]


For those who like this sort of thing, here it is. For myself, I will do my best to forget it.
posted by SPrintF at 8:37 PM on November 4, 2014 [3 favorites]


It's been many many years since I saw "American Beauty", so I don't know whether or not to trust my first, gut level impression that this is the best parody of that aesthetic.

Pretty funny, in any case.
posted by Ipsifendus at 8:45 PM on November 4, 2014 [2 favorites]


Sort of like a Charlie Kaufman Apple Commercial...
posted by cacofonie at 9:07 PM on November 4, 2014 [1 favorite]


The description kind of undersells it
posted by Flashman at 9:11 PM on November 4, 2014 [2 favorites]


If you have to see this, don't do it before you go to bed.

This is nightmare fuel.

If you still want to see it, remember there are things that cannot be unseen.
posted by el io at 9:30 PM on November 4, 2014 [1 favorite]


How uncanny.
posted by grumpybear69 at 9:45 PM on November 4, 2014


What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on here?
posted by kjs3 at 10:00 PM on November 4, 2014 [2 favorites]


WAT
posted by ChrisR at 10:34 PM on November 4, 2014


I skipped to the end and missed the middle entirely. Does the middle part help? I'm thinking it might not.
posted by mochapickle at 11:37 PM on November 4, 2014


This is pretty good, and I'm happy I read the comments here, because the description severely undersells it. I clicked on the link, said "12 minutes of what sounds like it should be 2 minutes? No thanks", and closed it.

This is definitely not an amateur production, though. I don't know who paid for it, but color was done at MPC LA, which is a big VFX and post house that does blockbuster movies, and it looks like it cost a decent chunk of money in general.

Pet peeves:

- What's that aspect ratio? 1.59:1? You're not Cinerama, no matter how much you want to be, and going that wide is just a waste on computer monitors and HD TVs.

- The main title is just a little bit off center, and it really irks me.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 11:39 PM on November 4, 2014


That was unexpectedly amazing. I think. Still processing.
posted by sacrifix at 11:56 PM on November 4, 2014


I liked it. But a movie like that can't be cheap. Is it a viral ad for something, or is an art project?

the daniels = something of a hot hollywood commodity atm, sundance labs in 2013, i'm sure they either have financiers or can afford to bankroll this themselves.
posted by nathancaswell at 12:12 AM on November 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


Yeah, the description definitely undersells it, but I figured it was best to lead with the description provided by the video, rather than coming up with something which couldn't measure up myself.
posted by CrystalDave at 12:13 AM on November 5, 2014


I thought at first this was a trailer for a new Prisoner sequel, with a darker, grittier take.
posted by Segundus at 12:43 AM on November 5, 2014


That was a fairly interesting ball
posted by threecheesetrees at 1:17 AM on November 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


fucking Pennywise, has it been 27 years already?
posted by mannequito at 1:50 AM on November 5, 2014


I thought it was going to be this ball.
posted by asok at 2:22 AM on November 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


So, yeah, probably not sharing that on Facebook anytime soon.
posted by octothorpe at 4:01 AM on November 5, 2014


They forgot to have 99 red balloons go drifting by...
posted by jefflowrey at 4:09 AM on November 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


It clearly needed more penguins.
posted by oddman at 5:29 AM on November 5, 2014


What's that aspect ratio? 1.59:1? You're not Cinerama, no matter how much you want to be, and going that wide is just a waste on computer monitors and HD TVs.

5 seconds with SnipIt says 960x370, so 2.59:1.

Your comment made me check because while it was definitely not proportional to HD resolutions, virtually all modern TVs are 720P, 1080P, or 4K (1.6:0.9) and virtually every monitor that isn't 1.6:0.9 is 1.6:1.

Or maybe just a typo on your part?
posted by Ryvar at 6:14 AM on November 5, 2014


Three stories (written by three different sets of people) all on the subject of transformation through unexpected consequences of love. The red ball is love, enabling, surprising, distracting and self-destructive. It is to the disparate stories what the electron is to disparate chemical reactions.

It's yer standard Hollywood fare, only with more anal vore, broformers and the symbolism of the departed in self-propelled white goods.

Good stuff, but no Cat Soup.
posted by Devonian at 6:23 AM on November 5, 2014 [5 favorites]


Hey that was the "this is living" girl from the Toyota commercial.

"That's too small to be a real puppy."
posted by notyou at 8:46 AM on November 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


Before reading Devonian's comment, I was all, "yeah, murder that ball!"

But after, I'm all, "That jerk is the man who murdered love."
posted by notyou at 8:53 AM on November 5, 2014


I enjoyed this. Thanks!
posted by Fister Roboto at 10:35 AM on November 5, 2014


Ryvar: "Your comment made me check because while it was definitely not proportional to HD resolutions, virtually all modern TVs are 720P, 1080P, or 4K (1.6:0.9) and virtually every monitor that isn't 1.6:0.9 is 1.6:1.

Or maybe just a typo on your part?
"

Yes, typo, I meant 2.59:1, hence the "Cinerama" comment, Cinerama was 2.59:1. That was my point, it's not an aspect ration that's in use anymore, and it's not very friendly or useful on standard 16:9 or 16:10 monitors.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 11:33 AM on November 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


Metafilter: Only with more anal vore.
posted by Joakim Ziegler at 11:33 AM on November 5, 2014 [2 favorites]


Little known fact: XTC performed three gigs as Anal Vore and the Broformers in 1976, before Barry Andrews made them change their name.
posted by Devonian at 12:07 PM on November 5, 2014 [3 favorites]


I feel like it's trying to be sarcastic about how much drama mostly cycles around Teh Menz in the end, including the punchline that all the weirdness is ultimately about middle-aged guy getting the younger woman, but it seems like it falls short.

Although it might be a while before I see a self-sacrificing dude on the screen without thinking of anal vore.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 12:22 PM on November 5, 2014 [1 favorite]


Southland Tales suddenly makes a lot more sense now.
posted by extraheavymarcellus at 12:54 PM on November 5, 2014


The music at the end, coupled with the everything-is-connected-in-the-universe stuff, seems like a direct reference to the trailer for Cloud Atlas.
posted by eykal at 12:58 PM on November 5, 2014


I came to make a snarky comment about how chauvinistic dudebro jokes are getting more and more expensive to produce but decided to stay my hand upon reading CBrachyrhonchos' comment.

(And tbh I did actually enjoy it, it's Dadaist and funny and made me laugh out loud like some kindova American Funky Forest: The First Contact though, at the finale when it tried to take all these fart jokes seriously and force the old man on that self-respecting young woman, I got pretty uncomfy)
posted by Mooseli at 12:59 PM on November 5, 2014


I suspect that part of my interpretation comes from watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine for the first time, which is abusing the theme of teaching the value of life through senseless death.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 1:38 PM on November 5, 2014


I felt like it started with the inspiration of the old Sony Ball commercial and then went in a direction that said "What if we made it impossible to know what's going to happen next?"
posted by fungible at 7:48 PM on November 5, 2014


"What if we made it impossible to know what's going to happen next?"

I don't know. I thought all of the conflicts were rather trite, with the arguable exception of the dudebro golem/transformer tragedy. Even that symbolism struck me as fairly obvious. So you have the quixotic sublimation of grief, ending with "let him go." You have the tragic and stupid mistake manpain (the root of quite a bit of wilderness survival/horror). You have the male bonding blob ending with the sole survivor to tell the tale. There's the murder ballad melodrama. And there's the odd couple.
posted by CBrachyrhynchos at 9:38 PM on November 5, 2014


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