If you read last time’s article, you may have considered that the phone number at the end was a reference to Tommy Tutone’s classic song “Jenny”. “What does this have to do with the letter J?”, you ask. Has Fink finally gone off his nut? Nah, folks, that happened years ago. Lost my marbles and haven’t missed them a day!
For those of you out there who are Harry Potter fans, I offer you the lovely and occasionally talented Jenny Ringo. Jenny is a wonderful witch, with a lazy and often impaired boyfriend, who gets into more trouble that she can handle. Currently, there are three Jenny Ringo films. For the first time on Bloody Whisper, I am offering the entire trilogy for your viewing pleasure.
Jenny Ringo and the Monkey’s Paw (2011)
https://vimeo.com/31837521
Jenny Ringo and the Infinite Spell Book (2013)
https://vimeo.com/74421419
Jenny Ringo and the Cabaret from Hell (2013)
https://vimeo.com/72612296
Jenny Ringo is portrayed (with tongue planted firmly in her cheek) by Rosie Duncan. As hard as she tries to learn about her powers, she is often thwarted by the misadventures of her boyfriend, Gavin, played beautifully by Lukas Habberton. All three films are written and directed by Chris Regan.
Jac Mac and Rad Boy Go!
https://vimeo.com/97601636
I really couldn’t resist including this animated US short from 1985. For those who remember MTV’s “Liquid Television”, this was one of the short they showed. That’s where I first saw it. Remember those Driver’s Ed films you saw in high school? Scrap them! They should show this one instead! This was Wes Archer’s first foray into animation. Today, his name can be found attached to “The Simpsons,” “Futurama”, “King of the Hill”, “Bob’s Burgers”, “Rick and Morty”, just to name a few.
Jack
How about a quickie from horrormeister Drew Daywalt that will ruin one your childhood memories?
I’ve kinda run out of titles that begin with “J”. Furthermore, this edition’s short are longer short (two of the Jenny Ringo’s are at least 25 minutes). With that in mind, let’s go to a place that is the last place you’d think a short film would come from…Japan.
152 (J-horror film)
A tunnel. A mystery. Three curious teens. What else do you need? From 2006, this film is directed by Darryl Knickrehm, who, according to IMDB, spends a good part of his time teaching English. His goal is to “make a bridge between eastern and western cinema.” This film does carry many of the elements usually found in a Japanese horror film. I may have to view this one again.
Jumping
If you could jump, not just in place, but high in the sky. If you could go anywhere by jumping, what would happen to you? What would you see? Animation pioneer Osamu Tezuka (Astro Boy, Kimba) shows up what it would be like in this 1984 short.
That about does it for “J”. Hope you had fun. Thanks again to Vimeo and YouTube, along with IMDB, who I actually quoted from this time, and Wikipedia.
