The Edge of Reason
By Robert Bell

A lot of what we have here is wilful delusion and distorted perception as forced narrative devices, which, when viewed in tandem, gives an overall feeling of unease and discomfort. This speaks to the strength of a lot of these shorts and the sharp instincts of the programmer, who decided to wrap things up with the latest entry in the Wallace and Gromit canon, which undoubtedly lightens the psychological weight of the proceedings.

Opening the program is a seemingly simplistic animated short about animal abuse called "The Black Dog's Progress," which may be little more than black & white drawings and stick figures but it packs a serious punch. In fact, it might be difficult to get rid of the image of the poor little puppy getting corn-holed during "Bipolar: An Interview with Richard," which is an esoteric performance piece about bipolar disorder that cites performed normalcy as a solution. Is "normal" watching home renovation programs and not wanting to slash your wrists?

The strength of next short "After Tomorrow" comes from not knowing exactly what's going on until the end reveal, which is both clever and heartbreaking. Needless to say, this film about a man being held captive by a peculiar woman and her daughter has more behind it than Kathy Bates and a sledgehammer.

On the weak end of this program is "Carpet Diem," which is thankfully only two minutes long and features a gay man saying something witty about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes. It's hard to imagine anyone caring, which is fine, as "The Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" is disturbing enough to wipe one's mind clean. This one is about a woman whose anxieties and fears manifest themselves in the form of potential violence towards her children.

"The Spine" is a sharp and incisive portrait of co-dependency, making literal use of the spine as a mode of finding strength in an abusive relationship. It's voiced by Alberta Watson and Gordon Pinsent, for the handful of people familiar with Canadian "celebrities." This same crowd will surely know the dippy Wallace and his beleaguered dog Gromit and find great amusement in their latest tale, which involves a black widow who tricks her way into their lives.
Annotations of an Autopsy - The Reign of Darkness
Blessure Grave - Judged By Twelve, Carried By Six
Magnetic Fields / Laura Barrett
Hillside Inside Featuring Owen Pallett, Ani Di Franco, Basia Bulat, Bahamas, Hawksley Workman
The Golden Filter / LA Riots / Junior Boys
Hollerado - Record in a Bag
Orphaned Land - The Never Ending Way of ORwarriOR
Pantha Du Prince - Black Noise
Watson Twins - Talking To You, Talking To Me
Buzzcocks - Another Music In A Different Kitchen / Love Bites / A Different Kind Of Tension
Sade - Soldier Of Love
Yukon Blonde - Yukon Blonde
Steve Kaldestad - Blow-Up
Galactic - Ya-Ka-May
Gil Scott-Heron - I’m New Here
Dawn Of Demise - A Force Unstoppable
Janine Stoll - Melancholia
Stygian - Fury Rising
Shining - VI — Klagopsalmer
The Kandidate - Until We Are Outnumbered
Troll - Neo-Satanic Supremacy
Meshuggah - Alive
Dark Fortress - Ylem
Massive Attack - Heligoland
Fear Factory - Mechanize
Reckless Kelly - Somewhere In Time
Arsis - Starve For The Devil
DevilDriver / Suffocation / Thy Will Be Done / Goatwhore
Asobi Seksu
James Blackshaw / Gary Higgins
Lil Wayne - Rebirth
Light This City - The Hero Cycle
Lightspeed Champion - Life Is Sweet! Nice To Meet You
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba - I Speak Fula
Georgia Anne Muldrow - King’s Ballad
Droids Attack - Must Destroy
Hot Chip - One Life Stand
Ellen Allien / Various - Watergate O5
Through The Eyes Of The Dead - Skepsis
Pierced Arrows - Descending Shadows
Rob Zombie - Hellbilly Deluxe 2: Noble Jackals, Penny Dreadfuls and the Systematic Dehumanization of Cool
Pawel - Pawel
Children Of Celebrities - Stereo Bang Bang
Midlake - The Courage Of Others
Guns N’ Roses
Julie Doiron / Attack in Black
Tegan and Sara / An Horse
Nouvelle Vague
Arch Enemy / Exodus
Between the Buried and Me / Cynic / Devin Townsend Project / Scale the Summit
Fucked Up - Couple Tracks
Magnetic Fields - Realism
Strong Arm Steady - In Search of Stoney Jackson
Harvey Milk - Harvey Milk
Basia Bulat - Heart Of My Own
Ihsahn - After
Living Sacrifice - The Infinite Order
Ihsahn - After
Steve Earle / Joel Plaskett
Scuba / Various - Sub:Stance
Make Me Young - Make Me Young
Taking Dawn - Time To Burn
Postdata - Postdata
Woodhands - Remorsecapade
Buraka Som Sistema / Various - Fabriclive 49
Beach House - Teen Dream
Los Campesinos! - Romance Is Boring
Various - Born Again Funk
Wetdog - Frauhaus!
Coolzey - The Honey
Rel!G!Ion - Revelations 1
Buraka Som Sistema / Various - Fabriclive 49
Chicago Underground Duo - Boca Negra
Cars & Trains - The Roots, the Leaves
Morton Feldman / Milton Babbitt / Phoenix Ensemble - Clarinet Quintets
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