Reviewer's Bias*
Loves: Wholphin, Good shorts
Likes: DVD magazines, interesting science, out-there movies
Dislikes: meandering films
Hates: Getting depressed by documentaries, bees

The Story So Far...
Wholphin, part of the McSweeney's empire, releases a quarterly DVD magazine, which collects, as the subhead (which has changed back to that seen on the first four issues) says, rare and unseen short films. Five issues have been released so far. DVDTalk has reviews of the first five issues.

The Movies
As usual, there's no theme to the content in this issue, but you can find some connective tissue between various shorts that makes Wholphin a cohesive experience. Nothing's changed structurally since No. 5, so you can jump right in, starting with the menu films that play behind the film selection screen. First up is a selection of clips and shorts from Safari director Catherine Chalmers, seven minutes in all. This up-close footage of bugs, amphibians and reptiles is stunningly bizarre, and would seem like special effects if you didn't know it was real. I hate bugs, but I still found these pieces to be fascinating, like watching a real-life Godzilla movie.

Lucky, another menu movie, opens with the camera flying down a dirt road, setting up an excellent stunt short. To say much about the plot is to give too much away, but it's all about an escape that will impress from both a filmmaking and story point of view. The ending isn't half bad either, but it has a tough time competing with The Man in the Grey Suit in terms of pure thrills, as this seven-minutes of shark footage is simply terrifying, giving a victim's eye view of a shark attack, followed by a guy destined to star in the sequel to Grizzly Man, as he dives with sharks on his own, accompanied only by an unmanned camera.

The main features take the disc to a higher level, with one carry-over, as there's an excerpt from Safari, so you get more of the the in-your-face animal and bug action that should leave you with some nightmares. It's no A Bug's Life, but it's incredible to watch, with disturbing elements like a mantis methodically eating a fly. It's a touch different from the other nature documentary, Bigfoot: A Beast on the Run, a short about guys who hunt the legendary creature. The feel of the piece makes it seem like a mockumentary almost, but it's just the goofy subjects that make it lean that way. It's actually nearly sympathetic to the guys it profiles, while balancing ridicule and defense for the hunters.

The big short on this issue is a 30-minute excerpt from Please Vote for Me, a documentary on an experiment with democracy held in a third-grade classroom in China. A teacher with either a twisted sense of humor or a desire to enforce Communism among her students holds a three-candidate election for class monitor, putting a political machine in motion as damaging and corrupt as any we've seen, as the kids unleash their inner Karl Roves. It's a truly honest view of the dark side of democracy, because these kids are just being themselves in the system (of course influenced by the people around them.)

The film Force 1 TD is just 12 minutes long, but it's almost the perfect short film, following the misadventures of a trio of friends searching out a rare pair of sneakers. That's not all that interesting on the surface, but the fact that the sneakers are for a service Shetland pony changes everything. The unusual story is helped by very natural acting and clean, almost documentarian filmmaking, making for an enjoyable slice of life story (even if it doesn't have much of an ending.) Even shorter, but as impressive, is New Boy, the story of a transplanted African boy on his first day of school in Ireland, and the trials that come with being new or different. It's a bit harsh for a movie about kids, with some truly creative racism, but great anyway.

There's another short from that part of the world, as Britain gives us Silence is Golden, an explosion of creativity depicting a young boy from the '70s, who's dealing with an alcoholic mom and oddball neighbor by escaping into his own vivid imagination, which is depicted in the film through a mix of impressive special effects and animation. If I didn't know it was from jack-of-all-trades Chris Shepard, I would have guessed that it was an early film from Danny Boyle, as the energy and unique storytelling fits in well with the Trainspotting director. He's currently working on a film with producer Nira Park, who was behind the series "Spaced" and Edgar Wright's Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, which is exciting news after watching this short.

One of the best elements of Wholphin has been the rescripted features, which have been foreign sitcoms with new English subtitles. This time, we get Darling, Darling, an American short film with one of the characters dubbed into two new tracks, one written by Camilla Cleese and voiced by her husband John (a British TV actor) and the other written and voiced by Daniel Handler (creator of Lemony Snicket.) The original film, which sadly is not included, is odd enough, for reasons best left discovered by watching the movie, but the new versions are a touch beyond that, with Cleese making it sillier and Handler just making it twisted. Either way, for a fan of What's Up, Tiger Lily? these rescripted films are a lot of fun.

The final film is the shortest of the main features, at just six minutes, but On the Assassination of the President makes each one count. A faux debriefing video, intended for viewing following the titular event, it plays off the major conspiracy theories and creates a sense of intrigue and confusion. While no one would likely think this was authentic (it's a bit too polished,) the tone is perfectly disturbing and a lot of fun for anyone who likes a paranoid piece of storytelling.

The DVD
Once again, Wholphin No. 5 is packaged in a cleanly-designed digipak, with a tray on the left side and a 39-page booklet glued into the right inside panel, while a content breakdown is on the back cover. Wholphin stays loyal to the magazine concept right down to the annoying, yet cleverly-written subscription card that falls out.

The disc features animated menus with a list of content, but it's not your usual menu animation. What's in the background is the beginning of one of the shorts, which will keep playing if you don't select an option. This issue has five menu films, which can be chosen from a list in the lower right of the screen. There are no audio options, no subtitles and no closed captioning.

The Quality
Only one of the films included is presented in anamorphic widescreen (Please Vote for Me), while the rest are a mix of full-frame and letterboxed transfers. As has been the case with previous issues, the image is solid throughout, though there's certainly a range in quality, as films like New Boy and Force 1 TD look noticeably better than Bigfoot: A Beast on the Run. There were no obvious issues with compression artifacts, but the occasional spot of dirt could be seen on the lower-budget efforts.

Despite some very polished films, all you get are Dolby Digital 2.0 tracks, and though they sound good all around, you can't help but feel perhaps Silence is Golden or New Boy could sound better. There's nothing wrong with any of it, but it feels slightly "small," when the film feels like it should be "bigger."

The Extras
There are no extras on the disc, but the package has the usual fantastic booklet glued inside, with a well-written intro essay from Wholphin editor Brent Hoff, interviews with film creators and subjects, and short bios for the creators. Though there's good insight offered in the booklet, a commentary or two would have been nice.

The Bottom Line
Going down the list of shorts in this issue, there's not a weak link in the bunch, and there are some fantastic bits in the mix to boot, making this possibly the best overall issue yet. The quality of the sound and video is uniformly solid, though there are no extras in the traditional sense (which isn't a big deal, since the disc is so loaded.) If you haven't taken a look at Wholphin yet, this is a great place to start, with something for everyone.

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*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.