Synopsis
Food and felonies are inseparable in Hardboiled, a stop-motion animated satire of the classic urban American crime drama.
Hardboiled
2022 Directed by Peter Sluszka
Cast
Popular reviews
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Hardboiled will be screened at the 2nd Academy of Death Racers Film Festival from the 6th - 22nd of January 2023. Get your virtual passes now by visiting our website.
[Animated Short Film Selection]
Food and felonies are inseparable in Hardboiled, a stop-motion animated satire of the classic urban American crime drama. Gritty, noir-ish, and absurd, the story follows the exploits of tough-talking detectives Harry and Callaham (an egg and a slice of ham) as they frustrate their boss, an irascible knish, shake down a sleazy bacon pimp, and tangle with a megalomaniacal strawberry.
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Loved the aesthetic! I was very impressed by the quality of the sets and stop motion itself!!
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The art direction of this short is great! The world built around various foods looks great, and leaves room for lots of great puns.
At almost a half hour long, though, the short is a bit overlong. It runs out of steam a little before the halfway mark, with a few too many detours taking the spotlight away from the central mystery. As well, while there are puns, it splits the humour between clever wordplay and crass, swearing food. Neither is necessarily bad, but they don't end up complementing each other well, so the film ends up feeling a bit scattered.But with its length, cast, and unique approach to animation, Hardboiled is certainly one of the more interesting films playing at this year's Academy of Death Racers Festival! Tickets are only $5, and make a great gift for a friend, loved one, or enemy!
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It's hard to avoid food-related puns here, so let's get it out of the way: this is overcooked, sour, and pretty stale. Terrific stop-motion animation in service of a one-note punchline that gets old fast. Anne Heche and Judy Greer deserve better.
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The gags are hit and miss but the movie is packed with foreground and background gags so even when foreground gags fall flat there's often something amusing in the background. Even at just 27 minutes, Hard Boiled loses the hook of weird delight that grabs you at the beginning well before the story ends.