POET ANDERSON: THE DREAM WALKER [2014]

Part of figurative space cadet Tom Delonge's Angels & Airwaves' multimedia project, The Dream Walker, the beautifully animated short, Poet Anderson, places the musician into the director's chair.
A young man discovers a world within his dreams, that leaks out huge nasty creatures called Night Terrors into his reality through lucid dreaming.  It's got the look of the colorfully enthusiastic Aoki Densetsu Shoot! placed in the dark worlds of Akira and Blade Runner which might not be all that original but is still appealing to the eyes.  It's action-packed but so much that it's fast pace never allows for the heart to get attached to anything.  One wishes just a few more minutes would be tagged onto it's 15-minute running time to allow for the viewer to familiarize themselves with one world before they're violently hurled in and out of the next one.  Tied together with an album, a graphic novel, a comic book mini-series and forth-coming feature length film makes me believe this might just be a well-produced test run that will lead into something far more bigger and fleshed-out.

3 Square and Compasses out of 5

LOVE [2011]

Based around the emotions and themes explored on the double album LOVE by atmospheric stadium rock band, Angels & Airwaves, this film is an interesting study of loneliness and the building the strength to overcome it. LOVE follows the story of a sole man in a space station orbiting Earth, when he learns everybody has died and he's left stranded with no way home.
Filmed in director William Eubank's backyard, it's quite noticeably made on a shoestring budget. Eubank makes the best of what he's got with beautiful and fascinating cinematography, while actor Gunner Wright is impressive considering he's the only actor on screen for the most part.
As a fan of AVA I had high expectations for this film. As a fan of film I had low expectations. In the end, those expectations met close to the middle leaning towards the higher expectations.

3½ Lite-Brite & pizza box space stations out of 5