April 2004

Sharpe Sharpe's Bitch Vid by Fin (wmv). A vid which looks at the, ah, low-points in Sharpe's relationship with Jane (with added Alexis Denisof!), complete with Dick and Jane commentary. An unusual, funny, snarky vid.

Pirates of the Caribbean Consequence Free Vid by Sheila (wmv). A fantastic, upbeat but still bittersweet Norrington/Sparrow vid from Jack's POV which makes a sexy, slashy story out of limited source. What Jack wants a pirate life to be? Great timing, clever clip choice and a perfect song. One to mull over.

March 2004

Multi-Fandom Gay Bar Vid by P.R. Zed (quicktime). Hysterically funny and clever and just all kinds of good. A whole menagerie of fandoms looked at in the slashiest possible light.

Firefly Good Ol' Boys Vid by LithiumDoll (wmv). A Firefly vid you can linedance to! A frolicksome look at the crew, and the fun times had by all.

Firefly A Place Called Home Vid by Wesleysgirl (quicktime). A River-centric vid which did more with the limited amount of source than I thought possible. It's a sad and beautiful story, with great clip choice, eye for movement and flow, and subtle use of special effects. Wistful and lyrical.

Hornblower Tempus Vernum Vid by P.R. Zed (quicktime). A rich Horatio/Archie vid which hits just about every slashy highpoint there was, I think. Dramatic sadness and sacrifice too. Poor Archie.

Bravo Two Zero Patterns Vid by P.R Zed. (quicktime) I had an overwhelming moment of squee about this vid, because Sean Bean! and Bravo Two Zero! But it's also cool and stylish look at a complicated man and the strong relationships between soldiers. I especially liked the use of patterns in the clip choice. And Sean Bean. Moving, and also strangely light-hearted.

Lord of the Rings Cries Of Glory Vid by Di (wmv). This vid draws heavily on the extended version of The Two Towers to look at the strong bond between Boromir and Faramir, and the tragedy of their relationship. Wibble.

Lord Of The Rings He's A Pirate Vid by Un4scene (wmv). (This vid was in the Classics section when I downloaded it). The picture quality isn't the greatest, but this is a fun Legolas actioner and it works well with the music which is, uh, from Pirates of the Caribbean. Synergy, baby.

Fellowship of the Ring Wicked Ways Vid by P.R. Zed (quicktime). I'm usually mistrustful (for some reason) of LotR vids with lyrics, but I liked this one, because it highlights the smoulder between Aragorn and Boromir. And there's lots of smouldering to be had. I had no idea.

The Professionals Devil In Disguise Vid by LithiumDoll (wmv). A light-hearted but reverent Cowley character vid, focusing on Cowley the schemer and action man.

The Professionals Little By Little Vid by LithiumDoll (wmv). A Bodie and Doyle actioner which looks at their partnership and their role as "surgeons", framed by key (and morally ambiguous) quotes from Cowley, their boss. Wonderfully clear source, fab song-choice and emotive, crisp editing. I think this is a great recruitment vid for The Professionals because I don't think any prior knowledge is necessary to enjoy it.

The Professionals Wicked Ways Vid by P.R. Zed (quicktime). Bodie is a naughty, naughty man. An ode to how sexy Bodie is when he's angry, and controlled. Or, at least, that's how I'm looking at it. A gorgeous Bodie/Doyle vid.

The Professionals Until It Sleeps Vid by P.R Zed (quicktime). Doyle is a violent bugger at heart, but at least he's conflicted about it. A claustrophobic and unsettling vid about the ways in which Bodie holds Doyle.

Farscape Let Me Entertain You Vid by LithiumDoll (wmv). Fast, furious, actiony, hyper, and technically just beautiful, with an especially memorable beginning and end. The middle is pretty darn nifty as well. Farscape was a fantastically colourful show, and the source here is clear and crisp. Movement and colour and things exploding prettily. Rock on. A vid to watch many, many times over.

Farscape Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me Vid by LithiumDoll (wmv). Another beautifully cut and coordinated action vid, which looks a little more closely at the relationships between characters. Also good if you just want to gawk at the pretty.

Farscape Clocks Vid by LithiumDoll (wmv). A lively and dramatic John/Aeryn vid, contrasting their romance and pain. I particularly liked the (meaningful) use of layers, and the ending made me cry. I think this is definitely a vid for Farscape fen, with spoilers up until the last episode.

Farscape Don't Give Up Vid by LithiumDoll (wmv). A sad and moving vid about loss and hope and friendship and home. Wonderful source, and now I love this song (Don't Give Up by Peter Gabriel with Kate Bush) even more. I don't think you need to be a Farscape afficionado to enjoy this one, since it's it's all about emotional reactions of the crew.

Farscape Wear Sunscreen Vid by LithiumDoll & Doc Wyrm (wmv). A hilarious and touching vid which does nothing more than match clips to Baz Luhrmann's lyrics, but it all adds up to a sense of sweetness and family feeling, even with the darker stuff.

Farscape Come Together Vid by Laura Shapiro. (quicktime & wmv). 'Madness Takes Its Toll'. Crichton and Scorpius and the way they are drawn together. A deeply sexy and disturbing vid, which racks up the tension brilliantly. Dark and beautiful.

February 2004

Farscape/Stargate Wipeout Vid by Rache & Sandy (Clucking Belles) (wmv). A funky instrumental comparing Stargate and Farscape, often shot-for-shot. Action-y, adventure-y, very funny. The site is password protected, but the link above provides their email addresses, so's you can ask.

Smallville Freak no. 1: Dance Be My Destiny Vid by Rob1 (wmv). I don't even watch Smallville anymore, but I couldn't resist this vid. Fast and very, very fancy, this is the freakiness in Clark's world and it's Lex/Clark. Great use of special effects, and nifty keen editing.

Gladiator All Souls Night Vid by Destina (RealPlayer). First things first: you will need to ask Triptych Vids for the password to the site: contact details are at the above link. Secondly, these vids are compressed using WinRar. Details about downloading WinRar can be found on the 'Vids' page at Triptych.
I'd forgotten how beautiful Gladiator was, visually, and this is such a slinky and rhythmic vid. It tells the story in more or less chronological order, with silky-smooth cuts and wonderful mood and movement. Just nummy, really. Go watch.

Hard Boiled Drowning Vid by Carol S (wmv). First things first: you will need to ask Triptych Vids for the password to the site: contact details are at the above link. Secondly, these vids are compressed using WinRar. Details about downloading WinRar can be found on the 'Vids' page at Triptych.
I don't think I've even seen the whole of Hard Boiled but this was a dramatic and beautiful and painful story. Fantastic choice of (instrumental) music too. Big spoilers for the movie, and oooh, the slash.

Pirates of the Caribbean Too Sexy Vid by Jenavira. (wmv) I really liked the clip choice and timing on this one (and it's got some Jack/Black Pearl!) and it has a fantastic ending. But then, it's never exactly hard work watching Captain Jack Sparrow in action.

December 2003

Equilibrium Touched Vid by Repeat Offender Productions (DiVX). The setting of Equilibrium (for the uninitiated) is a post-WW3 totalitarian society in which everybody must take a drug called Prozium which dulls emotion, with the aim of preventing WW4. The ultimate enforcers of this law are the Clerics, one of whom is John Preston (Christian Bale), at least until he stops taking the Prozium, discovering an underground of others who want to overthrow the regime. This isn't necessarily a great vid, but it is a good introduction to Equilibrium (Christian Bale! Sean Bean! Taye Diggs even if he doesn't actually turn up in the vid!) and if martial arts are your thing, I think it has every significant gun kata battle from the movie. It also follows the emotional line of the film and opened my eyes to the ambiguity of the very last scene. Equilibrium is a beautiful movie to look at, and this vid reflects that in spades. It's a hefty size but the picture is large and DVD quality.

Equilibrium The Game Vid by AJ Johnson (wmv). A more nuanced take on Equilibrium. Although John Preston (Christian Bale) changes emotion-wise throughout the movie, he's still stuck playing the only game he really knows - which means balletic violence and mass murder. Equilibrium has been bugging me for days, (in a good way) and this vid adds another layer of buggedness. Fair source and nifty narrative editing.

Farscape Book Of Days by LT Garrix. (wmv) The horrible things, the wonderful things, the just plain strange things. This is a hymn to the first season experience of Crichton. Excellent source. Shiny visuals.

Farscape The Pain Gets Worse Vid by Tazey (DiVX). Meep. Really, really not a happy vid. Aeryn is in pain a lot, she has a lot to be in pain about and the good moments just aren't real. Lovely source and editing, but it would take a stronger person than me to watch it more than a couple of times.

Farscape You Make Me Feel Vid by Tazey (DiVX). 'This is bad. This is very bad'. A Crichton and Aeryn against the world vid, with lots of Scorpius. Aeryn takes action, and John suffers. An extremely angsty vid set during Liars, the Guns & Money trilogy and Die me Dichotomy.

Farscape Right Here Right Now Vid by Tazey (DiVX). These vid is worth watching if only for the opening montage. But there's more! A general 'This is Farscape' vid, I loved the way it presents each character at the beginning and ratchets up the tension along with the music. I don't think any other show has used colour as beautifully as Farscape did. Nightmarish, but gorgeous.

Farscape Karaoke Soul Vid by Tazey. (DiVX) An uneasy Aeryn/John vid with a very trippy and claustrophobic edge. Plus the usual fantastic Farscape visuals (and crystal source) just jumping out of the screen. A study of the way that Crichton obsesses over Aeryn but keeps getting ripped apart, often by his own mind. Fab use of clips and motion against a changeable song.

Silence of the Lambs Uninvited Vid by Shalott (DiVX & wmv). Deliciously and horribly creepy vid about the relationship between Clarice and Hannibal. I don't think I'm going to be able to watch it again for a little while.

November 2003

The O.C Kiss The Boy Vid by Altricial. (wmv) Ryan/Seth (of course) using 'Kiss The Girl' from The Little Mermaid. This is such a warm and sweet vid. Nice use of slow-mo and good source. There are two sizes to download, I found the larger very jumpy and the smaller smooth and with equal quality source. YMMV.

October 2003

Queer As Folk (US) Epic Vid by Sisabet. (wmv) 'You want it all but you can't have it'. Justin has major issues. A brilliantly done sense of trippiness and unease. Great source, great clip manipulation and timing. Sad and powerful. There's also nakedness, so probably not one to watch at work.

Witchblade Comin' Up From Behind Vid by Killa. (quicktime) This is a rollickin' vid featuring Pex kicking 'collective bad guy ass'. This has to be the perfect Pez song, and the vid is all rhythm and sexiness. The Witchblade PTB should pay for the privilege of being made to look this good. The vid site is protected, but you can ask Killa for the password.

Highlander Wicked Game Vid by Killashandra. (quicktime) I have carnal feelings for this song anyway, just add Methos and Duncan for spontaneous combustion. I can't even talk about the gorgeousness of this vid. Methos, Duncan, dancing around each other. Love, sex. Methos. Duncan. Methos. Guh. The vid site is protected, but you can ask Killa for the password.

Star Trek: The Original Series Dante's Prayer Vid by Killa. A desperately moving vid that looks at those two Star Trek movies (you know the ones) and Kirk's attempts to find Spock, and have Spock find him. 'Please remember me'. Shivery. The vid site is protected, but you can ask Killa for the password.

Star Trek: The Original Series Momma Told Me Not To Come Vid by T.Jonesy & Killa. Colour and wackiness and mild Kirk/Spockness. Hysterical Spock POV of all the bad and just plain weird things that happen to him and the crew. I'd forgotten how trashy TOS could be. The vid site is protected, but you can ask Killa for the password.

Star Trek: The Original Series Razzle Dazzle Vid by T.Jonesy & Killa & Hafital. This vid uses the Chicago tune as sung by Richard Gere. The clip choice is perfect. I don't think I've ever seen better timing, and I kept thinking they'd run out of useable footage but.. no. Even the source is finger-lickin' good. Seriously, even if you hate Star Trek, you need to see this, and wonder at it. The vid site is protected, but you can ask Killa for the password.

Star Trek: The Original Series The Man's Too Strong Vid by T. Jonesy & Killa. (quicktime) A beautiful look back at Spock's life with Kirk, from the point of view of Spock as an elderly ambassador making his confession to Picard. Sad, happy, powerful. The vid site is protected, but you can ask Killa for the password.

Star Trek: The Original Series Closer Vid by T. Jonesy & Killa. (quicktime) Oh. My. God. One of the most technically accomplished and creative vids I've ever seen. Kirk and Spock all sepia and as sharp as Nosferatu. Hurt and desire and being bound. Ponn Farr gorgeousness warning: hints of rape. The vid site is protected, but you can ask Killa for the password.

Pirates Of The Caribbean This Is Not My Idea (Of A Good Time) Vid by Zoe Rayne. (wmv) A vid that follows Will, Jack and Elizabeth through their respective very bad days. A slightly darker view of PotC.

Alan Rickman In Demand Music Video by Texas. (realplayer) A clip from MTV of the Texas song 'In Demand' featuring his Rickmanness dancing the tango. Go!

Odyssey 5 Haunted Vid by Seah & Margie. (quicktime & wmv) This is an absolutely beautiful vid about horror and second chances. It made me cry, and I never even had the chance to see Odyssey 5 (reading up on it at IMDB helped). Subtle treatment of clips and a wonderful choice of song. Stunning.

Crouching Tiger Mundian To Bach Ke Vid by Shalott & Hafital. (DiVX & Real Media) A fantastically fun vid to a driving, Bollywood-style song (by Panjabi MC, and was that the Knight Rider theme tune?) featuring the journey of Jen Yu, including lots and lots of frenetic fight scenes. Brilliant timed and colourful.