Entertainment I am looking for

[chume14]

The following things I remember having encountered at some point and have been looking for, for a long time and would appreciate anyone who could give me information on more than I could put into words.

A book I once read possibly. In one scene a man is in an elevator in some sort of suspicious building, he is possibly a detective. He counts the number of seconds between each floor and as one gap is twice as large as the others he deduces that there is a hidden floor. I think he then emergency stops the lift and gets to this floor.

A book about a young boy living in a poor family possibly with just his mum. One day they get a letter that a rich estranged relation is dying and may leave the boy his money but they have to go and live with this old man in a mansion. The old man has gout and is grumpy all the time but eventually softens. At one point the boy goes to a nearby town and meets an artist.
Edit: I remember this being a very old book one of those hard backs from before they had paper covers written in quite an old style like Dickens or similar (obviously not actually Dickens I've checked all his works for this)

A book about a mental hospital. Several of the inmates are not insane (according to the narrator) but are kept there by corrupt and abusive guards.

A book that starts with a man in a cell. He finds a trap door under his bed opens it and travels down into a fantasy world. Could be the same as above.

A children's book about an animal probably a snake who gets tricked out of his land maybe a pond by his uncle or some other relation when his father dies. He goes of on an adventure. At one point he meets an owl who is completely under the control of another animal possibly a rat. This rat has persuaded the owl that its parents hated it and that everyone else is against it. It uses this to manipulate the owl and control its whole life. The snake eventually returns to the pond at the end and gets his land back.

A short animation about a boy chasing a balloon. Its all black and white except the balloon which is red and at one point he runs up some stairs with the view shown from behind him and the balloon floats past the window.
Edit: the style of this was very photorealistic like it may have been rotoscoped though maybe not quite that realistic. I also remember it was featured somewhere because it was the runner up to a prize. Also by black and white here I mean I'm pretty sure it was a binary image as opposed to grayscale or literally only pure black and white no greys like a stencil excluding the balloon

A short animation black and white a head rolls down some runners in a machine Terry Gilliam style at the start. A weed tries to crawl through a gate and is chopped in half by a hidden guillotine in the gate. In the main part of the animation a man with a long face works one splicing the bones of some small skeletal specimen together. Then he sees a beautiful women in a dress she walks out of the room and he follows her she walks out of the house and through passes through the gate indicating she's a ghost. The man follows sticking his head through the gate looking after her. The guillotine chops his head of and it rolls down the contraption into the bottom of and hour-glass full of heads.

A short shock animation. really angsty colours a boy sits on a grassy hill. Then he walks past some buildings in a city its hard to see whats happening so you look closer then a face pops up and screams at you but not the typical exorcist face.

I'm sure there were some other things maybe I'll add them if I think of them (via edit). Would massively appreciate any help with any of these things feel free to post your own lost things and I'll help if I can. It is entirely impossible I imagined any or all of these things.

[Kablizzy]

Cool idea for a thread. I may have to archive stuff here for futures.

[Rose]

There was this one book I read where this kid had magical powers and had to blend in with the non-magical people sometimes. I remember something about a scar on his forehead.

[chocollama]

There was this one book I read where this kid had magical powers and had to blend in with the non-magical people sometimes. I remember something about a scar on his forehead.

Charlie Sheen: A Biography

[Rose]

There was this one book I read where this kid had magical powers and had to blend in with the non-magical people sometimes. I remember something about a scar on his forehead.

Charlie Sheen: A Biography

That was it! Thanks, man.

[Seneschal]

A short animation about a boy chasing a balloon. Its all black and white except the balloon which is red and at one point he runs up some stairs with the view shown from behind him and the balloon floats past the window.

Although I've never seen it, this sounds like The Red Balloon. Mind you, it doesn't appear to be in black and white from the poster/trailer. Aaaand it isn't animated. On reflection, it probably isn't that, although it sounds very similar in plot.

EDIT: This appears to resemble the above quite closely in plot, but I can't find out anything much about it on IMDB.

[Vyacheslav]

A short animation about a boy chasing a balloon. Its all black and white except the balloon which is red and at one point he runs up some stairs with the view shown from behind him and the balloon floats past the window.

Although I've never seen it, this sounds like The Red Balloon. Mind you, it doesn't appear to be in black and white from the poster/trailer. Aaaand it isn't animated. On reflection, it probably isn't that, although it sounds very similar in plot.

EDIT: This appears to resemble the above quite closely in plot, but I can't find out anything much about it on IMDB.

Billy's Balloon? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTfD-NtrNUM

[SlappyMcGee]

Nearly all of the books you described could be entries in A Series of Unfortunate Events:

A book I once read possibly. In one scene a man is in an elevator in some sort of suspicious building, he is possibly a detective. He counts the number of seconds between each floor and as one gap is twice as large as the others he deduces that there is a hidden floor. I think he then emergency stops the lift and gets to this floor.

I believe this happens in The Ersatz Elevator.

A book about a young boy living in a poor family possibly with just his mum. One day they get a letter that a rich estranged relation is dying and may leave the boy his money but they have to go and live with this old man in a mansion. The old man has gout and is grumpy all the time but eventually softens. At one point the boy goes to a nearby town and meets an artist.

Obviously not The Bad Beginning, but similar enough.

A book about a mental hospital. Several of the inmates are not insane (according to the narrator) but are kept there by corrupt and abusive guards.

The Hostile Hospital.

[aids]

I might actually go and re-read the series because of Slappy's post. I forgot how awesome they are.

[Rose]

I might actually go and re-read the series because of Slappy's post. I forgot how awesome they are.

Seconded. I haven't read those in years.

[otters~1]

God those books were awful.

I was going to say that one or two of them sounded like Arthur Conan Doyle short stories, but I got sidetracked by how cool of an idea this was and how many things I would post here if only I could remember almost-remembering them.

[Rose]

God those books were awful.

I'm glad to see this. If you had actually agreed with me for once, the universe might have imploded.

[chocollama]

God those books were awful.

I'm glad to see this. If you had actually agreed with me for once, the universe might have imploded.

You should agree that it would've imploded, just to see it it works!!

[im_bad_at_n]

God those books were awful.

QFE, especially books 9 and 11.

[SlappyMcGee]

God those books were awful.

QFE, especially books 9 and 11.

Yeah, that book series was awful. That is why I continued to read them well into the eleventh entry.

[Kablizzy]

God those books were awful.

QFE, especially books 9 and 11.

OSAMA BIN LADEN IS NOW A GHOST WRITER.

...Eh? Ehhhhh?

[SlappyMcGee]

UNFORTUNATE CHANGE THEORY

[chume14]

Although I've never seen it, this sounds like The Red Balloon. Mind you, it doesn't appear to be in black and white from the poster/trailer. Aaaand it isn't animated. On reflection, it probably isn't that, although it sounds very similar in plot.

No it was definitely an animation thanks for trying though

EDIT: This appears to resemble the above quite closely in plot, but I can't find out anything much about it on IMDB.

The cartoon is a spoof, of sorts, of the French short, La Ballon Rouge (THE RED BALLOON) but instead of balloons, the film is about inflatable sex toys! And you don't see just one or two of these ready and willing inflatable girls--but dozens--making this a cartoon that is NOT proper entertainment for the kiddies! In addition to showing all these nude dolls, the film features a man trying to achieve intercourse with one and many other nasty items.

Erm no

Billy's Balloon? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTfD-NtrNUM

No but that was quite amusing. Maybe I should have explained it was more photorealistic than this maybe even rotoscoped I'll add this to the original post maybe that will help.

Nearly all of the books you described could be entries in A Series of Unfortunate Events:

Interesting but I've never read a Series of Unfortunate Events may check them out at some point though anyway

I was going to say that one or two of them sounded like Arthur Conan Doyle short stories, but I got sidetracked by how cool of an idea this was and how many things I would post here if only I could remember almost-remembering them.

I may have to look into this having read some of his works which of my descriptions are you talking about specifically

[otters~1]

God those books were awful.

QFE, especially books 9 and 11.

Yeah, that book series was awful. That is why I continued to read them well into the eleventh entry.

Heh, yeah. I read the first two and then 15 pages of the last one. Which leaves me questionably able to pass judgment on the entire series.

EDIT: chume, like the top two, I think. But they aren't really they just sound like it.

[im_bad_at_n]

God those books were awful.

QFE, especially books 9 and 11.

Yeah, that book series was awful. That is why I continued to read them well into the eleventh entry.

Yeah I read them all. I liked a few of them, such as books 7 and 12. But as a whole I would rate them down, mostly because book 13 was such a disappointment.

[Slayr]

It's a book (fantasy) I think the main character is a young kid who lives in a coastal village. I think there's some sort of serpent-y monster thing in the water. He likes hiding in the caves in the cliff wall overlooking the sea. There is some sort of wanderer guy who is destined to walk the same path forever or something (he dies at the end).