Movie Calendar
SXSW 2009 (03.13.09 - 03.17.09, 21 movies)
Date Viewed Movie Director Notes
03.13.09The SnakeEric Kutner & Adam GoldsteinHere we are, SXSW 2009. I've been coming every year since 2005, and like I've done the past few years, I'll only be doing Friday-Tuesday (since I live in Dallas and can't take the entire week off as much as I'd like to). I was really busy at work the last two days, and I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get enough stuff wrapped up this afternoon to get out of town in time to make the 9pm badge pickup. If I missed that deadline, it would mean that I wouldn't get to see any SXSW films tonight. Luckily, I made it here right around 8:30. Jarrette was hanging out at ACC after seeing (most of) Two Bobs, so he waited with me while I picked up my badge. (The best thing about getting in town so late is that there is zero waiting time). Then we headed over to Alamo South Lamar where both of tonight's chosen films were playing.

If you aren't familiar with my SXSW coverage or my movie notes in general, here's the quick overview. I'll be posting the SXSW website's synopsis for each film I see, my quick and dirty thoughts about the film itself, and (more interestingly in my opinion) my comments and observations about the festival experience itself. So here we go, with tonight's first film, The Snake.


SXSW Synopis: A no-budget romantic comedy -- without the romance. The Snake is a desperate cad who fixates on a troubled young woman, joins her support group, and enables her eating disorder. It only gets worse from there.


Notes: I honestly chose this movie because I (a) wanted to be at South Lamar so I could catch the midnight screening of Ong Bak 2, (b) the trailer online looked somewhat interesting, if potentially indie-grating, and (c) the 10:00 screening time fit right into my estimated get-into-town schedule. When I got here, I found out that Jarrette and all of the AICN crew was attending the screening as well, and that there was a good buzz about the film. In addition, Patton Oswalt is the driving force behind promoting the film (like he and Ferrell did with Foot Fist Way 2 years ago) and would be introing the movie. So I was pretty psyched about my choice.

So I got to Lamar around 8:30, killed time for a while, then Jarrette headed into the super special portion of the badge line. (SXSW has this new ticketing system that seems like it won't have much of a major impact on anything in practical terms... but I didn't have a special ticket for this screening). So I stood over in an unused corner of the Alamo lobby, and soon noticed that I was standing next to the main star from the film (I recognized him from the trailer) and another dude who I assumed was the director.

I was about to tell them that I was looking forward to their movie when I heard "there you guys are!" I looked over to where that greeting was coming from, and saw Patton Oswald himself. I managed to not geek out and ask for a picture with him, but I did decide to pretend I was talking on my iPhone when in actuality I was taking a secret picture of the guys. Which is just as fanboyish, I agree, but what can you do? I'll post the picture on Reel Distraction tomorrow, but it's a completely shit picture, and you can totally tell that Patton knew what I was doing. Oh well.

So I ended up in the theater and had a good seat thanks to Jarrette. Patton gave a funny intro and introduced us to the main character, the Snake (Adam Goldstein): "I just wanted you to meet him now and realize that he's a nice guy, because you're going to hate him in just a few minutes."

Then the movie started and I and the rest of the audience laughed more or less nonstop for 90 minutes. The Snake is a completely loathesome character, but not in a Hitler sort of way. He's loathesome in the way that every young American male would be loathesome if we had zero internal censor. This guy is a shameless Lothario, and the bulk of the film is dedicated to him infiltrating a womans' body image group so that he can hook up with a super-skinny chick in the group that he thinks is hot. (He's somewhat obsessed with nailing a super-skinny chick after his friends jokingly accuse him of hooking up only with fatties.) He's got an incredible line - you can see it in the trailer - where he defends his actions by saying "I didn't *make* her bulimic, I *enabled* her bulimic.

The movie is one groan-inducing moment after another, and featured the raw comedy that I found missing from Foot Fist Way. I'm sure the director of this film has good things ahead of him, and I'd love to see Goldstein in a series of likeable asshole roles.

This was a really enjoyable film, and a great way to start my SXSW. If memory serves, I haven't always been as lucky with first films in previous years.
03.13.09 Ong Bak 2Tony JaaAfter The Snake let out, we were rushed out of the theater and told to line up for Ong Bak 2. The lining up process is kinda screwed up at the moment at South Lamar, but I think I did things right and ended up waiting in the 40-degree weather outside for about 20 minutes. I tried to get some facebooking and twittering out of the way, but it was so cold I could only keep my hands out of my pockets for a few minutes at a time.

One funny moment: there are SXSW volunteers guarding all the entrances, directing people where to go. At one point, Tim League was about to walk into the theater, and the SXSW volunteer told him "you can't go inside without a badge." Tim, if you don't know, *owns* the Alamo Drafthouse and can go anywhere he damn well pleases. But ever the nice guy, Tim didn't dress the volunteer down. Instead, he meekly said, "Well, I actually work here." And she let him in. Kudos Tim.

So we eventually get let in (and I get another good seat... thanks again to Jarrette). The room goes dark, a giant confetti cannon goes off, the lights go on, and a loin-cloth wearing David Strong (a five-star Alamo Regular) stands in front of the room blowing some sort of tribal horn and welcoming everyone to SXSW presents Fantastic Fest. (Fantastic Fest is presenting six films at the festival this year, and this lineup is the thing I'm most excited about... other than Winnebago Man.) Tim then comes on stage wearing a Toga and thanks David for being an Ambassador of Fun. He then hyped up how much everyone has been waiting for Ong Bak 2, denegrated Bruce Lee, hosted a chugging contest (Texas lost to Foreigners... we'll get 'em tomorrow night), then the movie started.

SXSW Synopsis: The first ONG BAK hit the world like a heat-seeking guided missile. A missile in the shape of Tony Jaa, touted as the new Bruce Lee and the can't-miss martial-arts superstar of his generation. This prequel, set in medieval Thailand, features Jaa as a young nobleman who masters many martial arts disciplines in his journey of revenge. Expect stand-up-in-your-seat excitement as Jaa flies through the air; twisting, turning and demonstrating the utmost contempt for the laws of gravity. And now that he has added a full range of martial-arts styles to his repertoire, Jaa is twice as deadly and twice as exciting.

Notes: Even though Tim promised (without having seen the film) that there was going to be "four minutes of plot and 86 minutes of fury," there was a lot of plot. A real shitload. And it was mostly stuff that I'm sure Thai audiences have a reference for (it's a period piece... a prequel to Ong Bak), but that didn't make a lot of sense to me. I mean, I understood the big picture of what was going on, and probably 75% of the details, but there was a lot of cultural stuff lost in the translation.

So I'll admit that I was bored through a chunk of this movie. As I was watching it, I realized what I liked so much about Ong Bak... the running and diving and chasing that clearly could only have been pulled of with Jaa's amazing talent. This movie, on the other hand, had a lot of choreographed weapons fights, which - though requiring talent - arguably could be done by a number of trained fighters with enough time and enough cuts (of which there were plenty).

But... and this is a big but... the last 20 or 25 minute fight scene. Fuck me... it was some amazing shit. Sufficiently strong enough that - although I remember being bored during parts of the first 2/3ds, I'd wholly recommend watching this film. I mean... the last bits were *intense.* Plus there were some good bits along the way, like the initial introduction to the Bandit Gang (I really wish we'd had an entire movie with just those guys... especially the scarred explosives expert) and Jaa's drunken master scene. Those were great.

So after the movie ended, I more or less ducked out right away. I headed over to the HoJo where I'm staying, and when I checked in, I found out through idle talk with the casheir that some women's college rowing team is staying at the hotel and will be checking out at 4am (which, incidentally, is 30 minutes from now). I thought that was kinda cool... guess they had some event here on town lake.

Ok... that's the end of the day for me... see you tomorrow.
03.14.09 Sweethearts of the Prison RodeoBradley BeesleyOk... it's 2:30 in the morning and I have six films to write up. I was pretty beat during the last film, but I seem to have caught a second wind. Let's see how long it lasts.


First film of the day I almost missed due to the fact that I found out first thing this morning that the shower in my otherwise acceptable HoJo South Austin hotel was broken. So I took a splash-down shower then spent 15-20 minutes getting another room. For my troubles they agreed to let me have a free mini-fridge in the room. Nee-haw? Plus the new room is a smoking room, and I don't smoke. Good thing I'm pretty easy going.

Anyway, I got to the Paramount just as the SXSW reel for this film started running.

SXSW Synopsis: In Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo, filmmaker Bradley Beesley visits and explores an oddball American phenomenon: that of the prison rodeo. He journeys with his cameras to Oklahoma State Prison - the only remaining U.S. prison rodeo that is actually located on penitentiary grounds - and watches, cameras rolling, as ill-prepared male and female convicts risk their lives for the promise of cash and a brief spotlight.

Notes: This is the kind of doc that keeps me coming back to SXSW. A slice of life story with compelling subjects about a way of life that I didn't know existed. In the grand scheme of things it probably isn't rocket science to pull drama from the stories of incarcerated felons that - from what we see - seem like nice enough people who have learned their lessons (especially when you mix that with the concept of "people who have nothing left to lose put their bodies on the line for the entertainment of the locals"). But the directors here did more than just rely on that built-in drama and constructed a well-told story and professional-looking presentation.

I thought the ruminations about the prison system and What It Is Good For was done better in last year's At The Death House Door, but it was done well enough here. Not that this movie is probably going to change opinions about prison much one way or another. Very enjoyable doc though.

And I just noticed that this is the third Bradley Beesley directed movie I've seen at SXSW. The first, The Fearless Freaks (a doc abou the Flaming Lips) was one I really didn't enjoy (partially because it was right in the middle of a stretch of mediocre movies and I was in a bad mood) and led to me deciding to stop watching (as a general rule) music docs about bands/artists I don't really care about. The second, Summercamp!, was really great, and I'd recommend it, along with this one. I've seen Okie Noodline too on DVD, and it isn't bad.
03.14.09 Creative NonfictionLena DunhamAfter Sweethearts I was getting hungry and realized that if I walked over to the Ritz (which is halfway between the Paramount and the ACC where my 3:00 movie was screening), I could see this movie and eat. And since it was only an hour long, I'd still have plenty of time to make the 3:00 screening. Beats sitting around doing nothing for an hour.

SXSW Synopsis: Ella is a college student, but she's more focused on her pseudo-romance with her dorm mate Chris than on the screenplay she's supposed to be finishing for her Creative Writing class. Reality and fiction are indistinguishable as she tries and fails to differentiate her script from her increasingly awkward social life.

Notes: This was a ultra-raw shot-on-digital indie coming-of-age movie. The subject matter (a young girl - freshman in college I think - trying to figure out who she is) isn't really my cup of tea. But I wasn't bored or annoyed by anything in the film. And the main actress (who also wrote and directed it) had a raw (sorry for using the word twice in a paragraph) vulnerability that I liked. So... yeah, glad I saw it.
03.14.09 Pulling JohnSevan Matossian, Bessie K. MorrisOn to the ACC, which means that in just five screenings I have been to all four of the major venues. That's kinda cool. I think last year it took a couple of days before I ended up getting to all four. I took a quick trip to the second floor to try out the new "advance ticket" thing they're trying this year where they basically give away 10% of each film's capacity to badgeholders. Except instead of just passing out the available tickets, the do this multi-step process that involves checking your badge and doing something on a computer and it just takes forever. I'm probably not going to be messing with it anymore, especially since I've only been shut out of a film once or twice in the five years I've had a badge.

While in line for the movie, I ended up talking to the lady in front of me, and found out that she is the director of a film at the festival The Time of Their Lives. She's from the UK, and we had a good time talking about her film, and then about my site and the lost art of film admats, and how despite claims by some that our society has experienced moral decay in the last few decades, the newpaper film admat sub-society is one area where things were much more loose 30 to 40 years ago. It was a great coversation, and one of the things that I love so much about coming to this festival... you never know who you'll end up next to.

SXSW Synopsis: 'Pulling John' is the universal story of a champion, who after 25 years of success is now burdened with the inevitable transformation of aging. John Brzenk, the legendary armwrestler, who works as an airline mechanic by day must decide whether to leave the sport he was raised on or wait to be defeated by 2 up and coming titans. Voevoda from Russia, Bagent from West Virginia and Yoshi from Tokyo are the colorful characters who have been raised on the legend of John Brzenk. These men define themselves by not becoming champions but by defeating the legend that is known as Brzenk. In a philosophical and thrilling ride, 'Pulling John' culminates at the Zloty Tur Championship in Warsaw, where Bagent and Voevoda have the chance of their life, to dethrone the conflicted Brzenk.

Notes: This is another proto-typical SXSW doc. I really loved it. It reminded me a lot of King of Kong, probably because the main guy - John Brzenk - looks and acts a lot like a beefier Steve Wiebe. The movie arguably isn't as gut-check intense as KoK, mostly because Brzenk's two main challengers are nowhere near as villainous as Billy Mitchell. In fact, they are both really likeable... the director said as much before the film by letting us know that by the end, we'd all have a different favorite we'd be rooting for.

But even though it doesn't quite rise to the level of KoK, it's completely engrossing, and got me super pumped up about the sport of armwrestling (just like Air Guitar Nation got me pumped for the sport of air guitar). It was mind-boggling to find out that the sport has had this unbeatable world champion for 25 years... the dude is 40 (and isn't super huge), and he's out-pulling (I learned that term in the movie) dudes half his age and 20-pounds heavier.

So far this has been one of my favorite films of the festival, and another that I'd highly recommend checking out.

Oh... I guess I should mention that just before I went upstairs to get the advance tickets, I saw Morgan Spurlock downstairs on a laptop. That makes the second year in a row where I've seen him (last year he was sitting near me at At Death House Door). Not that it really matters, but figured I'd toss it in here for the sake of completeness.
03.14.09 Winnebago ManBen SteinbauerOh man, this was the film I've been most excited about at SXSW. The lines for this movie were huge. I ended up sitting next to a guy who is covering the festival freelance for High Times and Magnet. Another example of why you should always talk to the people you're sitting or standing next to at SXSW. But enough preshow, let's get right to it...

SXSW Synopsis: Jack Rebney is the most famous man you've never heard of -- after cursing his way through a Winnebago sales video, Rebney's outrageously funny outtakes became an underground sensation and made him an internet superstar. Filmmaker Ben Steinbauer journeys to the top of a mountain to find the recluse who unwittingly became the "Winnebago Man."

Notes: This movie delivered in a big way. I really don't want to give much away, because I'm sure it will get some sort of distribution, but this film has a lot of interesting stuff to say about the implications of our society's fascination with humiliation-based viral videos and the impact those videos have on the people featured in the videos.

Plus the director could not have scripted a better sequence of events than what happens in this movie. I'm really struggling to not give anything away, and I won't, but Ben Steinbauer just got amazingly incredibly lucky with the way this story played out. All I'll say is that seeing this movie profoundly changed the way I view the original Winnebago Man outtakes, and has the potential to change the way I watch other schadenfreude-based videos.

And then!... Jack Rebney made an appearance... his second ever in the past 20 years. He gave a really great speech (which I recorded and will post on reeldistraction.com in the next day or so), then hung around and met his fans (who he apparently is still struggling to come to terms with). And although I was able to control my fanboy urge last night and not ask Patton Oswalt for a picture, I couldn't do it here. So I now have a picture of me and the Winnebago Man. Awesome.

Last thing I'll say in case Rebney ever reads this (which is not bloodly likely), but you've succeeded in changing your legacy sir. Well done.
03.14.09 Best Worst MovieMichael StephensonUp next was a documentary about Troll 2, a movie I've never seen. For others that aren't up on the phenomenon, Troll 2 is considered by many to be the worst movie ever made (it was #1 on IMDB's Bottom 100 at one point, and had 0% on Rotten Tomatoes, well below Manos Hands of Fate and others). I was somewhat worried that I wouldn't be able to fully enjoy the movie since I hadn't seen the source material, but nothing else was playing at this time that I wanted to see, so...

SXSW Synopsis: In 1989, unwitting Utah actors starred in the undisputed Worst Movie in History: TROLL 2. Two decades later, the legendarily inept film's child star unravels the improbable, heartfelt story of an Alabamadentist-turned-cult movie icon and an Italian filmmaker who come to terms with this genuine, internationally revered cinematic failure.

Notes: And yeah, this was really great. It sort of served the purpose of having a friend who loves Troll 2 watch that movie with me for the first time and clue me in on its greatness. I'm planning on getting a copy and hosting a double feature of it and The Room when I get back to Dallas with some friends.

The doc is a great look at what it is about certain "cult" films that makes them so beloved. The reasons are obviously myriad, but my sense of Troll 2 - and what I love about certain exploitation films that are undoubtably bad from a technical sense - is just the sense of joy and effort and lack of any kind of pretention or irony that soaks so much of cinema today.

The doc also benefits from having a few really compelling characters, primarily George Hardy (the dad from Troll 2, who is now a small-town dentist and one of the most genuinely likeable guys I've ever seen on film) and Claudio Fragasso (the director of Troll 2, and who is one of the only people behind the film who hasn't embraced the fact that the film is - by most measurable terms - bad). There's also a host of minor characters, some of which are just funny (I'm thinking of the overly-proud European dude who did the score and - I'm pretty sure - never talks in the film, just smiles in a Droopy-type way at the camera) and others which are fairly heartbreaking (the actors who played the Nilbog store owner, the grandfather, and the mother).

This movie is professional enough that I'll get some sort of release, so - and I'm pleased at how many times I've been able to say this this year - I'd recommend it. Highly.
03.14.09 BlackPierre LaffargueI was trying to decide whether to see Black or the midnight screening of Troll 2. But I ultimately decided that I'd had enough Troll for the night and that I'd rather save it for when I'm back home with some buddies. Though I'm sure the Alamo screening would have been a great experience. And since I can't be sure I'll have the opportunity to see Black, and since it's a Fantastic Fest at SXSW screening, and since Jarrette saved me a seat, I decided to go with it.

Before the film we were once again treated to a loin-cloth-clad David Strong blowing a tribal horn to welcome us to a SXSW Fantastic Fest screening. I really need to record that tomorrow or the next day. Such a good idea.

SXSW Synopsis: When his Parisian armored car holdup goes horribly awry, our protagonist 'Black' needs to go on the lam. News from his cousin in Senegal about a stash of uncut diamonds in a poorly guarded bank in Dakar hatches the plan to go on a 'working vacation' that involves a little sightseeing and a lot of mayhem. Genre fans know underground French MC Jean Gab'1 as a villain in District B-13, but with BLACK, he take center stage and delivers a nouveau-blacksploitation adventure awash in, black magic, African mysticism, mutant arms dealers, gargantuan machete-wielding mercenary armies and a truckload of knuckle-sandwiches.

Notes: This movie starts of as a strong Guy-Ritchie-esque crime flick set in Paris. Then it moves to Senegal, and there's a great planning-the-heist sequence, complete with a really interesting set of criminal we're introduced to. And then things get kinda weird. And while I appreciate the fact that the film did things that I'm not used to seeing (including a lot of black magic/African mysticism type stuff), I was really worn out and started long-blinking during the last 20-25 minutes of this 2-hour movie. If I'd seen it fresh on it's own, I think I'd have really dug the entire thing...

The Tim-led Q&A afterwards was really great, and included stories about a local who had a hobby of blowing up boats to create artificial reefs for fish (!?) (Tim seemed really interested by the idea... expect to see it at a future Drafthouse event perhaps), and the revelation that the crazy Russian militia leader is a former ballet dancer and stand-up comedian. Which is crazy. The dude (Anton Yakovlev) has a pretty good sized resume, so I think I'll see which of his films are available elsewhere. And if anyone has clips of him doing standup, please let me know.

So that's it for day two... sorry for any typos, I did all six films in an hour... it's a new record. Now I need to figure out what I'm seeing tomorrow... I think I may sleep in since none of the 11ish movies look that compelling. We'll see.
03.15.09 Reel Shorts 3VariousMan... SXSW is great for a lot of things, but sleep is not one of them. Here we go... another six films, and it's already 3 am. At least the first two are shorts programs.

I wasn't that interested in any of the feature films playing at this time slot, and I enjoyed my one and only other SXSW shorts experience (way back at my first SXSW in 2005), so I went into this without knowing anything about any of the shorts playing. Since the SXSW synopsis is so long for this one, I'll start with my notes.

Notes: I liked six of the 8 shorts, and really liked three: Thompson, Thick as Thieves, and Wing It. The latter two were very funny. And... that's about all I have to say about the shorts, except to recommend fellow SXSW'ers to consider adding a shorts program or two to your line-up. Below is the synopsis for each one.

SXSW Synopsis: 'Thompson', directed by Jason Tippet. Since second grade Matt and Ryan have shared the bond of speech impediments, weapons, and things that go fast. But as their last days of high school speed by, the two friends find that their go-carts, dirt bikes, and RC cars can't outrun adulthood.

'The Better Half', directed by Rebecca Rodriguez. A disconnected man keeps a mysterious pair of mannequin legs in his room in NYC. Encounters with three women gradually reveal the origin and importance of the legs and ultimately raise the question, can you ever get all of someone?

'Unlimited', directed by Andrew Luis. A travelogue that follows Ben, a young Chinese immigrant, as he cobbles together an existence selling the cast-offs of others.

'Thick as Thieves', directed by Chris Demarais. When a successful businessman encounters an eccentric mugger in an alley, he decides that maybe banking isn't really his forte.

'Non-Love Song', directed by Erik Gernand. On the last day of summer before heading off to college, two 18-year old best friends attempt to connect as adults and for the first time in their lives share a real moment.

'Wing It', directed by Julio Quintana. When a drug deal goes wrong and a violent confrontation seems inevitable, two guardian angels must decide whether to take action to protect their guys, or risk losing their wings.

'The Golden Pose', directed by Lance Alton Troxel. A street performer grapples with artistic perfection...and mimes.

'A. Effect' directed by Mike Ott. Two aspiring actors do their best to woo the same girl with their knowledge of Brecht and Scorsese.
03.15.09 Animated ShortsVariousAfter the Reel Shorts 3 program I planned on seeing True Adolescents. I figured I could catch most of the shorts Q&A, then just walk into TA 5 minutes or so before runtime. I figured there was no way a 1:30 screening like this would sell out on a Sunday. Unfortunately, it was in the tiny South Lamar theater, and was completely packed. So after saying yesterday that I've almost never gotten shut out of a screening, I got shut out of a screening. Bummer.

So as a second option, I decided to stick around South Lamar and see the Animated Shorts program. Except I knew I had to leave early so that I could make my next screening on time (which wouldn't have been a problem with TA). But at least I didn't have to leave a feature during the middle... it's much easier to find a good leaving point in a shorts program.

Notes: I ended up liking this shorts program less than Reel Shorts 3, mostly because the medium seems to lend itself to more experimental and/or serious works, which wasn't what I was in the mood for at the time. I saw 7 of the 15 shorts, and it looks like a lot of the ones I missed were pretty short. My favorites of the ones I saw were Luca Brasi Sleeps with the Fishes (the third in the animated Godfather Musical trilogy) and Photograph of Jesus. Sweet Dreams was pretty good too. Wish I could have stuck around for the rest...

SXSW Synopsis (of the shorts I saw):

Milbe '(Mite), directed by Karl Tebbe. A short animation about a grandmother, Oma Grete, and gigantic house dust mites that threaten to destroy the world. 6:00

'Birth', directed by Signe Baumane. A young woman is pregnant and afraid to give birth. For a consolation and advice she goes to older women but their stories scare her even more.

'Rosa Rosa', directed by FÊlix Dufour-Laperrire. While war is thundering at the gates of the city, Rosa and her lover live serenely together, trying to preserve a fragile normality.

'Luca Brasi Sleeps with the Fishes', directed by Simon Hawkins. What may possibly have happened to Luca Brasi after he was assassinated. 3:00

'Sweet Dreams', directed by Kirsten Lepore. A stalwart cupcake escapes from his native land to discover what lies beyond the sugar skyscrapers and candy-condos. His violent shipwreck on a foreign shore forces him to adapt to a new lifestyle. 10:00

'Photograph of Jesus', directed by Laurie Hill. Looking for photographs of Jesus, yetis and Hitler in 1948? Help is at hand with this documentary-fantasy based on true stories of requests for impossible images. 4:00

'Solitude Past', directed by My Sandstrom, Ingrid is the loneliest woman in the world. She feels sorry for herself and begrudges others their happiness. When she gets close to another person she can no longer deal with her emotions and is swallowed up by her longing.
03.15.09The Overlook BrothersJohn E. BryantThis next film had a lot of good word-of-mouth online, so I was pretty pumped for it. There was a big crowd lined up in advance, so I'm glad I left Animated Shorts early enough to get here on time.

Funny story: even though I've been touting the benefits of talking to people near you in line at SXSW, I was in a minor bum mood in the line for this movie after a certain Film Critic Personality crashed the line in front of me and began to hold court. Which wasn't a big deal since I knew from where we were standing that we'd all get in (and I actually line cut for the last film of the day), but something about the entitled way that he did it rubbed me wrong. So I started searching twitter to see who else was in the same line as me, and saw the MC Frontalot was. I looked up, and sure enough he was just a few feet ahead of me. A few minutes later - while I was still plugging away on my cell phone - Frontalot posted that he'd just seen Andy from Weeds walk by. Which means Andy from Weeds walked by me as well. So basically I was finding out all of the cool things that were happening literally *right by me* by reading *other* people write about them. If I'd have just gotten my face out of my stupid phone, I would have noticed all of that myself. I love technology wholeheartedly, but that was a really feel-like-a-dummy moment.

SXSW Synopsis: Jason comes home for Christmas and his arch-rival brother, Todd, has a big surprise waiting for him -- but it's not a gift. It's secret information: The reason why Jason has always been the "least favorite" child, and it sends our hero on a hilarious cross-country journey to find out the truth about himself and his family.

Notes: This was a film about to rival siblings who find out they are both adopted and go on a cross-country trip to find their birth parents. They, of course, discover things about themselves and form (somewhat) a relationship. There's a very "indie" feel to the film, and although it started strong, I never connected with the characters or really cared about what was going on. There were several big laughs in the film, but my experience with it felt very clinical.

Other people really seemed to enjoy it though, so... I dunno. Just not really for me, I guess.
03.15.09 HumpdayLynn SheltonOk... I'm really rocking along on these notes tonight. Seems to always get faster/shorter as the week goes on. Up next was a movie that screened against Adventureland, a film that I think looks funny, but that I'm glad to wait a few weeks to watch. This one apparently got a lot of good reviews at Sundance.

SXSW Synopsis: A farcical comedy about straight male bonding gone a little too far.

Notes: That synopsis doesn't tell you anything so, here's the deal... two thirty-something best friends - one who has a wife and a house and a job, and the other who has a huge beard and a cool hat and goes on crazy international adventures - reunite and end up agreeing to film a straight-guy gay porn with each other. And neither will back down, at first because neither wants to back down, and later for reasons that get more complicated.

The actor that I knew from previous SXSWs is mumblecore regular Mark Duplass, who is a great everyman likeable dude. The other lead (Joshua Leonard) is just as compelling, but I completely related to what Duplass was going through. I had a similar encounter (well, less the gay porn stuff) with a world-travelling, cool-hat-wearing, awesome-beard-growing buddy last summer where, despite the fact that I completely love my wife and job and where I am in life, I had a real sense of longing to do what he was doing and just travel all over Asia for years at a time and see and do and meet.

So, I guess my point is that the plot of the film sounds very shock-value exploitational or whatever, but the movie is surprisingly sweet and touching and real. And also funny as hell. The two buddies have amazing chemistry together, as do Duplass and his wife. I really liked this, and it'll be released by Magnolia later this year (I assume... hopefully they don't sit on it for too long... they've got it in any event). When it gets released, it's worth the buzz it's getting.
03.15.09 Anvil! The Story of AnvilSacha GervasiOk... so I left the Ritz and headed back over to South Lamar to see another movie that's been getting a lot of online buzz. This is the only movie I've had a special advance ticket to, and I'll admit it was pretty great. I got to wait inside in this tiny line and get in first. Still not sure it's a system that is worth holding over for next year. Just saying.

SXSW Synopsis: At fourteen years old, best friends Lips and Robb Reiner made a pact to rock together forever. Their band Anvil, hailed as the 'demi-gods of Canadian metal,' influenced a musical generation including Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax. Though Anvil never made it, they never stopped playing or believing. Following a calamitous European tour, Lips and Robb, now well into their fifties, set off to record their thirteenth album, 'This is Thirteen,' in one last attempt to fulfill their boyhood dream.

Notes: It sounds like Spinal Tap (and there's a great shot of a producer turning a dial up to 11), but this is the real deal. I've never heard of the guys, but the movie opens with Lars and Slash and Lenny and many others praising the hell out of Anvil, and really crediting them for kickstarting metal. Which was really incredible to me. The movie never really answers the question of why they didn't continue to climb with their peers (the closest we get is Lenny musing that the music business is all about being at the right place at the right time, and they must have not been there), but the crazy thing is that these guys never broke up, or switched jobs or anything. They had three semi-popular albums in the 80's, and then another 9 after that over the last 20 years. This movie tracks them recording their thirteenth album, as well as following them at their day jobs and seeing how the band has impacted their families.

Lots of good stuff here... I've seen a lot of movies about artists who want to get the band back together for one last grab at stardom, but none that I can recall where the artist has just kept plugging along for 30 years without changing anything (which, at this point, is a problem since few people listen to hair metal anymore). The two core members are very likeable. I dug this a lot... here's a clip of the band's signature tune from back in their prime: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hIIV-W4DHI. The film apparently will be on VH1 later this year... it's worth keeping an eye on.
03.15.09 Drag Me To HellSam RaimiAll day I was deciding whether I wanted to see Drag Me To Hell, or if I wanted to go to something that wasn't getting a guaranteed release. But in the end, I wound up bowing to peer pressure (thanks Tiffany)... I figured since everyone else was excited about it, I should be too. Even though the trailer looks kinda weak. The line at the paramount was expectedly huge, and I ended up skipping line to stand with Tiffany, Max, and others. I felt bad about it, I swear. All I can say for myself is that I got there an hour early, and would have made it in even if I hadn't cut in line. Plus Jarrette saved me a seat again (thanks dude), so... I guess it all comes out even?

One more twitter story... I was standing in line next to Max (who I met for the first time tonight), and he mentioned he'd been at the screening of RIP. I'd read on twitter that it'd been a really intense Q&A, and I mentioned that to him. Turns out that it was his tweet I'd read that on. Which is so weird and dumb and crazy. Stupid twitter.

SXSW Synopsis: Director Sam Raimi (Spider-Man trilogy, Evil Dead series) returns to the horror genre with Drag Me to Hell, an original tale of a young woman's desperate quest to break an evil curse.

Christine Brown (Alison Lohman) is an ambitious L.A. loan officer with a charming boyfriend, professor Clay Dalton (Justin Long). Life is good until the mysterious Mrs. Ganush (Lorna Raver) arrives at the bank to beg for an extension on her home loan. Should Christine follow her instincts and givethe old woman a break? Or should she deny the extension to impress her boss, Mr. Jacks (David Paymer), and get a leg-up on a promotion? Christine fatefully chooses the latter, shaming Mrs. Ganush and dispossessing her of her home.

In retaliation, the old woman places the powerful curse of the Lamia on Christine, transforming her life into a living hell. Haunted by an evil spirit and misunderstood by a skeptical boyfriend, she seeks the aid of seer Rham Jas (Dileep Rao) to save her soul from eternal damnation. To help the shattered Christine return her life to normal, the psychic sets her on a frantic course to reverse the spell. As evil forces close in, Christine must face the unthinkable: how far will she go to break free of the curse?

Notes: Well, damn, I'm glad I choose to see this. There was a crazy fanboy energy that won't be at most screenings, and Raimi was there to introduce the thing. And he did this amazing pratfall entrance, and this really stupid (but completely hilarious) bit where he tried to put on his glasses, but ended up getting his tie hooked between his glasses and his eyes, and he asked "who turned the lights out?" It's so dumb, but the way he delived it was so sincere, the crowd ate it up.

And then the movie started and - as Tiffany said after the movie - we found out that Raimi hasn't forgotten how to make horror. It isn't "real" or "brutal" or "torture porn" or any of the other modern horror trends. It's a Sam-Raimi-Army-Of-Darkness style horror comedy. Which means it was silly as hell, but also really jump-scary at parts.

And poor, wonderful Alison Lohman... she just gets beat to hell and back. Slimed and gunked and be-maggoted, and... just worn out. I thought she was very WB before tonight, but she's so game here that she won me over.

Rollercoaster of a ride, and the absolute perfect audience to see it with. Tons of clapping and yelling and wooping and... did I mention there was a bat loose in the paramount that kept flying in front of the screen, seemingly on cue with the scarier bits?

So, yeah... Raimi's apparently still got it.
03.16.09The Dungeon MastersKeven McAlesterPretty much every day the festival I've been running late for the first film of the day. It's a combination of being super tired and... actually, that's it... just being super tired. Today was no exception, with one twist... I got to the ACC just as the 11:30 movie was starting, and realized that I'd left my badge at the hotel. Which means that I had to buy a $10 ticket. Arg. At least I found a meter parking spot so parking was cheap.

SXSW Synopsis: An evil drow elf is displaced by Hurricane Katrina. A sanitation worker lures friends into a Sphere of Annihilation. A failed super-villian starts a cable-access show involving ninjas, puppets and a cooking segment. These are the characters, real and imagined, of Keven McAlester's documentary THE DUNGEON MASTERS. Against the backdrop of crumbling middle-class America, two men and one woman devote their lives to Dungeons and Dragons, the storied role-playing game, and its various descendants. As their baroque fantasies clash with mundane real lives, the characters find it increasingly difficult to allay their fear, loneliness, and disappointment with the game's imaginary triumphs. Soon the true heroic act of each character's real life emerges, and the film follows each as he or she summons the courage to face it. Along the way, THE DUNGEON MASTERS re-imagines the tropes of classic heroic cinema, creating an intimate portrait of minor struggles and triumphs writ large.

Notes: So the past two years have seen Darkon (really great) and Second Skin (pretty good) at SXSW, both of which have similar themes about the types of people who get really engaged in various types of role playing. This movie covers the same themes, but I'm still glad I saw it. If you've seen either of those movies, you pretty much know exactly what to expect here... a portrait of mostly lonely, socially awkward people who use roleplaying as an outlet for human interaction. It's an easy subject to mock, but the filmmakers treat their subjects seriously.

I don't have much else to say about this other than that there's a really interesting reveal during the middle of the film about one of the subject's family life which - if it'd been covered up front - would have guaranteed that the guy would have been completely reviled... I thought saving that for the film's midway point was interesting. If I'd seen this not in the context of having seen two other similar films, I think I would have liked it more.
03.16.09The ParanoidsGabriel MedinaI picked film #2 more or less on a whim. The synopsis made it sound like it could be funny, so...

SXSW Synopsis: An aspiring screenwriter from Buenos Aires, he lives in fear of success, STDs and -- especially -- his doorman. We meet Luciano during one of his typically awkward days: he has a narcoleptic attack on the job (he's a children's entertainer, to boot), obsessively calls an HIV helpline after a random sexual encounter and accidentally sends his best friend to the hospital after slamming a door in his face. Things become even more uncomfortable when Luciano's childhood friend Manuel returns to Buenos Aires from Madrid, where he is the producer of a successful television show called The Paranoids. Manuel is in town to make an Argentine version of the hit, and Luciano becomes especially perturbed when he discovers that he provided the inspiration for the show's main character, who even shares his name. When Manuel leaves on a business trip to Chile, his beautiful new girlfriend Sofia (JazmĖ n Stuart) decides to stay with Luciano, a turn of events that amounts to a nightmare for her fearful host. At first, Sofia sees Luciano superficially; to her, he is just the paranoid freak her boyfriend has described. After spending time with him, however, she begins to see Luciano for what he is -- a misunderstood, honest and genuine person. In sum, he is the complete opposite of Manuel.

Notes: Um... I didn't really like this much. It was longish and very dry and mopey and... just not my thing. I didn't hate it (I don't think there's been anything this year that I've actually hated), I just wasn't interested in it.
03.16.09The Slammin' SalmonKevin HeffernanI was going to see a war-themed doc, but decided I'd rather check out this Broken Lizard comedy, even though the trailer didn't look that great. I've actually written the first two write-ups of the day while sitting in the Alamo lobby... hooray for free internet.

SXSW Synopsis: Former heavyweight boxing champ, Cleon Salmon (MICHAEL CLARKE DUNCAN), is the celebrity owner of an upscale Miami restaurant. In debt to the Yakuza, the Champ 'inspires' his waitstaff (BROKEN LIZARD) with a one-night-only contest: Top selling waiter gets $10,000; lowest selling waiter gets his face punched in by the Champ himself. It's one funny, frantic night as Broken Lizard (SUPER TROOPERS, BEERFEST) does their best Glengarry Glen Ross in 'THE SLAMMIN' SALMON.'

Notes: Ok... It's 2:30 am again, time to write up the last three films of my last full day at SXSW. I'm glad I got two of today's notes out of the way earlier today, because the 3-4 hours of sleep per night is really starting to catch up with me. I even dozed for the first time during a screening today (more on that later).

Before the movie started, three of the Broken Lizard guys came out and did funny bit called "Who's The Director" where they gave clues about which of the three directed the film. Stuff like "I'm known as the fat one" etc.

So, Slammin' Salmon... I've gotta say that I remember originally loving Super Troopers, but didn't like it when I rewatched it about 2 years ago. I never saw Club Dread, and was lukewarm on Beerfest. But this... let my preface it by saying that the film has this comedy vibe that I can't really explain, other than to say that it is similar to the feeling I get when I see a painfully dated and unfunny 80's comedy. Maybe some people call this type of thing a Groaner, but that term implies some sense of enjoyment. In any event, it gave off a hard-(for me)-to-describe but-not-a-good-thing vibe.

So... despite that horrible preface, I really dug the hell out of this movie. I can't explain why. I believe it actually got more big laughs from me and the audience than Observe and Report (though I don't think it'll hold up as well as O&R). I completely am at a loss to reconcile my "I'm not enjoying this" and "this is pretty dumb" thoughts during chunks of the movie (more towards the beginning than the end) with the fact that it really made me laugh. Plus I'm pretty sure that my esteem for the movie has grown just in the few hours since I've seen it as I look back on it as a whole and on individual moments that I really liked.

By the way, every moment Michael Clarke Duncan is on screen is comedy gold.

What a disjointed review... bottom line: I'd gladly go see this again when it gets released.
03.16.09 Observe and ReportJody HillAs soon as Slammin' Salmon ended a big chunk of the theater (myself included) bolted, not even staying for the Broken Lizard Q&A. It was awkward, especially since we had to walk directly past the three guys to leave. I found out from someone else who talked to Broken Lizard before SS that those three knew about the O&R screening, and were going to try to make it over themselves, so... I'm sure they understood. I at least told one of them that I liked his movie. As I rushed past.

Got to the Paramount, where the line was superhuge. I wasn't too worried though, because I knew how massive that theater is. I didn't even cut in line this time, perhaps in some sort of penance for my massive line jumping last night. It was in this line where I talked to a guy who had ridden the shuttle bus over to the Slammin' Salmon screening, *with* the three Broken Lizard guys. He said he and one other dude where the only ones who recognized BL, and they ended up talking to the guys the whole way over there, which was kinda a cool story.

Eventually the line started moving, and I got a second-row aisle spot in the balcony, so I was very happy. Much more legroom that way. After I settled in, Tim League ended up setting just behind me. I also had a good 'what movies have you seen so far' conversation with the dude to my left, who was from... it's escaping me at the moment. Milwaukee sounds right but I'm so damn tired. Eventually the movie started (after Jody Hill did a brief intro).

SXSW Summary: At the Forest Ridge Mall, head of security Ronnie Barnhardt (SETH ROGEN) patrols his jurisdiction with an iron fist. The master of his domain, he combats skateboarders, shoplifters and the occasional unruly customer while dreaming of the day when he can swap his flashlight for a badge and a gun. Ronnie's delusions of grandeur are put to the test when the mall is struck by a flasher. Driven by his personal duty to protect and serve the mall and its patrons, Ronnie seizes the opportunity to showcase his underappreciated law enforcement talents on a grand scale, hoping his solution of this crime will earn him a coveted spot at the police academy and the heart of his elusive dream girl Brandi (ANNA FARIS), the hot make-up counter clerk who won't give him the time of day. But his single-minded pursuit of glory launches a turf war with the equally competitive Detective Harrison (RAY LIOTTA) of the Conway Police, and Ronnie is confronted with the challenge of not only catching the flasher, but getting him before the real cops do.

Notes: Solid, enjoyable comedy. It didn't have me gasping for air like Knocked Up did the first time I saw it, but it also didn't underwhelm me like Tropic Thunder did (or Zack & Miri for that matter). Rogen played a slightly different version of the Angry Rogen character, and he made me laugh a lot. Michael Pena's character was too over the top for me. The movie's biggest strength was its willingness to go to some really weird and dark places. I never was sure what was going to happen or where the movie was going to end up. (These notes are just getting more and more stream of thought with no connecting threads, aren't they?).

Bottom line is that this was another movie that I'm looking forward to seeing again when it gets released in a few months. Glad I decided to break my "don't see guaranteed releases at SXSW... see something small" rule.

The post-film Q&A was funny... most of the cast was there, including Rogen, Faris, McBride, Peņa, the Yuan twins, and Collette Wolfe. Memorable moments included:

:: Someone asking "Tony" what his next project would be. There was no Tony onstage. They were confused. Peņa took the mic and said "that guy must be talking about me since I'm a Mexican and a lot of us are named Tony."

:: Someone near me asked what the movie's budget was. Seriously. They didn't get an answer. Not sure if he was joking.

:: Another person who didn't get an answer was the guy who asked "what does it take to play a profoundly stupid character." Rogen was about to give a serious answer, when Hill said "the same thing it takes to ask a profoundly stupid question." I didn't think the question was that bad.

:: A question I would have liked to know the answer to was how they felt about having Paul Blart open 3 months before their film. There was an uncomfortable vibe from the stage, and Hill said "no comment."

:: Feris prompting the Yuan twins to talk about their zombie survival plan. Sounded like a good, if unimaginative, plan (basically... hole up in a hardware store).

:: Rogen revealed that the real reason they shot in New Mexico was because meth prices were cheap. "That's the elephant in the room with this whole economic mess... meth prices are through the roof. So I said 'If we're going to do this thing, we're going to go somewhere where meth is reasonably priced.' So New Mexico it was."
03.16.09 Trailers From Hell w/ Joe DanteJoe DanteI bolted out just ahead of the crowd as soon as the last question was being answered so that I could make it to the Joe Dante Trailers From Hell screening. I figured it'd be my best chance of making a midnight movie, since I wasn't sure how long it would take me to get to the Lamar theater. Turns out I didn't have to rush... this event didn't sell out. Guess everyone was at Lamar and/or the O&R afterparty.

SXSW Synopsis: Even a bad movie can have a great trailer. Trailers -- you know -- those fast-paced 2-to-4 minute theatrical promo shorts that have preceded the Feature Attraction since the dawn of sound? An exciting montage of all The Best Parts of a movie the exhibitors want you to need to see! Full of swirling letters screaming hyperbolic promises of THRILLS! ACTION! MYSTERY! ROMANCE! Packing all the highlights of a whole picture into its own mini-movie in just a few minutes! TRAILERS FROM HELL is a series that showcases classic-era movie Previews of Coming Attractions with particular emphasis on the lurid, the extreme and the outrageous.

Notes: I never was sure what this was going to be.... I thought it might just be a screening of the actual stuff that is on the Trailers From Hell website, but was hoping that Dante would do some live narration since he was there in person. Unfortunately, it was the former. Projected off some digital format (as opposed to actual film trailers).

Dante did a pre-show Q&A, since he was unsure how many people would actually sit through the entire thing. He called it an "experiment." (He did, in fact, stick through to the end with us). His Q&A was interesting and enjoyable, especially when he talked about what he sees to be the lost art of trailer making. He also talked about his upcoming 3D movie and trying to get Dick Miller out of retirement to appear in it. Fingers crossed.

So the actual screening itself... I'm aware of the website but haven't spent any time there, so it wasn't a matter of seeing stuff I'd already seen in terms of commentary or whatever. But... I dunno... I love trailer compilation shows, but I just didn't dig this. I think it was a combination of the fact that I'd seen most of the trailers before (think Danger Diabolik, Three on a Meathook, Rio Bravo, etc), the fact that some of the narrators weren't saying anything all that interesting, and the fact that I am completely exhausted from seeing (quick count on my fingers) 19 movies in 3.5 days. So I ended up dozing a bit during the movie. As in, I was awake when my bill came and I put my card down, but when I woke up, the bill was gone. So it couldn't have been that long. I actually caught the guy next to me nodding as well... guess we're all pretty worn.

And... ok, that's it for the night. If I can wake up in the morning, I think I'm going to skip the first round of movies and see the Observe and Report panel. It may only be a 2-movie day for me. We'll see...
03.17.09 SplinterheadsBrant SersenIt is 11:00 pm right now (not 2:30 am!), and I'm back in Dallas. I'm hugely looking forward to getting to sleep in a few minutes, but first I wanted to knock out notes on the last two films I saw.

The first thing I did today was check out of the HoJo (my exit bill was $140 too high... good thing I was paying attention... the clerk seemed oddly sad when I brought it to her attention... I doubt it was part of a scam, but who knows?), then catch the Observe & Report panel. Rogen, Farris, Pena, Hill, and McBride were all there, and Elvis Mitchell moderated (he was really great at keeping the flow going, by the way... excellent moderator).

A solid 50 minutes of entertainment from the panel, but I don't really remember much specific other than - during a discussion of how studios really want lead characters to be likeable, and how they don't realize that audiences *like* the bad guys better in a lot of movies (Rogen: "Nobody watches Silence of the Lambs for Jodie Foster!") - Danny McBride calmly explained "I like watching Darth Vader in Star Wars, and he's a motherfucker!"

Glad I saw this panel. The group got mobbed afterwards, then ushered out pretty rapidly down a back hallway to a panel waiting room that was accessible from the area where us Regular Folks were allowed to walk. I had a good 90 minutes to kill before my next movie, so in the interest of fair disclosure, I'll admit that I fanboyishly hung around at a table outside where I thought the cast was and checked emails, twittered, etc. After about a half hour nobody emerged, so I took off. I know I saw McBride enter, but not leave, that room, so unless it had another door, I'm pretty sure they were still in there when I left. Oh well... if I'd really wanted a picture I could have hustled to the front after the panel. Still, would have been nice to meet Anna or Seth.

I made my way down to the Paramount, randomly running into Tiffany who was in line at the Ritz. I picked Splinterheads solely because it was from the director of Blackballed: The Bobby Dukes Story.

SXSW Synopsis: For Justin Frost, a typical day is rolling out of bed at one, practicing improvised karate, and mowing grass for his best friend's landscaping business. But when a traveling carnival lands in his small town, Justin falls for a sexy con-artist and wakes up to the life he has yet to begin living

Notes: For some reason, I thought this was going to be a mumblecore movie, but it completely wasn't. It's actually a very professional, very polished, very funny carnival-based comedy ("splinterhead" apparently is the name for carny workers who man the games as opposed to rides). I don't really review comedy well other than to say "very funny," but I will point out that there was a great psychopath performance by Dean Winters (Ryan O'Reily from Oz) and a good-guy performance by Frankie Faison (Commissioner Burrell from The Wire). Sadly, neither of those actors were there (more cast was around for the first screening Saturday, I'm not sure if they were there for that or not... I would have loved to meet those two).

After the film there was a great q&a where this actor named Jason Mantzoukas basically took over the mike and said some really funny stuff (man I suck at reviewing comedy). Jason had a smallish role as a bad magician in the movie, but his presence at the q&a was top-notch... apparently they're doing a web series spinoff based on his character... I'm really looking forward to that. If this guy gets in the right place at the right time, I could see him becoming a big deal... he had a very Will Arnett vibe.
03.17.09 Four BoxesWyatt McDillI was trying to decide whether to stay for Four Boxes or just hit the road. But Jarrette was lined up, and the movie hasn't been picked up yet so who knows if I'll ever have another chance to see it, and it starred the brother from Weeds and he was going to be there for the q&a, and I just figured what the hell.

SXSW Synopsis: Trevor Grainger, Amber Croft and Rob Rankrus run Go Time Liquidators, an ambulance-chasing eBay auction business. In a dead man's destroyed suburban house they start watching a bookmarked surveillance-cam website called fourboxes.tv. If fourboxes.tv isn't just more internet BS, then a crazed creep they call Havoc is building enough bombs to, like, kill everybody.

Notes: Wow... without going back through my notes, I'm thinking this may have been my least favorite movie of the festival. But I'll at least give it credit for trying to do something different. I'm about to spoil this entire movie, so... don't read on if you think you'll ever see it.

Here's the plot. Two dudes and a chick break into a dead loner's house and spend the week putting his stuff on eBay. They end up getting sucked into watching this website called Four Boxes, which features a creepy looking masked dude making bombs and stuff. They eventually figure out that he's smuggling bombs through coffins and into tailpipes, and that he's targeting the entire country. (It didn't make sense in the movie either). Toward the end of the week, the terrorist creepy dude starts taking down the walls of his apartment, and you find out that the creepy terrorist dude's house was actually the loner's house. Where the three main characters have been all week. They freak out, and the creepy dude shows up and kills them.

But they're not really dead! The entire thing was a put on! Our three people were behind the entire thing as some sort of ill-defined web-based money-making scheme. They filmed the bomb-making stuff, then filmed themselves watching the bomb-making stuff, then put the entire thing online as a "cyber drama" (their words, not mine), then planned on talking to their newfound web audience directly after the "we all get killed" scene and hawking Four Boxes shirts. And they also thought they'd get put on TV for doing all of that.

But they don't ever get to talk to their new fans! Because they fall asleep in the living room of the house on the night of the big reveal and one of the characters falls asleep on the automatic car starter in her pocket. And the car is in the garage! And the garage door is closed!! And the door from the garage into the living room is open!!! And the car produces so much CO2 that it floods the entire house!!!! And if that weren't bad enought, the girl wakes up long enough to drag the dude she's engaged to into the garage *right by the fucking car* just they can be extra sure to die!!!!!

So... there are obviously a lot of implausible things happening here, but I've been trying to pinpoint specifically why I didn't like it. And I think what it comes down to is that the movie is just full of tech-related stuff that makes zero sense if you know anything about the internet. It's like if your granddad took a two-hour community college class on The WWW, then tried to write a cyber-thriller.

Examples:

:: When the trio are rehearsing what they're going to say to their audience after they reveal that the whole thing has been a put-on, they plan on telling everyone to go to fourboxes.tv to buy their shirts. Ignoring, of course, that the only way anyone would be able to hear them say that in the first place is if they were already at fourboxes.tv.

:: There are ethernet ports *in the house's electrical breaker box,* one that says "webcast" and the other that says "live." Plugging an ethernet cord into each one does different things. There's also a switch in the breaker box that somehow turns on and off the microphones built into all the hidden cameras in the house.

:: As soon as they turn on their feed, they start getting real-time stats: "twenty, fourty, 100 hits already dude!"

:: At one point the girl says "the great thing about internet tv is that there are no ads."

There were plenty more examples like these, and it just became nails on a chalkboard to me. There was a good idea there (they described it as Rear Window meets the internet), but it just didn't come together in the end.

The director, cast, and some audience members seem really pleased with the result though, so... somebody likes it. And hey, I got to meet Justin Kirk.

And that was it for my SXSW. I made a sweep down to fourth street to see the St. Patty's party (sorry Austin... just one dinky blocked-off block? Dallas has you beat big time on this one), one last walk down 6th (more and more hipsters arriving by the minute... when the pretty people start getting into town it's my cue to call it a week), and one last pass through the convention center.

In all, this was a very strong SXSW for me... I'm pleased with what I saw, even though I don't think I saw anything that won a SXSW award (that always seems to be the case... stuff that just never sounded interesting to me ends up winning). 19 movies, 2 shorts packages, and one panel in less than 96 hours. If you figure each of those lasted 90 minutes, I had 33 hours of "things"... that number is much higher where you count line time, and the fact that plenty (most?) of the movies were over 90 minutes.

Favorites, in chronological order: The Snake, Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo, Pulling John, Winnebago Man, Humpday, Drag Me To Hell, The Slammin' Salmon, Observe and Report, and Splinterheads.

Ok... gotta get some sleep, I've got work tomorrow...