sblfilms Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 Got into Austin a little late as my wife decided last minute to join me for the weekend shows, but grabbed my badge and ran over to the Paramount just in time to slip into my first screening: Road House Director Doug Liman Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Conor McGregor This movie is definitely a throw back piece, but not one that is just nostalgia porn. It is hokey in the right way if you’re willing to roll with it. Biggest problem the film has is that Jake and Conor are the only memorable parts of the cast, which is fine when they are on screen, but the flick loses steam when they aren’t. I was fully expecting quality of performance that Gyllenhaal put out, I think he is tremendous, but I was surprised at how well McGegror worked in this role. I guess to some degree he has been a performer his whole career, but doing it in a narrative film is a different beast. Could be just a perfect match of man and material, but I can imagine him getting more calls for similar roles in the future. I give it a slight recommend Afterward I went to the Film/TV opening night party to talk shop with some filmmakers about the distribution platform and get some feedback. Overall a great opening day even with the delayed start! 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 For some inexplicable reason, my client (DARPA) actually decided to have a presence at SXSW this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLeon Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 4 minutes ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: For some inexplicable reason, my client (DARPA) actually decided to have a presence at SXSW this year Is the DARPA Chief promoting the in-development Metal Gear Solid movie? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblfilms Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 7 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: For some inexplicable reason, my client (DARPA) actually decided to have a presence at SXSW this year There was a protest of various governmental agencies, governmental contractors, etc. who work in national defense and their sponsorship of SXSW. I mean, it’s downtown Austin, there is some sort of protest every day 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblfilms Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 We Can Be Heroes Directors Carina Wong and Alex Simmons Documentary The film follows a group of neurodivergent teens who meet up at a LARPing camp. This film really got to me, I think partly being a father to a bunch of kids in this age range, but also just on a base human level. Stories of loneliness, anxiety, failure to fit in. The filmmakers do an incredible job of weaving together the stories of each kid into the events of the LARP, helping to show how such an experience can help to process trauma. Highly recommend 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblfilms Posted March 10 Author Share Posted March 10 My Dead Friend Zoe Director/Writer Kyle Hausmann-Stokes Narrative Drama/Comedy Starring Sonequa Martin-Green, Natalie Morales, Morgan Freeman, and Ed Harris I put this one of the list because a friend of mine’s boyfriend worked on it. I knew literally nothing about it prior to walking in and being seated in the incredible Paramount theater. The basic premise here is a female military veteran from Afghanistan comes home from war to be haunted by her best friend and platoon mate, Zoe, who has died prior to beginning of the film. This is the first feature film by Hausmann-Stokes, and it is based mostly on his life. He was an Army paratrooper during Iraqi Freedom, and was award a Bronze Star. He has made it part of his mission as a filmmaker to bring awareness to the plight of our veterans and how we as a nation have let them down. This film feels like a great companion piece to something like The Hurt Locker. It is a film that highlights how we have ruined the lives of so many young men and women with our useless wars and our complete lack of care for these people when they leave the military. The way we make ourselves feel better by ‘thanking a veteran’ and other shallow gestures. The whole cast was phenomenal, but the scenes between Martin-Greene and Morales are the highlights for me. Hausmann-Stokes is one to keep your eye on. Highly recommend 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblfilms Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 I went home Saturday night and skipped all day Sunday, but jumped back here for the Monday run of shows. Ended up seeing 4 films and I’m about to pass out 😂 first up: Arcadian Director Ben Brewer Narrative Horror/Comedy I guess Starring Nic Cage I really don’t want to give anything away here. The movie is a creative and fun take on the currently exploding post-apocalyptic horror-ish genre. I have found Nic Cage to be increasingly annoying with time, with few roles being able to withstand his goofy takes, but it does work well here. The two boys playing his sons help stabilize things, and the eventual creature feature aspects are crafted in a surpassingly effective way given the budget for the film. If the trailer catches your attention, it is a pretty solid representation of the finished film. Somewhat recommend 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblfilms Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 Audrey Director Natalie Bailey Narrative Comedy of the Darkest Variety Starring Jackie van Beek, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor Dark comedies are quite the trick to pull off. The filmmaker has to strike a balance between the absurd and the sincere in a way that the film never strays too long into either lane. This movie is something else. It continuously moves further and further into the region of absurdity, yet it also drags this sweet family drama along with it. The characters in the family have a ton of depth to them, and it is fascinating how they weave their individuals struggles together in a way that creates conflict that doesn’t feel forced. The scenarios are zany at times, but they seem real in the world these characters live in. The final 20 minutes are madness and I was 100% in for wherever the writer and director wanted to go. It was also a great reminder that comedies are one of the best genres for cinemas. Laughter, especially uncomfortable laughter, is just so contagious. Strong recommend, especially if you like dark comedy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblfilms Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 Monkey Man Dev Patel wearing all the hats Narrative Action One of my friends watched it with me and afterward he said “damn, that movie was SWEATY”…and I think that is a good description. Patel is clearly drawing on various influences of Asian action cinema here and he does an impressive job creating his own take on the action genre by piecing those various influences together. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear a lot of John Wick comps with this one, and that probably is fair to some degree, but Patel differentiates from that plenty enough that it doesn’t feel like a retread. And goodness is that one handsome and charming man. Congrats to him on his big night here in Austin. I think he had the largest friends and family section of any filmmaker so far 😂 Strong recommend 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblfilms Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 Hood Witch Director Said Belktibia Narrative Thriller Starring Golshifteh Farahani, Denis Levant I think I should have went to bed and skipped this one. Not because it was bad or I didn’t like it, but because I was running out of gas by the opening title card 😂 This is a strange one though. The Q&A with the director afterward was really fascinating, which they often aren’t because most people that want to ask questions are doing so to enjoy the sound of their own voices. But the director explained that most of what you see in the film are recreations of real life events he experienced as a boy with his mom being into Islamic witchcraft, a thing I did not know existed before tonight. Farahani is exceptional as usual, and she gets plenty of opportunity for her signature yell-for-her-child moment She is such an impressive performer, and despite the film being in French, you can still understand so much of what she is doing on screen by her physical performance. One of the thing I had wanted to ask the director, but it was getting really late, is why he chose to focus on Nour’s (Farahani’s character) reaction to violence while obfuscating the most graphic parts of the violence itself. Was an interesting choice. I think I’m too tired to give it a recommendation level, but I did enjoy it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblfilms Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 One of the fun parts about a festival like this is standing in line and talking to the people around you. I ended up in a fun group while waiting for Monkey Man, and one of the people looked so familiar. Eventually she noted that she works as a reporter and it finally clicked. It was an ABC News reporter named Zohreen Shah, and any news junkie who watched a lot of coverage of the 2020 election would probably recognize her if you saw a pic or video. She was very cool and had some funny stories about being embedded with several dem presidential candidates during to the 2020 primary season. Always talk to the people around you at fests, engaging other people about the things they have watched is honestly 50% of the fun 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoberChef Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Just awaiting that Civil War review! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silentbob Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 I’m hoping for a Stuntman review. Early reactions seem very positive as a love letter to the industry itself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greatoneshere Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 11 hours ago, silentbob said: I’m hoping for a Stuntman review. Early reactions seem very positive as a love letter to the industry itself. I think you mean The Fall Guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silentbob Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 43 minutes ago, Greatoneshere said: I think you mean The Fall Guy. my bad, but Yes 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greatoneshere Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 38 minutes ago, silentbob said: my bad, but Yes Perhaps your mind went to this? Or this? Perhaps this? Possibly this? Or maybe this? Or maybe you were thinking of a previous Ryan Gosling film whose day job in the film is already as a stuntman? Yes, this was just an excuse to post these. It is also amusing that Ryan Gosling has now starred in films titled The Nice Guys, First Man, The Gray Man and now The Fall Guy. It's also funny that the Vin Diesel and The Rock video games Wheelman and SpyHunter: Nowhere to Run are orphaned game tie-ins to cancelled film projects for their respective stars. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblfilms Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 Fall Guy Director David Leitch Narrative Action Comedy Starring Emily Blunt, Ryan Gosling This movie was so much fun to watch, even though I don't know it will necessarily hold up to repeat viewings. Gosling and Blount have incredible chemistry and keep the train rolling even though there is not a whole heck of a lot of actual plot. Leitch clearly LOVES his stunt performers and gives them a ton of opportunities to shine. The action is not itself particularly inventive, but it is exciting nonetheless. The flick is also just plain funny. Some may feel it retreads some jokes a bit too much, but the performances by Blunt and Gosling make up for some of the sameness. I would like to see Leitch get a really great script for a more serious action film, he has done well with mostly average scripts to date IMO. Recommended 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblfilms Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 A Nice Indian Boy Director Roshan Sethi Narrative Comedy Drama Starring Karan Soni, Jonathan Groff This is a story that I think a lot of people can resonate with, the feeling both real and imagined about not fitting into the culture you are born in. Questions about if you can even remain a part of that community because of the sort of person you are and how that type of person is viewed. It also is one that can be related to from the opposite side of the equation, the difficulty of seeing change happen in front of your eyes and trying to hold on to what you know. The cast is all great, and it is interesting hearing in the Q&A that the lead actor Karan Soni is in a relationship with the writer/director Roshan Sethi for which the film is an interpretation of his own experience being born into a traditional Indian family and coming to terms with his sexuality. The screening had an audience with a lot of SE Asians in attendance, and it was also fun to see and hear their reaction to moments that probably made a heck of a lot more sense to those who grew up in the region Slight Recommend 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sblfilms Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 Civil War Director Alex Garland Narrative Drama Starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny Hot damn. The trailer for this film simply does not prepare you for what this movie actually is. It is a film that views America through the lens with which America typically turns its gaze to foreign regions (most notably, the Middle East). It does not ignore there present reality of politics, but it chooses a different path of critique of our nation and those who lead it. But it does not let the citizenry off the hook either. We are all participants in one way or another such that even those who are on the right side of the conflict find themselves desensitized to the horrors around us. The film concludes with a gut-punching final 2 minutes that left me forgetting to breathe. Alex Garland knocked the thing out of the park. Dunst, Moura, and Spaeny all shine at different moments in the film. I actually forgot how great Kirsten Dunst is as an actress! I don't recall having seen Moura or Spaeny prior to this film, but both are ones I would like to see in more films. Also, holy moly, the sound mix on this movie. See this in a loud auditorium. The deep bass of the gun blasts in the action sequences were legitimately unnerving. I don't usually feel like guns in movies ever come close to evoking the feeling of a gun being fired in real life, but this movie did it. Highly recommend 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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