Looking at the gauntlet that’s in store for this year’s South By Southwest can be pretty intimidating, so we here at TUIW are going to try to sort through the noise and find the stuff that’s worth doing. This preview is by no means complete, and it reflects my own particular biases (free food, free drinks, and eclectic, left-of-the dial leaning rock), but here goes.
Before we get into the music proper, though, there’s the first weekend, which is primarily dominated by the Film and Interactive festivals. There are a few bands, and a bunch of parties, but the emphasis is more on film and new media. I only have a badge to the Film Festival, though, so let’s start by looking at that.
If you don’t have a badge, you can still get a local film badge for $70 over-the-counter from the Drafthouse. They’ll also be selling individual tickets to movies (assuming there’s room, of course) for $10. So, what films should you shell out for?
FRIDAY:
Kick-Ass – 7:00 – Paramount Theater
As much as I hate the comic (which comes from the second phase of Mark Millar’s career, known as “Let me make comics specifically so they can be optioned into films), the latest trailer has finally gotten me psyched about this movie. The idea of a real-world, mocking deconstruction of superhero mythology sounds fun enough, especially the always batty Nicolas Cage and Hit Girl, a 9-year-old girl who is also a ninja.
Dogtooth – 6:45 – Alamo Lamar
Of course, if Kick-Ass fills or if your tastes are a little artier, there’s this well-recieved film, which has been making the rounds after debuting at Cannes last year (where it won the Un Certain Regard award). The film is about three teens who are locked away in isolation in their family’s rural estate, cut off from the world and forced to live under their father’s strict rules. Director Yorgos Lanthimos’ style has garnered a lot of acclaim and people who see the film love it, so I’m curious to see it. (Its also running a week later, on the 19th at 5:00 PM)
SATURDAY
Micmacs – 6:45 PM – Paramount Theater
Jean-Pierre Jeunet made one of my favorite films of the 2000s (that would be Amelie) and Micmacs looks like a return to manic form for the director. The film is being sold as an imaginative comedy about a scrappy group of people who live in a junkyard and seek revenge on an evil industrialist, but given its Jeunet, I’m willing to go in relatively cold and enjoy the ride.
Cyrus – 9:30 PM – Paramount Theater
A Sundance selection, Cyrus is the Hollywood debut of the Duplass Brothers, who aim to leave mumblecore behind with this comedy. John C. Reilly stars as an awkward dude who falls for Marisa Tomei but has to deal with her creepy, socially inept son, Jonah Hill. Given the Duplass’ talent for awkward, honest humor and the funny trailer, I have high hopes for this film.
SUNDAY
No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson – 11:00 AM – Paramount Theater
Just like how Winning Time premiered at Sundance, this installment of ESPN’s 30 For 30 series premieres here at SXSW and looks really interesting. Directed by Steve James (who made Hoop Dreams), it looks at the racial and social divides in Hampton, Virginia, which were exacerbated by the trail and imprisonment of Allen Iverson in 1993.
Winter’s Bone – 4:15 PM – Alamo Lamar
Winter’s Bone took Sundance by storm last month drawing comparisons to No Country for Old Men. The story concerns a 17-year-old girl who has to trek through the Ozarks to track down her absent father before he defaults on the house she lives in with her mother and leaves them homeless.
The Parking Lot Movie – 5:00 PM – Alamo Ritz
Set in a parking lot in Charlottesville, Virginia, Parking Lot Movie aims to use the trials and experience of the attendants there and project them into something larger about Us As a People. Even if the summary makes the film seem a little overwrought (including this line: “Something as simple as a parking lot becomes an emotional weigh station for The American Dream”), its still an interesting concept.
MONDAY
Strange Powers: Stephin Merrit and the Magnetic Fields – 7:15 PM – Alamo Lamar
This promises to be a fascinating look at one of the prickliest, and most talented, songwriters working today.
MacGruber – 9:00 PM – Paramount
Can SNL produce their first good movie since Wayne’s World? The trailer made this film look far more promising than it seemed at first and it should be nice to break up the heavy, festival fare with a goofy movie like this.
Enter the Void – 11:59 PM – Alamo Ritz
Gasper Noe’s newest film promises to be another taxing, dark journey through the horrors of the human mind. It debuted at Cannes where the response could be generously called divisive, and its midnight time slot should allow for the weirdness and mindfuckery to have its maximum effect.
THE REST
The Runaways – Thursday at 8:00 PM – Paramount
Its time for another drugs, sex, and rock and roll biopic, this time starring Dakota Fanning and Kristen Stewart as Cherie Curie and Joan Jett, repsectively. I don’t have terribly high hopes for this one (and will probably be going for one of the music showcases instead), but the buzz on Michael Shannon’s performance is really solid.
Waking Sleeping Beauty – Saturday at 12:00 PM – Paramount
While this video is the most important bit of Disney you’ll see all month, Waking Sleeping Beauty runs a close second. A documentary looking at the 1990s resurgence of Disney feature animation, it promises to be an interesting peek behind the curtain of one of the most interesting showbiz stories of the 1990s.
Four Lions – Saturday at 7:00 PM – Paramount
The closing film of the festival is another Sundance alum, this one getting buzz as the next In the Loop, mainly because its a dry British satire. Director Chris Morris’ film focuses on four jihadists who plan to carry out a terrorist attack, which should make for an interesting public reaction if it ever sees a real release.
Next: A look at the free parties this weekend (and the following Monday and Tuesday) as SXSW begins in earnest.
Michael
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