We got a chance to sit down with Mark Duplass, Craig Johnson, Bret Loehr, and Carr Thompson to talk about a really great film from SXSW 2009 called ‘True Adolescents’. Enjoy:
Category: SXSW 2009
SXSW Film Festival 2009: Closing Thoughts
I know we completely slacked on our daily updates but with the craziness of SXSW it was nearly impossible to keep up on them. Even without the daily updates I like to think we rocked Austin’s face off, maybe we even dutch ruddered Austin..who knows?
From the night that we got there, till the afternoon that we left things were a complete whirlwind that refused to stop. In order for us to sit down and write it meant we were missing out on something and the thought of all the stuff we missed makes me cringe. Here are a few numbers that we are proud of from SXSW:
We posted 26 reviews(we still have a few more to write so be patient), Conducted 9 interviews(we are still posting these as well so be patient), I caught half of one panel(Vivid, YES!), and went to parties almost every night. On top of all of this we had to find time to sleep, which didnt happen very often, eat, cover red carpets, and hang out with the coolest people we could find.
The festival is quite the undertaking however I think we did a tremendous job making you all feel like you were there, and if we didnt..sorry. Here are a few pictures that we thought were amazing.
Scott, Javi “Baby Got Back”, and Jeremy
Scott, Weston from Funny or Die, and Travis Bagent from ‘Pulling John’
Interviewing Seth Rogen on the Red Carpet
Scott with Navid, John Brzenk, and Sevan from ‘Pulling John’
Jeremy doing an interview with the Cast/Director of ‘My Suicide’
Mark Duplass, Me, and Jason Segel
Jeremy rocking his Sierra Mist sunglasses, and IFC Bag
Well there you have it boys and girls, we gave ourselves to the festivals and all we got in return were a few memories and some Sierra Mist Sunglasses.
Funny or Die @ SXSW – The Dirty Garage / Gobstopper
Funny or Die has had a stellar year so far for bringing us the laughs. As SXSW came to a close, some funny and unique trailers made there way into and infront of some of the films that played. One of them was The Dirty Garage, a close look at the relationships of twenty somethings on a trip to clean the garage. The other was horror favorite Gobstopper, a mash-up of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and the Saw Franchise. Check them out below and tell us what you think!
The Dirty Garage – watch more funny videos
SXSW Review: ‘The Yes Men Fix the World’
Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, The Yes Men, want to fix the world. Â Do they do it? Â Not exactly. Â What they do do is create elaborate pranks and gags by pretending to be members of powerful companies who have practiced less-than-moral ethics. Â The Yes Men want to teach these companies a lesson, and they do so in increasingly detailed, ridiculous, and hilarious ways.
At first, they pose as Dow Chemical Company promising to liquidate Union Carbide and pay $12 billion towards medical care for the victims of the Bhopal chemical disaster. Â Later, theyclaim to be members of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and promise to reopen public housing facilities HUD had closed down after Hurricane Katrina.
At first, what these guys are doing might seem not unlike Sacha Baron Cohen, encountering high-powered people and making attempts at ridiculing them. Â What they are doing, however, goes so much deeper than Cohen, it’s hard not to feel a little pride in backing them.
Granted, you have to feel sorry for the people they give false hope to. Â But the film never holds back to show the reactions of those these two give this false hope to. Â They are never angry with the Yes Men. Â They are always ecstatic that someone is out there hearing their plight and making an effort to make others hear it, too.
And that is how the Yes Men are fixing the world. Â Granted, this film might be better suited to a different format. Â Seeing one prank after another after another for 90 minutes gets somewhat tedious. Â Perhaps a weekly television show would have helped us stay far more interested in the latter issues they raise.
Nonetheless, you have to admire (and keep yourself from over-applauding) what the film represents above being genuinely entertaining. Â ‘The Yes Men Fix the World’, if nothing else, brings these men into the public eye. Â The film may make a difference, yet.
Overall: 4 stars out of 5
SXSW Review: ‘Best Worst Movie’
Twenty years ago, I was the child star (Joshua Waits) of one of the worst movies ever made – Troll 2. I ran from Troll 2 and I wanted nothing to do with it. But that was before I realized that there was more to this movie than I understood, and so… I decided to make a movie about it. – Michael Stephenson
Quick! Â What’s the worst film ever made? Â If you said ‘Troll 2’, you probably wouldn’t be in the minority. Â Long standing as the worst film of all time according to the IMDB Bottom 100 (it currently isn’t even on the list, Damn You, Jonas Brothers!), ‘Troll 2’ has garnered a cult following in recent years. Â People hold screenings of the film, and, in ‘Rocky Horror’ fashion, reenact some of the more interesting scenes.
The documentary, ‘Best Worst Movie’, follows this cult phenomenon that has surrounded ‘Troll 2’ and everyone involved. Â The documentary was directed by Michael Stephenson, who starred in ‘Troll 2’, and follows Stephenson’s trek with the ‘Troll 2’ road show that took the film from town to town. Â Accompanying Stephenson is George Hardy, the man who played his father in ‘Troll 2’ and probably the sweetest man on the planet. Â Seriously, if you ever see George Hardy, and he’s not smiling, note the time and date, because the world is coming to an end.
‘Best Worst Movie’ is more than just candy for fans of ‘Troll 2’ or people who are interested in the idea of cult film. Â It is an intriguing character study of people who, 20 years ago, did something that didn’t turn out how they thought it would and how it has affected their lives ever since.
Hardy is a man who is extremely pleased at the celebrity status he has gained from the cult following of ‘Troll 2’, and it is heartbreaking whenever he approaches someone who doesn’t know who he is. Â Equally heartbreaking is the scene where Stephenson and Hardy track down and visit Margo Prey, who played Stephenson’s mother in the film. Â The actress’s story could be turned into a film all in itself, and, as if channeling ‘Sunset Blvd’s Norma Desmond, Prey still believes her time in the spotlight is yet to come.
Stephenson tracks down all of the cast and crew from ‘Troll 2’, all colorful characters in their own right. Â Some have gone on with their lives. Â Some are still trying to hold onto their celebrity. Â Some are happy they appered in ‘Troll 2’. Â Others are apathetic. Â However, none of these characters are as colorful as the director, Claudio Fragasso, who, to this day, claims that there is a deeper meaning in ‘Troll 2’ that people just don’t understand.
There is a fine line between failure and success, and ‘Best Worst Movie’, in several different ways, depicts this line with pristine accuracy. Â The filmmaking seems effortless for Stephenson. Â It should. Â The film was a passion project for him. Â Whether he can hold this same level camera work and storytelling with a story that does not find him at the center of it remains to be seen. Â However, with ‘Best Worst Movie’ he has created an extremely well-crafted film about a film that was…well…not so well-crafted.
Overall: 4.5 stars out of 5
SXSW Review: ‘Adventureland’
I originally caught this movie at Sundance and with all the hype surrounding it I came out of it a little disappointed, but I think that might have had something to do with the high altitude because I watched this again at SXSW and it rocked my socks off.Â
The story follows Jesse as he graduates high school and starts gearing up for his post high school trip to Europe in 1987. When his parents drop the bomb on him that they can no longer pay for the trip he is forced to go and find a summer job, but the only thing he is qualified for is working at the local amusement park Adventureland. When he starts at the park he quickly realizes there are 2 types of employees at the park, the Games people and the Rides people which is essentially like two different cliques in high school, the geeks vs the jocks.Â
Jesse immediately falls for a fellow rides worker in Bella..I mean Emily(Kristen Stewart), who he doesnt know it yet but is totally hung up on the park mechanic/rockstar Mike Connell(Ryan Reynolds). After displaying that he is more than a geek he gets her attention and they start a love affair to spark his otherwise boring summer.Â
I wont go and ruin the entire plot of the movie but Greg Mottola really makes you feel nostalgiac with the gritty feel he gives the park, and the throwback 80’s tunes he tosses into the film. If you were born, grew up, or even graduated in the 80’s then you are going to fall in love with this flick. The movie is packed with a star studded cast featuring Bill Hader, Ryan Reynolds, Martin Starr, Jesse Eisenberg, and Kristen Stewart who all play their roles in the movie to perfection.Â
Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5
SXSW Review: ‘RiP: A Remix Manifesto’
We actually stumbled into this movie when ‘Made in China’ was sold out, and I couldnt be more happy about that fact. ‘RiP: A Remix Manifesto’ is at its core a documentary about a mashup DJ named Girl Talk who takes a bunch of songs and mixes/mashes them together to create epic, danceable versions of the song. The question really comes up about whether he is doing something illegal and if so why is it illegal?
Most of the songs that Girl Talk makes will have samples of other songs, but after he is finished with them they could barely be considered the same song. Think of it like this: What if when the internet was created they put some copyright on the speed of the internet through dialup and no one even tried to make hi speed because of legal implications, we would all still be rocking 56k modems and the image you see above would still be loading! Those are the sort of the same kind of thoughts Brett Gaylor invokes with this documentary that exploits the questionable and sometimes laughable copyright laws. Did you know that Warner/Chappell owns the rights to the Happy Birthday song? In order to use it in a film you have to pay upwards of $10,000, now does that not seem a bit ridiculous?
Brett explores all kinds of copyright issues from music, to Mickey Mouse and how Disney at one point encouraged and even ripped things in their early cartoons. The best thing about the documentary is that they have made it public, you can download it, remix it and make your own version of the film. You can even show it publicly without fear of the legal hammer coming down upon you. If you want more information on how to see this doc, or participate in showing it go to http://ripremix.com. Here is the trailer as well for those interested:
Overall rating: 5 out of 5
SXSW 2009 Closing Video
SXSW 2009 is in the books, and I made an EPIC video to highlight it all so watch below and enjoy..
SXSW Review: ‘Iron Maiden: Flight of 666’
If you dont know who Iron Maiden is then obviously you have been living under a rock for the last 30 years because these guys have been ruling the metal scene for that long. When I heard that they would be doing a documentary that was set to premier at SXSW, I was more than stoked.
Stoked it how you could describe the first 15 minutes of this movie, but then it just falls flat. Not flat as it in gets boring, but flat because it is very repetitive. Essentially for every big city you see the band fly in, get ambushed by fans, try to get in some golf or tennis, rock the crowd’s faces off and then board the plane for the next city. All 2 hours of the movie this is what you see for pretty much every city they go to. The live performances are fantastic, and you sort of feel like you are there in moments but this doc is definitely made ONLY for hardcore Maiden fans.
Dont get me wrong, the documentary we watched was filmed really great, put together very solid but it just comes off as a fluff piece. There is essentially no conflict in the film, unless you consider one of the band members getting hit by a golf ball and there was 8 seconds you thought he wouldnt be performing the show that night. Outside of that there is nothing in the way of conflict/resolution. If i didnt know any better the film makers handed this over to the band and they decided what would go in and what wouldnt. Unless Iron Maiden are not metal at all in their old age and never show off their rockstar personas then there has to be some great footage on the cutting room floor.
If you are a fan of metal you should definitely check this movie out, even if it is for the first 15 minutes, then shut it off because you know what will happen throughout the flick.
Overall Rating: 2.5 out of 5
SXSW Review: ‘The Hurt Locker’
It’s amazing to think that it was a woman director behind such testosterone-laced action flicks as ‘Point Break’ and ‘Strange Days’. Well, Kathryn Bigelow is back, this time showing us the inner workings of a bomb squad unit in 2004’s Iraq War.
The film stars Jeremy Renner (’28 Weeks Later…’) as Staff Sergeant Williams James, the newest sergeant in charge of an elite Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit. James is reckless and daring, always thumbing his nose at death as he boldly walks down bombed out streets towards a potential trap. Anthonie Mackie plays Sergeant JT Sanborn, the glue that holds the unit together. More specifically, Sanborn is that which keeps Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) from losing his composure after an early incident that leaves one man dead.
‘The Hurt Locker’ is daringly directed. Bigelow is a pro at working her camera into even the most intense of situations, and she never makes us feel disconnected from the harsh realities of it all. When James is tearing a vehicle apart searching for an IED, we are right there in the car with him. When Sanborn and Eldridge are covering James, searching the are for potential snipers or detonators, we move all about the area with them.
The details in ‘The Hurt Locker’ are amazing. Here, we see the day-to-day trappings these men have to go through just for the sake of keeping themselves alive. This is particularly shown in a scene in which the three, along with a group of British soldiers, are pinned down by snipers. Every detail is shown. Their guns become empty. There’s blood on the bullets jamming the gun. There’s no spit to wash the bullets off from all the heat. And, then, there are the flies, darting their way in and out as if they were hired on as extras. It’s an incredible scene, and, dare I say, it rivals the opening scene from ‘Saving Private Ryan’ it is suspense and form.
Where ‘The Hurt Locker’ falls short, however, is in the structuring of the story. Besides James’ increased sense of laughing death in the face and Sanborn’s increased desperation to control him, there is very little in the way of plot lines throughout. What we mostly get is scene after scene after scene of this group disposing after one bomb after another after another. There is one subplot involving James and an Iraqi boy whom he befriends, but the resolution to that plot-line is as confusing as it deflated.
The film’s final moments also grow tedious.  There is a perfectly good ending point, but the film keeps going. This hurts the film in a number of ways. One, it makes you think they didn’t really have a way of ending it. Two, it follows only one of the three, main characters, indicating to us that the film was all about him and not the other two.
A little more cohesion throughout the film and the sense that all three men shared the top spot in the story would have done wonders for ‘The Hurt Locker’. It probably would have even put the film at the top of my list at SXSW. However, we’ll just have to settle for a very good film with some incredibly intense direction.
Overall: 3.5 stars out of 5