SXSW: The Final Roundup

Scott Von Doviak — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 17:30:00 GMT

The whirlwind of SXSW often takes on a life of its own, and that was certainly true this year for me and the rest of the Screengrab contingent. There are movies we fully intended to see and cover for you here, but fate decreed otherwise. (Winnebago Man proved particularly elusive for various reasons; my worst SXSW memory this year involves sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic on 5th Street with no hope of finding a parking space before a screening began. In my anger, I cursed the Winnebago Man, but I now understand it wasn’t his fault.) There are also movies I saw and never found the time to review during the festival. And they are:

For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism . How does a film critic review a movie about film critics made by a film critic? It’s a tough question for me, which is probably why I kept putting off a review of Gerald Peary’s years-in-the-making documentary. With the help of interviewees ranging from the old guard (Andrew Sarris, Richard Schickel) to the increasingly endangered critics of today (Owen Gleiberman, Wesley Morris), Boston Phoenix mainstay Peary does an admirable (if a bit square and PBS-ready) job of tracing the history of film criticism and revealing the ways in which it mirrors the history of cinema itself. One thing I learned: most film critics were not meant to be seen in extreme close-up from the front row of the Alamo Ritz.

Modern Love is Automatic. Writer/director Zach Clark’s second feature has attitude to spare, but for the most part, it left me cold. It’s the story of two women who become roommates – nurse Lorraine (Melodie Sisk) and would-be model Adrian (Maggie Ross). The lovely but robotic Lorraine is so bored and jaded with everyone and everything that she launches a side business as a dominatrix, while deluded Adrian can only find work at a unique mattress store where the customers cuddle with the hired help. There’s no denying that Sisk makes the most of her leather bondage-wear, but her monotonous performance wore on me, as did the ‘80s MTV color scheme, jarring bursts of heavy metal on the soundtack, and a couple of dark developments that don’t really feel earned.

Monsters from the Id. Here we have another group of film buffs, although most of the ones featured in David Gargani’s documentary are actually professional scientists. They just happen to share a love of the sci-fi movies of the 1950s, which helped inspire them to pursue careers in their chosen field. The interview subjects, including Rocket Boys author and retired NASA engineer Homer Hickam and physics professor Dr. Leroy Dubeck, bemoan the loss of the scientist heroes of the golden age, worrying that the kids of today have no role models in the field, and therefore are not pursuing careers in science. Whether or not their fears are legitimate, the doc is worth seeing for the copious clips from ‘50s sci-fi classics both renowned and forgotten, which will have you racing home to your Netflix queue.

Related:
SXSW Review: Along Came Kinky
SXSW Review: The Slammin' Salmon

SXSW Preview: Ten Must-See Documentaries (Part Two)

Scott Von Doviak — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 19:00:00 GMT

Continuing our weeklong SXSW Film preview, here are five more documentaries for your viewing consideration:

IT CAME FROM KUCHAR

Kuchar is not a Middle Eastern country you’ve never heard of; it’s the surname of twin brothers from the Bronx who have been making no-budget underground films together since the 1950s. The Kuchar filmography is more than 200 titles strong, including I Was a Teenage Rumpot, Pussy on a Hot Tin Roof and Fill Thy Crack with Whiteness. Jennifer Kroot’s documentary “interweaves the brother's lives, their admirers, a history of underground film and a 'greatest hits' of Kuchar clips into a hilarious and touching stream of consciousness tale.”

(Screens March 14th at 5 pm, Alamo South, March 19th at 1:30 pm, Alamo Ritz, March 20th at 11:30 am, Convention Center)

MONSTERS FROM THE ID

Did the sci-fi cinema of the 1950s inspire a generation of scientists? And now that Hollywood no longer glorifies the scientist in quite the same way it did during the Atomic Age, what will inspire the American youth of today to pursue science as a career? “Monsters From The Id weaves the intersecting themes of over 30 films in order to tell the untold story of the Modern Scientist and his role in inspiring a nation.”

(Screens March 13th at 9:45 pm, Alamo South, March 18th at 11:30 am, Convention Center, March 21st at 2 pm, Alamo South)

NEW WORLD ORDER

In the late 90s, I used to fall asleep watching Alex Jones ranting on late night cable access television in Austin, never dreaming that one day he would be hero to Conspiracy Theory Nation. This documentary from Darkon director Luke Meyer focuses on Jones and the conspiracy movement, from anti-globalization to the “9/11 was an inside job” crowd.

(Screens March 13th at 7 pm, Alamo South, March 17th at 11:30 am, Convention Center)

THE WAY WE GET BY

This may not be of interest to everyone, but as someone who grew up near the tiny Bangor International Airport, I’m intrigued by this look at the troop greeters – senior citizens who meet soldiers returning from Iraq at their port of entry on the way home (or their last stop on their way out).

(Screens March 15 at 11:30 am, Convention Center, March 16th at 12 pm, Alamo South, March 19th at 7 pm, Convention Center)

WINNEBAGO MAN

Jack Rebney became a YouTube sensation when the outtakes from his Winnebago sales video hit the internets. Now he’s a recluse, but filmmaker Ben Steinbauer has tracked him down to find out the shocking secret origin of…Winnebago Man.

(Screens March 14th at 7 pm, Alamo South, March 18th at 6 pm, Alamo Ritz, March 20th at 1:30 pm, Paramount Theater)

Part One

The Screengrab : monsters from the id

SXSW: The Final Roundup

SXSW Preview: Ten Must-See Documentaries (Part Two)