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 Narrative Features (Part Two)

Scott Von Doviak — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Can there possibly be more SXSW Film Festival preview? Why, yes! We have five more narrative features that may be of interest you.

MODERN LOVE IS AUTOMATIC

This looks like fun – two roommates, one a nurse, the other a mattress salesman. Loraine “is drawn into a secret, seedy world of lonely men, cheap motel rooms, and whips and chains” while Adrian “dreams of becoming a glamorous fashion model.” Director Zach Clark tells eFilmCritic, “I like to make movies about things that are awesome” and promises full frontal nudity in the first ten minutes. The title comes from a Flock of Seagulls song, but let’s not hold that against it.

(Screens March 15th at 7:30 pm, Alamo Ritz, March 19th at 9 pm, March 21st at 7:15 pm, Alamo South)

THE PARANOIDS

Luciano is an aspiring screenwriter in Buenos Ares who is shocked to learn he’s the basis for a character on the hit TV show The Paranoids, produced by his childhood friend Manuel. “When Manuel leaves on a business trip to Chile, his beautiful new girlfriend Sofia (Jazm’n Stuart) decides to stay with Luciano, a turn of events that amounts to a nightmare for her fearful host.”

(Screens March 16th at 2:30 pm, Alamo Ritz, March 19th at 2:15 pm, Alamo South)

PONTYPOOL

Canadian director Bruce McDonald (Highway 61, Hard Core Logo) returns with a blood-soaked zombie tale he insists is not a horror movie. I know, it seems like the day is fast approaching when there will be nothing but zombie movies, but McDonald insists this one is different. It has “elements of screwball comedy…a little French semiotics ... a little political allegory. ... It's a very curious movie.”

(Screens March 14th & 15th at 11:59 pm, Alamo South)

SPLINTERHEADS

Producer Darren Goldberg describes Splinterheads as “a cross between a punk rock romance and a balls-out comedy set in a carnival.” Small town schmoe Justin Frost (Thomas Middleditch) falls for “sexy con artist” Galaxy (Rachael Taylor, hubba hubba), and wackiness ensues. Turkey legs optional.

(Screens March 14th at 7 pm, Alamo Ritz, March 17th at 1:30 pm, Paramount Theater, March 19th, 12 pm, Alamo South)

THE SQUARE

Former stuntman Nash Edgerton’s directorial debut is already available on DVD in its native Australia, but it has its North American premiere at SXSW. It’s a neo-noir about a construction supervisor and his mistress who get in over their heads when they steal from her criminal husband. “In an escalating spiral of blackmail, kickbacks, cover-ups, arson and murder, they find themselves in a nightmare of unforeseen events stemming from their simple plan.”

(Screens March 13th at 7 pm, Alamo South)

Part One

The Screengrab : zach clark

SXSW: The Final Roundup

SXSW Preview: Ten Must-See Narrative Features (Part Two)