September 2009

Secret screenings are a much-loved signature event at Fantastic Fest. Every year, four to six of these events are scheduled, labeled only as "Secret Screening #1" and so forth. They're the grab bags of the film festival -- you don't know if you'll get a glimpse of a world premiere with the filmmaker present, or an obscure Asian movie that hasn't hit the U.S. yet, or a big Hollywood movie that a studio is probably trying to test before release.

In the past, Fantastic Fest secret screenings have included the world premiere of There Will Be Blood with Paul Thomas Anderson in attendance; Mel Gibson turning up with a work-in-progress version of Apocalypto; the first screening of the post-Cannes cut of Southland Tales, with Richard Kelly attending; and regional premieres of films that played earlier fests, like The Brothers Bloom and Persepolis. This year, Secret Screening #1 was Robogeisha, and #2 was a version of The Men Who Stare at Goats that wasn't quite finished -- no credits attached, and in need of color correction. The third screening was Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus; the fourth was the Coens' A Serious Man.

Part of the fun, and a great icebreaker with people you meet at the fest, is gathering around trying to guess what the secret screenings might be. Some of the guesses are outrageous, and some seem outrageous until you get in the theater and realize that So-and-So was right.

But as much as I enjoy the Fantastic Fest secret screenings, I'm worried that they may be causing some bad blood in the Austin film festival community, and I'd like to explain why.

As part of a new series about local independent films called "Lights. Camera. Austin.", the Windsor Park branch of Austin Public Libraries is showing Kat Candler's feature film Jumping Off Bridges. I reviewed the film when it premiered at SXSW 2006. Candler will hold a Q&A after the screening.

What did I do yesterday? Well, I got nearly 6 hours of sleep, which made it easier to stay up late.  Yet I managed to make it to four and a half films, and catch a glimpse of Scrappy Tim League take on Uwe Boll in a boxing match and walk away to tell the tale.  

The first I can't tell you about. I'm sworn to secrecy until opening day. But many festgoers will likely be filling a theater for it later today. I also caught Bronson, House of the Devil, Terribly Happy, a special press screening of Trick r Treat and part of [REC]2.

I was privileged this year to go on one of the special outings for filmmakers and press, the Smitty's barbecue run. It's a drive out to Lockhart that will enlighten non-Texans about the religions of the barbecue, and how good juicy meat can be without drowning it in sauce. Tim is very passionate about barbecue and after tasting a sampling of Smitty's meats, I understand.  We ate near the fires, so some of us were talking about it being an alternate spa treatment; pores cleared by the sweat of the smoke fires, and lips moisturized by the grease from the meat.  All around carnivorgiastic.

I only made it to three screenings today, but there's that whole quality/quantity thing.  The first was the world premiere of Down Terrace. The three filmmakers in town for it, director/co-writer Ben Wheatley, star/co-writer Robin Hill, and producer Andrew Starke. I keep running into the guys (we have a mini British invasion again this year). They were needlessly nervous about the first ever theater screening of it; they themselves had never seen it on the big screen.  I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but it was funny, caustic, and dark. 

It's the halfway point of the official Fantastic Fest. There has been so much going on it's hard to keep up with it.  But I'll try to catch you up on some of the films that have played, and will play again, as I recover from a barbecue run.

If you haven't picked your film for the the 4:40 pm time slot, I recommend Duress.  Indie veteran Martin Donovan (Saved!), who's not shy about taking unsettling roles, manages to capture the complex emotions of a man who's lost his balance, yet still has a survival instinct. 

Richard (Donovan), a recent widower due to suicide, is struggling to raise his daughter when he crosses paths with a killer. After becoming an unwilling participant in the killing spree, and despite being kept off balance by a sociopath, Richard will do anything to to protect his daughter.You might also recognize Billy Wirth from Lost Boys as the detective. 

My next film to see is the world premiere of Down Terrace, about a dysfunctional family of crooks. If you didn't get in to tonight's screening, it also plays on the the 30th.  Mandrill is a world premiere as well. 

Uwe Boll's latest, Rampage, is also playing tonight, and dare I say it, it's almost good. That's high praise. Seriously, it's different from his other films, although I haven't seen Postal to compare that one. Personally, if it was a short, it could have been brilliant. The plot is neatly summed up in the title. 

It's nearly the end of the first full day of Fantastic Fest, officially day #2, but unofficially day #3, and where am I writing this up? Why, the Highball of course, with a view of the dance floor and the bar, where the servers and some of the bar staff are wearing happy jackets. There is a lot more staff working, and now there is table service for drinks and some menu items.

Unfortunately, if you showed up before the "Sake, Shochu and Karaoke: Meet the Japanese!" officially started, you were SOL for drink tickets.  I wasn't told that when I came in and was overly greeted by two overly cheerful people at the door, and at least two other versions of what was going on were told to other people (one within earshot of me). Or they just didn't like me.  A lot of non-badgeholders showed up, and it got really crowded, so I'm finishing this at home.

Normally, we post Movies This Week every Friday at this time. And I diligently worked on a snappy and amusing Movies This Week for about a half hour last night.

Then the Internet ate my entry. And it was 1 am, so I went to bed.

Because of Fantastic Fest, I don't have time to re-create the entry, not to mention that Jenn's comment under the Personal Picks section was, "Don't make me think." The one movie opening this week that I do want to see is Bright Star, Jane Campion's film about the love affair between poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne, and I hope it'll play in Austin for more than one week so I get the chance.

Instead, I'm referring you to the very fine Screens section of the Austin Chronicle for info on movies opening in Austin this week, and to our own Event Calendar for details about other screenings around town. Movies This Week will return next week.

In the meantime, please enjoy this lovely photo of Dennis Quaid from the Texas Film Hall of Fame in March. Quaid stars a film opening today in theaters, Pandorum, about two astronauts stranded in a spaceship. And speaking of astronauts, that reminds me of Moon, which stars Sam Rockwell, and Slackerwood will have some photos of Rockwell from last night's Gentlemen Broncos premiere up soon.

You didn't think Fantastic Fest really wouldn't start until today, did you? 

Not only was badge pickup at the Highball on Wednesday night, the Highball ended up serving drinks to a crowd that just wouldn't leave.  Oh, are you in for a good time this year.

Some folks were going to a special pre-FF Austin School of Film fundraiser with Cabin Fever 2 with some of the cast, and others to a press/sneak of Zombieland. I can't tell you too much about Zombieland yet, but if you like zombies, you'll probably enjoy it, and a raucous Paramount crowd with cast and crew in attendance? I suspect it will be a blast.

Are you a Fantastic Fest Newbie? Check out our Fantastic Fest Training Series, the rest of our Fantastic Fest Guides, and read on for info on some of the more confusing elements of attending the best and biggest genre film fest in the world. 

Shakey Face Explained. One of the great things about the Alamo/Fantastic Fest folks is their love for the ridiculous and purely fun. Only they would do something as silly as taking pictures of a shaking face, and turn it into a contest.  Last year, a prize was awarded for the best Shakey Face badge picture. While not everyone can do them, the results are definitely conversation starters. 

A full explanation of how to do a good shakey face is available from the individual badge registration links, but you can see three new examples of what it looks like online, in slow motion glory, with Zack and Tim in one video, and Cal Smith in another.  If you want to be the King or Queen of Shakey Face 2009, consider these tutorials, as the top finalists will have a live slo-mo shakey face-off.  I take no responsibility for you choking on food or drink when you watch, so be warned. 

It may seem strange, but there are times when you want a change of menu as well as venue during Fantastic Fest, even with the variety of choices at Alamo and Highball. We're not the experts on every local eatery, but we've got the resources to help you find what you're looking for, and some local eateries deserving of your attention. We'll start with general tips and work our way down to specific suggestions.

Decisions, Decisions.  There are several sites that can help you find places to appease your food cravings, including local publications Austin Chronicle and Austin360, and websites Dishola, Urban Spoon, Chowhound and Yelp. If you're interested in Texas restaurants outside of Austin, check out Texas Monthly. When looking for restaurants near Alamo, look in the 78704 zip code.  Note that the Slackerwood Venue Guide has a map link for each venue page.

Go Local. Austin has this nifty little thing called the Go Local card. Businesses participating in Go Local Austin offer discounts to cardholders; the Alamo Drafthouse offer is 10 percent off with purchase of $10 or more on food and beverages, which can be quite a savings over the course of a week-long festival.

Since I've not personally known anyone with autism, it's not an issue I could relate to until seeing Michel O. Scott's The Horse Boy, which is currently playing at Arbor Great Hills. You may also remember it under its working title, Over the Hills and Far Away. This film, which was partially funded by the Texas Filmmakers' Production Fund, was nominated in 2009 for a Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival and received the Audience Award at the South by Southwest Film Festival. The compelling documentary portrays the challenges of dealing with a young child stricken with autism, and chronicles the family's attempt to improve their quality of life by exploring non-traditional healing in Mongolia.

Having met abroad in India, Rupert Isaacson and his wife Kristen Neff found themselves unable to travel effortlessly to the store after their son Rowan was diagnosed at 2 1/2 years of age with autism.  At the time The Horse Boy was filmed, 5-year-old Rowan was prone to autistic tantrums that could last for over four hours, and was incapable of using the toilet. It is surprising then that the family would endeavor to travel across the world to Mongolia, meeting with shamans and then ascending 12,000 feet near the Russian border to visit the shamam of the reindeer herders.

I was amazed by the unflinching optimism of the parents through such a laborous journey, but considering Isaacson's role as producer of the Horse Boy (with book option), it's understandable there's a reduction in objectivity. However, filmmaker Michel O. Scott successfully interlaces scenes from the family's "routine" life in Elgin, Texas and their expedition across Mongolia by van and horse with experts who offer insight into autism.

Even if you aren't a podcast kind of person, even if you aren't going to Fantastic Fest, you want to listen to Slackerwood Podcast #13. It's our funniest, most entertaining podcast to date, thanks to Alamo Drafthouse programmer Zack Carlson. Zack -- pictured above before being shot with a gore cannon at Fantastic Fest 2007 -- sits down with Jette, Jenn and Debbie to discuss festival events, the "giant man-Smurf" in Avatar, why he Twitters about Hitler, and other completely random and hilarious stuff.

Helpful hint: When the end-credit music starts, don't leave the theater -- I mean, don't leave the podcast. You'll miss Samuel L. Jackson -- okay, not him, but something very amusing, thanks to our audio engineer Chip Rosenthal. Let me just say I had no idea that would be in there until I heard the finished podcast myself.

Listen to podcast #13 now.

The University of Texas Club is located on the sixth and seventh floors of the East Side of the Darrell K Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium on The University of Texas campus.

The Club opened its doors in November 1998, upon the completion of the stadium addition. The unique Texas-style decor and abundant Longhorn Memorabilia make the University of Texas Club a casual yet elegant gathering place for members. The Club also offers a selection of private rooms, which can accommodate up to 300 guests. Additional amenities are available to accommodate various meeting and reception needs.

Cinemark Cedar Park has 12 screens, at least one of which can show 3-D movies, digital sound, and stadium seating. The theater primarily shows first-run movies.

Looks like the movie nights at South Austin Trailer Park and Eatery might be ending, but they're showing a few good movies before they stop. Tonight's is Galaxy Quest, the can't-miss spoof of the Star Trek franchise, starring Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman and Sam Rockwell. Grab a s'more from Austin Treats and enjoy the fun.

Isn't it nice to have weather that's not in triple digits?  The weatherman says that while we're going to get more rain, it shouldn't be like the torrents that caused a blackout last weekend.  And plenty of movies to see.

New Releases

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs -- Very kid-oriented;  it gets very repetitive. Still, it has some charm, and kids will likely love it. I think I would have preferred a short-film version.

Cold Souls -- Paul Giamatti stores his soul so he can perform a Chekov play, but there are complications. This metaphysical comedy about consumerism wasn't available for review before opening.

The Horse Boy (pictured above), directed by Austin-area filmmaker Michel Scott, is about a Texas couple who went to great lengths to heal their son's autism, combining their son's love of horses, shamanism and the neurology behind autism.  It recently played for a special screening at Alamo Drafthouse, and opens at the Arbor this weekend. 

The Austin Film Festival (AFF) has recently announced the panel schedule for the 16th annual film festival and conference to be held October 22-29. The lineup of over 80 panels and roundtable discussions includes an all-star cast of actors, screenwriters, producers, and many others who have contributed to films, television shows and new media including Lethal Weapon, Mad Men, Lost, Freaks and Geeks, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Watchmen.

Featured panelists include Damon Lindelof (Star Trek, Lost), Matthew Weiner (Mad Men, The Sopranos), Melissa Rosenberg (Twilight), Shane Black (Lethal Weapon), William Broyles Jr. (Cast Away, Apollo 13), Paul Feig (Freaks and Geeks, The Office), Michael Green (Kings, Heroes), Peter Hedges (About a Boy, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape), and many more.

The selection of panels features television, screenwriting and filmmaking panels, roundtables, meet-and-greets with conference speakers, roundtables, and more including the seventh annual AFF Pitch Competition. There are a few interesting running series with various speakers throughout the conference, including "Write What You Know," "Breaking into Business," "Script to Screen Series" and "Should Movies Reflect the Real World?"

I posted this photo last year, but it's especially timely this week, so I thought I'd give it a good airing. I took the photo right after author Harlan Ellison's panel at SXSW 2008. When I last posted it, I focused on Ellison (right) signing a book for critic Elvis Mitchell (left). I didn't say much about the guy in the middle.

However, a lot of people are talking this week about that guy in the Fassbinder shirt, screenwriter Josh Olson, and not because he wrote the script for A History of Violence. Olson wrote an article for the Village Voice called "I Will Not Read Your Fucking Script" that is drawing numerous champions and detractors. Response articles include an even stronger assertion from screenwriter David Gerrold ("The Trouble with Tribbles" episode of Star Trek); a thoughtful explanation about why writers won't serve as mentors, from author/blogger John Scalzi; and on the local front, a Film School Rejects column from Austin's own Cole Abaius explaining why he thinks Olson is being an asshole.

And now Ellison has stepped into the fray in a whimsically ascerbic fashion, and has recorded a Seussian rhymed version of Olson's essay for your listening pleasure. The rhyming version was adapted by Steve Jarrett, and Olson liked it so much he asked Ellison to perform a dramatic reading. Therefore, I have another excuse to post this photo. If the photo looks familiar, I also let Jen Yamato use it for her Cinematical article about the whole Olson kerfuffle, which you also might enjoy reading.

The Paramount Theatre has been hosting all kinds of fun extra events this summer to accompany their Summer Classic Film Series: live performances, special treats, contests -- even manicures (Breakfast at Tiffany's, natch). But the downtown theater outdid itself last Thursday night for the film series' closing-night party before a screening of Lawrence of Arabia: actual camels outside the theater.

According to the Paramount's Executive Director, Ken Stein, the theater procured the noble beasts from Texas Camel Corps. (I was wondering where one found camels in Austin, even during drought conditions.) Stein noted on his blog that a few protesters parked a van proclaiming "animal cruelty" nearby. However, judging from the Paramount's Flickr set, the camels were popular with theatergoers, ushers and anyone who walked down that section of Congress Ave. at the time. Apparently there were belly dancers too, but I couldn't find any photos of that particular attraction.

Although the Summer Classic Film Series is over for 2009, the Paramount often shows movies during times when few live performances are scheduled, such as the Thankgiving and December holidays. The theater will also be a venue for splashy premieres and big-name films this fall at Fantastic Fest and Austin Film Festival.

I've got a couple more photos to show you after the jump:

aGLIFF ended on a high note yesterday, complete with a rainbow in the sky over South Austin.  I only made it to two of the screenings, though. 

Waxie Moon is the eponymous documentary about boylesque performer Marc "Waxie Moon" Kenison (the middleman in the photo at right). While the explanation of burlesque is overlong, it serves to introduce female burlesque performers and put the Waxie's gender-obliterating performances into perspective. The screening was followed by a live performance of the "handcuff dance" which wowed the very enthusiastic audience, further whipped into a frenzy with the bond like song about Waxie on the closing credits. All week people have been talking about Waxie Moon, and every interview in the film talking about Waxie Moon was effusive. After meeting Marc/Waxie, I understand now; he's one of the sweetest, friendliest people I've ever met. 

Waxie Moon was receded by the short A Drag King Extravaganza, about drag kings and the drag king community.  While overlong, many of the interviews about intentional gender and how, for some, gender is fluid, not fixed, was thought-provoking. 

The final screening of the night was a pairing of gay musicals, the first being the short Boycrazy, in which boy-crazy Corey decides to look for true love, and suddenly choices aren't so easy.  The tagline is perfect, "A boy meets boy meets boy meets... musical."  The songs are funny and insightful, and the soundtrack deserves a release.

Over the past week, an amazing number of news items have rolled in about distribution for Austin movies or movies that have played in local fests. Check out this list to see if any of the movies you've liked at recent fests will be getting a wider release and a second chance to grab audiences.

• Richard Linklater's most recent films are both in the news this week. First of all, Me and Orson Welles, which played at SXSW this year, now has U.S. distribution through Cinemax. As Linklater told us during the Extract red carpet, the movie will hit theaters around Thanksgiving. Jette thinks it's the best Zac Efron movie she's seen to date.
• In addition, Linklater's documentary about Longhorn baseball and coach Augie Garrido, Inning by Inning, is now available on iTunes. The movie was released on DVD in May. Jette doesn't like baseball much, but liked this movie a lot anyway.
• Speaking of movies you can watch from a computer or other device, the locally shot feature For Love & Stacie, written and directed by Raymond Schlogel, is now available for viewing online at Underground Planet. 

aGLIFF smartly programmed only one feature/short screening for the Centerpiece night: Dear Dad, Love Maria and Antique.

Vince Mascoli's short, Dear Dad, Love Maria, is a poignant animated imaging of a letter to a parent. This hand-drawn, semi-autobiographical short may last only five minutes, but it was powerful enough to win aGLIFF's nomination for the Iris Prize, the largest award for a gay and lesbian short film in the world -- valued at £25,000 (approximately $41,000). 

The theme of longing for connection and acceptance while determined to be true to oneself also fills Antique, a Korean live-action film based on a Japanese manga by Fumi Yoshinaga. A wealthy young man who hates cake, Jin-hyeok (Joo Ji-hoon), decides to open a bakery, and ends up hiring an a master patissier who proves to be not only a "Gay of Demonic Charm," but an old classmate. Seon-woo (Kim Jae-wook) has long forgotten a humiliation he suffered at the hands of Jin-hyeok, who hasn't. 

But Jin-hyeok has more than one memory haunting him, which becomes a major plot point as staff are added at the bakery, which becomes a sensation. A mix of comedy, drama, with a few dollops of fantasy sequences, Antique is a deceptively light film with some heavy themes that had the crowd sighing at times, both at the characters and at the sumptuous confections being created.

It Might Get Loud follows a simple formula: take two rock'n'roll legends, throw in an upstart musician, and blend into a documentary on the electric guitar that belongs in any contemporary musicologist's library. Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White are interviewed separately and together, along with some musical interludes that show an evolution of rock based on the earlier two performers' history and the latter's obsession with blues.

Page, known primarily known as the guitarist in Led Zeppelin, has a career that extends much farther back than non-aficionados know. Watching Page in It Might Get Loud is a real treat, as he tours the house where a Led Zeppelin album was recorded, talking about how the architecture influenced the sounds, as well as the initial critical pans of a now considered seminal album. Unassuming and genial, Page is riveting. 

The Edge, is equally unassuming and mesmerizing, explaining how he creates his sound, and discussing his early days in U2.  White, on the other hand, is jarring, with his obsession with obscure blues artists and aching to bleed for his art. Where Page and The Edge focus on their music, White seems driven by ego to focus on his process.  It makes an interesting comparison.

Are you having one of those longer than the number of working day weeks?  Me, too.  Never fear, there are lots of movie options for you. 

New Releases

9  -- As I said in my review, personally, I much prefer the short. This stitch-punk animated film may be your cuppa, but I don't like that much filler in my movies.   

It Might Get Loud -- All you guitar heroes, if you love the sound of an electric guitar, this is a must-see documentary, with Jimmy Page, The Edge and that upstart Jack White (pictured above). Directed by Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth, Gracie). Look for a full review later today.

Lorna's Silence -- Awarded Best Screenplay at Cannes 2008, it's another short story in a feature length, only Lorna's Silence needs time to draw the point out.  Not for the ADD crowd.  The performances are good, but a major plot twist is so contrived it dimished the slow build to the conclusion. Look for a full review on Saturday.

Sorority Row -- Sorority slasher flick. You know what you're getting into, don't you?

September Issue -- If you're addicted to Ugly Betty or adored The Devil Wears Prada, then this documentary about creating Vogue's 2008 September issue is for you.  If not, you'll easily be bored with editor-in-chief Anna Wintour's transparent efforts to control her image.  Even the hinted-at battles between Wintour and Grace Coddington, the chief stylist, feel like window dressing.

SCARE for a CURE is proud to announce that their director, Jarrett Crippen, aka “The Defuser,” stars in an original SyFy Movie Lightning Strikes which premieres Saturday, September 12, on the SyFy Channel at 8 pm Central Standard Time (CST). A special screening to benefit SCARE for a CURE will be held this Saturday at La Zona Rosa at 612 W. 4^th Street, in Austin, Texas. Doors open at 7 pm, with a recommended donation of five dollars. La Zona Rosa is an all-ages venue, but the recommended rating is PG-13 for this film.

Lightning Strikes was filmed in Sofia, Bulgaria and directed by Gary Jones, who also directed Boogeyman 3 as well as episodes of Xena Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Incredible Journeys. Jones also contributed his special effects services to Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. Kevin Sorbo (Hercules) stars in this horror film, and Jarrett Crippen plays Deputy Johnson. In regards to working with Kevin Sorbo, Jarrett stated in his blog, “Kevin was a great mentor and made me feel relaxed.”

Austin Police Department's Detective Crippen as the Defuser was winner of the second season of the Sci Fi channel's Who Wants to Be a Superhero? In 2008, Det. Crippen was provided the opportunity to travel to Bulgaria and work with Kevin Sorbo in this horror film about a small Indiana town plagued by a creature of living lightning. He did so immediately after wrapping a successful 2008 haunt season for SCARE, raising $10,000 towards scholarships for local high school students affected by cancer.

Despite only having two theaters and two time slots  on the weeknights, aGLIFF is certainly making the most of the night. Last night I caught The Baby Formula and Hollywood, Je T'aime.

The Baby Formula is a surprisingly poignant and consistently funny comedy about two women who have their own child. Without male sperm. Through the miracle of stem cell research, they're able to make their first child without anything from a man other than the science to create "womanly sperm."

A documentary crew follows the two women around in a humorous expose of relationships, between lovers and family, as well as exploring the first child experience and the tensions it can create, including some insight into extended family dynamics, as the two women are from very different backgrounds. 

Megan Fahlenbock (Resident Evil: Apocalypse) and Angela Vint (Lars and the Real Girl) as Lillith and Athena have a chemistry that makes them seem so much like a real couple, at times it seemed like a true documentary.  Jessica Booker is a scene stealer, though, as the fiesty Grandma Kate.

Writer Richard Beattie captures an extended family with all the love, longing, and dysfunction involved.  Director Alison Reid could shave about 5-10 minutes off it, especially at the end, but overall achieve consistent pacing that keeps the audience engaged, frequently laughing, with a few tears.  If you get a chance to see it, don't stop watching til the credits end, the "my hump" video during the credits is hysterical.  Now I want to see the short that inspired the feature. 

Shane Acker's Oscar-nominated short of the same name was so popular, people were talking about 9 long after it didn't win. It's a very solid short, both satisfying and leaving viewers wanting more. The announcement that the stitch-punk short was getting a feature adaptation was received with enthusiasm which kept building. Unfortunately, the feature-film version of 9 doesn't live up to the short.

Acker, who wrote and directed the original, only gets story and director credit for the feature. Pamela Pettler has the screenplay credits; she also co-wrote Monster House and Corpse Bride. Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Nochnoy dozor) and Tim Burton get producer credits, and you can see their influence, especially in the monsters. 

Austin Film Society starts a new Essential Cinema series tonight: "Censors, Drop Your Scissors! Billy Wilder's Later Comedies." The series runs on Tuesday nights for the next five weeks. I couldn't be more thrilled.

The films scheduled in the series are not the best-known films from writer/director Billy Wilder, like Some Like It Hot, Sunset Blvd., The Apartment, or Double Indemnity. You've probably heard of those and hopefully seen a few of them. These are the films he made after The Apartment, collaborating with his co-writer of the time, I.A.L. Diamond. Some might say Wilder's films declined starting in the mid-1960s  -- you'll have to see all of these films and decide for yourself.

I confess that if I were programming a Wilder retrospective myself, I would be tempted to pick the films Wilder co-wrote with Charles Brackett before starting to direct his own films, those witty, frothy 1930s comedies that I especially love. I'd include Ninotchka, Ball of Fire, Midnight, Bluebeard's Eighth Wife … and possibly some of the more dramatic films that I've never seen, since they're not on DVD, like Arise, My Love and Hold Back the Dawn. (Wilder and Brackett also wrote the first Henry Aldrich film -- a sort of cut-rate Andy Hardy -- called What a Life, which I've not been able to see.)

While Wilder's early screenplays are interesting and certainly entertaining, I appreciate AFS giving us the chance to see the films he made later in life, at a time when the Hollywood Production Code crumbling. Wilder and Diamond pushed the envelope as much as they could in these films, trying to make adult movies about relationships and sex.

The independent film Humpday, which played at SXSW this year, is (finally) getting a theatrical release in Austin this week. The comedy is screening at Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar. Jenn Brown and Jette Kernion both caught this film in March and have some thoughts to share.

Let's start with Jenn:

This cautionary tale of a bromance taken to its competitive limits is one of the smarter comedies this year. 

Former Austinite Mark Duplass (The Puffy Chair) and Houstonite Joshua Leonard (The Blair Witch Project) star as two friends who take their competitive tendencies to the limit when they decide to enter an erotic film competition. You know these guys: apart, the adorable, doting husband, Ben (Duplass), the vagabond Andrew, with his exotic stories and need for a couch to surf (Leonard). Together, these old college buddies can't help but slide back into their old pattern of trying to outdo each other. As their lifestyles collide, and they egg each other on to meet the film competition deadline, their bromance is taken to the limit. 

Leonard's Andrew is simultaneously annoying and endearing, and Duplass is as charming as ever as Ben.  Alycia Delmore had some particularly strong moments as Ben's wife, Anna. Writer-director Lynn Shelton plays Andrew's bohemian love interest.

Is it fall, yet? It certainly feels cooler, and just in time for the final holiday of the season.  This Labor Day weekend, there aren't a whole lot of new movies coming out in town, but that doesn't mean there aren't options. 

Opening this Week

Extract is Mike Judge's companion film to Office Space, only this time the sane guy is the boss, with some loveable but unruly wokers.  Just like Office Space, you will recognize most of these people, especially David Koechner as the most annoying neighbor in the world.  Check out my review and interview with Mike Judge later today on Slackerwood, and Jette's interview and review on Cinematical. 

Humpday is Lynn Shelton's latest is the bromance fave from SXSW 2009.  Starring former Austinite Mark Duplass and Houstonite Joshua Leonard as two friends who take their competitive tendencies to the limit when they decide to make porn for a film competition.  This isn't mumblecore; slow at times, but the chemistry is great, and it's worth it just for the, eh, climactic scene.

The indie comedy World's Greatest Dad, written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, finally hits Austin theaters this week after debuting at Sundance earlier this year. Jenn and Jette both saw the movie and are very much divided in opinion. One thought it was "edgy in all the right ways" and the other complained that "the stale humor and often flat acting put me to sleep." Keep reading to find out more.

The Summary:

Lance Clayton (Robin Williams) is a high-school poetry teacher who really wants to be a published author. He's having trouble getting his girlfriend (Alexie Gilmore) to commit, too -- she seems more interested in a colleague who's a more successful writer and teacher. But Lance's biggest problem is with his sullen, sex-crazed son, Kyle (Daryl Sabara), who wants to spend all his time looking at extremely kinky pictures on the Internet, occasionally taking a break to insult everyone around him. Kyle is driving Lance up the wall, and then something happens to Kyle that changes everything.

Let's start with Jenn Brown:

If World's Greatest Dad was a festival film, I would have walked out, even as someone willing to give slow and seemingly pointless movies a chance. I like black comedy, and stories that challenge social mores and questions. It took forever to get to the first point: the loss of a son only a father could love. The stale humor and often flat acting nearly put me to sleep. With a protagonist sleepwalking through life until tragedy wakes him up, there needs to be greater care taken in bringing the story to life.

Be Here to Love Me, by Austin-based filmmaker Margaret Brown, documents the life of Texas singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt through a series of interviews with family and friends along with his own home footage. This film screened at the 2005 SXSW Film Festival as part of the 24 Beats per Second Series. Several Texas musicians contributed to this film, including Guy Clark, Joe Ely, Willie Nelson, Kinky Friedman, and Lyle Lovett. I've not seen the film yet, but there's a great opportunity coming up to watch the movie and benefit a local organization.

The screening on September 10 at 7 pm at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz is a benefit for Austin Bat Cave (ABC), a nonprofit organization that provides children and teenagers (ages 6–18) with opportunities to develop their creative and expository writing skills through their free programs. Their volunteers provide one-on-one afterschool tutoring and support local schools through programming.

This event includes a post-screening party and 'A Conversation with Filmmaker Margaret Brown' for attendees, so get your tickets online now before they are sold out.

Check out Joe O'Connell's review of Be Here to Love Me from the Austin Chronicle.

While volunteering for the SCARE for a CURE haunt last year, I was intrigued and amazed by the visually impaired students who also volunteered for the event. The students had their own scene which focused around an audio studio. One student, Johnathan, was also filming the haunt experience. Although he could not see the activity going on around him, he thoroughly enjoyed the narrative and "boo scares" as much as our typical guests. Turns out that John is an aspiring filmmaker who won the high-school division award in the 2007 Cinema Touching Disability Short Film Competition.

The competition is part of the Cinema Touching Disability Film Festival, which returns in its sixth year to continue its mission of raising awareness of disabilities. The film fest will be held November 6-7 at Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar.

This year the festival will feature the documentary The Eyes of Me, an up-close look at four high-school teens who have lost their sight. The film premiered at SXSW earlier this year -- Filmmaker magazine published an interview with director Keith Maitland.