SXSW 2012: J.C.'s Most Anticipated Films

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Killer Joe

I haven't been writing about film for very long. I've always been passionate about it, but I never had the kind of access to it that I have now. Though I still have a lot to learn and great colleagues to learn it from, I know that in a short time, I've come a long way.

How do I know this? As little as three years ago, when the SXSW film lineup would come out, I'd scour it for hours figuring what I'd want to see later that year. This would result in maybe three to five films a year from SXSW that I'd look forward to. This year, based on cast, writers, directors, studio affiliations, past festivals and general industry knowledge, I can glance at this year's lineup and easily identify upwards of 20 films I am chomping at the bit to see.

I've compiled a list of ten films that I'm really anxious to watch at SXSW 2012:

10. The Last Fall (schedule) and The Announcement (schedule)
These are both sports movies, which if you know me, you know that I love. The Last Fall examines what goes on in a player's mind when his playing career is over, and The Announcement is a documentary about the day Magic Johnson retired from the NBA due to being HIV positive. Incredibly compelling stories, neither of which have ever really been told. Here's the trailer for The Last Fall:

9. Crazy Eyes (schedule)
Admittedly, this is the one film on my anticipated list that I know absolutely nothing about. But I know I like Lukas Haas and I like love stories, and the tag line for the film is simply "Just another story about love." That's really all I need to get excited.

8. The Do-Deca-Pentathlon (schedule)
Quickly becoming my favorite filmmakers, brothers Mark and Jay Duplass have yet to disappoint me in any of their films. I've even been fortunate to have already seen Jeff Who Lives at Home, and that is a truly fantastic film. I've heard this movie was more of a "side-project" while they were waiting for funding for Jeff Who Lives at Home, but I'm nonetheless excited.

7. God Bless America (schedule)
Another film I don't know a ton about other than Bobcat Goldthwait directed it. It's about a terminally ill man who, instead of taking his own life, decides to take the lives of those that are the problem with America today. The trailer, embedded below (warning: it is red-band and possibly NSFW), indicates that this will be nothing but a good time in the theater with a truly fun movie.

6. Casa de mi Padre (schedule)
A Will Ferrell movie in all Spanish? All right, I'll bite. I wanna see this, and you know you kind of do too.

5. Killer Joe (schedule)
Directed by William Friedkin, which means the film is either amazing or just okay (he directed The Excorcist and Blue Chips) so you know his range is all over the map. That being said, the cast is exciting and should make for a fun film. It stars Matthew McConaughey (pictured at top), Emile Hirsch, Thomas Haden-Church, and Gina Gershon.

4. The Babymakers (schedule)
Okay, I'll admit it, I like Broken Lizard, even The Slammin' Salmon. Their movies aren't always the best, and I sometimes don't even like them at first, but those guys have a weird way of growing on me whenever I watch their films multiple times. The synopsis of The Babymakers might be their craziest yet, and that gives me hope for something that is over-the-top funny instead of majorly mediocre. The casting of Olivia Munn leaves me with some doubts, but I've seen her be funny at times so maybe she'll surprise me.

3. The Hunter (schedule)
Willem Dafoe, searching for the last Tasmanian tiger in Australia ... that's really all you need to know. Along the way on his search, he encounters trouble, but of course Mr. Dafoe can handle it. Check out the trailer below.

2. 21 Jump Street (schedule)
Maybe the safest choice to put in my top ten, and frankly I feel a little guilty putting it here, but the trailer (red-band) is damn hilarious. Besides, we need to see if a skinny Jonah Hill can still be funny on screen.

1. [REC] ³ Genesis (schedule)
This one comes with a warning of sorts. If you haven't seen either of the previous two [REC] films, I don't advise you see this one. This is the third film in a quadrilogy about zombies or the "infected" or whatever you call the things that come back to life. Just know that this is one of the better horror franchises to come out in the last few years.

Note: My original #1 and #2 for this list, The Raid: Redemption (schedule) and The Cabin in the Woods (schedule), I've been able to see already, and they are both absolutely fantastic and not to be missed.