Reviews

The documentary For The Sake of The Song: The Story of Anderson Fair tells the tale of Anderson Fair Retail Restaurant, the renowned Houston more-charity-than-business venue that has anchored the Texas singer/songwriter circuit for decades. Beloved Texas musicians from Lyle Lovett to Townes Van Zandt have honed their craft on its stage -- which, in its earliest days, was more cleared corner than actual stage.

The film opens with a shot of the Anderson Fair sign being ripped off the face of the building. That bit of dramatic tension creates some misdirected expectations. The film really is about capturing a moment in time, when Anderson Fair became the home base for Texas' most revered folk singers. The story is told through interviews with both musicians and staff, with many musical performances interspersed.

The movie will be a treat to fans. The production is beautiful and the sound is lovingly produced. Numerous performances are complemented by an original soundtrack from Austinite Gurf Morlix. Even the archival footage was crisp and clear on the Paramount big screen (and sound system).

Richard Garriott: Man on A Mission is an inspiring full-length documentary by local filmmaker Mike Woolf that chronicles Austin serial entrepreneur and game developer Richard Garriott as he becomes the first second generation astronaut to travel into space. The film takes viewers on a detailed countdown to launch as Garriott makes his way through his year of training. From Star City, Moscow, to NASA, to Yuri Gagarin’s original launch pad -- viewers are Garriott's co-pilot in his journey to the stars. Through Garriott's experiences, the audience not only gets a fresh look at the under-appreciated history of the Russian space program but also is exposed to never-before-seen footage from inside the re-entry capsule.

The liftoff to space seen in Man on a Mission was a lifetime in the making. Garriott built his fortune as one of the founding fathers of massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORGs), most notably his first game Ultima. From his first game sale in high school to his millions with Ultima Online, he has invested in private space travel including the Spacehab modules. He is a primary funder of the X-Prize and Space Adventures, the only company that can take private citizens to the ISS -- Garriott is the sixth one to fly to orbit.

Paul Gordon's The Happy Poet had its world premiere this week at SXSW to an over-capacity and appreciative crowd at Alamo Ritz.

Bill (Paul Gordon) has a dream to open a healthy and organic food cart. This simple dream seems impossible due to poor credit and no experience (he's a poet), and no one believing in him, but he's determined to make it work, despite the pressure to open a hot-dog stand instead. With the unlikely allies of unemployed friend Donnie (Jonny Mars), a slacker-philosopher who haggles for the first sandwich (Chris Doubek), and Agnes (Liz Fisher), who quickly becomes a regular, it looks like his dream will take off. But can the Happy Poet food stand make a stand for healthy food, or will Bill be forced to sell out and sell hot dogs?

What's the best way to say "creepy and at times bordering on the distasteful ... but in a good way"? When you figure it out, let me know so I can describe Lovers of Hate, the latest film from Austin filmmaker Bryan Poyser, which premiered at Sundance this year before screening at SXSW and on IFC Video on Demand (where it's now available to watch). Normally I'm not fond of movies with unlikeable characters doing things that make me wrinkle my nose in distaste, but somehow Poyser and his excellent cast and crew pull it off in an arresting manner.

Rudy (Chris Doubek) is the saddest sack blowing around Austin -- his wife kicked him out and he has nowhere to live except his car, and his job prospects are dwindling by the moment. All he wants is a shower, and his wife Diana (Heather Kafka) back. In the middle of this, his brother Paul (Alex Karpovsky) shows up, a famous children's author in a Harry Potter sort of way. Paul's books are based on stories Rudy used to tell him when they were growing up, and Rudy hasn't finished his own magnum opus (with the same title as the film), so he's nursing a helluva grudge. He convinces his wife to pretend they're still a couple while they have dinner with Paul, but the shaky premise simply can't hold up. Rudy's also suspicious of his brother Paul having designs on Diana. What he wants is for Paul and himself to travel to a secluded house where Paul's been staying in Park City, so they can both finish their writing, but somehow nothing turns out quite as planned.