Summer 2009 Movie Preview (August)

While July is generally filled with potential box office smashes, the releases for August look to be a more decidedly mixed lot. There are some potential hits here, but a few could just as easily flop. The following are a few of the more notable movies coming out for the month. Release dates are subject to change.

“Julie & Julia”
Starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, Linda Edmond
Directed by Nora Ephron
Streep, who has become a bit of a box office sensation in recent years (“The Devil Wears Prada,” “Mamma Mia!”), headlines this story as the noted American chef Julia Child. Co-star Adams portrays a New York housewife who takes on the task of cooking all the recipies from one of her book’s over the span of one year. As noted above, Streep is on a roll with summer movies, and this one will likely continue that hot streak. (Aug. 7)
Official Web site

“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”
Starring Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Sienna Miller, Rachel Nichols, Channing Tatum and Dennis Quaid
Directed by Stephen Sommers
Admittedly, I loved the cartoon and action figures growing up, but even I find it hard to get excited about what is, like “Transformers,” a movie based on a toy. This one could be good, escapist fun or a bit of an embarassment. The trailer doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence, but the cast at least seems kind of interesting. (Aug. 7)
Official Web site

“Ponyo”
Starring the voices of Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Tina Fey, Liam Neeson, Lily Tomlin, Betty White
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Fans of Japanese animation have got to be excited about the prospect of Miyazaki’s latest being a darkhorse hit. The director of “Howl’s Moving Castle” and “Spirited Away” has got an A-list vocal cast on board for a tale about a young boy and his friendship with a goldfish princess who wishes to become human. (Aug. 14)
Official Web site

“The Time Traveler’s Wife”
Starring Eric Bana, Rachel McAdams, Ron Livingston, Stephen Tobolowsky
Directed by Robert Schwenke
Those who loved “The Notebook” (and you know who you are) shouldn’t go in expecting the same thing here, despite it being a romantic drama based on a bestselling book and starring McAdams. This one would seem to incorporate a bit of science fiction, as the husband (Bana) of McAdams’ character deals with the problems created by the ability to involuntarily time travel. No other romantically-themed movies seem to be in existence during this month, so this film has that genre to itself. (Aug. 14)
Official Web site

“Inglourious Basterds”
Starring Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Christoph Waltz, Eli Roth, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Having made a splashy and largely positive debut at the Cannes Film Festival, the central draw for audiences will be the pairing of superstar Pitt with writer/director Tarantino. The subject matter, a group of Americans form a killing squad, targeting Nazis in German-occupied France, might be a little harder for some audiences to sit through. This could prove to be a real test of Pitt’s star power. (Aug. 21)
Official Web site

“Halloween 2”
Starring Malcolm McDowell, Sheri Moon Zombie, Tyler Mane, Scout Taylor-Compton, Brad Dourif
Directed by Rob Zombie
Just in time for the holiday (OK, two months early), comes a sequel to director Zombie’s version of “Halloween,” which was in itself a remake of the 1978 classic by John Carpenter. This one is a continuation of Zombie’s first film, but is not a remake of “Halloween 2,” which picked up right where the original left off. Anybody followin all of this? Despite its missed opportunity of an October release, this could do some decent late summer business. (Aug. 28)
Official Web site

Summer 2009 Movie Preview (July)

With the heat of the summer starting to really crank up in July, so too will the competition at the box office, as a lot of films look to pull audiences into air-conditioned theaters while providing their own form of fireworks. Here’s a brief look at some of the notables for the month. August releases will follow soon.

“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs ”
Starring the voices of Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah
Directed by Carlos Saldanha and Mike Thurmeier
With the first two “Ice Age” films having been big hits at the box office, there’s no reason to think equal success can’t greet this offering, as no other family-oriented pictures are scheduled near this one. It’s pre-Fourth of July spot is also ideal. (July 1)
Official Web site

“Public Enemies”
Starring Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Billy Crudup, Stephen Dorff, Stephen Lang
Directed by Michael Mann
Although they have precious little screen time in the film, this crime drama does feature the great pairing of Depp as notorious bank robber John Dillinger and Bale as the FBI agent tasked to take the criminal and his gang down. Director Mann has a strong track record with crime-oriented films (“Heat” and “Collateral”). (July 1)
Official Web site

“Brüno”
Starring Sacha Baron Cohen
Directed by Larry Charles
Those who cringed at the antics of “Borat” should take cover, as Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest big screen foray will feature more of that confrontational style of comedy. “Borat” was a bit of a surprise hit, but “Brüno” likely won’t sneak up on audiences. Still, it should generate plenty of laughs, if its ad campaign is any indicator. (July 10)
Official Web site

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter
Directed by David Yates
Pushed back from its original late 2008 release date, the sixth film in the hugely popular series finally hits theaters. While positioned as a darker entry in the franchise, it sets the stage for the ambitious plan to break the next “Harry Potter” film into two parts. Big business at the box office is a given, with the film likely to compete for the top moneymaker of the year. (July 15)
Official Web site

“(500) Days of Summer”
Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel
Directed by Marc Webb
Having garnered strong notices from its debut at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, this unorthodox movie looks at the relationship between a greeting card writer (Gordon-Levitt) and a new employee (Deschanel), who have quite different views on love. It’s hard to imagine a trailer doing a better job at selling a movie than this one does. (July 17, limited)
Official Web site

“G-Force”
Starring the voices of Sam Rockwell, Tracy Morgan, Penelope Cruz, Nicolas Cage
Directed by Hoyt Yeatman
If you’d been wondering when there would ever be a CG/live-action combination featuring a group of crime-fighting guinea pigs, then you’re in luck here. This is a film that would seem to be primarily aimed at children, but hopefully will not be a painful cinematic experience for adults. (July 24)
Official Web site

“The Ugly Truth”
Starring Katherine Heigl, Gerard Butler, Eric Winter, John Michael Higgins, Nick Searcy, Kevin Connolly and Cheryl Hines
Directed by Robert Luketic
It just wouldn’t be summer without the dependable romantic comedy genre in the mix, and with her success in “27 Dresses,” Heigl is a hot commodity in it. Here, she plays a TV morning show producer who has to deal with an egotistical new reporter (Butler) who takes on the task of finding a guy for her. This one looks to have cute and predictable written all over it, but maybe also has the ability to surprise. (July 24)
Official Web site

“Funny People”
Starring Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman
Directed by Judd Apatow
Although he has produced what seems like hundreds of films in recent years, this comedy marks only the third directing venture for Apatow. Sandler, a newcomer to the Apatow stable, stars as a stand-up comedian dealing with a terminal illness, who decides to take an up-and-coming comedian (Rogen) under his wing. The premise certainly has the potential to venture into sentimentality, but the cast would seem to be good enough to avoid that pitfall. (July 31)
Official Web site

Movie Review: "The Wrestler"

Starring Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Mark Margolis, Todd Barry, Wass Stevens
Directed by Darren Aronofsky
Official Web site

Mickey Rourke has had an interesting career in Hollywood, to say the least. After making a splash with memorable performances in films such as “Diner” and “The Pope of Greenwich Village,” he would proceed to make a bunch of generally crummy choices in movies over much of the next two decades. That’s not even mentioning the even worse decision to become a professional boxer – a choice that damaged his face and acting career.

But after some stints doing supporting work in films such as “Sin City,” Rourke was given the opportunity of a lifetime to tackle the lead in “The Wrestler,” director Darren Aronofsky’s vision of a broken down man grappling with demons while trying to recapture a little of his past glory. It’s a task that the actor proves to be up to, both physically and emotionally.

Randy “The Ram” Robinson was once a great professional wrestler, coming up on 20 years since his most memorable match at the peak of his popularity. But, the time since hasn’t been too kind to Randy, who still toils away in the ring. The crowds are significantly smaller, as are the venues, with old assembly halls and American Legion posts serving as the location of the matches. Still, the fans that do show up still have an adoration for Randy, and he for them. He takes a physical pounding during the fights – a scripted one, to be sure – but his body could hardly tell the difference. In the ring, he feels powerful and in control, which is in stark contrast to his life outside of it.

He struggles to pay his bills and keep his rough-looking trailer home, while maintaining an unsatisfying job at a local grocery store. He makes the occasional visit to a strip club, where one of his few friends, Cassidy (Marisa Tomei), works as a dancer.

The tenuous control Randy feels he has in his life takes a blow when he suffers a heart attack following a particularly brutal match. Heavy prescription drug usage over the years has certainly done nothing to help his heart, and with his doctor urging him to stop wrestling, retirement would seem to be his only option.

That decision leads him to more closely examine his mess of a personal life, particularly his non-existent relationship with daughter Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood). His attempts to ingratiate himself back into her life are met with heavy skepticism by Stephanie, who was essentially abandoned by her father at a young age. There’s both a genuine sweetness and awkwardness in watching Randy try to reconnect with someone he knows next to nothing about. He’s helped a little in his effort by Cassidy, who is a parent herself. She and Randy have an attraction to one another, but Cassidy (who goes by Pam, her real name, outside of work) is very hesitant to become involved with Randy, who she refers to as one of her customers. It’s simply forbidden in her line of work, she explains, but really comes across to Randy as an easy excuse to avoid the possibility of getting hurt.

The scenes involving the three leads have a genuine emotional rawness to them, with Rourke and Tomei giving exceptional performances. There’s a physical and emotional demand involved for both of them, with each realizing that anything less than a total commitment to the roles would ring false with audiences.

With a script by Robert Siegel, the story throws in a bit too many cliches along the way to be completely effective. And the film’s concluding scenes have a compressed feel to them, as if there was a need to rush to the end credits.

Still, “The Wrestler” does a good job of showing the impact that leading a life such as Randy’s can have on a body as well as a soul. And try as he might, not every wound can be healed.

Grade: B
(Rated R for violence, sexuality/nudity, language and some drug use.)

Movie Review: "Slumdog Millionaire"

Starring Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan
Directed by Danny Boyle
Official Web site

Stories about the little guy triumphing against all odds has been a tried and true formula for successful movies, pretty much ever since the medium became popular. Just look back at Charlie Chaplin comedies to see just how far back popular underdog stories existed in the mainstream.

A number of films have met with Academy Award success following that same blueprint (“Rocky” immediately springs to mind). Now “Slumdog Millionaire” can easily be added to that list, having garnered eight Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. Removed from all the Oscar hype, “Slumdog” can be seen as a movie that probably isn’t as good as all the awards that has earned. But, it still is a notable cinematic achievement worthy of praise.

While the advertising campaign prominently features children (portraying the main characters at younger ages), this is by no means a children’s movie. It’s R rated for a reason, folks.

At times it reflects an almost unflinching look at the impoverished conditions that seemingly so many in India live in. Director Danny Boyle (“Trainspotting,” “28 Days Later”) gets his cameras right into the slums, presenting an unprecedented look into India, that no other major motion picture has been so successful in showing. A good amount of the cast, most notably many of the youngsters, were plucked right on location to be in the movie. They help bring an authenticity to the film that might not have been possible with professional child actors.

The millionaire portion of the film’s title comes from the appearance of Jamal (Dev Patel), an orphan who rises from the slums of Mumbai to be a very successful contestant on India’s version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” As the film opens, his ascent to the pinnacle of the show is questioned by the show’s egotistical host (Anil Kapoor) and the security staff. They wonder how he could possibly know so much, having no formal education. Security personnel feel the need to try and torture information out of him to admit that he’s cheating.

What they don’t know, and what the film shows through frequent flashbacks, is that Jamal’s knowledge of the various answers was learned from the streets and his sometimes brutal life experiences.

The use of flashbacks is sometimes an overused technique in movies, but still seems to work here (just barely) in the Oscar-winning screenplay by Simon Beaufoy. It provides the film a chance to introduce its mostly young cast by laying down the foundation of their personalities without lingering for too long. The story is then able to jump around to different periods of Jamal’s childhood, along with his older brother, Salim and girl he befriends, Latika (who becomes a love interest for Jamal as they grow older). Still, the flashbacks do drain some of the suspense out of the present-day portion of the story.

Boyle’s taut direction, along with snappy editing and some exceptional cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle, helps keep the story’s forward momentum going, even as it leads to its fairly predictable conclusion. One look at the title pretty much tells you the result of the game show, right? Still, the saying that “it’s not the destination, but the journey that counts,” applies well here. And the movie makes it clear just how arduous and far of a journey it’s been for Jamal to make to get to this point in his life. The same could probably be said for the film itself, as it had humble beginnings as the little picture that could – and eventually did.

Grade: B+
(Rated R for some violence, disturbing images and language.)

Movie Review: "Changeling"

Starring Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Jeffrey Donovan, Michael Kelly, Colm Feore, Amy Ryan
Directed by Clint Eastwood
Official Web site

Having helmed a handful of standout American films over the past couple of decades (“Unforgiven,” “Mystic River” and “Million Dollar Baby”), Clint Eastwood has left an indelible mark on the movie industry at an age when most directors have long since retired. At the least, most are long past their prime and are hardly prolific anymore. “Changeling,” one of two films Eastwood directed in 2008, doesn’t quite fall into the category that the above mentioned Oscar-winners do. Still, it is confidently directed, with solid acting and generally avoids sentimentality and manipulation.

Led by an emotionally dense performance by Angelina Jolie (who received an Oscar nomination for it), the film has elements of an old-fashioned thriller at its core. However, it never really seeks to build momentum followed by the big payoff that most thrillers do, which usually consists of revealing the identity of the villain. In this instance, it doesn’t have to. The components of the true story, which takes place in Los Angeles, are compelling enough without too much embellishment.

Jolie stars as Christine Collins, a single mother raising her 9-year-old son comes home from her job at the telephone company one day to find him missing. She searches frantically for him, eventually turning to the police for help. The police investigation is led by Captain J.J. Jones (Jeffrey Donovan), who after five months of searching, shows up at Christine’s workplace one day to announce he’s found her son. Upon being brought to a train station to reunite with him, Christine immediately realizes the young boy is not her son. However, in a state of confusion and at the insistence of Jones, who has used the occasion to garner some positive press for the department, she agrees to take the boy home with her.

But in the days to come, she realizes her first instincts were correct, as the boy is three inches shorter than her son, and has been circumcised. Jones attempts to explain away the obvious differences with varied excuses that do little to placate Christine, while the boy continues to extend the ruse, only adding to the stressful situation.

Determined to build a case proving the police have not found her son, Christine crosses paths with Rev. Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich), a local preacher and radio talk show host, who is a vocal critic of the violent and corrupt police force. He immediately believes Christine is right, but warns her of the risks involved in going against the police department.

Where the plot goes from there is best left unsaid, but the story certainly paints an unseemly portrait of the hierarchy of the L.A. police force in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Donovan is quite good as the bullheaded captain, who refuses to admit the department’s mistake, and seeks to simply make the problem go away rather than do his job.

The film does a very good job of building up the components of the case and the aftermath of the fake son’s reveal, yet later court scenes involving Christine’s case against the police are largely, and surprisingly, devoid of much of an emotional payoff. A subplot involving Gordon Northcott, a strange motorist (Jason Butler Harner, practically oozing creepiness in his performance) and a criminal case being built against him becomes more of a focal point in the movie’s third act. This also introduces some sordid details to the story, which makes it a bit tougher to watch at times. Still, a number of the scenes involving Northcott are pretty compelling, thanks in large part to Harner’s performance and Eastwood’s straightforward visual style.

“Changeling” doesn’t quite pack the emotional punch it probably should, based on the material it involves, yet still shows a filmmaker near the top of his game. As Eastwood is set to turn 79 years old later this year, we should all be so fortunate to have something similar said about us.

Grade: B+
(Rated R for some violent and disturbing content, and language.)

Wrapping up SXSW

The 2009 edition of the South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival in Austin, Texas, officially wrapped up its run March 21, with more than 130 feature-length films and more than 50 world premieres unspooling at various city locales. Some of the films had previously made their debuts at the Sundance Film Festival in January. A few were even making big splashes before their wide release into theaters (“I Love You, Man,” “Observe and Report” and “500 Days of Summer”).

All the aforementioned films, which held red carpet premieres at the ritzy Paramount Theater, included appearances by their stars – Paul Rudd and Jason Segel with “I Love You, Man,” Seth Rogen and Anna Faris with “Observe and Report” and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel for “500 Days.” (And to answer your question – no, I didn’t see any of them, as I was unable to attend any of those premieres.) But I did get to see writer/director Mike Judge, who appeared for a special 10th anniversary showing of “Office Space.” (More on that later.)

As the festival has screenings covering nine days, from late morning to midnight and later, suffice it to say that catching all the films would be a complete impossibility. Even getting close would be extremely difficult, as a number of the movies only had one showing. So I learned it’s best to just try to make out a short list of films you desire to see, and not to try to run yourself ragged in overscheduling yourself. Of course, you also have to budget in time to stand in line, as getting to most features at least 30 minutes early is highly recommended.
But enough about the festival watching strategy. Here’s a not-so-brief wrap-up of my few days down in Austin.

The Good
• This being my first (and hopefully not last) visit to the film fest, I was impressed by the general organization of it all. Granted, they have had the film portion of SXSW in place since 1994, but from my limited vantage point, things ran fairly smoothly. In my experience, people were orderly, respectful and enthusiastic while waiting in line to get into the theaters. That enthusiasm seemed to carry over to the features themselves, as interesting Q&A sessions were held with filmmakers after every screening I attended.

• The theaters, which included the Paramount, Alamo Ritz and Alamo Lamar, were great venues to watch a movie. It’s truly to a film festival’s benefit to have theaters that have a unique atmosphere – and that’s something that Austin seems to have no shortage of. These aren’t the soulless googleplexes you’ll typically find in a shopping mall. Plus, the Alamo Drafthouses also act as a restaurant, allowing you to order food and drinks right at your seat while watching the movie. Can’t beat that!

• The schedule of films was diverse, offering a variety of genres and topics from which to choose. If you felt like laughing, crying, receiving a good scare, or to be intellectually challenged, you could find something at SXSW.

The Bad
• If you’re not the type that can tolerate standing spending copious amounts of time waiting in long lines, SXSW isn’t for you. Some of the films screening at the festival were so popular that people were lining up a good couple of hours before showtime to secure a seat. This was especially the case for a few of the midnight movies (among which included an early look at director Sam Raimi’s “Drag Me to Hell,” set to open in May). Luckily, March isn’t oppressively hot in Austin; still, scheduling time to have to wait in lines isn’t my idea of a good time.

• Having to sit in the front row of any theater sucks – particularly when you were sick the day before, such as I was. But, due to the staff at the Ritz reserving numerous seats for people who still hadn’t arrived by five minutes to showtime (most of them never showed, evidently), I was forced to sit in the dreaded front row. And at an awkward angle, to boot, which forced me to have to crane my neck a bit to try to take in the screen.

But, I managed to feel well during the course of the film, so at least watching from that seat didn’t have any negative physical effects. As it turned out, that was the only real bad experience I had at any of the five films I caught over the four days I was there. If only I had been feeling better on one of those days, that number could have easily jumped to seven.

The Films
• “RiP: A Remix Manifesto”
Official Web site
Director Brett Gaylor’s documentary looks into copyright issues in the 21st century, and the lines that have seemingly become more blurred as technological advances have seemingly grown exponentially. His primary case study in the film is Greg Gillis, much better known as Girl Talk, who makes music by mashing up samples from other artists in a variety of genres. Is what he’s doing theft, or true musical creativity?

The documentary makes a compelling argument for the latter, but some could bring its objectivity into question. There’s not a lot of artist protection views brought up in the film, and those that do come are brief and held up for derision. Still, even coming from a biased point of view, “RiP” is a good-looking and sounding film that touches on a timely and ever-evolving issue in this age of YouTube and digital downloads.
Grade: B+

• “The Yes Men Fix the World”
Official Web site
This is actually a follow-up to another Yes Men documentary, with this one following the duo (who take on social/political issues through a bit of extreme activism) as they pose as representatives of major corporations such as Dow Chemical, Exxon and Halliburton.

As amazing as it seems, the Yes Men (Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno) are able to dupe lots of people to speak as these reps at press conferences, seminars and, in one very entertaining sequence, live on BBC News. In that interview, Bichlbaum, as the “spokesman,” says Dow is finally taking responsibility for the 1984 disaster in Bhopal, India, which was the largest industrial accident in history. Company stock dropped by $2 billion in less than half an hour after the announcement, to give you an idea of the impact that some of their pranks can have.

With the film covering several different pranks over a several year period, it tends to feel a little episodic at times. And some may not agree with their methods at eliciting reactions, but few can argue that these targets don’t have it coming. The film elicits quite a few laughs along the way, while bringing to light serious issues that some of these companies have with their seemingly endless search for profits – at any cost.
Grade: B

• “Best Worst Movie”
Official Web site
A documentary paying tribute to something truly terrible? That’s the case with this film that looks back at the now cult classic movie, “Troll 2,” which has been “honored” as the worst film ever at IMDB.com. More specifically, the documentary reflects on the phenomenon that has occurred since the movie was released in 1990 – having built up a rabid fan base that revels in the movie’s awfulness.

“Best Worst Movie” director Michael Paul Stevenson, who also happened to star in the 1990 film, has created a great film that is by turns hilarious, touching and respectful, as he tracks down pretty much everybody that had anything to do with “Troll 2.” The obvious standout here is George Hardy, a good-natured dentist in Alabama, who gets a real kick out of the new found popularity of the film and his performance in it.

It should be mentioned that seeing “Troll 2” before this film isn’t a prerequisite, as it’s very enjoyable on its own. But I guarantee your curiosity will be piqued to seek it out on DVD after seeing the documentary. If you have any fascination with the truly awful and bizarre, “Troll 2” should be on your must-see list. “Best Worst Movie” definitely makes that obvious.
Grade: A-

• “Office Space”
The festival had a special 10th anniversary showing of the workplace comedy, which was shot in Austin, and stars Ron Livingston and Jennifer Aniston. While none of the stars were in attendance at the screening (several were in town for a similar celebration the previous month), writer/director Mike Judge was there and aired a special sneak peek of footage from his next film, with the working title of “Extract.” Starring Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, Kristen Wiig and Ben Affleck, the brief preview was quite funny, and should be out in the third quarter of this year, according to Judge.

I don’t think I need to give you a rundown on “Office Space,” as it’s still a great movie, with numerous quotable moments. But it was great to see it with a big crowd in a sold out theater. Plus, Judge followed it up with a Q&A session. I shot video of it, which I’ll post eventually – once I figure out how to split the 15-minute video up.
Grade: A-

• “For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism”
Official Web site
Gerald Peary, himself a film critic, wrote and directed this documentary about the origin and development of film criticism in this country. Numerous critics provided interviews for the feature, allowing people to put a face to the name they may have been reading for years.

The topic was interesting, if not predictably handled, as it followed a general chronological coverage of the career’s history. Its numbers have been dwindling over the years in print publications, while its growth on the Internet has soared, with professionals and non-professionals (better than the term amateurs) sharing cyberspace.

Ultimately, the material’s probably a bit too dry for most people, and skimps on some areas, such as film criticism’s television presence and influence on the industry. Then again, it seems a bit odd to offer criticism on a film about criticism. But, there you have it.
Grade: C+

SXSW: Now Playing

Today marks the beginning of the South By Southwest Film Festival (SXSW) in Austin, Texas. While I'm not there for the kickoff of the festival, I will be seeing some of it for the first time, beginning Sunday. That trip will be in conjunction with a visit to see family down in the Lone Star State. Should be a great time.

There's quite a full schedule of movies, documentaries, and short films planned over the run of the festival – some 200+ features in all. Needless to say, I won't be seeing them all. But I do plan to see a handful of films, many of which will be making their worldwide debut at the festival. SXSW is still a much bigger draw for the music portion of the festival. But the film side of it seems to be growing in popularity, and is seen by film insiders as a good alternative to the much bigger schmoozefest, the Sundance Film Festival.

I'll have a report on my opinions and experiences on the festival upon my return. And heck, I'll probably even throw in a review or two, to boot. Yeah, I know those don't appear on this site too often anymore. But I'll be working on that.