As we make our arduous journey back to Ohio from the vivacious, quirky town of Austin, buried deep in the heart of one of the most misunderstood states in the union — they gave us Bush, but also great BBQ, it is really confusing — we find ourselves looking back at the week that was at SXSW. All in all, we saw an amazing group of films and experienced a festival atmosphere that is second to none. Being simple suburbanites from Ohio, we never expected to be captivated and awed by anything in Texas, but “South by” (as the locals and veterans call it) is something amazing, indeed.

To celebrate our wonderful week in the heart of Texas, a week where the epicenter of the film world shifted some 1,400 miles to the east — a place with great BBQ and even better people.

10. Medicine for Melancholy

Great narrative features were seemingly overshadowed by the innumerable documentaries that took center stage at SXSW, but Barry Jenkins’ story of two African American youths struggling to find their place in the hipster culture of San Francisco was one of the most beautifully made, well-acted films we had seen all week. Playing out like a love letter to the city by the Bay, Medicine is a sober reminder of what great independent film is all about.

9. Dreams with Sharp Teeth

Leave it to a wonderful doc to leave me feeling completely ashamed of my own lack of culture. Having only every been aware of Harlan Ellison, I was pleasantly surprised with Erik Nelson’s vibrant, well-paced doc. Nelson doesn’t stray away from showing the eccentric, often abrasive side of the famed sci-fi author, leaving us all interested, engaged and entertained. For those who need to be introduced, this film is a great way to meet Harlan Ellison.

8. Beautiful Losers

Deep down, everyone yearns to be a part of something bigger than themselves, something that is special for many people across the world. For a group of revolutionary artists, most of whom came together in the early to mid-1990′s, doing what they loved and saying “screw the rest” led them to lead a street-culture revolution that has effected modern American culture like few have before it. Aside from being a big part of the movement, Aaron Rose also chose to make a very engaging and colorful documentary, chronicling the rise of these “beautiful losers” as well as the bumps along the way.

7. Blip Festival: Reformat the Planet

Both Brian and I reached a unanimous concensous here — Blip Festival was one of the most fun, interesting docs, nay, films of the entire festival. It chronicles a movement sweeping the nation that involves making music from classic gaming machines such as the Nintendo Gameboy — something any geek can get behind. But it isn’t just a geek movie, it is brilliant music documentary as well.

6. Nerdcore Rising

From a music documentary that will play well with geeks to a serious geek movie that includes music. It was almost a tie between Blip Festival and Nerdcore Rising, but we quickly remembered how much fun it was to spend 90 minutes with MC Frontalot, the centerpiece of this homage to nerdy rap, affectionately known as Nerdcore Hip-Hop. It is out there, but when seen through the eyes of its faithful fans and its dedicated artists, the world of Nerdcore is anything but silly — it is wicked fresh, yo!

5. Frontrunners

They say that sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. In the case of documentary filmmaker Caroline Suh, it is good to be both. She got very lucky with an incredibly interesting set of subjects, the student body presidential candidates of Stuyvesant High School in New York, and showed off her talent when she framed them in one of the most socially relevant, light-hearted films of the festival. Fun and oozing with charisma, this film was one of many unique and well-crafted docs of South By’s 2008 lineup.

4. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

I know that it might be hard to believe, but that Judd Apatow guy has struck gold again. This time we get “Freaks and Geeks” star Jason Segel, “Veronica Mars” starlet Kristen Bell and whacky British icon Russell Brand in a comedy about losing love, healing your wounds and, well, gratuitous penis exposure. But besides the cock-shots, Sarah Marshall is hardly forgettable — in fact, it is going to be easily remembered as the gut-busting comedic all-star of this year’s fest.

3. The Promotion

When you think about a story that pits two grocery store assistant managers (Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly) against each other in a war to see who will earn the big promotion, your mind is probably drawn to comparisons with Dane Cook’s Employee of the Month. But let me say this — bring those thoughts with you when you see The Promotion, as it will make the experience that much more satisfying. It is incredibly intelligent, dark and downright hilarious at the same time. Seann William Scott gives an illuminating performance and John C. Reilly seals the deal with his expressive, subtle brilliance.

2. Dear Zachary

Our final film of the festival, Dear Zachary was the single most emotionally heavy experience of the entire week. We had heard from Cinematical editor Erik Davis that this was one of the most powerful films he had ever seen, and he wasn’t kidding. The story of a man trying to assemble the life of his beloved friend who was brutally murdered, so that his friend’s unborn son can know his father, it goes from being a sweet tribute to a shocking, gut-wrentching true story that will leave any audience in a pool of its own tears. It is one of those films that is too important to be missed.

1. Second Skin

Everyone knows someone who is a little too into their video games. World of Warcraft, Everquest and Second Life, among others, have all drawn people into an online community where anyone can be who they want to be and, in many cases, be someone special to a lot of other people. It is a trend that transcends being a cultural fad or phenomenon — and thanks to Juan Carlos Pinieiro’s vivid, fascinating documentary, we can all get a little crash course in how to understand the world of online gaming and its addictive nature. For gamers, this is your movie — finally someone gets you. For others, it is a 101-level college course for understanding an entire generation.

Honorable Mention: Super High Me – While Super High Me would serve well as one hell of a stand-up comedy DVD, it wasn’t quite good enough to compete with the onslaught of fantastic documentaries that played at this year’s festival.

Movie We Are Most Disappointed to Have Missed: Body of War – This one seemed to be getting bucket-loads of good buzz from critics and festival-goers alike. Allegedly, it delivers a very powerful message without being too preachy. As well, it is directed by Phil Donahue — which is cool in its own right.

This year’s SXSW Film Festival has given me a movie that has left me in a similar situation, completely ashamed that I was only aware of the genius that is Harlan Ellison. Dreams with Sharp Teeth is a well-constructed, respectful but honest look at Ellison’s eccentricities and his immensely successful career as a science fiction writer. Directed by Erik Nelson, who has served as a producer on films such as Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man and Grizzly Man, Dreams is a very engaging look at an infinitely brilliant and constantly angry man. Combining archival footage from Harlan’s life with recent interviews from both Ellison and other celebs (Robin Williams and Neil Gaiman to name a few), the doc shows us the origins of Ellison’s fame and walks us into his later life, where he is still as controversial and polarizing as ever.

For those unfamiliar with Harlan Ellison’s life, this film will serve as a great starter, an interesting 96 minute account of his world and his rise to fame. But for hardcore Ellison fans, it might not be sufficient. That isn’t to say that one movie could completely encompass the vast brilliance that is Harlan Ellison — I believe that such a movie could not really exist. Though for fans and close Ellison admirers, they may be left wanting a little bit more.

Dreams with Sharp Teeth is the feature documentary directorial debut of Erik Nelson and features interviews with Harlan Ellison, Robin Williams and Neil Gaiman. It features an original score composed and performed by Richard Thompson. It made its World Premiere at the SXSW Film Festival on Marth 8, 2008. For more, visit the film’s official site.

Director Caroline Suh’s sweet, engaging documentary Frontrunners puts the student union presidential elections at Stuyvesant front and center, right there for all of us to observe, laugh at and talk about later. In fact, it is the conversation afterward that makes Frontrunners such a worthwhile film, as it forces us to look at the much bigger world of elections. Stuyvesant could act as a microcosm for America — the student election carries many of the same detestable themes that we see in the elections for public officials in this country. They deal with issues of racism, sexism and of course, the art of the spin.

The master spinster of Stuyvesant’s election is George, the most charming and quirky subject of the doc. George campaigns the hardest, using his soap-box to spin a web of grandiose ideas and promises for his potential term as president. He runs up against Hannah, cheerleader, head of the drama club and all around peppy, energetic popular girl and Michael, the odds-on favorite for the presidency based on his tenure in the student union and his overwhelming popularity. For George, it is a seemingly uphill battle; but thanks to his illuminating personality and infinite amount of charisma, it is a battle that we are happy to witness.

As any documentarian will tell you, you are always at the will of your subjects — if they aren’t interesting, then your documentary is that much harder to make. With Frontrunners, Caroline Suh has the benefit of being both lucky and good. She presents this funny, charming kids in a light that is respectful and relevant, allowing us to laugh and be entertained while still provoking thought. It may not have blown me away with like American Teen, but Frontrunners is certainly one of the most charming, fun docs that I have seen at SXSW this year — and that is really saying something.

Frontrunners is directed by Caroline Suh and produced by Erika Frankel. It made its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival on Monday, March 10. For more information, visit www.frontrunnersthefilm.com.

The story of a whip-smart high school newspaper reporter and his quest to solve his school’s greatest mystery and to feel the warmth of the female touch at the same time, Assassination was the unequivocal surprise hit of the Sundance Film Festival back in late January, landing itself at the very top of my Best of Sundance list. It was dark, funny and immensely intelligent — and now it can add the fact that it is a definitive crowd pleasure to its resume.

Director Brett Simon, star Reece Thompson and writers Tim Calpin and Kevin Jakubowski were on hand to take questions from the thoroughly entertained Austin crowd — a crowd that very noticeably found both the humor and the noirish roots of the film. While introducing the film, director Brett Simon said that he was excited to see the film with an Austin audience, the best audience in the world. It was that audience that would ultimately feel the energy generated by his film — an audience that will probably walking away from this film just as the Sundance audiences did, marking this as the surprise film of the entire week.

Assassination of a High School President is set to release in theaters sometime in August 2008 — we don’t intend to let you miss it. Because if you do, you’ll be missing out on the best film of the entire year so far.

The story follows a group of soldiers from a small Texas town as they come back home. Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) has just finished two tours and is going home for good. Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum) is also coming home, and is ready to marry his sweetheart Michelle. Things go wrong when Brandon finds out that the government has forced him to serve another tour, he has been Stop-Lossed. Trying to face either going back to war or fleeing the country, Brandon is in for the biggest decision of his life.

I have so many problems with this film. Other than nothing being more annoying than an inconsistent accent that floats in and out between scenes, I could not tell what type of message that this film was trying to push. This is a film that is trying to push an agenda, without a doubt. Who is this film being made for though? There are several ways that you could interpret the meaning of this film: A tribute to the troops fighting, to the troops who have died for no reason, to the troops who are stop-lossed, to the families, a message for the government, pro-war, anti-war…who knows?

If this film were a tribute to the fighting troops, then I would probably take offense to every soldier in this film being portrayed as a drunk raving lunatic. Not every soldier has post-traumatic stress and dangerous hallucinations, but in this film they do. The film also had a hard time sorting out its stance on the war. It makes the film seem like a giant contradiction that ultimately confuses its audience. The film does not hesitate to take any shots at the government, but also treats the war and the soldiers as a necessary action within the same breath. Stop Loss was just a big hot mess of a film, that I’m sure will sell well with teenage girls.

A film filled with too much cheese, too little substance, too much contradiction and not enough direction, Stop-Loss is one of the year’s worst films. It’s a shame, this film could have been something, if it would have just taken a stance and said something important.

Stop Loss was directed by Kimberly Peirce. It made its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 13, 2008. It has a 112 minute runtime.

Films Reviewed this Week: Doomsday, Horton Hears a Who, Funny Games and Never Back Down

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Beautiful Losers follows a loose-knit group of artists who met in the early 1990′s and ultimately led one of the most memorable cultural movements since the late 1970′s. Rooted in the popular underground youth subcultures of the day, everything from skateboarding to graffiti artists to punk and hip-hop, their “do-it-yourself” attitude and their carefree lifestyles drew others to them, leading to a revolution of an artistic subculture.

The film, which is co-directed by Aaron Rose and Joshua Leonard, is a wonderfully composed love letter to these eccentric, creative rebels. Like its subjects, ten of the most popular artists of the movement, the film is a mess from a distance — but once you really get to know it, get to understand its message and understand how all of its parts come together, you discover its true beauty. It is one of those documentaries that will leave audiences in its wake, yearning for more information, yearning to be part of something special.

From start-to-finish, the film is visually dynamic and beautiful. Mixing archived footage with more updated footage, Rose and Leonard show off this vast, beautiful landscape of art that has captivated followers of the real life Beautiful Losers, the modern-day street culture contemporary artists. They also do a wonderful job of tying the work of their subjects in with their impact on pop culture, showing that some of these “losers” have been part of some very popular mainstream things, like Pepsi Commercials or the signs at Coney Island. It brings even the most average audience-member into the conversation, something that should be an aspiration of any documentary.

In the end, Beautiful Losers is more than a film about art — it is a film about rebelling against the standard, finding your passion and making that your direction in life. No one grows up wanting to be a conceptual artist or a political activist, but some people end up their because of those who are there to support them — thankfully for those who appreciate their work, these Beautiful Losers continue to stick together, even today.

Beautiful Losers is directed by Aaron Rose and Joshua Leonard. It features original music from Money Mark and the artwork of Barry McGee, Ed Templeton, Mike Mills, Margaret Kilgallen, Geoff McFetridge, Jo Jackson, Chris Johansson, Harmony Korine, Shepard Fairey and Cheryl Dunn. It has a runtime of 91 minutes. It made its world premiere at the South by Southwest Film Festival on Sunday March 9, 2008. For more, visit BeautifulLosers.com.

I mentioned this before, but the streets of Austin have been revitalized with a new life, a new energy and a completely new and different crowd — the musicians are here and they smell a little different than the interactive folk. I’m not saying it is a bad smell, it is just different.

When we last met I was telling tales of Kristen Bell, the Veronica Mars hottie that posed for a picture with me at a private event yesterday. Since then I have received countless jealous emails, mostly from friends who are angry that I get to do what I do on a daily basis. Well my friends, I am here to push the envelope of jealousy — I had by far the best celebrity sighting moment last night.

Despite the fact that I saw Choke at Sundance, I was convinced by Peter that I had nothing better to do last night than see it, so I went along. There I was sitting, chatting with Ken from First Showing about Rambo (odd, I know), when the guy in front of us turned around and asked us if who we wrote for (because we were obviously bloggers, there were just no two ways about it) Once we got the pleasantries out of the way, he explained that he was at SXSW with the producers of Rambo and that they were making a new movie with them, a remake of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. It took a second, then it clicked — I pointed at him and said, “Wait, that means you are one of the AskaNinja guys!” — guilty! At that point I proceeded to geek-out all over him, quoting the Ask a Ninja review of Pirates 3 and everything. It was the moment of the festival for me. I know… I’m a huge nerd, but whatever — Ask a Ninja fuckin’ rules. In the end, he was a really nice guy — and judging by the little kid glow he had about the Tomatoes remake, I can tell that it could turn out to be awesome.

As for Choke, I’m happy to report that it was even better the second time around — even more intelligent, more irreverent and more absurd. Sam Rockwell is still the man.

This morning I made it out of the house before anyone else was awake, as I had an interview to do with the guys from Second Skin — one of my favorite films of the fest thus far. They were awesome. In fact, I was surprised when they began thanking me for the review I had written. The interview, which probably should have only lasted 15-20 minutes, went on for 45 minutes as we chatted about gaming, society and the art of making a great doc. Look for a full feature from me sometime before the weekend is up.

After the interview I had the pleasure of catching two more movies this afternoon: the absolutely phenomenal artistic sub-culture doc Beautiful Losers and the shocking, engrossing doc Bulletproof Salesman, about a German man who deals armored vehicles in the Middle East. Those full reviews are on the way, as are a few others — assuming no major news hits this evening.

That brings us up to date once again. If you are following me on Twitter (which you should be) then you already know that I am in for the night, partied out, doing some laundry and getting caught up on my reviews — I’ve seen too many awesome movies not to be writing about them all.

As well, we should get an update to our SXSW Flickr Photos, so keep an eye on that. Until tomorrow, you stay classy…

This allegation of deception or foul-play is directed at this year’s winner of the SXSW Narrative Feature Audience Award Explicit Ills, directed by Mark Webber. Along with my friend Peter at Slashfilm (who mentions the following story in his blog here as well) I had the fortune of being one of the first people in line to see Webber’s film when it premiered at the Alamo Draft House on Saturday March 8th. It was an exciting event to attend, as almost the entire cast was present, including actress Rosario Dawson. Curiously though, as we watched the cast and their entourage enter the theater, we noticed that they were all receiving ballots for the audience award. This would not present a problem had their only been a few members of the film’s entourage, but there were a good many of them. In fact, there were so many that a very limited number of SXSW badge holders made it in to see the premiere of the film.

Before anyone was let into the film, Rosario Dawson, full of charisma and excitement, made an appearance before the group. Jokingly she said, “Here is how you fill out this ballot — you tear off the 5.” It provided everyone with a good laugh, but one would assume that everyone got the joke — at least everyone in the general audience. Her remarks could be taken lightly by any onlooker, had it not been for the fact that the general audience members did not receive ballots. Yes, you read that right. By my count, our group was within the first 15 general audience members to be let into the theater and by the time we made it to the entrance, there were no more ballots left. So in reality, the only people left to vote for the film were members of the cast and their collective entourage.

Of course there was a second screening of Explicit Ills on Monday, one day before the awards were announced, but a situation like this gives an unfair advantage to the film — an advantage over the other great films that we have seen here at SXSW. In fact, I only bring this story to light out of respect for the other narrative features shown here in Austin this week. It is disheartening and disappointing to know that something like this could have occurred at such an amazing event, a true celebration of great independent film.

As well, it should be noted that this is not a condemnation of Mark Webber’s film. In fact, he has delivered a very good film that is worthy of the award. Not only was it recognized with the Audience Award, it also received a Special Jury Award for Cinematography, an award that it certainly deserved. Ultimately, I question not the fact that Explicit Ills won the audience award at SXSW, but the manner in which is took home that award. To think that a film was given any unfair advantage in proceedings such as this is just disappointing. It leads me to say that for Mark Webber, congratulations are in order. For Matt Dentler and the folks running SXSW? — maybe some self reflection.

At this time, we are seaking comment from Matt Dentler and the heads at SXSW. We will provide updates when we receive word back, so as to give you both sides of the story on this particular issue.

UPDATE: I just got an update from Erik Davis over at Cinematical. He informed me that director Mark Webber actually apologized to folks who did not get in when he introduced the film on the second night — a classy move, indeed.

To view the complete list of Award Winners, check out the official SXSW Blog.

This has been the biggest disappointments of the festival so far for me. I was hoping for so much more out of this project. I love The Gorillaz, and I am fascinated with the approach taken by the members. This one sadly falls into the ambiguous pile of meaningless band DVD’s. The film has a serious lack of structure and information. I learned that the film spans almost six years, but you have no way of telling so from the film itself. The film also lacked the ability to showcase some of the aspects that might make this an interesting movie.

The Gorillaz has several aspects that make them attractive, such as the mystery behind the cartoon band members, their artwork, their musical style and their concerts. While the film touches on the origins of the band, it never really explains anything. There is not an established timeline, so you have to make an assumption as to what point of the bands existence you are watching. Also, the bands artwork and animations are very unique and instead of making that a focus for the film, the director flashes artwork on screen at an epileptic rate. The music is showcased fairly well, showing the various stages of production but you never get to hear a full song. Several concerts are within the film, but not in a way that is found to be entertaining. The only highlight of the concerts was to be able to see how they perform the concerts without showing the band members.

The only thing that even slightly kept the film together, was the erratic and hilarious behavior of Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn. Albarn is like a child, just enjoying the ride. It is very entertaining to see how much he hates the politics and the dog and pony show that comes with releasing an album and stardom. It was particularly funny to hear that he was forced to walk the red carpet at the MTV Music Video Awards, even though he protested and said that no one would even know who he was. He was right, and the red carpet went blank. Albarn is a true musician, and this film shows it. But it doesn’t show much else.

I had to struggle through this one, and I’m a fan of the music. This will be one for die-hard fans only.

Bananaz was produced and directed by Ceri Levy. It made its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 12, 2008. It has a 92 minute runtime.

I’d be lying if I said that we’ve been getting tons of emails from readers asking where our SXSW Blog has been the past few days, but that doesn’t change the fact that someone is, in fact, interested in reading about our shenanigans. If you’ve been following me on Twitter, then you can see that it has been a busy week — well, I guess that depends on your definition of “busy”.

Today being Wednesday, it is time for the Music Festival here at South by Southwest. While I am sad to see our friends from the Interactive Fest go, especially our good friend Muhammad Saleem, I believe that the arrival of the musical side of SXSW has breathed new life into the entire event. The Film Festival keeps on kicking, all the way to the end of the week, even though the Film Awards were given out last night — it’s back assword I know, but that is how SXSW rolls. Needless to say, we are here until the absolute end of the festival on Saturday. There is no reason why we should miss out on the chance to kick it in a great house and see more great films.

Speaking of great films — we have certainly seen a few gems thus far. We’ve got a bunch more reviews coming in the next day or so, but if you’d like to see write-ups on some of the best of SXSW so far, check out my review of The Promotion starring Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly or Brian’s review of Blip Festival: Reformat the Planet. I also loved the film Nerdcore Rising, which chronicles the first national tour of MC Frontalot, the nerdy rapper who is taking over the world. Keep an eye on our SXSW homepage for more reviews over the next few days as we attempt to get ourselves caught up.

Why would we need to get caught up? Simply, we’ve fallen prey to all the wonderful diversions that Austin has to offer during SXSW week. It seems like every night brings a new party, a new round of fun and more drunken shenanigans. Monday night we had an opportunity to attend the highly secretive and uber-exclusive Ain’t It Cool News Forgetting Sarah Marshall cocktail hour. There we hung out with the usual crowd of online movie blogger-elite (Scott Weinberg and Erik Davis from Cinematical, Harry and Quint from AICN, Pete and Mel from Slashfilm, Alex and Ken from FirstShowing.net and many others.) We also got the opportunity to rub elbows with some of the cast, including Jason Segel, Kristen Bell and Russell Brand. Kristen Bell was a sweetheart, Russell Brand was outrageous and Jason Segel was really laid back and cool. Director Nick Stoller actual stopped and talked with us for a few minutes as well — he was a great guy. Overall, it was an awesome experience.

Since then it has been back to work — more films and more reviewing to do. In fact, I will leave this a bit short and get back to writing up some of the awesome films that I have seen before. Keep an eye on my Twitter stream for on-the-go updates from Austin and be sure to check out our Flickr Photostream for more pictures like the ones above. Until tomorrow, you stay classy, world wide web.

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At the center of the Nerdcore movement is MC Frontalot, the subject of Negin Farsad’s electrifying and arresting documentary Nerdcore Rising. Frontalot is known to his peeps as the godfather of the Nerdcore movement, a style of hip-hop dedicated to sick beats, expressing the nerd culture and of course, proper grammar. In Rising, we follow Frontalot and his musical entourage as they travel across America on their first ever national tour.

Along the way, we see the band interact with all sorts of fans, ranging from the casual on-looker to the die hard groupie (yes, they had one) until they finally reach Seattle, Washington to play in front of over 7,000 geeks, nerds and outcasts at the Penny Arcade Expo. It is a journey that we happily experience with the subjects, as they are some of the most charming and interesting folks we’ve seen on screen in a while.

Yet, a documentary cannot survive purely on interesting subjects alone. Director Negin Farsad and co-director/producer Kim Gatewood succeed beautifully by combining the footage from the tour with commentary from hip-hop industry insiders like Prince Paul (producer of De La Soul), ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic and comedian Brian Posehn (The Sarah Silverman Show). They capture not only the world of MC Frontalot, who is one of the most dynamic and outlandish figures in all of music, but also the underground, independent movement of Nerdcore music that has risen up because of his popularity.

As well, the filmmakers mix in some very cool animations that accompany the musical performances, making sure not to linger on any one particular performance from the tour. It is a well-edited, wonderfully presented look at a movement that speaks to everything geek. If you’ve played Magic: The Gathering, World of Warcraft, made Wookie noises or have ever been accused of being a geek, nerd or loser — this is your soundtrack and this is certainly your movie. As one fan observes in the film, Nerdcore is “like playing Halo while getting a blow job from Hello Kitty at the same time.” And if that’s your thing, you absolutely should not miss this film. Despite its silliness, Nerdcore Rising is one of the most engaging, fulfilling experiences that I’ve had thus far at SXSW. If you do anything this year to feed your inner geek, make it a point to check out this wonderful doc.

Nercore Rising is directed by Negin Farsad and co-produced by Kim Gatewood, Andrew Mendelson and Victor Varnado. It made its world premiere on Sunday March 9th at the SXSW Film Festival. For more information about the film (including tons of awesome clips), check out www.nerdcorerising.com.

Jimmy can’t take life seriously, and his girlfriend Lindsey is ready to move on. The local power plant has been causing some problems through the graveyard, namely zombies. Zombies start attacking the town on prom night, and the only ones left to save the town are a bunch of kids and their high school gym teacher. Armed with bats, sledgehammers, garden tools and guitars, these teens are in for a prom night that they will never forget.

At first glance, Dance of The Dead seems to be just another cheesy low budget horror film. The film takes a turn though, and becomes a thrill ride that never takes itself too seriously. The turning point for the film was the graveyard scene. I felt like a little kid watching the spectacle on screen. The stunts in this film were awesome, and you could tell that this cast just had a great time with this project. There was an amazing tracking shot that showed the kids running from terror, as the graves were literally exploding open and launching the zombies out in full stride. It was awesome. This scene, and many others, makes this little indie zombie movie one of my favorite horror films in a long time.

The performances from the young actors were better than you could expect. The group of young actors work together surprisingly well. The film was extremely fun, and the screening had a small surprise that was really cool. At the most climactic point in the film, a small explosion of confetti went off in the Alamo Drafthouse. You can tell that the filmmakers were doing something that they really loved, and it poured out onto the screen.

The film never tries to shove any serious point down your throat, and is very comfortable with what it is. If you love zombie movies, teen comedies or just guilty pleasure films then Dance of The Dead is a must see. This is one of my biggest surprises of SXSW and If you have a chance to see this one, don’t miss it. The film left itself open for a possible sequel, so with enough attention we might be able to see another Dance of The Dead.

Dance of the Dead is directed by Gregg Bishop. It stars Jared Kusnitz and Greyson Chadwick. It made its world premiere at SXSW on March 9, 2008. It will release in theaters on October 20, 2008.

Stand-up comedian Doug Benson embarks on a Morgan Spurlock-esque ride that will determine what it would be like to get high, day and night, for thirty days. What will this prove? Probably nothing, but it will be really funny to watch. In the tradition of the documentary Super Size Me, Super High Me showcases Benson’s body being put to the test. Benson challenges himself, as an avid pot smoker, to remain sober for thirty days. During the first month he will undergo tests like memorization exams, psychic ability, weight gain/loss, I.Q. and lung capacity.

Following Benson through the first stage of his test is hilarious. He performs stand-up throughout the film, letting his audience know about the film and its plot. You can tell that remaining sober is a struggle for Benson, but he succeeds nonetheless. The film also delves into the legality of smoking marijuana. Benson is a resident of California, and can legally medicate with the use of marijuana. The medicinal marijuana can be attained from legal “dispensaries” throughout the state. These dispensaries have been multiplying exponentially from year to year. Benson goes and buys his “medication’ for the next thirty days of his test.

Benson spends the next thirty days getting high, over and over again. After taking the same tests he did while sober, the results were pretty hilarious. The film is filled with cameos from other comedians, and the overal tone of the film is very light and funny. This is without a doubt the funniest documentary of the festival. For the hardcore documentary fans though, come and expect less documentary style methodology and more footage of what is to be expected from a guy getting super high for thirty days. Super High Me is super funny, and I will certainly end up wanting to see this one again and again.

Super High Me is being distributed by Netflix. It made its world premiere at the Woodstock Film Festival in 2007 and its regional premiere at SXSW on March 7, 2008.

This film shows you several ‘Wizard Rock’ bands, and their climb into fame. You get to see this from both a fan and the band perspective. The bands include Harry and The Potters, The Hungarian Horntails, Draco and the Malfoys and The Whomping Willows. What started simply as a joke for most of these bands, it turned into something fun and unique. The bands were given an opportunity to perform, and to show tribute to a franchise that they love. The lyrics of these songs are mostly hysterical, but also quite impressive considering their inspiration. One of the more interesting aspects is that their fans seem to embrace their music probably as much, if not more than the source. Some fans even travel entire states to see these bands tour.

Another performance act that has gained attention in Potter lore is that of artist Brad Neely. He started performing narration that would layer over the actual dialog of the films. This audio track could be played while synced with the movie, to create Neely’s own hysterical spin on the series of films. Neely’s contribution to this film is immense, as he provides most of the laughter from this one. The comedy relief is a nice contrast to the bleak and misguided shortcomings of the film.

The film loses its track and starts to trek through the legal battles associated with Warner Brothers studios and the Harry Potter fans. This is a bit out of place and quickly slams the tone of the film into a different direction. The legal battles are obviously has relevance, but should not be a major focal point of the film. It seriously shifts the overall feel of the film from light and funny to serious and uninteresting. The film would have been a must see, had it not veered into an unexpected direction. Overall though, We Are Wizards was fun and entertaining, but not my favorite of the festival.

We Are Wizards was directed by Josh Koury, whose previous directorial effort was the 2002 documentary Standing By Yourself. Wizards premiered on March 8, 2008 at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas.

Basing my expectations purely on the marketing for the film, I got the sneaking suspicion that it was going to be a huge failure. I have always been lukewarm to Kristen Bell and director Nick Stoller has been completely untested. As well, a lot of the promotional stuff was rather bland. But after seeing this film, I can honestly say that I have been pleasantly surprised — it may not be a legendary Apatow-produced film, but it is far from Forgettable.

The story is well articulated in the previously released trailer; Jason Segel (Freaks and Geeks) plays Peter, a television show composer who gets dumped by his starlet girlfriend Sarah Marshall (Bell) and is forced to put his life back together as he copes (badly) with the loss. To get his mind off of things, he takes the advice of his half brother (Bill Hader) and heads to a resort in Hawaii, only to find that Sarah is there as well, with her newfound rock star boyfriend Aldous Snow (Russell Brand). And though he meets a local sweetheart (Mila Kunis), Peter finds it increasingly difficult to murder the memory of his former love.

It is an intelligent-enough screenplay, penned by Jason Segel, that works mostly because of a few top-notch comedic performances. While Jason Segel is generally good as our sulky leading man, but British mega-star Russell Brand steals the entire show with his over-the-top bravado and sexual energy. Brand lights up the screen in the same manner that Sacha Baron Cohen would in a similar role, with incredible charisma.

Kristen Bell does well enough to satisfy her legions of fans from her Veronica Mars days, but her funniest moments are not necessarily in her performance, but in the ironic similarities between the life of her character and her own career. Sarah Marshall has a hot television show that meets an untimely demise and her movie career is marred by an atrocious horror movie. The commentary is perfectly placed, as is much of the humor in the film.

Under the wing of any other producer, this movie would probably be too broad, too dumbed down and it would include less frontal male nudity (Jason Segel’s penis makes a few appearances). But with the extremely competent hand of Nicholas Stoller under the watchful eye of Judd Apatow and Shauna Robertson, Forgetting Sarah Marshall is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is the directorial debut of Nicholas Stoller, writer of Fun with Dick and Jane. It stars Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand, Bill Hader and Jonah Hill. It is rated R for sexual content, language and some graphic nudity (penis). It is being distributed by Universal Pictures and will hit theaters nationwide on  April 18th. It premiered at the SXSW Film Festival on March 10th.

With The Promotion, writer turned director Steve Conrad (The Pursuit of Happyness) has made another film that can be added to the aforementioned list. It is the quirky and odd story of two grocery store assistant managers (Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly) who get locked in a battle for the new head manager spot at a new location. Scott is the sometimes apathetic, pessimistic guy, only trying to be the “bread winner” for his young wife (played by The Office‘s Jenna Fischer) while Reilly is the happy-go-lucky recovering drug addict from Canada, just trying to make a new life in the states with his wife (Lili Taylor) and their young daughter.

It sounds like the setup from something like the abysmal Dane Cook slapper Employee of the Month, but trust me, this is the movie that Employee of the Month wishes it could be. It is a thousand times more intelligent and it features a very rich and dynamic performance from Seann William Scott, who has previously been relegated to roles that are just extensions of Steven Stiffler. Combined with Reilly’s expressive and cool nature, Scott is the perfect centerpiece in this wacky (but not over the top) comedy.

Promotion works best when it is being subtle about the laughs, including a bit with John C. Reilly’s Canadian fellow explaining why he didn’t understand the term “cutting the cheese” and its relation to flatulence. In Canada, he explains, it is called “cracking the cheese.” He then goes on to have a facial expression battle with Gil Bellows, who plays a grocery chain board member. It is humor like this that is infused into a very relatable and grounded story, delivered by an exceptional writer who take to being behind the camera with great passion. As an audience member, you can tell that Steve Conrad has very effectively taken the vision in his script and transferred it onto the screen.

The only shortfall of the movie is its odd nature and its offbeat brand of humor. For so many, this type of comedy (that ranges from the completely ridiculous Napoleon Dynamite to the dark and cynical Wackness) that takes too much processing to enjoy. Some people don’t enjoy intelligent, well thought out observational humor — they want broad laughs. For others, like me, we are more than happy to welcome a movie like The Promotion into the world, because in its oddity is where we can always find its beauty.

The Promotion was written and directed by Steve Conrad (The Pursuit of Happyness). It stars Seann William Scott, John C. Reilly, Gil Bellows, Fred Armisen, Jenna Fischer and Lili Taylor. It is currently being distributed by Dimension Films and has no official release date. It premiered at the SXSW Film Festival on March 9, 2008.

By now you are probably well aware of how the first day of the SXSW Film Festival ended for us, a real drunken, silly mess. If you haven’t seen, you may want to head over to Slashfilm, where Peter has posted a very funny video that was recorded right before everyone passed out for the evening. I will also say this, in confidence, that Alex Billington is an absolute riot — thus far he has been the must-see event of the South By Southwest experience.

Hungover, dehydrated and way behind on work, we were able to get up and moving in time to throw together a shadow of a plan for the day. I decided to skip the first film (the Harry Potter tribute band doc We Are Wizards) in an effort to catch up on things — someone has to get you your news, right? I was also able to finish my review of Second Skin, the documentary about obsessive online gamers. So far, it is the best film I have seen here in Austin — though I am discounting American Teen, as I saw it first at Sundance and then again yesterday here at SXSW.

The Alamo Draft House on Lamar

And speaking of American Teen, after everyone got our of We Are Wizards we headed over to the Alamo Draft House (which is very quickly becoming a reason why we all want to move to Austin) to see it, for me, a second time. The theater was absolutely packed and the reaction was amazing. There were moments during the film when Hannah Bailey (who was in attendance) was talking to her parents about not wanting to live out their lives that drew cheers from the capacity audience. I remember the reaction at Sundance being great, but this was something else altogether. And rightfully so, as American Teen is still one of the best films of 2008 thus far.

After American Teen and a quick “Hi, hello” with Hannah Bailey outside the theater (I’m still working on securing that interview, by the way), we were off in separate directions. Brian headed over to see Blip Festival: Reformat the Planet, which he absolutely loved (click the title of the film to read his review). Across town, Peter, Alex and myself headed to the other Alamo Draft House for more food and a date with Rosario Dawson’s film Explicit Ills. While waiting to get into the theater, we were passed by Rosario and many other members of the cast. Not to be creepy, but Rosario Dawson smells fantastic. Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe) also smelled pretty good.

Rosario Dawson and Francisco Burgos at the Explicit Ills Premiere

The film itself was an interesting experience. And while I don’t want to spoil everything before I publish my review sometime this afternoon, I will tell you that it left me confused, yet affected. As well, it is one of those movies for which you will need to do research before you see it if you would like to somehow understand it.

After the screening and the round of perplexed looks we headed out for some drinks. First stop, the Explicit Ills after-party where we apparently were on the list to be in the VIP section, but somehow ended up in the “regular folks” party, where we saw Morgan Spurlock. After assessing the lame factor, we moved on to meet up with the guys from Reformat the Planet and Brian before heading over to the Iron Cactus, which was a pretty cool bar down on 6th street. From there, we had a relaxing bout of drinks. I must say that 6th street in Austin is a trip — sitting in the bar near the window we watched some of the most random, ridiculous things (including 2 guys repeatedly punching each other in the balls and a drunk woman trying to tear the shirt off of her male companion). It was good for a few laughs.

Looking ahead to today, we’ve got some screenings (although at this point, I’m not sure what they are) and then the Gawker Media Party this evening. So if you are out and about in Austin and you are looking to party, give us a shout, a twit or just ask someone if they have seen a big group of geeky film bloggers — we shouldn’t be that hard to find.

Click Here for More from South By Southwest 2008!

Blip Festival: Reformat the Planet is a feature length documentary which delves into the movement known as ChipTunes, a vibrant underground scene based around creating new, original music using old video game hardware. Familiar devices such as the Nintendo Game Boy and Nintendo Entertainment System are pushed in new directions with startling results. Using New York as a microcosm for a larger global movement, Reformat the Planet maps out the genesis of the first annual Blip Festival, a four day celebration of over 30 international artists exploring the untapped potential of low-bit video game consoles. With floor-stomping rhythms and fist-waving melodies, trailblazers of the ChipTune idiom descend upon Manhattan to pen a new chapter in the history of electronic music.

It would be very easy to look from the outside and call this “just a video game movie”, just as you might call the ChipTune music scene “Just video game music.” Once you have experienced this film though, it will be much easier to look past the retro novelty of the scene and enjoy it as an up-close account of a musical sub-culture revolution. The revolution is compared to that of the Punk scene of the mid 1970′s in which the movement was lashing out at classic rock and polished sound. These performers are lashing out at the high resolution world, and using very primitive tools to create a new expression of music.

With the use of Ninetendo Game Boys and other various electronics, the performers in the ChipTune scene are maximizing the range of their instruments. If anything, this film has caused me to think differently about the resources that we have available, and how they may actually be impairing our creativity. There could probably be many more modern day Van Goghs or Picassos had photoshop or digital imaging never come into play. These performers are evolving their tools and expanding their canvas to new possibilities.

The only weakness of the film lies in the fact that with any creative expression, you will have some experimentation that just does not translate well to all crowds. While most people will be impressed and moved by some of the musical arrangements, some will just interpret some of this innovation as noise. This film will undoubtedly be appreciated by the gaming community. What most would not expect though, is that this is one of the best music documentaries I have seen in years. It will be interesting to see the impact that this film will make on its subjects, and how audiences will embrace ChipTunes. Reformat the Planet is highly recommended in my book.

Blip Festival: Reformat the Planet is not yet rated. It is directed by Paul Owens, produced by Paul Levering, with Asif Siddiky as cinematographer. More information can be found on the film’s official website 2playerproductions.com.

The plot is simple and basically leaves off from the last film. Harold has just scored big with the girl of his dreams and wants to surprise her by trying to meet up in Amsterdam. Well as the title indicates, the two end up in some trouble and are extradited to Guantanamo Bay. They spend the rest of the movie fighting racial profiling and the United States Government, while trying to clear their names and make their way to Amsterdam.

What the first movie did well, was to mask a very smart and funny social commentary beneath the hilarious cult classic drug comedy fame of Cheech and Chong-like proportions. Needless to say, the second film did not deliver the same one-two punch. The sequel was funny but not smart, and consequently this might cause a divide in the audience. While the original had something funny and smart to say about racism and prejudice, this film tries to say the same thing but only ends up crude and somewhat overdone.

The film was very funny, and very enjoyable. It does however give a high contrast to the original, and while it is enjoyable I still find myself wanting to watch the first film again, instead of watching the sequel anymore. I will also say that it was confusing and annoying that some of the best parts were spoiled by the trailer. Not only that fact that the parts in the trailer were funny, just that they were setups for jokes in the film that were subsequently ruined. Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay is worth a look, but ends up as just another funny movie without anything special to talk about.

Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay is not yet rated. It is directed by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, who wrote Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle and it stars John Cho, Kal Penn, Rob Corddry and Neil Patrick Harris. It will be released by New Line Cinema on April 25th.