For Austin residents, The Alamo Drafthouse needs no introduction, I’m sure. For the uninitiated, they’re the movie-loving theater with the strict no talking/texting policy that made waves a little while back when the Intenet got a hold of their in-house PSA that humiliated an ex-customer who was ejected for texting by playing a stupid/obnoxious voicemail that she left after getting thrown out. And they also do other stuff. Not the least of which is put on Fantastic Fest, which is the biggest genre film festival in the United States. Whatever your genre flavor, whether it be horror, sci-fi, fantasy, action, or what have you, Fantastic Fest usually has something that will pique your interest, due to the fact that they bring movies in from all around the globe. In the past they’ve premiered big art films like There Will Be Blood, they’ve brought us cool gems from other lands like Troll Hunter, they’ve made us all aware of disgusting nonsense like The Human Centipede, all while mixing tons of other obscure/weird stuff in as well. Co-creator Tim League says of the festival, “Fantastic Fest is the high-point of my year.  Every year old friends return and strangers become friends. Fantastic Fest is my extended dysfunctional family; each of us completely obsessed by the wildest and weirdest films on earth.” Now doesn’t that sound like something you’d want to be a part of? Then I’d start planning my trip to the festival now.

I’m not sure how your day went. Maybe you finally got that nap in that you wanted, your boyfriend brought home flowers or something. But no matter what, you didn’t have as good a day as Harry Potter.

Having finally seen Juno, Jason Reitman’s follow-up to 2005′s Thank You for Smoking, I can honestly say that being a great director could be genetic.