South by So Far

What I've seen so far...
(go to sxsw or imdb for details. i've got a bus to catch in 20 minutes)

Champions, starred Kevin Corrigan and Xander Berkley, a couple of supporting/character actors I like in lead roles. It was alright, a quirky male-bonding comedy. I found myself wishing there was a bit more meat to it.

Don't Come Knocking, directed by Wim Wenders and written by and starring Sam Shepard. Beautiful cinematography, kinda Euro-feel to the characters and story. Guess I need to finally watch Paris, Texas.

Danny Roane: First Time Director, which is Andy Dick's feature directorial debut. It was funny, but the jokes start wearing thin about 20 minutes before it's over. Mo Collins from Mad TV was in it (though not enough) as was Michael Hitchcock (Parker Posey's husband in Best in Show). Dick may have given up the drugs, but not the drink. He was pretty insane during the Q& A, enough to make me wonder if anybody he works with ever wants to beat the shit out of him.

The Cassidy Kids, a locally made film that I had a chance to work on but didn't b/c I had another opportunity that would have paid better. Of course, that opportunity ended up going away. Oh well, this was ok but a little uneven for me---lighthearted comedy, coming-of-age mystery, and adult drama. Kadeem Hardison from A Different World goes non-funny and doesn't do too bad.

loudQuietloud: a film about the Pixies, follows the band on their 2004 reunion tour. It was fly-on-a-wall style with a few questions here and there from Kelly Deal. I liked it, could have watched more. Don't hate me, but I didn't want the performance footage in there, at least not as much as they had. More about the band members and how they can't relate/talk to each other.

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon is a mockumentary following a supernatural serial killer, ala Jason, Michael & Freddy. Robert Englund (Freddy) is on board in the Donald Pleasance (Halloween) psychiatrist role. This was really quite funny. The guy playing Leslie did a good job.

Today, I'm catching: High Score, a doc about a guy who wants to set the all-time high score on Missile Command, which will take him 2 days of non-stop play on one quarter to reach. The Notorious Bettie Page, starring Gretchen Mol. I can look at Gretchen Mol all day long. After that, either Bickford Schmeckler's Cool Ideas with the kid from Almost Famous or Heavens Fall with Timothy Hutton about a racially-motivated rape trial in the South in the early 20th century (true story but why do I feel like I've seen this enough already). Then, at midnight, District 13, written by Luc Besson.

And it's time to go....