I'm not sure if this came across or not, but I friggin loved South By Southwest Film Festival. I cannot believe I have never done this before. I should just kick myself. I was very tired on some days due to lack of sleep and trying to maintain some half day work schedules, but it didn't effect my enjoyment at all. I really never knew sitting on my butt all day watching films could get so tiring, but indeed it can.  It also made me remember my love of film. With the crap that the studios churn out, I had truly begun to think that I would never enjoy film again. Oh, I was so wrong. I just have to go to festivals or whatever and find the films the studios don't put out. Yes, some will get distribution, but I'm betting a lot don't. And if this was one of the few chances to see some of those possible lost gems, then I feel honored.

Oh, woe is me. The last day of my very first South By Southwest Film Festival. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed films so much. The crap that is mass distributed these days is just pure and utter brain candy. No substance, and really bad for you. This will now become my annual personal spa vacation of sorts. It's where I can reset, refresh, and rejuvenate. You're welcome to join me.

Mike and I started my last day of joy and bliss at Alamo South Lamar with 638 Ways to Kill Castro, a documentary about all the ways the CIA and others have attempted to kill Fidel Castro. It was interesting, but overall kind of a dud. Seems like there was just more that could have been done with it. It was kind of like a good hour-long Discovery Channel show.  It was educational, if nothing else. 5.5 out of 10

On to downtown where the rest of the day will be played out. At Alamo Downtown, we caught the very odd documentary about a young teenage kid that has a few quirks, Billy the Kid. It was a very amateur documentary -- yanno, handheld camera with no lighting and ok sound. But despite that, it was good. It's docs like this that really make me wonder how people found things to do documentaries on. How would anyone just find this kid? 6.5 out of 10

Killing time, yet again, so I go to mi casa The Paramount. Monterey Pop is a documentary of The Monterey International Pop Music Festival, by D.A. Pennebaker. I think I've seen snippets of this before. The film showcased insane performances from Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Ravi Shankar, and many more. Amazing stuff. This wasn't a new film for SXSW, but something the festival makers wanted to showcase as it was truly a groundbreaking type of film in its day. I was super tired during it so I kept nodding off here and there, but nothing major. It was an excellent representation of great music and those lovely envy-inspiring days in the 60s. Oh yah, and Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and Papas was in the audience hand. Afterwards, she was outside talking to some press and was crying. It must have brought a lot of memories back for her. And, damn, she still looks good. 8.5 out of 10

Sticking at the Paramount, and killing time before What Would Jesus Buy?, I think I shall sit and endure, I'm a Cyborg, but That's OK. Holy crap. I keep doing this. I keep "settling" on a film to kill time or whatever, and it turns out to be an excellent mind blowing experience. This was the official closeout film of the festival, and I can see why. I kid you not, when I tell you that this film is about a girl who thinks she is a cyborg. She foregoes eating for shock treatments to recharge her batteries and she talks to fellow machinery like the vending machines and phones. She, of course, winds up in a mental institute where there are equally odd personalities. This is a film out of Korea, and does not currently have US distribution. I truly hope it gets something because this really needs to be seen. It's quirky, it's original, and truly beautifully done. Excellamundo! 9.5 out of 10

So, I get back in line for my final film of the festival, What Would Jesus Buy? and wait for Mikey to join me in line. He didn't quite make it, but go into the film about 15 minutes late. The film is about Reverend Billy and his Stop Shopping Choir. They see what Christmas has come to and feel like we need to get back to the true meaning of Christmas, and stop shopping. Now, they don't truly mean to stop shopping, but it sounds better than "spend less", and it gets your attention. People go into major debt for Christmas and yet truly seem to forget what it's supposed to be about. They use comedy to get their message across, but they do indeed get the word out. This was produced by Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me fame. We missed the original showing which was the world premiere, so we missed out on seeing the full choir. However, Reverend Billy and 2 of his choir members were on hand. Rev. Billy answered some questions from the audience, even got in a bit of a slight dispute, but overall was very much the same entertaining character you see in the movie. This is definitely worth watching. It really makes you think, but it also entertains and makes you laugh. 8.5 out of 10

So, I skipped The Lather Effect earlier, but I knew that I had another chance to check it out. So, first things first, over to The Paramount. The description for this movie was kinda vague, so I wasn't sure what to expect. It ended up being very reminiscent of those wonderful 80s John Hughes films. Well, maybe not like them, but it felt like characters from those movies that were now all grown up and really pissed off about that. They want to revel in those old 80s memories, so they have a huge throwout party in full 80s regalia. Some of the great memories are brought forth as well as some touchier subjects like old loves. But in the end, like those old movies from yore, everything is neatly tied up by the end. William Mapother (creepy Ethan from Lost) and the director were at the screening and answered some questions. When listening to those Q&A sessions, I always wonder "Why the hell are they asking that?" So, I tried to come up with some non-awful questions, but I couldn't think of anything, so I continued my streak of silence. 

The next couple of movies were time killers, since the next one I knew I wanted to see was The Unforeseen. So, the next was a documentary called Hard Road Home. It was about an organization that tries to help convicts once they are let out. They try to ease them into society and help get them jobs, and offer all kinds of different counseling. From what I could tell, everyone that worked at the organization were also ex-convicts. I liked it. Wasn't crazy awesome, but it was definitely good. 6 out of 10

I got curious about this film slightly cuz I had read that it won one of the SXSW awards. I believe Skills Like This won the audience award for narrative film. So, I trust audience's opinions a bit. It's about a dude who writes really bad plays. He finally comes to this realization and in a bit of odd events, realizes he's a great bank/store robber. This was a great film. HILARIOUS.  The dialogue was witty without seeming far fetched, the characters were likeable, and the energy overall was contagious. I look forward to more from these guys. I hope they get the chance. 9 out of 10

The Unforeseen is a documentary about development and it's inevitable collision with nature. Specifically, Austin land development in regards to the safety and future of Barton Springs. Since I live in Austin, I was a bit biased on this subject. I think we should do everything possible to allow Barton Springs to continue to thrive and be a community haven. I was amazed at how little our representatives seem to care about nature in general. Do they never think towards the future? Instead of just worrying about the quick dollar now. I do have to remember that I may live in a liberal hippy commune of a city, but the state it resides in is as close-minded republican as they come. And that state opinion always beats out the 1 or 2 counties in the state that disagree. It's a shame, Austin is very unique in Texas, and I would think people would want to hold onto that as long as they can. The subject was interesting, the audience was a bit annoying with all the boos and whatnot during the screening, but overall the film felt lacking. They seem to focus a lot of the film on one of the main developers here in Austin, and I just found myself not caring about him. But, that could just be my own bias. 6.5 out of 10

I was kind of excited for seeing Parker Posey in Hal Hartley's Fay Grim. I was waiting in line and wasn't sure I was going to get in. They would let a couple people in at a time towards the end as they were trying to see how many could fit in the theater. I actually ended up being the very last one they let in. I felt so special. This feeling quickly went away. The first thing I notice is the entire films appears to be shot in Dutch angle - the camera is always a bit tilted in one direction or another. This is generally used in horror films or psychological thrillers to give a sense of foreboding or what have you. However, I just found it really annoying for the entire freakin' movie to be filmed this way. I'll be honest, I'm not a fancy film snob who can see every inspiration for a movie behind every line of the film. But, I just did not get this movie. It was a sequel to a previous movie - Henry Fool - which I had not seen, so I'd like to think maybe it was that. But it did not even make me want to see the first movie. I felt like a film moron after seeing this. I won't even rate it, I feel I am unworthy of it.

I stayed at Alamo South Lamar for the midnight horror film Grimm Love (according to SXSW)  or Butterly: A Grimm Lovestory (according to the film titles). It's the story of a German cannibal who advertises over the internet for someone to slaughter and eat. Someone responds and willingly gives over his body for oh-so-appetizing enjoyment. What's crazier about this, is that's it's all true. Yeecccchhh. This film was dead-on creepy. Like bone chillingly creepy. Not a bunch of blood & gore type of horror movie, this was just *shudder*. I liked that about it. The fact that it could make my skin crawl for the entire length of the film says something. My only real criticism was Keri Russell as a grad student doing her thesis on the subject. She just rang a little false to me. Her makeup was distracting to me also. I kept wanting one of the other characters to take a rag and clean it up or something. It was just frightful. Otherwise... good creepy film. 7 out of 10

Grimm Love