Director sheds new light on violence in schools
Director Lee Hirsh’s documentary, “Bully” is not just a narrative about kids picking on one another. “Bully” is a call to action for a world that thrives on violence and at times lacks the dignity and the humanity to stand up and say “enough.”
Off-Centered Film Festival invites filmmakers nation-wide to present westernthemed shorts
Alamo Drafthouse and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery saddled up and threw one heck of a film, food and beverage party with this year’s “Off-Centered Film Festival” (OCFF). The films showed were aimed at off-centered people featuring a western twist.
Gripping tale of pain, loss, addiction explores life of tortured character, contrasts love
Silence can say many things, and the silence that precedes the ending credits of "Bullhead" proclaims the pure shock induced by the film.
Writer and director Michael R. Roskam does an excellent job of tying together unique characters and a suspenseful soundtrack to create an unearthly amount of tension. This story-telling skill earned awards for best film and best director at Fantastic Fest.
Chick flick flirts with action adventure film in silly yet enjoyable romantic comedy, hints of espio
Director McG's goofy rom-com is one of those movies you are ashamed to be laughing with and not at. However, "This Means War" makes no attempt at really being a spy movie or keeping it tight with any kind of consistent plot line. I completely forgot they were spies until they were getting chewed out by their boss. Oh yeah, what ever happened to that bad guy they were looking for at the beginning of the movie? Oh well, it doesn't seem important.
Found footage film explores telekinesis abilities as experienced by group of highschool guys
For lovers of found footage films like "Cloverfield" and "Quarantine," "Chronicle" is a fascinating story of a group of teenage boys who chance upon telekinetic powers.
The film plays out as a record of Andrew Detmer's (Dane DeHaan) life beginning the moment he decided to chronicle his every breath on video.
“We Need To Talk About Kevin” film rich with depressing, suffocating moments
The first 20 minutes of "We Need To Talk About Kevin" confuses your conscience, showing you an array of cryptic emotions in scenes from flashbacks and the present. The storyline follows a younger- middle-aged woman named Eva (Tilda Swinton) who daydreams of her glorious yesteryear to help her cope with her wine-saturated, harsh reality.
Films featured at festival offer compelling, dramatic, funny stories with stunning visuals
Cinemas and theaters all over town were swarmed with movie buffs waiting in long lines to watch screenings at this year's Austin Film Festival (AFF). A manifold of drama- soaked, laughter-ridden and dark-mattered films graced the screens of the Paramount Theatre, Hideout Theatre, Alamo Drafthouse, Regal Arbor Cinema, Rollins Theatre and Texas Spirit Theater.
Shot in beautiful and scenic parts of Bastrop, Smithville and Austin, Texas, "Fireflies in the Garden" takes you through a jumble of demoralizing family melodrama. This film by writer and first time director Dennis Lee highlights some attractive local landscapes and even features the nationally registered historic T. A. Hasler House in Bastrop.
ACC staff member’s film ‘A Swingin’ Trio’ world premieres at Austin Film Festival
A local film produced by one of Austin Community College's own staff members had its world premiere Friday, Oct. 21 at the Austin Film Festival (AFF) at the Rollins Theatre. Carla L. Jackson, ACC associate director of the Center for Public Policy and Political Studies, produced "A Swingin' Trio" alongside husband, writer and director Kelvin Z. Phillips.
Known as the largest genre film festival in the U.S., Fantastic Fest brought some of the best and brightest horror, fantasy, sci-fi, and action movies from around the world to Austin, Texas for one week of fantastic thrills and events.
This year's edition took place Sept. 22-29 at Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar and The Highball. The festival housed filmmakers, directors, actors, geeks, fans and more all excited to see the 2011 film line-up.
Quirky rom-com deals with searching for love in the past
"What's Your Number?" is a quirky romantic comedy starring Anna Faris as Ally Darling, a thirty-something city girl. Faris' character comes to realize that she has nothing to show from the multitude of ex boyfriends from her past. Motivated by a magazine article listing the average number of sexual partners at half the number she figures for herself, she decides perhaps she missed something somewhere along the way from all her previous trysts. Ultimately this leads her to the conclusion there may be some benefit toward giving some of her former lovers a second chance.
Documentary captures counterculture life of icon in family through archives
Short films are one type of films featured at film festivals. However, with so many shorts showed in one batch, it's hard for the festival attendees to remember the shorts they saw, let alone the filmmaker's name. J.J. Castillo has created Short iNDies to give these filmmakers their deserved time.
Comedy brings predictablity but laughs
Four Lions movie puts hilarious take on sensitive subject
Four Lions centers around five (yes five, despite what the title implies) Muslims living in London who radicalize and formulate a plan to commit massive jihad during the London Marathon. Even though two of them have completed terrorist training with disastrous results, they manage to bumble through and carry out their plans.
"Although I support the public education system, each morning I grudgingly drive past three public schools in order to drop my kids off at the private school that they are currently enrolled in."
Davis Guggenheim, the director for the new documentary Waiting for Superman, said these words to open the film and one can't help but chuckle at the blatant contradiction.
Design by Chris Scott • Layout Editor
Movies and video games
Fantastic Fest is celebrating six years of giving the cinephiles films that aren't normally in the biggest box office hit list. That is if they ever make it to the big screen. These are the films that usually come second to whatever is the latest Jerry Bruckheimer or James Cameron film.
Before Accent endures a week full of sitting in uncomfortable movie chairs, eye strains from the bright lights and sore thumbs from playing video games, Accent Life & Arts Editor Sarah Vasquez sorted through the list of the selected films while staff writer JasonWitmer listed the video games from the debuting Fantastic Arcade that caught their attention.
The Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival, more commonly known as AGLIFF, presented its 23rd festival this year. It started in 1987 with four films and has grown to six days with over 150 films. The selection continues to grow and be more diverse every year. According to program director Jake Gonzales, this year's festival includes 68 films for the ladies and 65 for the men, "It's about time we got some gender equality around here."
Documentary looks at awful film’s cult following
When you star in a bad movie, nobody gives you a star on Hollywood Boulevard. Nobody wants your autograph. But when you star in the worst movie ever made, well, that's a different story. That's the story of Best Worst Movie.
March 1 - Rust Never Sleeps Alamo Drafthouse Ritz 9:45p.m., $2
Perhaps the greatest musician to ever walk the Earth, Neil Young had a hot streak in the 1970s that hasn't been touched to this day. This rare 35mm screening capture Young at his zenith, playing solo and then going electric with Crazy Horse.
Horror classic gets enjoyable, but unnecessary, update
Well first off, to state the obvious, this is a remake. Not only that, but it is a remake of what many consider to be a classic. Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) is an English born American actor who hasn't spoken to his family in years. While in London, he receives a letter from his brother's fiancée, Gwen (Emily Blunt,) imploring him to return to Talbot Hall to help search for his missing brother, Ben Talbot (Simon Merrills).
Feb 19 - Oscar Animated & Live Action Shorts Alamo South Lamar, 7PM
Come see this year's Academy Award nominated short films so you can impress your friends by having seen more than just the one with Wallace and Gromit.
A complete deviation from the standard vampire fare saturating audiences.
The closing film for this year's Fantastic Fest was the upcoming Daybreakers (to be released Jan. 8) from the Spierig Brothers. It has been six years since they brought us the frenetic, high energy, low budget Undead (2003). Following up their fan-boy flick, that was decent for what it was, Undead had lots of laughs, over the top effects, while Daybreakers is better written, casted, and has a better plot.
Check out what is being released, showing, running or expected around the capital city.
BOOKS
"Faces of the Gone" is investigative reporter Brad Parks' debut crime/mystery novel. Being a fan of true crime fiction, but a discerning fan, this sounds like it will be a surprising debut for the 31 year-old Parks. Four dead bodies, Newark and the underbelly of the eclectic New Jersey city are elements that comprise the novels plot. The book will be available Dec. 8 from St. Martin's Press.
Over-acted cut and paste sequel bores viewers, shames cult classic
The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day may quench the thirst of loyal cult followers of The Boondock Saints (1999), but it might not quench the thirst for moviegoers who were looking for an improvement.
Big action, but the movie lacks explanation.
If you felt déjà vu watching 2012 directed by Roland Emmerich (Stargate, 1994), you are not alone.
Emmerich also directed Independence Day (1996) and The Day After Tomorrow (2004). 2012 seems to be a remake of the latter with a few extras thrown in for color.
We find a cinematic adaptation of the late David Foster Wallace's Hideous Men..., posthumously.
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men is a wonderfully surprising and inventive collection of cinematic vignettes.
November 23rd 2009
BOOKS
"Raymond Carver [A Writer's Life]" is a well researched, thoughtful and decade long effort in biography form, with the subject being Carver, one of the greatest American short story writers. The London Times claimed that Carver is "the Chekhov of middle–America." Authored by Carol Sklenicka the biography will be available Nov. 24 from Scribner.
Tony Jaa delivers another action packed martial arts smorgasbord.
Ong Bak II: The Beginning is an excellent film.
The fighting and action scenes are truly spectacular. The acting and story is greatly improved from 2003's Ong Bak: The Thai Warrior.
A documentary, a period piece, a pulitzer prize winning novel and a comedy
The word festival conjures up thoughts of long lines, sport sandals and horrible, yet expensive food. The 16th Annual Austin Film Festival and Conference (AFF), fortunately, lacks most of these traits and depending on the film most lines were manageable, if not small.
Highball adds to the eclectic experience of Austin's movie culture
To refer to the Alamo Drafthouse as ‘just a movie theater' would be a gross oversimplification. Thanks to alcoholic beverage service, cult movie screenings, and grandiose interactive events, the Alamo Drafthouse has become an Austin institution and an integral part of what keeps this city weird. When Alamo founder Tim League announced that he was starting a new venture, a cocktail lounge/diner of sorts, Alamo patrons knew it would be anything but ordinary.
The Hess' deliver another hilarious teenage angst film, layered with camp
What do a flesh pocket, a defecating snake, and rocket equipped stags have in common? They are all contained in the hilariously campy, science fiction infused, teenage angst film "Gentlemen Broncos."
Books, live shows, theater and events/features to be on the lookout for.
Books, live shows, theater and events/features to be on the lookout for.
A l'interieur's and Martyrs offers something diferent from the typical American horror films
Though even casual moviegoers have noticed that Hollywood has run out of ideas, this drought of original thought has been especially devastating in the world of horror.
Books, live music, theatre showings, films and events/features to be on the lookout for.
First place Chronicle short story winner transformed into award winning film after more than a decad
Death Rattle, a short film based on a dramatic short story sprung from the creative talent of ACC creative writing teacher Amparo Garcia-Crow and directed by A.J. Garces, has been stirring hearts and minds since it won first place in the Austin Chronicle’s Short Story contest in 1993 up to its exciting 2009 nomination in the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF)
Its first competition was the San Antonio Film Festival, where it was chosen by jury selection for Best Director, a stunning achievement, punctuated by the fact that its competition was full-length films.
In Austin last month (April 22 through 30), the International Film Festival Cine Las Americas hosted over 100 films shot in South, Central, and North America, and included the participation of several cinematographers from all over the world. Many of the films were based on true stories.
Gratuitous cocaine use, ambivalent sex, and the perpetual party have aggrandized, transformed and bled unobtrusively into this decade from the eighties and nineties. Unsurprisingly, Brett Easton Ellis' and Gregor Jordan's The Informers, a fictional mingling of fates in the world of 1984 Los Angeles portrayed in an adaptation splayed on the white screen, felt eerily pertinent.
Local Texas actor, Lou Perryman, was tragically murdered in his south Austin home on the first of April. He was 67 years old, and survived by his daughter, Jennifer. Unless you belong to the small, but proud, group of independent film aficionados, many of you may never have heard of Perryman, although it is likely you have encountered his performances along the way.
In a documentary film world saturated with infomercials, indiscreet agendas and irrelevance, Blood Trail was a true breath of fresh air. No hidden agendas or subliminal political philosophies are contained in this epic documentary that follows war photo-journalist Robert King for 15 years through his sucesses and lack there of.
Real local coverage by real locals
welcome. well, sxsw is a BEAST. yes indeed. for film aficionados looking for some suggestions my picks for friday, march 13th are as follows . . .
The incredible documentary 45365, about the city of Sidney, Ohio, won the SXSW Grand Jury award, although I felt it deserved best documentary. The two filmmakers who brought us 45365, Bill and Turner Ross, grew up in Sidney and are both extremely talented.
Real local coverage by real locals
Welcome all SXSW faithful fans, devoted film buffs, and those just SXSW - curious. This is where it all begins; the big cinematic enchilada. Soon we will be standing in lines, chatting it up, eating Drafthouse food and drinking beers at the Paramount, attending panels and parties (well, probably not badge-less me, but still)....
Directed by Matteo Garrone, Gomorrah offers an incredibly stark and honest portrayal of how organized crime operates in, and around Naples, Italy. Gomorrah is based on the international best-seller "Camorra" (inviting the pun), published in October, 2007, Roberto Saviano's journalistic expose of the infamous Camorra crime family.
Socrates famously stated at his trial for heresy that "the unexamined life is not worth living," and with this in mind 29 year-old independent filmmaker, Astra Taylor, embarked on her second film, Examined Life (her first film, Zizek!, followed the Slovene philosopher, Slavoj Zizek, who enjoys a rock-star like status within certain academic circles).
At just 33 minutes, "PRAISE HA!" is an effective, informative and entertaining documentary directed by Wendy Corn and Andrew Guidone. The film was shot in 2003 and premiered Jan. 29 at the 2009 Austin Jewish Film Festival at the Regal Arbor Cinema. The short film delivers a strong and timeless message that laughter heals, it relieves stress, and most importantly is just plain fun.
New In Town, directed by Jonas Elmer, offers a run-of-the-mill fish out of water story. Lucy Hill, an ambitious, callous female executive (Renee Zellweger), is confronted by the folksy wisdom of small-town Midwesterner Ted Mitchell, a still-waters-run-deep union leader (Harry Connick, Jr.
Traditional 80's style creature feature Splinter, the new film from Toby Wilkins that premiered at select theatres Halloween night, shakes up the influx of torture porn and classic horror film re-makes recently reaching theatres. The film is set in a solitary gas station on a deserted highway.
The future of the concert experience has arrived, and who better to usher in the new age of the music experience than a band that has stood the test of time ... U2. "U23D" is more of a direct concert experience compared to their other releases, like "Rattle and Hum.
One of the latest waves to hit Web surfers, besides searching for gossip coverage on Britney Spears' breakup with K-Fed, is the insurgence of 9/11 conspiracy videos. These videos aim to show that the United States government was involved in the 9/11 attacks.
If you come out of this movie learning anything at all it's always to listen to Samuel L. Jackson or he'll kick your ass. It's very apparent that when you're walking into the movie you know that Sam's character is going to do some damage control simply because well, he's Sam Jackson! In the opening of "Black Snake Moan," we see an old clip from a blues singer telling his own meaning of the blues, as if to set a mood of telling a story through a blues song.
Editor, co-producer of "Six Man, Texas" brings big screen experience to classroom
An Austin Community College professor had his hand in creating a documentary that is receiving international attention. Professor Mike Scannell edited and co-produced "Six Man, Texas," a film about dying rural Texas towns and the unifying game of six man football.
This fall Austin City Hall will play host to the opening night commemoration for the award-winning aGLIFF, the 19th Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival. The event promises to educate the community about gay and lesbian issues and is expected to draw a variety of filmmakers, tourists, and celebrities.
"We'd like directors to come here to make their films, not just show them," said Lonny Stern before a screening at the 19th Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival, or aGLIFF, resonating the event's recent success in attracting the attention of the business community.
Austin-based bands, Riverboat Gamblers, Lomita and Kissinger, will have music videos showcased at this year's SXSW Film Festival. Lomita's video for "Broken Boy," off of their album, Downtown Mystic, uses the different sequences of the song to reflect the nature of the couple who are the main focus of the video.
on a trip with Wes Anderson's new film at the Ritz
On a night typically re¬served for live music, over¬indulgence and second-hand smoker's cough, I decided to visit an old haunt of mine, long since closed down and reopened as a "newer" Austin favorite, The Alamo Draft¬house at the Ritz. What better venue is there to enjoy another film by an Austin Favorite and former student of the Univer¬sity of Texas, Wes Anderson? "The Darjeeling Lim¬ited" is a return to the screen of the Anderson Fraternity of Cult Classics, including former Anderson classmate, Owen Wilson, co-writer Jason Schwartzman, and Oscar-nom¬inated actor Adriane Brody, as three brothers reunited a year after their father's funeral on a misguided spiritual quest through India.
During Repo! The Genetic Opera, the year is 2056; the world is plagued with an epidemic of organ failure, and body counts are so great that cities are being built on top of the dead. Then one man, Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino, The Soprano's), steps up to save the world with GeneCo, his biotechnological company that mass-produces body parts.
Humboldt County a film by Danny Grodsky and Danny Jacobs is a glimpse into the counter-culture world of marijuana farming in northwest California's, "Lost Coast." The film is in the same vein as Homegrown, another counter culture film that has addressed similar storylines in a very similar setting.
"The Lucky Ones," directed by Neil Burger and set to be released in theaters Sept. 26, is a portrayal of what it is like to be a soldier coming home after serving in the Iraq War. Colee (Rachel McAdams), Cheever (Tim Robbins) and TK (Michael Peña) must face the harsh reality of being wounded, public opinion of the war, and how much life their life has changed in a few years.
Global warming is an observed increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans in the recent decades. For those of you living under a rock, in some way or another, global warming has been brought to the attention of the public through media such as Al Gore's documentary "An Inconvenient Truth.
We as a society are in a constant state of nostalgia. Whether it be old school or power ballads, we yearn to keep our memories in check with the past. With good reason, too. There are some great things about the '80s, specifically the films we remember. I bet that you can still recall the moment when Claire did the lipstick trick in "The Breakfast Club," or when Jake Ryan gave Samantha the birthday cake at the end of "Sixteen Candles.
"The Dead Girl" is not a bad movie. It is also not a good movie. Written and directed by Karen Moncrieff, "The Dead Girl" consists of four different stories told in five different segments which run about fifteen minutes a piece. The movie pays homage to "Magnolia" and "Thirteen Conversations About One Thing" by following four seemingly unrelated characters.
Latest film from Austinite Linklater shines critical light on fast food industry
You are what you eat. Or so thinks Eric Schlosser, author of the best-selling book "Fast Food Nation" which examines extreme economic, social and health inconsistencies in the fast food industry. Austin-based director Richard Linklater co-scripted the hard-hitting non-fiction piece into an "ensemble" feature film that would translate on screen.
Six degrees of separation appears to be THE recurring motif in Hollywood these days. Last year's Best Picture winner "Crash" was the ultimate "interlocking story" experience and ABC's new hit drama "Six Degrees" is already gaining a steady following. Unfortunately for "Babel," director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's new film, the "we're all connected" theme is a bit played out and many speculate that it has been done better.
"Jesus Camp," a documentary directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, chronicles an actual camp for kids who are fired up for Jesus. However, it doesn't take long to recognize that a movement is forming - a political, social, and religious powerhouse. "God wants you to join his army," reads the tagline, as if a child is capable of making such a decision.
Recently nominated for Independent Spirit and John Cassavetes awards, UT graduate Kyle Henry's "Room" is a groundbreaking film that boldly exploits what is normally relegated to the Lifetime station. Julia Barker (Cyndi Williams), the wife of unemployed husband Bobby Barker (Kenneth Wayne Bradley), mother of two girls, phone book delivery woman and Bingo parlor worker, leads a monotonous and bland life, except for being plagued with hallucinations, the byproduct of severe migraines, which frequently cause her to pass out.
"Here, man. This stuff is gonna blow your mind," said my buddy, Skeeter, as he slipped the contraband under the desk. I was both scared and excited to have finally scored. I placed the container deep into my backpack, underneath my books so as not to draw suspicion from any teachers or parents.
Rumors have been floating around the hipster circle that Austin's Alamo Drafthouse on 409 Colorado Street is going to shut its doors forever. According to an Alamo downtown employee, who wishes to remain anonymous, the landmark theater will indeed be shutting its doors.
If the filmmakers have their way, the new parody "Date Movie" will leave hordes of audiences with sides split from both laughter and disgust after its release later this month. The promotional tagline for the new film boasts that it is "from 2 of the 6 writers of Scary Movie.
is a member of the 
Official Music Sponsor: 
Get Connected