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Bill I’s Rating – 3.5 out of 5

Lovely Anna (great Rebecca Hall) and Will (Dan Stevens) are live-in lovers, having known each other all their lives, clearly on a path to marriage. In fact, in the opening scene Dan fingers an engagement ring box, clearly planning how to ask Anna to marry him. They demonstrate (to us and to each other) all the stereotypical signs of a loving couple. The only apparent kink is their love making which seems a little, well, abrupt and mechanical. At a dinner with her brother and his best friend, (Hale and Reece, who are also a committed couple, and who are portrayed making love in one of the most explicit scenes I have seen in a mainstream movie), Will loses his resolve to pull out the ring and instead, thanks to drunken prompting Reece, they float the idea of having sex with other people to confirm that they are truly ready for a life-time of monogamy (seems like monotony with these two). Seems like Will’s male fantasy, but is he ready for Anna to also have a fling? She clearly is, and surprise surprise, she quickly is able to find a guy ready to take her to bed. And he seems pretty much ideal, both in bed, in the kitchen (he makes her breakfast in bed; actually she eats off a plate on his chest). And after sex he lays naked with his substantial genitals in full view. While we never see Will doing that, we are left to surmise that this new dude beats Will in that department. Things progress, including Will getting his own mind blown by an uninhibited wealthy widow (perfect, funny Gina Gershon). And there’s a secondary plot involving drama with the gay couple and a small role from Jason Sudeikis as a stay at home exhausted dad.  I was afraid there was going to be a boring predictable Hollywood ending, but I was happily wrong. In summary, an interesting take on an attractive couple and the danger of falling into predictability. oh, and there are some good laughs amongst the loving and arguing. Fun fact: the writer/director, Brian Crano, is married in real life to David Craig who plays Hale, and Rebecca Hall is married to Morgan Spector who plays Reece.

Bill I’s Review – 4 out of 5

This is the anti-cliché movie. Simple plot: two college girls (great Juno Temple and Julia Garner) spend a hot summer together with nothing in particular to do.  Not so simple plot twists: their best friend recently died tragically and they feel guilty because of the part they played. How do they get over it? How does it affect their friendship? How do their friends and family help them get over their grief. This is what makes it interesting, and I won’t tell much of the plot because following them go through their experiences is the fun part. One striking aspect is the summer love affair Juno’s character has with her college thesis advisor (Alessandro Nivola, playing the Bradley Cooper role). He’s a straight arrow English professor trying to write his novel while his wife (again the non-cliché, as she is not the typical cold bitch) is stuck in NY City for much of the summer with her work issues (the college town is in upstate New York). The mutual attraction and sexy chemistry is as believable as any I’ve seen in recent films. Is he the therapy she needs to get over her grief? Is he going to screw her over at the end while she gets devastated? (remember, anti-cliché) The relationship between the girls, as well as with their remote parents, clueless friends, and just about everyone else is as realistic as possible, and such a refreshing thing to see. So see it you must!

During the second half of SXSW I make it to fewer movies due to the music bother re a few I liked:

The Big Sick: This was my favorite movie  last week.  A romantic comedy based on the real life romance of Emily V. Gordon and  Kumail Nanjiani as they deal with family issues (including those of being a Muslim in America) and her illness.  This is very funny and moving.  Nanjiani also stars and this has a good supporting cast including Ray Romano and Holly Hunter.  Judd Apatow was one of the producers and he, Emily and Kumail had a great Q+A including a discussion of how Apatow helps push people to maximize their creativity in the writing process (as he did with Amy Schumer in Trainwreck and Lena Dunham with Girls).  This comes out in June and is a must see!

May it Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers: Judd Apatow directed this one although musical documentaries are not what he is known for.  I really enjoyed this documentary that gives good insight into the Avett brothers  as people, their creative process and lots of good music.  This will be on HBO at some point.  Later in the evening, at a different venue,  they performed in concert (they are great to see live).

Patti Cake$: A good narrative film about a young woman trying to make it as a rapper and escape her New Jersey circumstances despite the odds being stacked against her.

Small Crimes: A narrative about a former cop being released from prison and returning to his small home town.  The events that led to his imprisonment are slowly revealed as he tries to put his past behind him.  This was slo pretty good.

Doug Benson and Master Pancake Theater mock Leprechaun 5: In the Hood: Every year on St. Patrick’s Day Benson teams up with local comedy troupe Master Pancake Theater to mock a movie in the Leprechaun series with their running commentary.   This year was the fifth in the series and took place in da hood, last year they mocked #4 which took place in space.  The movies are terrible, the mocking is hilarious.  Unfortunately, unless someone makes another one there are only 2 left.

The Work: An excellent documentary that takes place in Folsom prison.  Every year there’s a 4 day session where inmates and people outside the prison get together and try to help each other work through their issues.  It was pretty intense.

That’s it for festival coverage until Fantastic Fest in September

SXSW started last Friday and runs through Saturday (technically it ends Sunday with some good BBQ, the traditional softball game (which I may sign up for) and just a couple of final bands).  This entry will just cover a bunch of the movies I’ve seen but SXSW is a lot more – music (which is just heating up), comedy (which I haven’t made it to at all), tech, health, sports, politics, parties, etc.  For more on other parts of SXSW see the link above or my wife’s blog on her experiences. 

There are about 125 full length movies covering many genres, as well as shorts and episodic (TV shows or streaming).  There are also related panels. For example, there was a panel with Michael Fassbender and Terrence Malick hosted by Richard Linklater discussing Malick’s new film, Song to Song, a panel with the showrunners for Game of Thrones, Bob Odenkirk discussing his projects, the whole cast of VEEP (interviewed by Chuck Todd of Meet the Press, etc.

Here are some of the best (and a couple that I didn’t like):

Fits and Starts: Wyatt Cenac (The Daily Show) in a comedy about a struggling writer married to a much more successful one.

A Bad Idea Gone Wrong: a couple of inept thieves get stuck in the house they are robbing.  This was pretty funny and won a best ensemble cast award.

Becoming Bond: a cute, quasi documentary about George Lazenby, the actor who played James Bond once.  It was interesting and funny.          Lazenby talking about his life is interlaced with humorous re-enactments.  He is an itneresting guy (and was at the screening).

Muppet Guys Talking – Secrets Behind the Show the Whole World Watched:  Frank OZ directed and participated in this movie with other of the original Muppets.  Archival footage was also used.

Mr. Roosevelt: the directorial debut and starring Noel Wells.  This is a comedy, set in Austin.  Wells character returns to Austin and spends an awkward weekend with her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend and comes  to terms with her previous choices.

Bill Nye, Science Guy: an update on Bill Nye and what he’s up to.  Entertaining and relevant.  As the Q+A demonstrated, he likes to talk.

Hot Summer Nights: Sort of a coming of age movie (but he never really comes of age).  A teenager spends the summer on Cape Cod in 1991, falls in love  and gets involved in drug dealing.

Free Fire:  This opens soon.  An action/comedy movie that flies by.  If you like action/violence you’ll probably like this.  Also pretty funny.

Unrest: A great documentary by and about a sufferer of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  Eye opening and very moving.

Meth Storm: Arkansas USA: Another really eye opening and moving documentary.  The film maker spends time with a law officer on an operation to try to make inroads to cut off the supply from Mexico and with a family with meth addiction problems.  This will be on HBO and is a must see (but tough to watch the drug addicted family).

Mission Control: The Unsung Heroes of Apollo: A really good documentary on the Apollo program from the perspective of mission control.  Inspiring.

Song to Song:  This is the new Malick movie.  It has a great cast that includes Rooney Mara, Ryan Gosling, Natalie Portman and Michael Fassbender.  If you are really into Malick you might like it but I was disappointed.  Too much cutting, not enough fleshing out of the story.  If you live in Austin it might be worth watching just to see all the locations he used.  Sometimes it seemed he just drove around and had people get out of the car if he saw something he thought was interesting.

The Challenge: So far my winner for worst film of the festival.  A documentary about  folks in the middle east that train falcons to catch pigeons in the desert.  If they had interesting characters that did the training or explained why this is a compelling activity it could have been good but they never got into the backstory.  Based on the picture below doesn’t it look like it could be interesting?  This still didn’t get my worst SXSW movie ever award.  That goes to 2010’s Trash Humpers by Harmony Korine.  I wanted to walk out of that one but since I was watching it at the Alamo Drafthouse and had to pay my bill I couldn’t.

Bill C’s Review – 4 out of 5

Michael Keaton gives an excellent performance in this biopic about McDonald’s ‘founder’ Ray Kroc.

The film covers the period when Kroc, as a a struggling milk shake machine salesman discovers the McDonalds brothers burger stand through it’s rise as a conglomerate.  The move is not only showcases the growth of the company but the birth of an industry.

The decisions that led to the success of the business and overcame early struggles are fascinating but even more interesting is how Kroc deals with people, especially the McDonald brothers.   In addition to Keaton’s performance there are also fine performances by Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Laura Dern and others.

IMDB

Rotten Tomatoes

Bill I’s Review – 3 out of 5

A platform for tremendous acting by Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, it’s a great way for those of us who haven’t seen the play on Broadway to experience this well written production. Yes, a movie version of a play, with most scenes set in the backyard, or kitchen, of an old brownstone in Pittsburgh in the late 1950s. Lot of talking from the lead character played by Denzel, a blowhard, a has been baseball star (from the Negro leagues before blacks were allowed in Major League Baseball), a hard working, hard drinking family man who beats down his teenage son verbally while ostensibly instilling discipline and forcing him down a reasonable career in his eyes and not following his own path of refuse collector/driver. The second half allows Viola to come to the front and take charge of the household when her husband stumbles. Solid film, just not too exciting or compelling enough for me to rave about.

Bill I’s Review – 3.5 out of 5

First, let’s see if this film follows the legacy of its predecessors. Does it focus on a young warrior who has father issues? Check. Does the main bad guy wear a billowing cape? Check. Is the fate of the galaxy in jeopardy? Check. Are the foot soldiers of the bad guys in full armor uniforms where they all look alike, faces covered, and just get mowed down while having terrible aim and slow reactions? Check, check, check. Is there a funny robot? Check.

So far, so good, although not many surprises. Now more questions that arose for me while I watched. Why do so many vehicles and equipment in this super advanced society have steam shooting out of them? (my best guess: the better to appear dramatic and give the good guys cover). Where is the wind that causes the bad guys cape to billow when he’s standing literally in outer space? (guess: maybe it’s the air rushing out of the spaceship?). Why do most of the characters have English accents? (guess: the best actors are English, right? Laurence Olivier, Anthony Hopkins, Judi Dench, Sacha Baron Cohen…) When do these characters ever eat or sleep? (guess: they’re taking some kind of futuristic super amphetamine) How do they travel from one galaxy to another so quickly? (guess: worm holes, what else?) Finally, not to give too much away, but pay attention to the data warehouse of the future, where you actually have to remove the data with a mechanical arm from its slot in the shelves.

I hope I didn’t give any spoilers. Pretty fun film, good for all ages.

 

Bill I’s Review – 4 out of 5

I agree with one reviewer’s characterization of Arrival as achieving what Interstellar tried (and failed) at, as a “thinking person’s movie”. I suggest that you not read any reviews in advance of seeing this film, so that you go in like me, having no idea of the plot or character elements beyond the most basic:  alien spaceships have arrived on (or over!) Earth and Amy Adams’ linguistic expert character, teamed with Jeremy Renner’s scientist, try to help the US government figure out what they want. The slow unraveling of this mystery is masterfully done, with soundtrack, cinematography, and hints at what is happening doled out to the viewer. It’s tense, it’s fun, it’s scary in a non-typical alien disaster movie way.  It gets a little slow at times for me. Amy Adams is great, as usual. And it resonates with today’s global political climate. I walked out proud to have figured out the plot, with a little help from my wife, and admiring how it was woven together. Unlike when I left Interstellar, furiously disputing the outlandish logic and plot elements. Arrival is terrific, highly recommended for all ages, say 12 and above!