SXSW March 10th – March 19th

SXSW –  March 10th through March 19th. We list our takes on what films to see or miss of the films coming coming soon in theaters and streaming on TV. We’ve seen films and are still interviewing filmmakers, including Directors/Producers/Writers and cast members And we’ll continue adding titles with reviews and  interviews for a heads up on what you should see and why.

DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS: HONOR AMONG THIEVES – This Opening Night film is filled with action and more humor than we expected. We saw it with directors, John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein and the whole cast. Well received by the audience who cheered. It’s not based per se on the game, but you’ll recognize characters. A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people. Watch for the Q & A with lively cast members Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Chloe Coleman, and Daisy Head. See Regé-Jean Page jump off the stage to grant a fan a photo that made her day, week and year.

SHATTER BELT – A modern mind bender for a new generation, Shatter Belt dives head first into the deep end of questions about our relationship to reality. From director James Ward Byrkit (Coherence) comes a collection of stories from the other side of consciousness. Starring Abigail Spencer, Patton Oswalt, JJ Nolan, Elimu Nelson, Julie Zhan, Dale E. Turner, Annie Ruby, Catherine Lidstone, Maury Sterling, and Richard Follin. Premier of episodes 2-4. Chaos from a glitch in the universe, a man on a desperate mission that turns into a find, and a night exploring cuisine exposing bizarre flavors and more. Watch our interview with James Byrkit and Patton Oswalt about this quirky series. 

THE LONG GAME – Audience Award Winner – When JB Peña (Jay Hernandez) moves to the small town of Del Rio, TX to take over as the school district’s superintendent, his dreams of joining the prestigious, all-white Del Rio Country Club are immediately squashed. However, soon he meets a group of high schoolers who caddy at the club but are prohibited from playing the course because of the color of their skin. Peña gets them a coach (Dennis Quaid) and the grounds keeper  (Cheech Marin) gives them all good advice. Well written/directed by Julio Quintana. Starring Jay Hernandez, Dennis Quaid, Cheech Marin, Julian Works, Jaina Lee Ortiz, Brett Cullen, Oscar Nuñez, Richard Robichaux, Paulina Chávez. Watch our interview with Director Quintana and the  young actors playing the high school golfers who endured racism until the superintendent of schools and the coach gave them a chance. 

STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE –  This well-crafted film does not dwell on Fox’s having Parkinson’s but follows the ups and downs of Fox’s childhood journey to become a TV and movie star. It also shows his relationship with his Dad, the beginnings of physical symptoms, and how he dealt with his diagnosis, always on the move, working day and night on Family Ties and Back to the Future  sleeping 2-3 hours a day for months. The film follows Fox day to day through his acting career, going through therapy (physical and mental), with a self-deprecating sense of humor, always managing to keep moving. You see how it has affected his career, and his wife, Tracy Pollan and 4 children after living with Parkinson’s for more than 30 years. Fox is so open and honest showing how grounded he and his wife are in their relationship dealing with everyday life. He still keeps moving and going strong. Watch Fox and Director Davis Guggenheim do the Q & A for this truly extraordinary documentary.

IF YOU WERE THE LAST – Anthony Mackie and Zoé Chou are Adam and Jane, three years into a NASA mission that has gone very wrong. Their ship is not functioning and they are adrift between Jupiter and Saturn with no way to get back. They have food (even pop tarts), a pet goat for milk, games, movies and have even learned fancy dance routines to pass the time. Knowing no one is coming to save them, they begin to reevaluate their friendship deciding if it’s time to become more intimate. Great performances showing the serious and funny side of their situation. Also starring Natalie Morales and Geoff Stults. Watch the Q & A here with Director Kristian Mercado. Written by Angela Bourassa. 

FLAMIN’ HOT – Audience Award Winner. Based on a true story, Eva Longoria directs a film about Frito Lay janitor, Richard Montañez, (Jesse Garcia) working  at the plant in Rancho Cucamonga, California who saw an opportunity to make a snack for Latin tastes.  With encouragement from his wife, Judy (Annie Gonzalez) and his son’s taste buds, they created a snack that turned the industry on its head and became a sales phenomenon. There has been some controversy about whether the story is entirely true, but the film spins a heartwarming tale of a man down on his luck who makes good.  Also starring Dennis Haysbert and Tony Shalhoub. Watch for the Q & A with Director Longoria and the rest of the cast with Richard Montañez and his wife, Judy, in attendance on the 40th anniversary of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Yes, samples were given at the premiere. 

CONFESSIONS OF A GOOD SAMARITAN – Director Penny Lane (Hail Satan!), directs herself as she explores the physical and mental ups and downs of anonymously donating a kidney. Lane even goes to a professor at Stanford who is researching the affects of altruism on the brain, showing that it can even be measured. Lane is open and honest waffling about the decision and friends and family giving various positive and negative reactions to the procedure. But she also shows the importance of organ donation in our society. Will she go through with it? You’ll have to see the film to find out. Watch our interview with Penny Lane to find out more about why she made the film, her decision making process, and the state of organ donation today. 

YOU CAN CALL ME BILL – There is a lot more to William Shatner than being the iconic Capt. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise who took a real joy ride into space in his 90’s. Written and Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe, Shatner talks directly into Robert Muratore’s camera, spinning stories of his youth, development as an actor, and his philosophies of life, aging and death. An abundance of clips from his movies and shows, plus speaking and concert engagements show the wide range of entertainment he is still providing. Appearing as a thinking, feeling eccentric, he is forthcoming about his ups and downs along the way in show business. At times serious, emotional, he is also humorous. Shatner’s curiosity is boundless, and his zest for life is evident, although he readily accepts getting older,  pondering his own legacy. The film starts with his reverence for nature, admitting that’s where he is destined to end up.

MOLLI AND MAX – A sci fi fantasy rom com in space over time we describe as When Harry Met Sally meets The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Writer/Director Michael Lukk Litwak creates a galaxy of his own with Aristotle Athary and Zosia Mamet as the friends whose relationship keeps changing over time while contemplating their self-identities intellectually and emotionally.. Litwak incorporates many of the issues we have and are dealing with socially and politically today. Good writing, very creative, with some out-of-this world characters. Entertaining and thought-provoking. Watch for our interview with Litwak and Athary about working on this far out film.

ANGEL APPLICANT – Winner – Documentary Feature  A highly personal film narrated and directed by Ken August Meyer. An artist himself, he explores the paintings of Swiss-German painter, Paul Klee who developed a mysterious disease that had a profound affect on Klee’s artwork. Klee fled Germany in 1933 when he and other modern artists were vilified by the rising Nazi Party. August Meyer, explores how this life-threatening disease,  systemic scleroderma, has affected both their lives through their work. Ken finds powerful messages coping with the debilitating symptoms including how it has affected his family and view of mortality. Using colorful and whimsical visuals, “Angel Applicant” echoes Klee’s creativity  as the disease progressed and August Meyer’s courageous personal journey to make the most of his life with his wife and daughter. His blowing out 144 birthday candles surrounded by friends and family is, in itself, inspiring.

MAX ROACH: THE DRUM ALSO WALTZES – The story of a complicated man and musician whose  stunningly diverse seven-decade career marked him as one of the great musical artists of the 20th century and a pioneering cultural activist at times when the nation was steeped in racism. From the revolutionary Jazz of the 1940s to the Civil Rights years, through experiments in hip hop, multi-media works, and beyond. Directed by Samuel Pollard and Ben Shapiro. Archive and current interviews with Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Quincy Jones, Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, Abbey Lincoln, Harry Belafonte. Watch for our interview with Director Sam Pollard (Sammy Davis, Jr.: I Gotta Be Me and more) about this extraordinary drummer and activist who was the first to put out a jazz album  focusing on freedom. 

BLACKBERRY – Writer/Director Matt Johnson with co-Writer Matthew Miller, recreate the meager beginnings, followed by the meteoric rise and then dramatic fall of the hand-held device that opened the flood gates to communication on the internet. It started with a bunch of young geeky guys playing around with electronics who dreamt what it could be but didn’t know how to develop or market it. Then a bully of a businessman took over . It’s an amazing tale leading up to what we can do and now use to work and talk to each other every day. Starring Jay Baruchel, Glenn Howerton, Matt Johnson, Cary Elwes, Saul Rubinek. A lot of hand held, follow shots of the guys and the board rooms at the time show the pressure to produce at the time.

JOIN OR DIE – Were you ever in a bowling league? Part of a social club, Elks, Rotary, Soccer, Tennis or a book Club? Directors Rebecca Davis and Pete Davis show why legendary social scientist Robert Putnam thinks it is important for socialization and mental health to join a club and shows why the fate of America may depend on it! His viral book “Bowling Alone” is so well known, just mention his name and people react. It’s all about the decline of American community since the 1960’s which has led us to this complicated crisis in democracy. What can we do about it? Putnam makes clear what we could and should be doing. It’s a fascinating film with comment from everyone from Hillary Clinton and Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to Eddie Glaude Jr. and Pete Buttigieg. It might even inspire you to get fitted for a bowling ball to got in a lane!