This isn't your typical high school student council race—it is a full fledged election with primaries and running mates, televised debates and newspaper endorsements. The candidates must take such things into consideration as "Can a ticket without Asian representation win?", "What is the best way to market our platform?", and "Will I have to quit the theater council if I am elected?" These kids take themselves incredibly seriously and fight for their right to rule until the final ballot is cast.... [continue]

Image by flickr user loreleiLet's face it: the official SXSW website isn't all that handy when it comes to planning out your festival. So the folks at B-Side have once again put together a fantastic SXSW Film Festival guide, complete with movie info, trailers, reviews and (best of all) scheduling tools to help you plan out the next nine days. And this year, the folks at Film Threat will be providing some blog-a-licious content and... [continue]

Alex Karpovsky is fascinated with extraordinary birds, regardless of the presence of feathers or bills. Indeed he is so fascinated with them that he set his new film, Woodpecker, in the bosom of birdwatching's newest mecca, Brinkley, Arkansas, amidst throngs of Ivory Billed Woodpecker enthusiasts and the townies who have a love/hate relationship with this group of fanatical treasure hunters and the bird on which they pin all of their hopes and dreams. ... [continue]

Austin dweller Margaret Brown brings her new documentary, The Order of Myths, to SXSW after a successful showing at Sundance. Brown was born in Mobile, Alabama, where Myths takes place. The film follows Mobilians through one cycle of their Mardi Gras celebrations—a festival which the city is proud to have begun celebrating before New Orleans. Unlike the Big Easy’s do, however, the Mobile Mardi Gras is, effectively, segregated. ... [continue]

In the midst of a kidney-punching divorce and a morale-deflating demotion at work, this eternally disenfranchised man, played by David Zellner, who also wrote and directed Goliath, lives in the malaise of mediocrity. Everything he does is a menial, unrewarding task, even watching porn. He is constantly muffling the words and actions that would pull him out of his droning, joyless life, storing up a pressure cooker of rage, passion and ill-advised tirades that could, and do, blow without warning. His one respite from the daily spirit beat down was the knowledge that a tiny, beating, feline heart needed him. Once that fur ball is no longer leaving deposits in the old catbox, this nameless man goes completely and utterly berserk.... [continue]

Tired of staying in your house to watch the Oscars, all seventy hours of them? Want to heckle in the company of others? Couture make you really hungry?... [continue]

So, we know that there is some other film awards show going on this weekend that involves statues and crimson carpets and such, but how many nominees can claim Austin as their hometown? None that we can think of, which is what makes the Film Independent's Spirit Awards a bazillion times more interesting to us than the stodgy old Oscars!... [continue]

American Gangster PosterAmerican Gangster Do you really need a two-disc box set of Ridley Scott's American Gangster, which includes two different versions of last year's Denzel Washington/Russell Crowe movie, the ability to download yet a third, plus featurettes including one in which Scott is shown the ins and outs of heroin production by an NYPD officer (as if he didn't already know)? It depends on how much you like Scott, and if you do, it'll... [continue]

Last Saturday, actor Will Ferrell made a quick stop in Austin during a press tour for his new film Semi-Pro. He also attended a sneak preview of the film and did a Q&A session at the Alamo Drafthouse, where attendees were required to dress in 70's basketball attire for admission - you can see the Drafthouse "team photo" here. Austinist's Tom Thornton and Gordon And The Whale's Chase Whale spoke briefly to Ferrell during the media day.... [continue]

As you may well know, Rad is the most awfully awesome BMX movie this side of BMX Bandits. Starring Bill Allen, Lori Loughlin (better known as "Aunt Becky" on Full House) and Bart Conner (a gold medal-winning Olympic gymnast and husband of Nadia Comaneci), Rad follows the adventures of BMX riding paperboy Cru Jones as ditches his SATs to qualify for Helltrack, a big-time bike race with serious professional competition.... [continue]

A big-screen adaptation of Holly Black and Tony Diterlizzi's popular children's book series, The Spiderwick Chronicles follows three kids named Simon, Mallory and Jared as they try to keep a magical book from falling into the hands of some unsavory goblins.... [continue]

Truthfully, every week is shark week in our hearts and minds, but this week brings with it a very special engagement of the eco-mentary Sharkwater, which follows the often dangerous, sometimes illegal, but always passionate pursuit of two men to save our fine finned friends of the big blue sea from imminent destruction at the hands of careless humans.... [continue]

Annie Hall once said of Los Angeles, "It's so clean out here," to which Woddy Allen's character, Alvy Singer replies, "That's because they don't throw their garbage away, they turn it into television shows." Well, apparently since there aren't any TV shows being made right now they are funneling all of that refuse into the romantic comedy market.... [continue]

Think a giant, disembodied penis coming out of the sky to crush a frantic little animated cinnamon bun is funny? If you said "no", quit trying to act all genteel and get over to the Alamo Downtown for this year's edition of Spike and Mike's Sick & Twisted animation fest.... [continue]

When you are rolling into sexy time with your lady/man friend, there should be an unspoken pact, a treaty, if you will, that both parties will emerge from the lusty lope with their person completely intact. No one wants the menacing mist of mutilation hanging in the air while they've got their pants around their ankles, that is of course as long as both bodies are willing participants in said libidinal ritual. Ah, a catch! In that asterisk lies the core of what the clumsy, campy, cringe-filled Teeth is all about.... [continue]

Playwright and filmmaker David Mamet will appear at UT's Hogg Auditorium on Monday, February 4th for a discussion of his work with the Austin Chronicle's Robert Faires. The event is the first of several appearances by Mamet at UT in conjunction with the acquisition of his archives by the Harry Ransom Center.... [continue]

Despite the obvious themes of power and faith, PT Anderson's vast, visionary epic There Will Be Blood isn’t primarily about oil, or about religion, or about extremism. Rather, it’s a thorough excavation of the foundation of American identity. And on top of all that, it’s the best film of the year.... [continue]

Even after the sketch comedy gem The State was grounded prematurely (and where’s that DVD already?) it hasn’t stopped Michael Showalter or Ian Black from bounding into many more comedic projects in the ensuing years.... [continue]

What's not to love about that hairy chest and denim jacket?... [continue]

We here at the Austinist Film Section believe that holidays should be extended for as long as possible, which is why we are just now bringing you all the news that is fit to be released regarding SXSW 08. Don't judge us. Everybody needs a little vacay now and then. That said, we are super pumped about the 2008 opening night film, 21 and the slew of other titles that have been released for this year's festival.... [continue]