Forget it. I'm not even going to try to say something pithy to sum up the two years of pandemic-missed SXSW festivals. It's back. Nuff said.
The big Austin fest kicks off today and exists both in person and in an online form. There are a ton of great movies playing. Here are just a few...
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Nicolas Cage stars as himself ... only a less successful version who takes money to do an appearance at a birthday party and ends up being recruited by a CIA agent played by Tiffany Haddish. No word if Tiffany Haddish is playing herself -- nor if Tiffany Haddish is, in fact, really in the CIA. The film is directed by Tom Gormican, who previously brought us the Zac Efron/Miles Teller/Michael B. Jordan buddy comedy That Awkward Moment. -Ryland Aldrich
Headliners
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I've been a fan of Ti West since his ultra gory b-movie debut, The Roost, but it was with the one-two punch of House of the Devil and The Innkeepers that he really made a huge impact on horror fans. His latest is a survival horror following a group of young filmmakers trying to make a porno in a remote Texas town. When they get caught, their hosts are none too pleased, and they'll soon find themselves running for their lives. -J Hurtado
Midnight
Bad Axe
Filmmaker David Siev cut his teeth working with Jeff Tremaine of Dickhouse (ya know, the Jackass guys). His feature debut documentary is a bit of a left turn from there. It focuses on one Cambodian family's (his) struggle to keep their midwest restaurant open during a pandemic and racial tension-filled times. Tremaine served as an EP. -RA
Docu Competition
Pretty Problems
Kestrin Pantera's follow up to the SXSW 2019-debuting Mother's Little Helpers is a funny-sounding romp about a down-on-their luck couple looking to spice things up with a wild weekend seeing how the other half lives in wine country. Katya Alexander, Britt Rentschler, Charlotte Ubben, and Michael Tennant star. -RA
Narrative Spotlight
Jethica
Screening in the experimental Visions lineup, Jethica is a dark comedy about a woman who attempts to fend off her stalker with a little help from beyond the grave. It doesn't go well. I have no idea where this feature is heading, but I am intrigued. -JH
Visions
Everything, Everywhere, All At Once
Daniels are back! After blowing minds at Sundance with their debut feature Swiss Army Man, the directing duo has returned with an even more insane looking multiverse adventure starring the inimitable Michelle Yeoh. Martial arts, interdimensional travel, and tons of googly eyes put this one high on our must-see list. -JH
Headliners
The Pez Outlaw
Sometimes a documentary premise is just too good to ignore. This one tells the tale of the man who made millions smuggling rare Pez dispensers after the fall of the Iron Curtain and the tragic story of his undoing. It's directed by Amy Bandlien Storkel and Bryan Storkel. -RA
Docu Competition
Sissy
Aussie duo Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes (For Now) return with this horror/thriller/comedy about a social media influencer trapped at a bachelorette party with the girl who tormented her in high school. -RA
Midnight
The Cellar
Director Brendan Muldowney expands his 2004 short horror film, The Ten Steps, in this new haunted house story. The Cellar is a haunted house story with echoes of Fulci, some really great creature work, and a very unusual premise that is sure to be popular on Shudder when it drops there later this year. -JH
Midnight
Nothing Lasts Forever
Manda Bala director Jason Kohn follows up that 2007 Sundance-winning documentary with this infiltration of the super secret and ultra corrupt diamond industry. -RA
Docu Spotlight
No Looking Back
The director of Why Don't You Just Die? is back with his second feature, and it sounds like another adrenaline-soaked violent bonanza! Olga is a woman just out of jail and ready to get on with her life, but her attempt to retrieve her daughter from her grandmother's custody isn't going very smoothly. Let the violence commence! -JH
Midnight
Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off
Experienced director and documentarian Sam Jones (I Am Trying To Break Your Heart) brings us the definitive Hawk Doc, interviewing such skate legends as Stacy Peralta, Rodney Mullen, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain, Steve Caballero, Neil Blender, Andy MacDonald, Duane Peters, Sean Mortimer, Christian Hosoi, and, of course, Tony Hawk. -RA
Docu Spotlight