Merrick here...
The lovely Annette Kellerman sent in three fine reviews from the dizzying swirl of SXSW: PATRIOT ACT, HARD CANDY, and LOUDQUITELOUD. She also wrote a little about the AICN 10th anniversary panel which happened earlier in the week.
Here's what she had to say...
Hey everyone. Its Annette Kellerman here once again with some more SXSW reviews. I slacked off a bit yesterday, so I have hella catching up to do!
My first stop for the day was the fantastic Ten Years of AICN panel at the convention center. Although the actual anniversary isn't until this summer, it's hard to believe that almost ten years have come and gone. I?ve been reading the site since right around its inception, and have very fond memories of Starship Troopers cease and desist letters, early Titanic test screening reviews, etc, etc. AICN is the reason I took my first trip down to Austin in '98 for QT 2. After salivating over Harry's coverage of Quentin's cinematic orgy, Tom Joad and I drove all the way from Oklahoma for the all night exploitation marathon, then had to drive all the way back with zero sleep for work and school the next day. Somewhere in between, we met up with Harry, Johnny Wad, Copernicus, and a 16 year old Quint. I guess we won our cool points with them, and the rest is history.
Flash forward nearly a decade later to the panel where Harry, Moriarty, and Quint held court for more than an hour discussing the impact a little site like AICN can have on big Hollywood. I actually heard a few stories I hadn't heard before- like Rupert Murdoch commenting to Bill Mechanic after Titanic's triumph at the Oscars that if the success of his empire ever again rested on the words of some red headed hillbilly from Texas, he was fired. Priceless. I really wish all you AICNers could've been there - and there weren't even any hecklers! (I guess talkbackers don't go to panels) Even Chris Gore remained quite until Harry called him out and he admitted to being a fan. Great stuff.
Enough nostalgia, on to the movies. The first film I saw was
PATRIOT ACT
I'm a fan of Jeffery Ross' work I've seen on Comedy Central. He's always one of my favorites at the Friars roasts, and his man-with-a-mic behind the scenes interviews are usually the highlight for me.
PATRIOT ACT is Ross' personal account of his experiences traveling with Drew Carey's USO tour in Iraq. Shot over six days using a store bought DV cam, Ross captures an entirely unique yet brief look into the lives of troops stationed throughout Iraq.
Ironically, the access allowed by these comedians along the way surpasses the usual images fed to us by the mainstream media. No matter what your political views may be, watching Ross relax in one of Saddam's former thrones or seeing soldiers lounging by the former dictator's monster pool is strangely exhilarating. Footage from one of Uday's palaces reveals a throne that's more like a love seat, and in another scene we get to visit the inside of Saddam's birthday palace?
Initially Ross explains that he had no intention of shooting a documentary while on tour, he just felt the need to contribute his time and effort to something other than 'making people laugh for a two drink minimum'. He brought along a camera for his own personal record of his journey, but as soon as he boarded a gigantic military cargo plane to take him into Baghdad, he realized the unique opportunity he had to share the images around him with the world.
The footage of the comedians performing for the troops is fantastic. The enthusiasm of the audiences is a much needed reminder that despite your politics, its impossible not to support the men and women who are sacrificing so much to follow their orders. You really get a sense of the complete isolation of war and the fact that these men and women thrive on the little bit of home these comedians provide.
PATRIOT ACT will be airing on Showtime, so many of you will have the chance to check it out, and I doubt you'll be disappointed.
The next film up was
HARD CANDY
About two months ago, Harry told me that I HAD to see this film. He had given me the basic lowdown, but didn?t want to ruin anything for me. He knew it would be playing at the fest and told me that of all the films showing, this was the one I absolutely needed to see.
Holy shit was he right. I already knew that HARD CANDY dealt with some dark, messed up territory, but I had no idea. Writing a review for this one is tricky, because I don?t want to give anything away, but I'll give it a go.
If you don't know already, the story begins with a somewhat suggestive online chat between an obviously underage girl and an unsuspecting man. Their chat segues into a plan to meet and the remainder of the film is set into motion. Just when you think you have a handle on the subject matter of the film, the story flip flops opening an entirely new and refreshing chapter in what I was afraid was going to be the same old tale. This is the type of film that challenges all preconceived notions you may have made about the characters. I was thrown for a loop at every turn and loved every second. I love when I can refer to a film as excruciating in a good way, and this was one of those times. I adore that I was being manipulated and driven to the edge of my seat. It's been a long time.
In the role of young Hayley, Ellen Page completely blew me away with her handle on the character's calculated duplicity. Throughout pages and pages of dialogue Page hexes the audience with a fresh face and a razor tongue. Opposite her, Patrick Wilson's performance as her unfortunate suitor perfectly captures the awe and horror of his unimaginable predicament.
Director David Slade should be most proud. He make my skin crawl and made me smile at the same time. He made me side with one character, then the other, then back again right up until the end. I hope everyone gets the chance to check this one out. Kudos.
Next up was the Pixies doc
LOUDQUITELOUD: THE PIXIES
I'm sure it's pretty obvious to say that if you're not a fan of the Pixies, you probably won't like this documentary about them. However, if you spent endless hours driving around your hometown in high school wearing out your Pixies tape, made mix tapes for all your friends featuring tracks from said artists, or ever wore bike shorts and a flannel with your doc martens, you might like this film a little bit. Or a lot in my case.
The film follows the band as they embark on their reunion tour. We get to see a newly sober Kim Deal swig non-alcoholic beer and chain smoke. We see a newly pilled out David Lovering as he deals with the death of his father. We hear Charles Thompson work on new 'Frank Black' songs. We see Joey Santiago juggle his duties on the road with his side project scoring an indie film. We get to laugh as the entire band struggles to remember the songs that many a thirtysomething could dictate word for word, note for note.
There's nothing too remarkable about the behind the scenes action. What is remarkable however is that after so many years off the radar, the band easily sells out shows night after night to crowds full of people who lovingly mouth every word to every song. I was one of those fans at their show here at the Austin City Limits fest in '04, and there was a sold out audience of those fans at the screening for this film.
As the film reveals, there are no plans for any future Pixies albums at this time, and with the iffiness of any future tours or shows, this film may be all we have. Thank you Steven Cantor and Matthew Galkin for this incredible documentation of the last glimmer of the band that wrote a majority of my high school soundtrack. It may be the last look at another band that soon may be extinct.
Well, I have many more reviews to share, but now I must head down town for more SXSW fun.
Until next time,
Annette
