SXSW is officially done for another year. Well, technically, it's been done since Saturday, but it's taken a few days for The Playlist team members to emerge from their BBQ & queso comas. Nevertheless, the film strand of the festival is over and it's time to look forward, to Tribeca, Cannes and whatever else lies beyond.
And we have to confess, from most people that we've talked to, the line-up turned out to be somewhat underwhelming this time around. For whatever reason (a comparatively strong Sundance, perhaps?), there were few breakout hits that hadn't played at other festivals first. Indeed, the movies that emerged with the best reactions were mainstream studio pictures, in the shape of "21 Jump Street" and "The Cabin In the Woods," with no breakout buzz films to rival "Attack The Block" or "Weekend" last year.
Not that the festival was a wash out: while there were few stunning surprises, there were more than a few decent films worth your attention. As such, we've run down each of the 45 films that played the festival that we reviewed below, from the best to the worst. And below that, you'll also find every interview we did in Austin, from Joss Whedon to Patton Oswalt. Thanks are due, as ever, to our contributors on the ground: Todd Gilchrist, Alison Willmore, Willliam Goss, James Rocchi, Aaron Hillis, John Lichman, Katie Walsh, Drew Taylor and Cory Everett.
Reviews:
"The Raid: Redemption" (A)
"Girls" (A)
"21 Jump Street" (A)
"Beware of Mr. Baker" (A)
"Eden" (A-)
"Uprising: Hip Hop & The LA Riots" (A-)
"Shut Up And Play The Hits" (A-)
"Tchoupitoulas" (B+)
"God Bless America" (B+)
"The Cabin In The Woods" (B+)
"Los Chidos" (B+)
"Killer Joe" (B+)
"Bay Of All Saints" (B+)
"The Hunter" (B+)
"Dollhouse" (B+)
"John Dies At The End" (B+)
"Starlet" (B)
"Somebody Up There Likes Me (B)
"Electrick Children" (B)
"Bad Brains: A Band In DC" (B)
"The Imposter" (B)
"Bernie" (B)
"Paul Williams: Still Alive" (B)
"Sleepwalk With Me" (B)
"In Our Nature" (B)
"Francine" (B)
"Girls Against Boys" (B)
"Lovely Molly" (B) "
Monsieur Lazhar (B-)
"Safety Not Guaranteed" (B-)
"Beast" (B-)
"Marley" (B-)
"Frankie Go Boom" (B-)
"Sinister" (B-)
"Sunset Strip" (B-)
Sun Don't Shine (B-)
"Casa Di Mi Padre" (C+)
"Hunky Dory" (C)
"Intruders" (C)
"The Aggression Scale" (C)
"Leave Me Like You Found Me" (C)
"See Girl Run" (C-)
"Citadel" (C-)
"Gimme The Loot" (C-)
"Babymakers" (C-)
"Keyhole" (D+)
"Do-Deca Pentathelon" (D)
"The Tall Man" (D)
"Nature Calls" (D)
"Small Apartments" (D)
Preview:
"Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me"
Interviews:
Jack Black (star, "Bernie") Part One, Part Two
Gareth Evans (dir. "The Raid: Redemption")
Drew Goddard (dir. "The Cabin In The Woods")
Richard Linklater (dir. "Bernie") & Randall Poster (music supervisor, "Bernie")
Richard Linklater & Matthew McConaughey (dir. & star, "Bernie") (part two here)
Guy Maddin (dir. "Keyhole")
Matthew McConaughey & Tracy Letts (star & writer, "Killer Joe")
Mark Mothersbaugh (composer, "21 Jump Street")
Patton Oswalt (star, "Nature Calls")
Jordan Roberts (dir. "Frankie Go Boom")
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (dir. "Los Chidos")
Kristen Sheridan (dir. "Dollhouse")
Joss Whedon (co-writer/producer, "The Cabin In The Woods")
Lena Dunham, Judd Apatow & The Team Behind "Girls"
