SXSW Presents: DOGTOOTH – Tuesday 9/7 and Wednesday 9/8 at 7pm, and Sunday 9/12 @10:15pm – @Ritz
Advance tickets available here

The Cannes Film Festival, arguably the world’s fanciest film festival, awards the Prize Un Certain Regard every year to a film they find innovative, daring, and different, promising a bright future for a new filmmaker with fresh vision. Last year, that prize went to a Greek satire titled KYONDONTAS, or in English – DOGTOOTH.

DOGTOOTH is a dreamy film, brilliantly directed and acted, and unfolding a story so bizarre and creepy that it’ll scare you. The parents of a pack of young people intentionally shelter their offspring from the outside world, forbidding them from leaving their home with lies and the threat of danger. So deep is their shielded life that even vocabulary is changed to continue the illusion of isolation (“Zombie” is a yellow flower, “Pussy” a big light, “Telephone” a salt shaker). This project of ignorance seems like a deranged social experiment, but plays as a profound indictment against civilization and its need to condemn itself.

This seemingly bleak scenario is full of the stuff that makes cinema great: the attention to detail in the script and the performances are astounding, the direction and camerawork gorgeous, and the psycho-sexual ideas behind the film (and it cannot be ignored that this is a deeply sexual film) are as poignant as they are socially/politically critical.

The film inspires endless interpretations and discussions, and its perplexing scenario opens up more and more as it moves around in your brain. A.O. Scott of the New York Times calls the film a Conversation Piece: “Are mom and dad conducting some kind of perverse behaviorist experiment? Are they determined to shelter the younger generation in a world gone mad?…“Dogtooth” supplies no such explanation and at times seems as much an exercise in perversity as an examination of it. Mr. Lanthimos’s ends may be obscure, but his means can be seductive.”

Karina Longworth of the Village Voice calls the film “hyperrealist sci-fi detailing an (anti)social experiment gone awry,” and Wesley Morris of the Boston Globe warns, “Nothing in this weird, watchable, blasé black comedy from Greece stays innocent for long.”

The only sure thing about this picture is that it is absolutely great. Director Yorgos Lanthimos is a new filmmaker, but he is already a master. Roger Ebert expresses his take on the style brilliantly: “Lanthimos tells his story with complete command of visuals and performances. His cinematography is like a series of family photographs of a family with something wrong with it. His dialogue sounds composed entirely of sentences memorized from tourist phrase books.”

This is my favorite film of the year, hands down. If that means anything, you need to get to the Ritz next week to see DOGTOOTH as many times as possible. Bring your overprotective parents, your sheltered children, and all of your Greek friends.

Get your tickets for this great show now.

Fantastic Fest has announced its full 2010 short films lineup, including over 40 genre-bending selections from around the world. The festival has amassed the ultimate array of cool, twisted, beautiful, mind-bending, horrifying and hilarious short films. The best short films can pack in more emotion, laughs adrenaline, creativity and flat-out insanity than a million big-budget blockbusters. Or they can show you something so ambitiously horrendous that you beg for mercy.

FANTASTIC FEST 2010 SHORT FILM LINEUP

5 Minute Dating
Canada, Director: Peter Hatch
A dating service where anyone can find their soul mate.

12 Years
Germany, Director: Daniel Nocke
We’re not the only species that needs to endure the wrenching pain of relationships gone sour.

The Astronomer’s Sun
UK, Director: David Bunting
Lovely animated story about a boy and his bear and the secrets of the universe

Atomic Hubbub
UK, Director: Stephen Irwin
Here’s the newest way to enjoy mankind’s impending self-apocalypse.

Barcelona Venecia
Spain, Director: David Muñoz
When you’ve accidentally slipped through a wormhole, you’d better hope your guide isn’t a jackass.

By Night
Germany, Director: Juan DiazB
A man copes with the pain of life through a very unusual medium: snow globes.

Careful with that Crossbow
New Zealand, Director: Jason Stutter
Two children engage in a seemingly innocent game of William Tell.

Culebra
US, Director: Sean Carter
In the desert between the US and Mexico, there are more terrifying things to watch out for than the border guards.

Deus Irae
Argentina, Director: Pedro Cristiani
Exorcism. It’s a dirty job, but someone’s got to do it.

Fard
France, Director: David Alapont and Luis Briceño
A civilization built on the idea that “What you don’t see doesn’t exist” is severely disturbed when a man opens a mysterious package.

El Fin Del Mundo
Spain, Director: Alberto Gonzales
President Reagan has an extremely important message for us.

Giant
UK, Director: Yann Benedi
A bittersweet introduction to the not-so-human condition.

The Importance of Awards in Advertising
US, Director: Jim Hosking
A concise, informative, hairy and fairly nude introduction to the world of big business.

Interview
Germany, Director: Sebastian Marka
A journalist scores an interview with a notorious and so far uncaptured serial killer.

It’s Me, Helmut
Switzerland/Germany, Director: N. Steiner
Happy birthday! Your entire life was squandered and you’ll die alone!

Jaulas
Mexico, Director: Juan Jose Medina
A man treads across a post-apocalyptic landscape carrying a bitter, vengeful burden.

King Chicken
Canada, Director: Nicolas Bolduc
Even the most ridiculous, lonely people can find romance. Wait. No. Probably not.

King Jeff
UK, Director: Phil Dale
Two costumed medieval wannabes are forced to face off against all-too-real foes.

The Legend of Beaver Dam
Canada, Director: Jerome Sable
A bloodthirsty campfire terror legend goes…musical?

Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers
Sweden, Director: Johannes Stjärne Nilsson and Ola Simonsson
Percussion reaches bold new heights in this brilliantly unique tale of urban paradiddles and ratamacues.

My Invisible Friend
Spain, Director: Pablo Larcuen
A semi-catatonic young man is finally able to reach beyond his world of porn and video games thanks to his first and only friend: an alien fish-man.

Ninjas
Brazil, Director:  Dennison Ramalho
Emotionally tortured after accidentally shooting a child, a policeman is offered a brutal shot at redemption.

Off Season
USA/UK, Director: Jacob Jaffke
A burglar and his dog navigate seasonally abandoned houses, and find someone is committing much more terrible crimes.

One Man and His Dog
UK, Director: Jonathan Hopkins
An interstellar would-be savior stumbles across a violent flim-flam man. Hijinks ensue.

Only Son
New Zealand, Director: thedownlowconcept
A young man receives unwanted dating advice from his dead father.

La Petit Mort
Germany, Director: Jan Gallasch
This nurse does not abide by the Hippocratic Oath.

Piano Man
USA, Director: Andrew Wilding
It’s the perfect crime…what could possibly go wrong?

Picnic
Sweden, Director: Henrik Andersson
A happy couple enjoying a gorgeous summer day together is unprepared for the difficulties that attack their peaceful life.

La Piñata
Spain, Director: Manuel Arija
A street performer draws a tremendous crowd, including a young lady who may regret watching.

Pixels
France, Director: Patrick Jean
A full-scale invasion from the 8-bit dimension!!!

Protoparticles
Spain, Director: Chema Garcia Ibarra
Life is hard. Life in a hermetically sealed space suit is nearly impossible.

Renegades
USA, Director: Jim Hosking
Two tragic friends enter a world of weaponry, nudity and cake shaped like a clown’s head.

Le Rescape du Hippocampe
France, Director: Julien Lecat
A woman enters the deepest recesses of her friend’s brain to help him get back on track.

Rise of the Living Corpse
Canada, Director: Chris Walsh
Rotting flesh breaks soil and the fun begins. The shortest short in FF history.

Rosenhill
Sweden, Director: Johan Lundborg and Johan Storm
A lovable grandmother is certain that her nursing home caretakers are murderous maniacs. She’s right.

Sasquatch Birth Journal 2
USA, Director:  The Zellner Brothers
An unprecedented peek at the mysteries of nature.

Seed
Czech Republic/UK/USA, Director: Ben Richardson and Daniel Bird
Birth. Junk. Expansion. Technology. Death. Usually in that order.

Sorry…I Love You
Spain, Director: Leticia Dolera
A shy, possibly non-human man ends up working with a girl who makes his heart — or something else in his chest — go pitter-pat.

St. Christophorus: Roadkill
Germany, Director: Gregor Erler
With the help of some corrupt cops, a man driving through the forest of Germany has the worst goddamn night in history.

Stranger Hero
USA, Director: Stephen Carolan
Prepare to witness the power of the ultimate warrior of the lost world: Stranger Hero!!

Teclópolis
Argentina, Director: Javier Mrad
Impossible landscapes created by everyday objects. Hypnotic and perfect.

To My Mother and Father
UK, Director: Can Evrenol
A nightmarish example of a practical joke gone awry.

Uncle Jack
USA, Director: Jamin Winans
A very special uncle soothes his nephew with a very special bedtime story.

Unholy Night
Sweden, Director: Arni Jonsson
Original Icelandic legend provides for 13 Santa Clauses, each of whom arrive in succession on different nights.  But their Santas aren’t as benevolent as ours, and tonight is the night for the one they call “Meathook.”

United Monster Talent Agency
USA, Director: Greg Nicotero
You’re likely already familiar with the classic monster films of Hollywood’s golden age. Now, learn how tough it was to get those monsters to behave on camera!

Vision
UK, Director: Jamie Hooper
A young woman receives a mysterious DVD in the post.  She soon comes to realize that pressing “play” was a bad mistake.

Voltage
Brazil, Director: Filippe Lyra and William Paiva
A crew of robots teaches us lousy humans how it’s really done.

Wisdom Teeth
USA, Director: Don Hertzfeldt
The latest hilarious heart wrecker from unstoppable animation force Don Hertzfeldt!

Yuri
Switzerland, Director: Cécile Brun, Katja Schiendorfer, Immanuel Wagner and Nils Hedinger
An astronaut wanders the spaceways in search of new life. When something shows up…he’s at a loss.

And if you don’t catch these shorts before one of our features, you’ll have a chance to see some of them in our shorts programs:

DRAWN & QUARTERED: Animated Shorts
It’s been said that animation isn’t just for kids anymore. Well, that’s ESPECIALLY the case at Fantastic Fest. We’ll be showcasing all aspects of genre entertainment in animated form, some of which will make you laugh, and some of which will make your bodily functions shut down entirely.
12 YEARS
ATOMIC HUBBUB
THE ASTRONOMERS SUN
FARD
GIANT
JAULAS
PIXELS
RISE OF THE LIVING CORPSE
SEED
TECLOPOLIS
VOLTAGE
WISDOM TEETH
YURI

Short Fuse! Severe Fantastic Fest Shorts
The best short films can pack in more adrenaline, creativity and flat-out insanity than a million big-budget blockbusters. Or they can show you something so ambitiously horrendous that you beg for mercy. Your intrepid Fantastic Fest programmers have scoured the international celluloid goldmines for the most skull-bursting, taste-annihilating and eyeball-destroying shorts in existence, and this program is truly the mother load.
DEUS IRAE
THE LEGEND OF BEAVER DAM
INTERVIEW
NINJAS
OFF SEASON
ROSENHILL
TO MY MOTHER AND FATHER

Fantastic Fest has scoured the globe for the very best in action, horror, science fiction, fantasy to the truly bizarre in contemporary cinema for your viewing pleasure. Look for more announcements in the final weeks before the festival, including information on our gala events, parties and AMD Next Wave filmmakers in attendance.

Fantastic Fest is the film festival with the boring parts cut out. Miss this one and your regrets will agonize you for years to come. You have been warned.

For the latest developments visit Fantastic Fest Facebook & Twitter.

Rather than bug all of your friends to dress up like zombies- why not use the zombies from Left 4 Dead?  Rather than have an emaciated little girl tracking bloody footprints everywhere- why not just use Alma Wade from F.E.A.R.? Machinima gives the creators complete control of a virtual world that otherwise would be unattainable.  Day by day, it is becoming a more widely accepted medium. Click HERE for more information about the genre.

This year, Fantastic Fest proudly unveils a new branch of the festival dubbed Fantastic Arcade and one of the many ways we are integrating the two is thru our 48-hr Machinima Filmmaking Challenge.  We will provide registered teams with a prompt and a genre on Friday September 10th and give teams until Sunday the 12th to let their imaginations run wild and try their hand at taking home the prizes and the glory.  Let’s face it- this is a much more fun weekend project than finishing that fence in the backyard.

We’ll be giving away over $4,000 worth of prizes from our partners at Dell as well as a fantastic amount of glory. The first place team receives a Dell XPS 7100 PC including Eyefinity triple-monitor capability and hardware, plus 3 graphics cards ($ 2,500 value) and the second place team receives a Dell Inspiron M501R notebook and three graphics cards ($1,500 value)! In addition to the outlandish prizes for the best productions, the fine folks at Rooster Teeth will be recognizing excellence in Machinima acting! The winner of the Best Actor/Actress award will have a chance to perform their very own walk-on role in an upcoming Red vs Blue episode!

For more information and to register for this FREE filmmaking challenge, click HERE !

Black Francis, the musical-genius frontman of highly influential alt-rock band The Pixies, has created a new score for the German Expressionist silent masterpiece DER GOLEM. A recording of this new film score will be spun along with the movie at the Starving Art Drive-in. Accompanying the music/film presentation, Francis’s related art work will be on display at the Starving Art Gallery.

“A silent classic and an exemplary specimen of German expressionist cinema, DER GOLEM is set in 16th century Prague. A rabbi fashions a proto–Frankenstein’s monster, sculpted from rough clay and brought to life through sorcery, to protect the Jewish ghetto from a Christian emperor’s decree that it be dissolved. Through means both surprising and charming, the creature manages to stave off the wrath of the emperor and his court. But it eventually goes haywire, as the rabbi’s jealous assistant turns the golem toward evil. A true juggernaut, the golem destroys everything in its path.

The last in a trilogy of films on the golem myth, all cowritten and codirected by Paul Wegener, The Golem depicts the labyrinthine ghetto as a baroque and anxious world of secrets and magic capable of producing amazing discoveries as well as horrific power. Wegener, who had a long career as an actor, plays the title character with odd grace. Photographed by master cinematographer Karl Freund (METROPOLIS, THE LAST LAUGH, DRACULA), the film…remains visually stunning.” (Sean Uyehara, San Francisco Film Festival)

The location: Starving Art and EAT – 2326 East Cesar Chavez, Austin
Starving Art Studios and EAT Park and Eatery. A place where people can see, take part of, purchase and even eat, some of the unique creative aspects of Austin, Texas. We have brought together various aspects of our creative community into one place so that people can come and enjoy.

Check out this great article about STARVING ART in Austin360 this week!

Friday, September 3, Rolling Roadshow Presentation at Starving Art and Eat, 8pm. Be there.

Friday, Sept. 3 and Saturday, Sept. 4 at 8 PM at the Long Center for the Performing Arts.

If you didn’t happen upon performances of selected chapters of THE INTERGALACTIC NEMESIS before screenings at South Lamar, let me clue you in to all the hub-bub. THE INTERGALACTIC NEMESIS is a graphic novel serial performed LIVE. Three actors perform dozens of characters. One Foley artist creates hundreds of sounds. One keyboardist plays thousands of notes. All while more than 1000 hand-drawn full-color high-resolution mind-blowing multiply-hyphenated comic-book images blast from the screen.

“When a Pulitzer-winning reporter and her intrepid assistant stumble across a mysterious map, they uncover what might just be the story of the century: an invasion of sludge-monsters from the planet Zygon. With the help of a librarian from Flagstaff AZ, our heroes race against time to defeat Mysterion the Magnificent and his minions before they destroy Earth forever.”

You’ve seen chapters at various shows at the Drafthouse over the past year. Now see it all come together for a glorious performance at the Long Center this weekend. Don’t Miss It!

The 6th annual Fantastic Fest will honor director and master fight choreographer Yuen Woo Ping with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the world premiere of his new martial arts fantasy True Legend, starring Vincent Zhao (Fong Sai Yuk, Dragon Gets Angry) Zhou Xun (The Emperor and the Assassin, Suzhou River) with Michelle Yeoh (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and the late David Carradine (Kill Bill), on Saturday, September 25, 2010 at The Paramount Theatre in Austin, TX. The film will play as part of a double feature with Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow, Yuen Woo Ping’s directorial debut and the film that put action legend, Jackie Chan on the map. Fantastic Fest will play host to Yuen Woo Ping’s first U.S. festival appearance.

If you’ve ever walked out of a movie theatre after watching a martial arts film and left your jaw on the floor, your eyes were probably dazzled by the fight choreography of filmmaker, Yuen Woo Ping. Gods of kung fu—Jackie Chan, Stephen Chow, Jet Li, Donny Yen and Michelle Yeoh—have all had their impressive abilities molded into a cinematic language of fist-pounding aerial artistry at the hands of Yuen Woo Ping. His work headlines the top fight sequence lists of all time from films like The Matrix trilogy, Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Iron Monkey, Drunken Master, Once Upon a Time in China, Fist of Legend and Kung Fu Hustle.

“We are thrilled to have a filmmaker of Mr. Yuen’s incredible talent and filmography attend our festival to accept the Lifetime Achievement Award,” says Fantastic Fest co-founder Tim League. “A large part of our programming at Fantastic Fest is devoted to a genre of which Mr. Yuen represents the pinnacle of quality.”

Tickets for the Gala Screening of True Legend will go on sale Wednesday, September 8 at NOON CST on the Fantastic Fest official site.

True Legend (2010)
World Premiere, Hong Kong, director: Yuen Woo Ping
Yuen Woo Ping, legendary director and martial arts choreographer, brings TRUE LEGEND, an epic tale of Su Can, Master of the Drunken Fist.

A well-respected martial arts teacher and a good husband and father, Su Can’s journey begins when his vengeful brother, Yuan, returns from war. Seeking revenge from a dark family history, Yuan, armed with the Five Venom Fist, destroys Su Can’s family and dignity. Reduced to a beggar, Su Can finds apprenticeship from Lord Wushu and adapts to a new form of martial arts, the Drunken Fist. At peace with himself, he regains his strength to reclaim his life and returns home to claim retribution and his family honor. Good versus evil, two skilled rivals battle to become the ultimate warrior.

Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow (1978)
Hong Kong, director: Yuen Woo Ping
As a director and action choreographer, Yuen Woo Ping is identified with the ‘new school’ of kung fu. But just as a jazz musician must master the standards before he can take off on wild harmonic flights, Yuen had to earn his diploma from the old school before he could tear down the walls. Think of this movie as his graduate thesis. It’s similar to the Shaw Brothers training films so popular at the time, but there are crucial differences in humor and attitude. Jackie Chan, at his acrobatic best, stars as an orphan who ekes out a Dickensian existence as the janitor and human punching bag at a kung fu school. When he sees an old beggar (played to sheer perfection by Yuen Woo Ping’s father, Siu Tien Yuen) being roughed up by bill collectors, he jumps in to help. The old man, actually a great martial arts master, is touched by the gesture but appalled by the terrible kung fu so he takes the boy on as a disciple, teaching him the Snake Fist boxing style. Unfortunately, the master of the Eagle Claw style, played by phenomenal high-kicker Hwang Jang Lee, has vowed to eradicate the Snake Fist style and all its practitioners from the Earth, which spices things up considerably. The kung fu fights here are among the best you’ll ever see, with some staggering moves you won’t believe. Best of all, it’s entertaining from beginning to end.

Fantastic Fest has scoured the globe for the very best in action, horror, science fiction, fantasy to the truly bizarre in contemporary cinema for your viewing pleasure. Look for more announcements in the weeks to come, including information on our gala events, parties and AMD Next Wave filmmakers in attendance.

Fantastic Fest is the film festival with the boring parts cut out. Miss this one and your regrets will agonize you for years to come. You have been warned.

For photos of the announced films, visit this page.

For more photos from Fantastic Fest, visit our Flickr page.

For the latest developments visit Fantastic Fest Facebook & Twitter.

The reason for losing the draft is that summer is drawing to a conclusion. Now, all things are relative, and although we’re still experiencing near-100° temperatures and Austin’s hottest recorded temperature (112F/44.44C) happened in September, the fact is that we’re only three weeks away from the autumnal equinox, and to friends of John Barleycorn that means one thing – autumn seasonals! Yesterday (Monday), Live Oak rolled out the first kegs this year’s Oaktoberfest and it is delicious. I had me a few pints while watching Get Low, a film I highly recommend. We also tapped a keg of Sam Adams’ autumn seasonal, and there’ll be more Oktoberfests to follow in the coming weeks, including a Badass Oktoberfest draft or two. Stay tuned for details.

If sweet, malty German brews aren’t to your taste, we also have New Belgium Hoptober on tap. As the name suggests, it’s a hop-forward beer – a golden ale, moderately – but noticeably – hopped, possessing a decent malt balance and without too many IBUs (40, to be exact).

This weekend we tapped (and it’s our current Badass Draft) the first of two kegs of (512)’s descriptively-named TWO. The name is appropriate not just because this is their second anniversary brew, but also because it’s a double IPA, and a damn fine one. It is, and I quote, “…heavily hopped with over 4 lbs/bbl of Simcoe, Magnum, Nugget and Ahtanum. This is a big, malty ale with delicate hop aroma, complex hop flavor and sustained smooth hop bitterness. Hops are added from beginning to end during the brewing process and, like most (512) ales, this one is made using over 80% USDA certified organic ingredients.” Kevin and Nate have knocked out another good one, I reckon. If TWO is a double IPA, dare we hope that THREE will be a tripel?

So, what about that new Badass Bottle to partner the North Coast Le Merle Saison? This is an interesting one – Dogfish Head Squall IPA. It’s described as a bottle-conditioned and dry-hopped 90 Minute and, to be sure, you’ll find that characteristic 90 Minute sweetness, but with far more hop flavour and bitterness. There’s been some talk among the beer geeks regarding the carbonation of DFH Squall. Some have said their bottle was flat as a pancake while others have had a gusher! I’ve only had one experience of it so far – a bottle I bought a few weeks ago from Central Market – and I guess I got lucky because mine had that very soft carbonation you find in cask-conditioned beers. Perfect for my palate.

Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione describes it as “the most hoppy beer we make at Dogfish Head“, and who am I to disagree with him? By DFH standards it is indeed a serious hop bomb, and well worth investigating. Being bottle conditioned, you will find some sediment at the bottom. It’s entirely drinkable and it’s up to you whether you go for a regular pour or decant the beer into your glass.

You do always drink your beer from a glass, right?

Jim Hughes, Head Beer Nerd, Alamo South Lamar
“If I had all the money I’ve spent on drink… I’d spend it on drink.” ~ Sir Henry Rawlinson

GALA
Stone (2010)
US Premiere, USA, director: John Curran
**Director John Curran and Edward Norton live in attendance.**
A seasoned corrections official and a volatile inmate find their lives dangerously intertwined in STONE, a thought-provoking drama directed by John Curran and written by Angus MacLachlan. STONE features powerful performances by Academy Award® winner Robert De Niro and Oscar® nominee Edward Norton, and a startlingly raw, breakout performance from Milla Jovovich as the sexy, casually amoral woman they both desire.
As parole officer Jack Mabry (De Niro) counts the days toward a quiet retirement, he is asked to review the case of Gerald “Stone” Creeson (Norton), in prison for covering up the murder of his grandparents with a fire. Now eligible for early release, Stone needs to convince Jack he has reformed, but his attempts to influence the older man’s decision have profound and unexpected consequences for them both. STONE skillfully weaves together the parallel journeys of two men grappling with dark impulses, as the line between lawman and lawbreaker becomes precariously thin. Golden Globe® winner Frances Conroy completes the superb ensemble as Madylyn, Jack’s devout, long-suffering spouse. Set against the quiet desperation of economically ravaged suburban Detroit and the stifling brutality of a maximum security prison, this tale of passion, betrayal and corruption examines the fractured lives of two volatile men breaking from their troubled pasts to face uncertain futures.

FEATURED SCREENINGS
30 Days of Night: Dark Days (2010)
World Premiere, USA, director: Ben Ketai Director Ben Ketai, Kiele Sanchez & Steve Niles (co-writer, author) in attendance (schedules permitting).

It’s been almost a year since the Alaskan town of Barrow’s population was decimated by vampires during its annual month-long sunset. Riddled with grief over the death of her husband, bound by nightmares and void of all emotions beyond hate and sorrow, Stella (Sanchez) has spent the past months traveling the world, trying to convince others that vampires exist. Met with skepticism and laughter, Stella is ready to throw in the towel when a group of lost souls (Coiro, Baird and Perrineau) offers an incredible opportunity: the chance to exact revenge upon Lilith (Kirshner), the vampire queen responsible for the assault on Stella’s sleepy Alaskan town. With nothing remaining to live for, and nothing left to fear, Stella joins their mission and ventures into the uncharted underbelly of Los Angeles where she pushes herself to the most extreme limits to stop the evil from striking again.

Carancho (2010)
Regional Premiere, Argentina, director: Pablo Trapero
Ambulance drivers and ambulance chasers, dirty police and corrupt doctors, fraudulent insurance brokers and some truly desperate people are the players in a wildly original and occasionally brutal thriller set on the streets of Buenos Aires.

Drones (2010)

Regional Premiere, USA, directors: Amber Benson and Adam BuschDirectors Amber Benson and Adam Busch as well as stars Angela Bettis and Kevin Ford will be in attendance.

When Brian discovers an improbable secret about his best friend and OmniLink coworker, everything in his world changes and his safe life of workplace detachment is no longer an option. Close encounters of the office kind, like sales or intergalactic war, is an uncertain business.

Fire of Conscience (2010)
US Premiere, Hong Kong, director: Dante Lam
A slick cops-and-robbers film that coats melodrama with a thick layer of blood and gunpowder. Dante Lam has emerged as one of the most exciting Hong Kong action directors with films like THE BEAST STALKER (2008) and SNIPER (2009). His latest work delivers the goods with chases, fisticuffs, massive fire fights; exploding bodies and more.

Hatchet 2 (2010)
North American Premiere, USA, director: Adam Green
Director Adam Green, Kane Hodder and Danielle Harris live in person!
Witness the resurrection of bayou-dwelling psycho-killer Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder), who terrorized a party of witless New Orleans tourists in Adam Green’s 2006 cult hit HATCHET. After emerging as the sole survivor of Crowley’s comically over-the-top murder spree, Marybeth (Danielle Harris) learns the secrets of the madman’s origins and returns to the Louisiana swamps to avenge her family’s death. Also featuring genre fan fave Tony Todd as Reverend Zombie and FRIGHT NIGHT director Tom Holland as Bob.

The Housemaid (1960)
South Korea, director: Kim Ki-young
Celebrated as one of the greatest Korean films of all time, THE HOUSEMAID tells the story of a composer who invites chaos into his home when he begins an affair with the family’s mysterious new maid, a disturbed woman with a penchant for catching rats with her bare hands. The print featured at this year’s Fantastic Fest has been restored by the Korean Film Archive with the support of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the preservation of films from non-Western countries.

The Housemaid (2010)
Regional Premiere, Korea, director: Im Sang-soo
A reimagining of the Korean classic of the same name, the 2010 version of THE HOUSEMAID turns the tables on the story. This time around a perfectly normal servant enters the home of a truly dysfunctional wealthy family who beat her down with an array of psychological, sexual and sometimes physical trauma. With strong performances, lush design and an exceptional story, this update serves as a worthy companion to the original classic and makes for a truly unique double bill.

I Spit on Your Grave (2010)
Austin Premiere, USA, director: Steven R. Monroe
A remake of the controversial 1978 cult classic of the same title, Steven Monroe’s I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE is a shock-fest that revisits the story of a young writer’s horrifying sexual assault at the hands of a backwoods gas-station attendant and his knuckle-dragging cronies while on sabbatical in the countryside. After being brutally attacked and left for dead, she returns for vengeance. Trapping her male attackers one-by-one, she inflicts acts of physical torment upon them with a ferocity that surpasses her own ordeal. When the carnage clears, victim has become victor.
Kidnapped (2010)
North American Premiere, Spain, director: Miguel Ángel Vivas
Jaime (Fernando Cayo) and Marta (Ana Wagener) are a middle-aged couple with a teenage daughter named Isa (Manuela Vellés). The family is in the process of moving into a big new house. Marta wants to gather the family for dinner at home to celebrate. Isa has her own plans; she wants to go out with her boyfriend. Jaime is stuck in the middle of it all. Everyone’s evening is ruined when a gang of masked hoodlums pay a visit to the home.

Legend of the Fist (2010)
US Premiere, Hong Kong, director: Andrew Lau
Life in Japanese-occupied Shanghai in the 1920s was no picnic. Military warlords and criminal henchmen ruled the streets. The city’s one ray of hope was the young martial artist Chen Zhen (Donnie Yen), whose legendary showdown against a dojo full of Japanese warriors ended with his apparent death, though his body is never found. Seven years later, a wealthy entrepreneur called Koo returns from abroad and makes a grand entrance on the Shanghai social scene by befriending the city’s most notorious mafia boss. Could this be the return of Chen Zhen?

Ong Bak 3 (2010)
North American Premiere, Thailand, director: Tony Jaa
The legend of ONG BAK 3 begins after Tien (Tony Jaa) has lost his fighting skills and his beloved step-father from the raid led by Jom Rachan (Saranyu Wonggrajang). Tien is brought back to life with the help from the Kana Khone villagers. Deep into the meditation taught by Phra Bua (Nirutti Sirijanya), Tien finally is able to achieve ‘Nathayut’. His talents are put to the test again when his rivals including the Golden-Armored King’s Guard (Supakorn ‘Tok’ Kijusuwan), the mysterious killers in black, and Bhuti Sangkha (Dan Chupong) return for the final massive showdown.

Redline (2010)
North American Premiere, Japan, director: Takeshi Koike
Rev your engines, adrenaline junkies! REDLINE is a new feature from famed Madhouse Studios that reunites animator Takeshi Koike (NINJA SCROLL, ANIMATRIX) with his long-time collaborator Katushito Ishii, the genius behind FUNKY FOREST: THE FIRST CONTACT. This meeting of warped minds results in a mind-melting psychedelic assault that is easily the wildest animated Japanese film to surface in years.

Stake Land (2010)
US Premiere, USA, director: Jim Mickle
Director Jim Mickle, Connor Paolo, Nick Damici and Danielle Harris live in person!
Following a political-economic meltdown of unexplained origins, the world has been overrun by humanoid creatures who feed off human blood. A disparate group of survivors band together to weave their way through the communities of both vampires and equally dangerous religious cultists in search of an alleged sanctuary in the north. The cast includes Nick Damici, Connor Paolo, Kelly McGillis, Danielle Harris and Michael Cerveris.

Undocumented (2010)
World Premiere, USA, director: Chris Peckover
Director Chris Peckover and cast members live in person!
A small group of documentary filmmakers chronicle the trials and inequities faced by Mexican illegal immigrants. When they join a group of families illegally crossing the border to record the experience firsthand, their truck is pulled over and detained. What happens next plunges their group into unimaginable horror.

We Are What We Are (Somos Lo Que Hay) (2010)
US Premiere, Mexico, director: Jorge Michel Grau
When the patriarch of the family passes away, the teenage children must take responsibility for the family chores: the preparation of the rituals, the hunting and putting the all-important meat on the table. These newfound responsibilities are even more daunting, however, when you live in the city and happen to be a family of cannibals.

Fantastic Fest has scoured the globe for the very best in action, horror, science fiction, fantasy to the truly bizarre in contemporary cinema for your viewing pleasure. Look for more announcements in the weeks to come, including information on our gala events, parties and AMD Next Wave filmmakers in attendance.

Fantastic Fest is the film festival with the boring parts cut out. Miss this one and your regrets will agonize you for years to come. You have been warned.

For photos of the announced films, visit the Fantastic Fest press site.
For the latest developments visit Fantastic Fest Facebook & Twitter:

The Action Pack presents
the WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY Quote-Along
Thursdays Aug 26, Sep 2 & 9 at the Ritz
Wednesday Sep 1 at Lake Creek
Advance tickets for Ritz available here
Advance tickets for Lake Creek available here

Come with me, and you will be in a worrrld of pure imagination… Gene Wilder is Willy Wonka. PERIOD. No amount of remaking, re-imagining, or rebooting will ever change the playfully haunting performance of one of the world’s greatest actors.

That being said, this movie never stops being amazing. When you were a kid it was all about how awesome it would be if you could eat a gummy bear the size of your face or drink from a river made of chocolate. Then you got older and you were nostalgic about that stuff while also seeing all the cracks of creepy shining through in this fantastically fun movie musical.

Well, The Action Pack is pulling out all the stops with little surprises around every corner…but nothing too dangerous. Bubbles for everyone, bubbles, bubbles everywhere as well as specialty menu items, singing, quoting, and so much more. We’d hate to ruin it all for you, so sign the contract at the bottom line and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination…if you truly, wish…to be. (Greg MacLennan)

For those of you still having problems wrapping your head around such a novel concept, take a second to check out Episode 1, Part 1 here on Youtube…..pretty cool, huh?

“When a Pulitzer-winning reporter and her intrepid assistant stumble across a mysterious map, they uncover what might just be the story of the century: an invasion of sludge-monsters from the planet Zygon. With the help of a librarian from Flagstaff AZ, our heroes race against time to defeat Mysterion the Magnificent and his minions before they destroy Earth forever.”

In preparation for their premiere performance at the Long Center on September 3rd, we are excited to present sneak previews at the Drafthouse this weekend.

Get your advance tickets for the following shows:

Saturday August 28th at the Alamo South Lamar

Sunday August 29th at the Alamo Lake Creek

As of today, general admission tickets for our Sept 11 Rolling Roadshow presentation of METROPOLIS at the Seaholm Power Plant are SOLD OUT.

We have a select number of $75 VIP tickets still available.  This ticket  includes a pre-show cocktail reception and reserved seating.

Don’t miss out, buy yours today.

Full details available here: METROPOLIS w/ Live Score at Seaholm Power Plant.

Fantastic Fest will host a Gala Screening of Buried at The Paramount Theatre on Thursday, September 23, with Ryan Reynolds and director Rodrigo Cortés in attendance, as part of their opening night programming of the festival.

Buried, which Lionsgate will release in select theaters on September 24th and wide on October 8th, stars Reynolds as a truck driver and family man who wakes up six feet underground with no idea of who put him there or why. Buried with only a cell phone and a lighter, his contact with the outside world and ability to piece together clues that could help him discover his location are maddeningly limited.

“Buried is the most unique and compelling thriller I have seen in years. The festival is honored to screen what we feel is going to be the ‘buzz’ film of the season,” said Fantastic Fest co-founder Tim League.

In celebration of the much buzzed about film, Fantastic Fest will also present the film as part of their “Rolling Roadshow” screening series the weekend prior to the opening of the festival. The unprecedented “Rolling Roadshow of One” goes beyond the bounds of sanity by enlisting four souls to view the entire film while buried!

The Rolling Roadshow is the Alamo Drafthouse’s nationwide tour of famous movies in famous places. Previous screenings have included Close Encounters of the Third Kind at Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, Escape from Alcatraz on Alcatraz Island and more recently The Blues Brothers at Old Joliet Prison.

“The Rolling Roadshow is all about finding that unique film viewing experience with the perfect combination of movie and setting. It’s traditionally been a communal experience of seeing a film outdoors with hundreds of people. But for this event, we’re putting an even cooler twist on the concept, because some movies are perfect for seeing while buried,” said Fantastic Fest co-founder Tim League.

Fantastic Fest is looking for four volunteers to attend this special “Rolling Roadshow of One.” Those who survive the screening are invited to walk the red carpet & attend the Fantastic Fest premiere on September 23rd at the historic Paramount Theatre with star Ryan Reynolds and director Rodrigo Cortés in attendance. For more details, visit the Facebook event page

Fantastic Fest has scoured the globe for the very best in action, horror, science fiction, fantasy to the truly bizarre in contemporary cinema for your viewing pleasure. Look for more announcements in the weeks to come, including information on our gala events, parties and AMD Next Wave filmmakers in attendance.

Fantastic Fest is the film festival with the boring parts cut out. Miss this one and your regrets will agonize you for years to come. You have been warned.

Buried is a Versus Entertainment production in association with The Safran Company and Dark Trick Films, a Rodrigo Cortés film.

For more information on the film, visit the Buried official Site

For photos of the announced films, visit the Fantastic Fest press site.

For the latest developments visit the Fantastic Fest Facebook & Twitter.

The only drag was that Mr. Yankovic couldn’t perform his songs. His band wasn’t in town, and the man is so loyal he refuses to play without them. Enter Fun Fun Fun Fest.

Fun Fun Fun Fest, the annual outdoor festival alternative to the more tourist-oriented SXSW and ACL, has manned up and figured out how to get Weird Al and his band to Austin. Held November 5 – 7, 2010 at Waterloo Park, the festival will begin with a kick off event on Friday, November 5th at 6:00 with the one and only Weird Al Yankovic headlining, supported by his legendary one of a kind production and show.

This makes a perfect companion to our UHF event, creating a pair of Austin Weird Al events our wildest dreams couldn’t have concocted. For us, this truly is the year of Weird Al.

ANYWAY- the best documentary-style film since District 9, the Last Exorcism opens on Friday the 27th in Austin at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar, in the Houston area at Alamo Drafthouse Mason and West Oaks, in San Antonio at the Alamo Park North and Westlakes and in Virginia at the Alamo Drafthouse Winchester. In an effort to drum up awareness, producer Eli Roth and crew have taken the gospel to Chatroulette. The results are pretty great. Check it out:

Eli Roth and Director Daniel Stamm did a sneak screening the movie at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar for Fantastic Fest badge holders last week and all I can say is “wow.”  Be sure to see this in theaters before you hear about it from a stranger on the street or worse; from some sick jokester on a particular internet video chat site. The acting, the sound design, and good golly- the ending all add up to a top-notch, must-see film!

Any road up, to business.

The first of the two drafts is a limited release from a brewery we’ve never featured either on the Badass Tap or the regular menu. Two five-gallon kegs of Redhook’s 8-4-1 Expedition Imperial Brown Ale were delivered to us back in April and we’ve been sitting on them since then. Now, I freely admit that brown ale isn’t one of my favourite beers styles, but whenever a brewer makes a double/imperial version of any beer I’ll give it a fair crack of the whip, and in this case it was well worth it.

Expedition starts off with that sweet nuttiness common to many brown ales, but it finishes with a delicate and lingering hop bitterness that you don’t normally find in this style. Beer Advocate lists it as an American Strong Ale which would put it in the same category as the likes of Arrogant Bastard, but as good as Expedition is, it’s not quite up there. It scores over Arrogant Bastard in one respect though – it’s listed as 9.5% ABV compared to AB’s modest 7.2%. Yeah, I felt pretty good after I’d polished off a bomber of Expedition.

Next up on draft is another brewery whose beers haven’t graced our walk-in until now – Brewery Ommegang of Cooperstown, NY. Ommegang specialise in Belgian style beers; their Hennepin Saison is widely regarded as one of the best saisons brewed outside Belgium.

Ommegang Witte is a classic Witbier. It’s the palest of pale yellows, cloudy and with a huge puffy white head. The aroma leans heavily towards that spicy Belgian yeast, with the signature witbier flavours of orange peel and coriander not far behind. Around this time of the year when the thermometer is hitting triple digits, the witbier is one of the most refreshing beers to be had. Although it’s often served with a garnish of lemon I prefer to drink mine without so that I can savour all the subtleties of this brew.

Ommegang suggests that all their beers are suitable for cellaring. A few months ago I bought a bottle of their fantastic Chocolate Indulgence Stout with intention of keeping it for a year or more. Couldn’t do it. The call was just too great and I had to drink it. Well, when all’s said and done, that’s what beer’s for, right?

Finally, the new Badass Bottle, and it’s another American-brewed Belgian-style beer.

Is it just me, or does it seem like the saison has taken off like a rocket this year? Maybe it just feels that way because I’m so taken with Independence Saison. I guess I’m not the only one – I hear they’ve been hard pressed to keep up with demand for it on a few occasions. It’s absolutely one of my favourites when I get off work or come to see a film.

North Coast Brewing of Fort Bragg, on the northern California coast, also makes a saison – Le Merle (French for blackbird, if I can dig out far distant memories of French lessons… oh look, there’s one on the label!).

As with the witbier, look for that peppery, spicy Belgian yeast flavour along with some earthy, even musty notes and a dry finish with a touch of noble hops. When I poured myself a bottle of this a few days ago I was confronted with a beer whose carbonation bordered on volcanic! I had to sip at the huge billowing white head several times to stop it from running down the side of the glass and it was a good five minutes before it had subsided enough for me to actually drink the beer.

We have one more more Badass draft saison and one bottled, both of them a bit special, I reckon, before we head into cooler months and the delights of the autumn and winter seasonals and what, for many of us, is the best beer time of the year.

Jim Hughes, Head Beer Nerd, Alamo South Lamar
“If I had all the money I’ve spent on drink… I’d spend it on drink.” ~ Sir Henry Rawlinson

About the film:

He looked like just another day laborer from the streets, and the perfect fall guy for a crooked political assassination. But he turned out to be Machete (Danny Trejo), a legendary ex-federale with a deadly attitude and the skills to match. Left for dead after clashing with notorious Mexican drug kingpin Torrez (Steven Seagal), Machete has escaped to Texas, looking to disappear and forget his tragic past. But what he finds is a web of corruption and deceit that leaves a bullet in a senator and Machete a wanted man.

Machete sets out to clear his name and expose a deep conspiracy. Helping Machete even the odds are Luz (Michelle Rodriguez)—a sexy taco-truck lady with a rebellious spirit and revolutionary heart, and Padre (Cheech Marin)—a priest who’s good with blessings, but better with guns. Carving a path of bullets, blood, and broken hearts, Machete’s quest ultimately leads him back to Torrez for an epic battle of revenge and redemption.

Tickets will go on sale to the general public on at 12 PM Saturday, August 21 through (866) 9PROTIX, protixonline.com or the Paramount Theatre box office. Visit HERE for a direct link to tickets!

All tickets include Q&A with the filmmakers and entrance to the official after-party at Austin Studios.

Special thanks to Troublemaker Studios, The Paramount Theater and The Austin Chronicle.

Proceeds from this event benefit the Texas Filmmakers Production Fund and the Texas Motion Picture Alliance (TXMPA).

CATFISH

Hello everyone, Alamo Drafthouse founder and CEO Tim League here. I saw two incredible films at Sundance this year. Both were documentaries and both were wildly unique. The first, EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP starts out as a simple chronicling of the street art scene. What I thought was going to be just a biography of the infamous Bansky turned out to be so much more. The film is itself an art installation as it gleefully dynamites the foundations of modern art criticism. At this point, EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP is my favorite film we have shown at the Alamo all year.

All that may change on September 17th because the other film that I saw at Sundance was CATFISH. Although the subject matter is very different, CATFISH also starts with a straightforward linear documentary premise before completely derailing, sending the audience on a wildly unexpected journey that delivers far more emotional wallop than one could ever imagine from the simple premise of the film.

In CATFISH, filmmakers Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost document a story involving Ariel’s brother, Nev, a 24-year-old New York-based photographer, and Abby, an 8-year-old girl from rural Michigan who contacts Nev via Facebook, asking for permission to make a painting from one of his photographs. Nev is fascinated by this 8-year-old artist and begins to commission and collect her work and get to know her through Facebook. My description ends there. The less you know about the story, the better. Don’t read reviews, don’t ferret around. Just walk in and see it and let the adventure wash over you.

I VERY rarely pound out a heartfelt recommendation for a film, maybe 3-4 times a year max. I’m doing it now. This is a fascinating little film, you have never seen anything like it and I’m pretty sure it might just blow your mind. Like I say, it is a small film, and a challenging one to market, so after you go and see it, please encourage all of your friends (and Facebook friends) to check it out too. If I were running the Oscars, this would be a sure-fire bet to be in the running for best documentary of the year.

Check out the trailer here, and prepare to be haunted by one of the most fascinated movie experiences you’ll ever have.

Empire is another of Real Ale’s Mysterium Verum (Real Mystery) series of barrel-aged and experimental beers. Most of you probably know this already, but to recap: Real Ale have taken a selection of their seasonal beers and aged them for two to three months in red wine barrels, some of which are American and some of which are French.  These beers are then kegged (Real Ale are not bottling them, alas) in very limited quantities, and so far we’ve been fortunate in getting a keg of Highlander (barrel-aged Real Heavy Scotch Ale) and The Kraken (barrel-aged Sisyphus barley wine), and now we have Empire (Lost Gold IPA).

The barrel-ageing adds all kinds of extra layers and nuances to the beer, and ageing in red wine barrels is somewhat unusual – beers are more commonly aged in whisk(e)y barrels. While the original character of the beer is still prevalent it’s been modified by both the oak and the previous contents of the barrel. In both Highlander and The Kraken the red wine was conspicuous as a component of the beer, but with Empire it’s less so, at least according to my palate. There is a perceptible wine-related influence for sure, but it’s not as definable as in the other two beers. I thoroughly enjoyed tasting it when the keg was tapped and I’ll be ordering a glass of it at the first opportunity.

I feel I ought to add that, as with the other two Mysterium Verum beers we’ve had on tap, Empire is not cheap, so be ready for that. It’s well worth it though.

Jim Hughes, Head Beer Nerd, Alamo South Lamar
“If I had all the money I’ve spent on drink… I’d spend it on drink.” ~ Sir Henry Rawlinson