SXSW ’16 Review: ‘TRANSPECOS’

March 18, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Clifton Collins Jr., Gabriel Luna, Greg Kwedar, Jeffrey Waldron, Johnny Simmons, Reviews, SXSW 2016, Transpecos Leave a comment

Like a lens flare cast from No Country For Old Men or an arresting never-before-seen side plot from Breaking Bad, Transpecos sets us on the belt buckle region of the Mexican-American border. In a diminutive shanty of a migra outpost – in essence, a tollbooth and boom barrier – three glorified crossing guards witness hell break loose when a cartel scheme goes belly up. Greg Kwedar’s daring debut is part sun-scotched moral meditation, part adrenaline-fueled character thriller, handsomely brought to life with crisp, concise storytelling and effective, affecting performances that casts a meaningful glance at border politics and the wolves that lie in wait. Read More

SXSW ’16 Review: ‘IN A VALLEY OF VIOLENCE’

March 18, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Burn Gorman, Ethan Hawke, In a Valley of Violence, James Ransone, John Travolta, Karen Gillian, Reviews, SXSW 2016, Taissa Farmiga, Ti West, Western Leave a comment

If you had told me that John Travolta would comeback from his recent Academy Award persona butchery (2014’s “Adele Dazeem”, 2015’s repulsively awkward Scar-Jo sneak-a-kiss) by playing a sand-blasted moral compass in a Ti West Western (a Western, it must be noted, that is of the genre through and through, absent of the horror flair that has, up to this point, characterized the filmmaker’s oeuvre), I woulda spit my cud. But Travolta is as present for In a Valley of Violence as it is a corn-fed, all-American, organically certified Western. Consider my head scratched. Read More

SXSW ’16 Review: ‘MY BLIND BROTHER’

March 16, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Adam Scott, Comedy, Jenny Slate, My Blind Brother, Nick Kroll, Reviews, Sophie Goodhart, SXSW 2016 Leave a comment

In Sophie Goodhart‘s intentionally lackadaisical comedy My Blind Brother, Nick Kroll sharpens his post-television presence as unambitious deadbeat Bill whose doomed purpose in life is to be a seeing-eye underdog for his egotistical handicapable brother Robbie (Adam Scott). Complications arise when Bill and Robbie have eyes, er feelings, for the same girl, the spirited, wanna-be-do-gooder Rose (Jenny Slate). The result is a well-meaning, socially awkward meditation on the comedy of disability. Following the sacred rule book of Matt and Trey, either everything is fair game or nothing is and this mentality leads My Blind Brothers down some delightfully uncouth corridors. Read More

SXSW ’16 Review: ‘HUSH’

March 15, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Horror, Hush, John Gallagher Jr., Kate Siegel, Michael Trucco, Mike Flanagan, Reviews, Samantha Sloyan 1 Comment

To start with a bit of housekeeping, Hush joined the critically acclaimed Iranian Sundance debut Under the Shadow when it was swept up by preeminent streaming service Netflix before it was ever screened in front of an audience. Adding to their growing stockade of boutique horror films, Netflix has queued up the Mike Flanagan-directed thriller starring John Gallagher Jr. and Kate Siegel for fast turnaround release on April 8th. Meaning that those who want to get pupils on this high intensity home invasion thriller as soon as possible won’t be forced to wait long, however Hush, a film that lives and dies by its supreme sound design, should be experienced in the filmic church that is the theater. Read More

SXSW ’16 Review: ‘WAR ON EVERYONE’

March 14, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Alexander Skarsgård, Caleb Landry Jones, John Michael McDonagh, Michael Pena, Reviews, SXSW 2016, Theo James Leave a comment

John Michael McDonagh stepped out from the shadows of filmmaker young brother Martin McDonagh, who’s crafted such cult modern classics as In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths, in 2011 when he debuted The Guard. That film went on to mild box office success (overseas) and general critical adoration, though I’ll admit the deadpan acidic humor never quite reached me the way that it had so many others. McDonagh’s latest, and his first film set on American soil, is War On Everyone and represents a clear, though offbeat, progression of the director’s interests. Within, he declares war on traditional narrative constructs of law and lawless, cops and robbers, good and evil, giving a grand total of zero fucks along the way. Read More

SXSW ’16 Review: ‘CLAIRE IN MOTION’

March 14, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Anna Margaret Hollyman, Annie Howell, Betsy Brandt, Chris Beetem, Claire In Motion, Conor Zev Haworth, Lisa Robinson, SXSW 2016 Leave a comment

To look is not to see. And so goes Claire in Motion, a missing persons dramatic procedural that struggles to be more than meets the eye. College math professor and wife to a known hobby survivalist, Claire (Breaking Bad’s Betsy Brandt) is forced into a waking nightmare when her husband Paul (Chris Beetem) fails to return home after a projected five-day stretch in the wilderness. As the days crawl on with few clues and diminishing search party efforts, the only thing that’s becomes certain is the all-consuming specter of uncertainty itself. Read More

SXSW ’16 Review: ‘A STRAY’

March 13, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged A Stray, Barkhard Abdirahman, Musa Syeed, Reviews, SXSW 2016 1 Comment

An introspective sociopolitical drama about a discarded Somalian, A Stray stars Captain Phillip’s Barkhard Abdirahman as Adan, a refugee living on the streets of Minneapolis who happens upon a lost dog. Without a home or hearth of his own, Adan is unable to provide for himself much less another helpless lot of God’s creations. Complicating the issue is the fact that Adan is a semi-devout Muslim, a religion that sees dogs – stray or not – as impure beasts, not meant for handling, much less ownership. What plays out is a somber reflection on religion and personal values, experienced through an eye-opening Third World lens. Read More

SXSW ’16 Review: ‘KEANU’

March 13, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Jordan Peele, Keanu, Keegan-Michael Key, Method Man, Peter Atencio, Reviews, SXSW 2016, Will Forte 1 Comment

When Key & Peele premiered in 2012 on Comedy Central, it was as close to an overnight success as any sober TV producer could hope for. The sketch comedy show that covered anything from pop-culture fandom to racial relationships, all with unprecedentedly competent production value, found even more love on YouTube where many of their brief sketches ratcheted up views in the millions. From their jocular takedown of the Obama administration to nonsensical athlete names to 80s aerobic videos, there were few rocks left unturned and a remarkable percentage of hits to misses. When the show took its bow in September of 2015, fans were predictably heartbroken to see the righteous comic duo come to an end. If Keanu is proof of one thing and one thing only, it’s at the very essence of Key & Peele will live on so long as Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele continue to collaborate in any way shape or form. And that my friends is a fact worth celebrating. Read More

SXSW ’16 Review: ‘MIDNIGHT SPECIAL’

March 13, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Adam Driver, Bill Camp, Jaeden Liebeher, Jeff Nichols, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Michael Shannon, Midnight Special, Reviews, Sam Shepard 3 Comments

Jeff Nichols is very quickly solidifying himself as a distinct and essential American voice. The 37-year old Arkansas native blends the mystic nostalgia of Steven Spielberg’s great wonders with the romanticized bayou lyricism of a Mark Twain novel. The result is often staggering, the heavy, heady crossroads of lock stock ultra violence and meaningfully sentimental morality plays. In 2012, Nichols’ snaggle-toothed fable Mud sounded the starting gun for the McConaissance, just as he basically introduced the world to Michael Shannon as a leading man in 2011’s Take Shelter. More than just a emcee for introducing (or reintroducing) us to new or reinvigorated talent, Nichols has emerged as a bold writer/director willing to take big risks and reap big rewards and Midnight Special, a work of great wonder and beauty, is blinding evidence of this fact. Read More

SXSW ’16 Review: ‘ANOTHER EVIL’

March 12, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Another Evil, Carson D. Mell, Dan Bakkedahl, Dax Flame, Jennifer Irwin, Mark Proksch, Reviews, Steve Missis, SXSW, SXSW 2016 Leave a comment

Anyone who ever found themselves wishing for a cross section between The Cable Guy and The Exorcism, rejoice in thy ancient cursed tongues. Carson D. Mell’s supernaturally awkward brom-dram is a conjoined twin of ghost tale hula-hoops and male acquaintanceship hoopla. A batty genre-defying lark to its close, Another Evil deals with the clumsy delicacies of fledgling friendships weighed against the silly absurdities of cloven hoofs and blessed needles. Read More