SXSW 2021: Racial Dystopia Roosts in Brazilian Social Thriller ‘EXECUTIVE ORDER’

March 16, 2021 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Adriana Esteves, Executive Order, Lázaro Ramos, lfred Enouch, Seu Jorge, SXSW, SXSW 2021 1 Comment

In present-ish day Brazil, the fight for reparations for citizens of African descent reaches a violent impasse. Lawyer Antônio (Alfred Enouch) wants his government to impose equitable laws to atone for the nation’s past sins, chief amongst them slavery, but the fascistic government opts instead to offer a one-way ticket way “back to Africa” as a kind of mocking fuck you to the idea of reparations. Confusion, outrage, and mockery follows but the high-melanized (the term “black” has fallen out of politically-correct vogue) population have no idea how bad things will soon get when the government imposes an executive order that will instead force any citizen with a hint of melanin out of Brazil and back to Africa. Read More

SXSW 2021: ‘THE END OF US’ a Pandemic Breakup Movie With Just Enough Heart

March 16, 2021 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Ali Vingiano, Ben Coleman, Henry Loevner, Steve Kanter, SXSW, SXSW 2021, The End Of Us Leave a comment

Timing is a fickle thing and often means a world of difference. Timing divides those who murder the stock market and those that are steamrolled by it. It’s the difference between perfectly scrambled eggs and inedible burnt yellow mush. And in the case of recently broken-up Nick (Ben Coleman) and Leah (Ali Vingiano), bad timing means that you have to quarantine with your ex during the COVID-19 stay-at-home order in The End of Us. Read More

The SXSW 2021 Movies Already on Our Radar

February 12, 2021 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews, Lists Tagged Alien On Stage, Gaia, Here Before, I’m Fine (Thanks For Asking), Introducing, Jakob’s Wife, Language Lessons, Ninjababy, Offseason, Selma Blair, Sound of Violence, Swan Song, SXSW, SXSW 2021, The End Of Us, The Fallout, The Oxy Kingpins, The Spine of Night, Witch Hunt, Women is Losers, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror 1 Comment

SXSW has a history of bombast. What was once a modest Austin festival that celebrated the local scene, music, and emerging artists grew into one of the largest and most-attended festivals the world over. As crowd sizes grew so too did the prestige and scale of debuts with massive blockbuster movies like Furious 7 or Ready Player One playing to salivating fans willing to wait hours to see the world premiere. Read More