Haunter

Lisa's been repeating the same day for...well, she doesn't know how long.  But now she's woken up, realizing that her life is on a cycle, and soon enough understanding that she and her family are ghosts.  As she tries to break herself and her family free, a more sinister presence reveals itself.

The story, the acting, the cinematography, all were pretty good.  This will make an excellent pre-teen slumber party movie.  (In the Q&A, the director, who's previous work was a bit more adult-oriented, said he made a point to make this film without a drop of blood onscreen.)  My only issue was with plot resolution.  Everything gets resolved, which is great, except it's done in a multi-scene twenty-minute climax that left me mentally exhausted.  I would have preferred to see the tension tweaked to turn the long plateau into a building towards the final confrontation.  But other than that, the film hits its marks.

Haunter
2013, 97 minutes, directed by Vincenzo Natali

Oh, Alamo, don't show 70s footage of a topless lady dancing in a bamboo cage while injecting herself with needles in the pre-footage before what will eventually be a PG film.  The 9-ish-year-old actress who came to the premiere of her first film should not have seen that.

Drinking Buddies

Kate is dating Chris and good friends with boss Luke, who is sort-of engaged to Jill. But maybe Kate and Luke need more from each other, and what's going on with Chris and Jill? Drinking Buddies is a will they/won't they romance, as these couples figure out what it means to commit for life.

Drinking Buddies
2013, 90 minutes, directed by Joe Swanberg

Tiny: A Story About Living Small

With no building experience, no tools, no blueprints, and no materials, Christopher Smith and his friend Merete set out to build a small little tiny (oops, must use correct term every time) house. Intermixed with their progress are interviews with others who live in and build such homes, usually 200 square feet or less. The film seems condescending at times to those who choose to live in more space - even to me in my 1000 square foot "mansion" - but I don't think that's intentional and it passes.

Meanwhile, they hope to inspire ecological- and soul-enriching movements towards living living for time rather than money, including with another kickstarter scheduled to start soon. I wish them both the best of luck.

Tiny: A Story About Living Small
2013, 62 minutes, directed by Merete Mueller

The Bounceback

Being a hopeless twenty-something, Stan hops a plane from LA to Austin to "run into" his ex, who is spending the weekend there from New York. Keeping them apart are their friends Jeff and Kara, who have both broken up with each other and desperately want them all to move on. With a backdrop of the raunchy Air Sex championships, the two former lovers have one weekend to decide if they're meant to be together or if its truly time to move on.

The Bounceback
2013, 92 minutes, directed by Brian Poyser

TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away from Keyboard

This "slice of life" documentary (no narration, no post-interviews, just film and a few on-screen comments and glossary) covers Peter, Fredrik, and Gottfrid, the founders of The Pirate Bay, from their 2009 trial in Sweden through the loss of their finals appeals in 2012. Told almost entirely from their perspective, it presents one view (the correct view) on the legality of the case against them. If you've ever been interested in TPB from a legal or political perspective, I encourage you to check this out.

And yes, in accordance with the wishes of the filmmakers, feel free to find, download, and share the film online.

TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away from Keyboard
2013, 82 minutes, directed by Simon Klose

V/H/S/2

Having acquired a heap of knowledge and a pile of leftover tapes from their first outing, this second installment of the V/H/S horror line feels more polished and... boring... than the first.  Sure, everything tied together better in a central theme: private detectives are asked to look for a college student who's been missing for a few days.  At his house, they find lots of static-y monitors and piles of VHS tapes.

This time, it all feels more predictable in its narration.  There's a story with ghosts, one with zombies, one with occult, and one with aliens.  It's all nice and tidy.  And that's what makes it boring.

V/H/S/2
2013, 95 minutes, directed by Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard, Eduardo Sanchez, Gregg Hale, Timo Tjahjanto, Gareth Huw Evans, and Jason Eisener

The Paramount was already running an hour late after their first film.  I stayed in line for Evil Dead for two hours, but when the film was supposed to have started and the previous screening was still letting out, I bailed for dinner and a sure spot at this midnight film.  Knowing now that some people made it (barely) to both thanks to V/H/S/2 also being inexplicably delayed, and knowing that I didn't care much for the midnight film, makes me angrier at the Paramount and SXSW for being unable to keep their schedules even remotely on time.

Upstream Color

Kris is kidnapped. Brainwashed. Wiped out. Left with nothing but emptiness, and a subtle link she can't explain. Jeff has the same emptiness, but he's found her. And then there's the sound. Quinoa. The connection. The hypnotic telepathic worms. Told with minimal dialog, this surreal film explores the involuntary bonds these people share with each other and their counterparts. More than that, I can't explain.

Upstream Color
2013, 96 minutes, directed by Shane Carruth