Get Low is a magical and moving blend of folk tale, fable and real-life legend. Spun in the Southern storytelling tradition, it is about a mysterious 1930s Tennessee hermit who famously threw his own rollicking funeral party... while he was still alive. This debut feature-length effort from director Aaron Schneider stars Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, and Lucas Black.

Reasons to see Get Low? Well, there's 3: Duvall, Murray, and Spacek. Schneider won an Academy Award for his 2003 short, Two Soldiers, so it's probably fair to say he's a semi-competent director--not that he'd need to be with this cast. The story sounds absolutely charming, and Get Low is sure to be, at the very least, a lesson in acting excellence. I cannot wait to see Murray and Duvall feed off each other in their roles as cynical funeral parlor owner and withdrawn eccentric, respectively. Trailers have been hard to come by but there is a short clip embedded for your viewing pleasure below.

Get Low screens at the Paramount theater on Wednesday, March 17th at 7:00pm.

--Jessica Hixson

Let me just say that I'd suicide bomb the shit out of a building if it meant I could have a guaranteed seat in the afterlife in the theater that is showing Chris Morris' Four Lions. Now that I've successfully placed myself on several Internet terrorist watch lists (yet again), I'd like to express how much I am looking forward to seeing this film, which is sure to be full of good terrorist jokes--unlike the one you just experienced. No, really! If anyone can make Jihad hilarious it's Chris Morris. His Channel 4 television show, Brass Eye will always will be one of the funniest things to grace a TV set, and to say that I am beside myself with anticipation waiting to see this film, is, if you will recall my opening sentence, an understatement. This film is sure to be an uproarious experience--but also one that will ask you to think differently about terrorism in contemporary times.

Four Lions tells the compelling story of a bunch of British Jihads who push their abstract dreams of glory to the breaking point. As the wheels fly off, and their competing ideologies clash, they stumble from misapprehension to cock-up in a dangerous, hilarious but emotionally engaging and entirely plausible farce.  Get excited with the clip below!

Four Lions screens on Saturday, March 20th at 7:00pm at the Paramount Theater.

--Jessica Hixson

Yes, the Duplass brothers are South by Southwest darlings. Everyone seems to love the mumblecore duo--everyone except this little lady here. I tend to hate mumblecore, pretentious shit. No thank you. However... I <3 John C. Reilly, and Jonah Hill can make me laugh sometimes. So, I'm willing to put my loathing of the Duplass brothers aside and check out their latest flick, Cyrus. Actually, the buzz from Sundance is that this film is a slight departure for them--mainly because it features real stars and has a major studio behind it. Whatever. It's supposed to be good, and, from the plot synopsis, it sounds pretty funny.

John (Reilly) is a depressed, recently single dude who is pretty much a loser. At a party, he hooks up with the hot Molly (Marisa Tomei) who has an adult son, Cyrus. Cyrus (Hill) and his mom have a weird relationship that creeps John out a little. But Molly seems otherwise perfect, so what’s John to do? Deal with Cyrus. (I'm willing to overlook the fact that there is NO way Marisa Tomei could have ever given birth to Jonah Hill.)

Cyrus premieres at the Paramount Saturday, March 13 at 9:30pm.

--Darcie Duttweiler

As a small-time pot salesman, Nate is following in the foot steps of  his father, a legendary drug lord who is nearing his inevitable demise. Dealing with a plethora of problems, including a little brother who won't stay still, a girlfriend he's loved since he was a child, and the memory of the tragic death of his mother, Nate is desperately looking for a way to escape. Opportunity presents itself in the form of a big time drug deal that could set him free--or leave him trapped in a life he doesn't want to live.

I've got a soft spot for movies shot in Austin and Dance With the One is the first movie made by the University of Texas Film Institute, a nonprofit arm of the college of communications that aims to give students the opportunity to be a part of a project with the aim of creating a feature film. Most of the people who helped on the 22-day shoot were UT students, and the script is co-written by a Michener Center for Writing grad who was in school when he wrote it.

You could say director Mike Dolan is like the Colt McCoy of UT filmmaking.

The world premiere is March 15 at 7:30 at the Alamo Ritz. The film can also be seen March 16 at 2:30 at Alamo South Lamar and again March 20 at 2:30 p.m. at The Paramount.

--Mark Collins

Dirty Pictures is Etienne Sauret's documentary about Dr. Alexander 'Sasha' Shulgin, the rogue chemist who discovered the effects of MDMA (Ecstasy) and more than 200 other mind-altering drugs. Shulgin's alchemy has earned him the title 'The Godfather of Psychedelics' and a reputation as one of the great chemists of the 20th century.

The trailer makes it look like the documentary will avoid focusing on the shitty techno music and kandi kids of the drug culture legacy leftover from Shulgin's work and instead concentrate on the doctor's intense studies in neuroscience and the human psyche--all while tripping balls with his friends and family as test subjects. Here's hoping the doc lives up to its thoughtful and almost innocent depiction of him and his fascinating experiments. If the nerdy chemistry stuff doesn't float your boat, remember that this doc is all about drugs! Even if you've never tried them, you're at least curious about 'em, and it's high time you admit it.

Dirty Pictures premieres at the Hitachi G-Tech Theater on Saturday, March 13th at 9:30pm.

--Jessica Hixson

Having been orphaned by a land mine, and then years later barely surviving a bullet to the brain, Bazil doesn't have much luck with weapons. He is turned to the streets after getting out of the hospital and is taken in by a band of second hand dealers with a vast array of talents. One day Bazil recognizes two logos of the weapons dealers that wronged him and vows revenge. The synopsis alone is enough, but it being the new film by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie, A Very Long Engagement, Delicatessen), I simply cannot miss this film.

--Greg MacLennan

I've enjoyed Rys Ifans since he exploded on screen in Notting Hill as Hugh Grant's weird-as-fuck flatmate. While he still isn't huge on this side of the pond, he still manages to make quite a little name for himself by turning out great performances. This year he comes to South by Southwest in Mr. Nice.

The film is about Howard Marks, a former teacher, nuclear physicist, travel agent, tour promoter, and one of the largest dope smugglers on the planet. Mr. Nice takes a look at his rise and fall in drug dealing, in which he is said to have never used violence, including his connections with the Mafia, IRA, MI6, and the CIA. It also stars Chloe Sevigny and David Thewlis.

Mr. Nice premieres at The Paramount Theater Sunday, March 14th at 6:30pm.

--Darcie Duttweiler

The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival has announced Austin-based filmmaker Robert Rodriguez and director Nimród Antal will present a “First Look” at their upcoming motion picture Predators, at SXSW on March 12, 2010.  SXSW also announced the world premiere of Géla Babluani’s 13, the previously announced Super Secret TBA as part of the SX Fantastic midnight section.

13, a remake of the 2005 French film 13 Tzameti, also directed by Babluani, stars Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Ben Gazzara, and Alexander Skarsgard. The thriller follows the story of Vince, who unwittingly becomes involved in a degenerate, clandestine world of mental chaos behind closed doors.

What first looks means exactly we don't know, and as far as a remake to 13 Tzameti, it's hard to get excited when the original was so good. What do you guys think?

--Greg MacLennan

Official Press Release:
The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival is thrilled to announce the complete features lineup for this year’s Festival, March 12 – 20, 2010 in Austin, Texas.  Over the course of nine days, 119 features will screen at the festival, with 55 of those having their world premieres at SXSW 2010.  These films were selected from a record 1,572 feature-length film submissions composed of 1,206 U.S. and 366 international feature-length films.   
Among the major films added to the lineup are: Rogue’s MacGruber, from director Jorma Taccone, Jay & Mark Duplass’ Cyrus, Bernard Rose’s Mr. Nice, Tim Blake Nelson’s Leaves of Grass, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Micmacs, Michel Gondry’s The Thorn in the Heart, Alexandre O. Philippe’s The People vs. George Lucas, Shane Meadows’ Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee, Steven Soderbergh’s And Everything Is Going Fine, Matt Harlock and Paul Thomas’ American: The Bill Hicks Story, Mike Woolf’s Man on A Mission, Jacob Hatley’s Ain’t In It For My Health: A Film About Levon Helm, Mark Landsman’s Thunder Soul, Daniel Stamm’s Cotton, Chris D’Arienzo’s BARRY MUNDAY, and Floria Sigismondi’s The Runaways.  They join previously announced films such as Opening Night film Kick-Ass, as well as narrative features Cold Weather and Elektra Luxx, and documentaries Hubble 3D, Lemmy, SATURDAY NIGHT and The White Stripes: Under Great White Northern Lights.  


“It was an incredibly competitive year with record submission numbers, and although we had to make really tough decisions, we are extremely excited about this lineup. I’m in awe of the talent on display throughout all the sections,” says Film Conference and Festival Producer Janet Pierson, “We feel we've achieved a great balance that continues our tradition of screening films across all budget lines and styles, and we take particular pride in witnessing the evolution of SXSW alumni as well as the vitality of fresh voices.”

The festival’s main competition categories once again find 8 Narrative Features and 8 Documentary Features, vying for their respective Grand Jury Prizes. The Narrative Feature Competition includes: Brotherhood, directed by Will Canon, Dance With The One, directed by Mike Dolan, Earthling, directed by Clay Liford, Helena from the Wedding, directed by Joseph Ifantolino, The Myth of the American Sleepover, directed by David Robert Mitchell, Phillip The Fossil, directed by Garth Donovan, Some Days are Better than Others, directed by Matt McCormick and Tiny Furniture, directed by Lena Dunham.  The Documentary Feature Competition includes: Beijing Taxi, directed by Miao Wang, Camp Victory, Afghanistan, directed by Carol Dysinger, The Canal Street Madam, directed by Cameron Yates, Dirty Pictures, directed by Etienne Sauret, For Once In My Life, directed by Jim Bigham and Mark Moormann, Marwencol, directed by Jeff Malmberg, Pelada, directed by Luke Boughen, Rebekah Fergusson, Gwendolyn Oxenham and Ryan White and War Don Don, directed by Rebecca Richman Cohen.

--Greg MacLennan