Take a first look at the movies our team of writers can’t wait to see at Austin Film Society’s fifth annual Doc Days festival.

Hyperreal Film ClubApril 26, 2024Comment

This Week in Screenings 4/26 - 5/2

This week in Austin screenings 4/26 - 5/2

Community ScreeningsJames McDonaldApril 26, 2024Comment

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire: An Airless Bore of a Blockbuster

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire ends up an airless bore of a blockbuster, so crammed full of nostalgic enshrinement that nothing gets the space to breathe.

Justin HarrisonApril 25, 2024Comment

The 5 Best Movies Full of Yearning

For lessons on how to yearn, check out this list of films in which the protagonists are madly in love—or at least experiencing a psychosis-inducing limerence—but the physical manifestation of their love exists in concept only.

Aja NicelyApril 25, 2024Comment

Shooting Up The Abyss: Pandemic Malaise in Grand Theft Hamlet

It is all the more surprising then, when Sam and Mark stumble upon an empty amphitheater in Los Santos. Almost certainly, the game designers were thinking of a concert space in this moment of world building, but Sam and Mark immediately see it for its theatrical potential. They hop their Ed Hardy-clothed avatars upon the stage and begin reciting Shakespeare. It doesn’t take long for one of them to suggest the loftiest of side missions: staging a production of Hamlet within the world of Grand Theft Auto.

ReviewsJulia HebnerApril 24, 2024 Comment

Discussing Bodily Autonomy in Life and Death with If I Die In America director, Ward Kamel

Ward Kamel’s beautiful and devastating short film, If I Die In America, which debuted at SXSW, tackles this question with searing aplomb. When Manny’s husband, Sameer, dies suddenly, his grief is usurped by an unexpected battle with Sameer’s family, who refuse to acknowledge the legitimacy of their relationship and any claim he tries to stake on his husband’s body. I sat down with Ward to discuss his process and the thoughts and experiences that inspired the film.

InterviewsJulia HebnerApril 23, 2024SXSW, Ward Kamel, Gil Perez Abraham, Yan Lau, Cameron MortonComment

Saltburn, The Talented Mr. Ripley, and Class Relations on Film

Since Saltburn’s 2022 release, critics have noted it’s similarities to The Talented Mr. Ripley, often for worse.

This Week in Screenings 4/19 - 4/25

This week in Austin screenings 4/19 - 4/25.

Community ScreeningsJames McDonaldApril 19, 2024Comment

The Art is Coming from Inside the Mall

Secret Mall Apartment could easily have been a straightforward hagiography of a generous, interesting artist who also lived in the walls of a mall, but director Jeremy Workman never lets the catchy hook get in the way of the larger story.

ReviewsZiah GraceApril 18, 2024SXSW, Secret Mall Apartment, documentaryComment

Austin Director Sarah Uftring on her new short film, “The Devil Inside Me”

“The Devil Inside Me” tells the all too relatable story of toxic relationships with a little twist. A lonely woman forms an intimate and fleeting relationship with the prince of darkness, Satan himself. After their shared night, he ghosts her, leaving her to wonder when it went wrong. This film is Sarah Uftring’s directorial debut. The Austin filmmaker took the plunge and it paid off as she has garnered accolades, praise, and recognition for her hilariously awkward comedy. This interview, we got the chance to talk about genre filmmaking, approaching a set as a first time director, the importance of collaboration, and why adding a wiggly tail to your sex scenes might be more challenging than you think!

Interviews, ShortsEli FischerApril 17, 2024Comment

Getting Rid of the Bodies: Examining James Robert Baker's Notions on Heterosexuality in Blonde Death

Made by anarchist gay author James Robert Baker (as James Dillinger) for less than $2,000 as part of the EZTV collective—a digital art and video collective based in Los Angeles since 1983—Blonde Death follows innocent Mississippi teen Tammy Lynn Beaudorf on a journey of bisexual corruption and violent rampage.

The Sweetest Taboo: An Interview with Erica Schultz

Hyperreal Film Club’s Matthew Seidel sat down with Erica Schultz to discuss her new book, The Sweetest Taboo: An Unapologetic Guide to Child Kills in Film, her successful indiegogo campaign, Letterboxd, and the Austin film scene.

This Week in Screenings 4/12 - 4/18

This week in Austin screenings 4/12-4/18.

Community ScreeningsJames McDonaldApril 12, 2024Comment

Make Alex (Garland) Great Again: The Civil War Review

Civil War proves that Alex Garland still has some gas in the tank, exploring the morality of the media’s relationship with war while still holding the press in deep reverence.

ReviewsBlake WilliamsApril 11, 2024A24, SXSW, Kirsten Dunst, Civil war, Alex GarlandComment

BloodSisters: Leather, Dykes, and Sadomasochism Whips it Good

BloodSisters is even more appreciable as a portrait of queer identity, diving deep into the intricacies of solidarity and sexual pleasure simply by allowing its subjects to speak for themselves.

Reviews, AFS LatesMorgan HydeApril 10, 2024Comment

From Folklore to the Big Screen: Dev Patel's Passion Project, Monkey Man

You can feel the passion oozing off of Monkey Man. Patel went away to iron out every detail, to the point where it feels like you can see the movie playing in his head. The stylish action sequences are bolstered by a killer score from Jed Kurzel that thumps along to each and every hit.

ReviewsBlake WilliamsApril 9, 2024Monkey Man, Dev Patel, Jordan Peele, John WickComment

In 1969, The Monkees and Jack Nicholson Gave us Head

Head takes the silliness of The Monkees sitcom and dials it up to surrealist heights.

This Week in Screenings 4/5 - 4/11

This week in Austin screenings 4/5 - 4/11.

Community ScreeningsJames McDonaldApril 5, 2024Comment

March Movie Madness: An Alternate March Calendar

You’re not hardcore unless you live hardcore… by watching these movies.

Psychotronic Drive-In #2

Two made-for-TV takes on ghosts, Amazing World of Ghosts (1978) and The Woman in Black (1989), are covered in this Psychotronic Drive-In installment.

Jake RiedelApril 3, 2024Comment

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