In Review: Austin Film Fest 2020

Plot: A woman reunites with her old college buddy and ends up getting roped into an arm wrestling tournament.

Review: I loved Golden Arm. It’s not only a nice, unsuspecting companion piece to Sylvester Stallone’s Over The Top, but it’s also a fantastic buddy comedy. Mary Holland is very likeable as Melanie, a down on her luck baker who’s in desperate need of a win, and Betsy Sodaro shines as Danny, a complete scuzzball with a heart of gold. I cheered and laughed all throughout this movie. Recommended!

Plot: This film, which is based on actual events, follows a woman who starts to suspect that her son may have very violent tendencies.

Review: I found myself thinking about Paper Tiger long after it ended. It’s not an easy movie at all – it’s full of conflicted, complex characters, and it has a finale that includes an endlessly debatable action. Despite the heaviness, it’s a very compelling effort with stellar performances from Lydia Look and Alan Trong. On another note, you could pair this with We Need To Talk About Kevin for a double feature that won’t let you sleep at night. Recommended!

Plot: A house party serves as ground zero for an eventful night.

Review: This Austin-based film really surprised me. It’s got a very likeable, fun cast (with one of the standouts being local singer/songwriter Shakey Graves – aka Alejandro Rose-Garcia), and a story that’s so relatable and earnest that you can’t help but get caught up in it – I legit wanted to be at their somewhat shitty party. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for whatever writer/director Will Bakke does next. Recommended!

Plot: A guy moves to LA and meets two people right away. One is an enticing young lady, and the other is a ride share driver who immediately starts stalking him.

Review: As I was watching Blinders, I really didn’t think much of it. The film hits all the usual story beats you expect to see in a stalker movie, and even though it’s well made and features solid performances from Vincent Van Horn and Michael Joplin, there just isn’t a lot about it that stands out. That is until the twist hits and then everything you thought you knew about the film gets tossed right out the window. Recommended!

Plot:  A guy takes out a payday loan in order to buy his girlfriend an engagement ring. This shoves him down a wild, unpredictable path.

Review: There isn’t a single part of the first act or so of Death Of A Telemarketer that doesn’t feel like a low-rent ripoff of Sorry To Bother You, but I’ll give credit where credit is due, the film does work itself out of that hole and it ends up being a pretty fun ride. Lamorne Morris brings a respectable amount of earnesty to his fast-talking character, Kasey, and Jackie Earle Haley and Haley Joel Osment are great in their out of left field roles. Recommended!

Plot:  David Bowie heads off on his first tour of the United States.

Review: This is less of a David Bowie biopic and more of a road trip film. None of Bowie’s music is used (the filmmakers couldn’t get approval) and there’s an intro that says “what follows is (mostly) fiction,” so at the end of the day, the movie really just follows a no-name fledgling artist and an old PR dude. With all of that being said, I thought the movie was OK. Marc Maron does good work as the almost-burned out Mercury rep, Ron Oberman, as does Jena Malone as Bowie’s first wife, Angie. The designation here though is not recommended since it just isn’t what it’s selling itself to be.

Plot:  After 17 years apart, an Angolan immigrant is finally able to bring his wife and daughter to live with him in the United States.

Review: I wanted to like Farewell Amor. The cast is good and it’s got a compelling premise, but it just has too many stretches were it outright lulls. Also, the family is supposed to have a shared love of dance, but they never dance together. In fact, dancing actually seems to be a point of contention between the lot of them, so I don’t know why the movie references it so often. Not recommended.

Plot: This documentary follows a pair of pals who decide to retrieve a body that they discovered while setting a cave diving world record.

Review: I’m pretty sure that Dave Not Coming Back could have been about 45 minutes long, but even with a ton of information that constantly gets repeated, I found myself enticed in its story. By the way, if you don’t already think that cave diving is scary, this doc will get you there. I think I just about had a panic attack watching the footage of Dave’s tragic demise. Recommended!

Plot: Just before she’s set to remarry, a woman discovers that her son has been kidnapped.

Review: A little ways up from this entry is a mini-review for Blinders, and in it I mention that the film does all the usual stuff you expect a stalker movie to do, but it has a twist that makes it notable. Well, The Badger is exactly the same. You know every single turn this film is going to take right up until it sucker punches you, and then you’re left feeling stunned. Side note, Vishka Asayesh is awesome here as the desperate mother. Recommended!

Plot: Various candidates (i.e. unborn souls) interview to see if they’re fit to fill a vacancy left by a recently deceased Earthling.

Review: I was looking forward to Nine Days because of its cast, which consists of Winston Duke, Benedict Wong, Bill Skarsgard, Tony Hale, Zazie Beetz, etc., but I was wrong to do so. This is a quintessential film fest film, meaning that it’s entirely too heady, slow and artsy. There is no story here, just endless babble. Not recommended.

Plot: A trio of friends have created a game that they believe is a hit. When given a chance to present it to the one guy who can give them the resources they need, things go very wrong.

Review: Everything about Murder Bury Win feels amateurish. It looks cheap, it’s poorly paced, and it’s frustratingly dumb. It reminded me of really loud people who think they’re funny, but they’re actually just annoying. Not recommended.

Plot: A guy and his brother create a fake cult with the intention of filming it and then exposing the ridiculousness of it all. It doesn’t go as planned.

Review: This absolutely woeful mockumentary (that’s never funny or even a little bit interesting) was by far the worst thing that I saw at AFF, and that’s really all there is to say about it. Not recommended.