SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS documents the last days of LCD SOUNDSYSTEM. The film primarily focuses on James Murphy and his decision to call it quits. An interview is used as the driving narration, intercut with beautifully shot performance footage from their final performance at Madison Square Garden.

Murphy seems to be a kind and gracious man that is self-aware, sincere, and happy to be doing what he does. We start off following Murphy the day after their final gig, He wakes up with his French Bull Dog on top of him, a dog that has an eerily comical resemblance in appearance and even in personality to Murphy. It’s not hard to immediately be fond of Murphy’s personality. He carries himself with ease and seems like a no-bullshit kind of guy that loves his band, his bandmates, and the music they create. This is refreshing to see after getting to used to watching more recent “rock docs” like “Some Kind of Monster” or “Dig” that focus on the conflicts and inner-turmoil of bands. While I liked those docs and they are entertaining, it becomes kind of irritating and ludicrous to see these guys bitching about being rock stars (or in the case of Dig, lack thereof).

Murphy is sensitive and you can empathize with him and his difficult decision to retire LCD SOUNDSYSTEM. Even though it’s for selfish reasons, those reasons are respectable and understandable. If you’re an LCD fan this doc is easy to love, and if you’re not an LCD fan I think it would be hard to see this and not leave a fan. There are some appearances by Arcade Fire and even Reggie Watts in their final performance – and the production of the show is beautiful. Directors Will Lovelace and Dylan Southern really did an excellent job capturing the atmosphere and energy of the show. As I noted earlier, it’s beautifully shot and sounds amazing too.

When it’s all said and done, you feel like the crying fan in the final shot: you’re sad to see such a good band go, but happy you were there to see them shine.

GOD BLESS AMERICA is the third film from Bobcat Goldthwait and definitely his most accomplished work to date. It seems as though he’s finally found his voice as a filmmaker; he’s learning how to tell a more cohesive story, and he’s even getting his own visual style. GOD BLESS AMERICA is a very dark comedy, but relatable one, about everything that’s wrong with American culture today. It follows Frank, a sad, stalky, middle-aged, divorced parent that carries the weight of the world with every sad glance he makes at the depressing programming on his TV. Frank, however, has had enough by the time we meet him and it’s not long before he teams up with a young girl (who witnesses his first murder) and goes on a Natural Born Killer-esque killing spree.

Frank is played wonderfully by Joel Murray. We understand has irritation and why he’s fed up, we can empathize with him, and even kind of root for him. His partner in crime (also a great performance by Tara Lynne Barr) is like a mix of Juno and Mallory (from NBK), the first of which is actually joked about in the film. There will definitely be a lot of criticism about the violence in the film and how it may seem irresponsible, but the film does a good job of leaving you with the question, “how is what GOD BLESS AMERICA showed any worse than all the garbage that is glorified on TV?” We’ve basically come to a point that anything is allowed as long as it doesn’t promote violence. But anyone with a little sense knows how foolish that is. Greed, lust and vanity (along with the other 7 deadly sins) all lead to violence in one way or another. As a culture we have lost our boundaries, to paraphrase Frank. We have lost the ability to be civil. I won’t ruin that line by directly quoting it because it comes after a great monologue from Frank that basically puts things into perspective and explains the purpose of their crusade.

This film was very entertaining and although dark, it did keep the laughs coming. I think it establishes Bobcat as one of the best filmmakers working in dark comedy, up there with Todd Solondz. Sometimes the only way to deal with taboo subjects is to just add a little humor and heighten the absurdity a bit, as both Solondz and Goldthwait do so well. Goldthwait is more like a pissed off Mike Judge than he is Todd Solondz, but he is as dark and taboo as Solondz. This is an important film for this Kardashian-obsessed YouTube generation. Obviously I don’t think violence should be encouraged and that going on a killing spree is the answer, but this is a movie, and it plays out like a dark fantasy for the people that are fed up with the stupidity that we’ve allowed to consume our culture. Maybe it will wake some people up, maybe it will cause some controversy, and maybe it will be a cult classic that will be missed by the people that really need to see it, but I’m glad it got made and I’m glad Goldthwait was bold enough to take the risk and make a film like GOD BLESS AMERICA.

by Jackie Richard

KID-THING was like a raw kick in the gut (in the best possible way). From the opening scene to the climactic final shot, KID-THING follows the mischievous adventures of an adolescent girl named Annie (Sydney Aguiree), who struggles to survive the day-to-day trials of her rural Texas life. She’s a playground outcast amongst her peers and has virtually zero supervision from her drunken, aloof, goat-farming single father (David Zellner). Her loneliness manifests in rage as she continually wreaks havoc around town by stealing, trespassing, menacing neighbors, and vandalizing property. One day unexpectedly, Annie stumbles across a well deep in the woods, where a faint voice calls for help from the depths below. Annie’s decision whether or not to help the woman makes us question how much of Annie’s character is innate versus a product of her environment?

This was the first Zellner Brothers film that I’ve seen, and I left the theater really excited to track down their first feature, Goliath. This was first rate, natural born filmmaking.

It’s always risky directing children and animals, especially when the film is completely character driven with minimal dialogue. That risk paid off for writer-director David Zellner because the performance they drew out of the unruly and wild Annie was eerily authentic. The scariest part to me was how little it felt like she was acting. Her pent up rage, frustration with the cards she’s been dealt, and her distrust and downright contempt for adults was so believable. The casting choice of finding not only the right talent, but a girl at the perfect age to carry the emotional impact of Annie was spot on. Annie was just young enough to feel like she shouldn’t be held entirely responsible for her transgressions, but just old enough that it was hard not to wonder whether she was born inherently evil. She’s one of the first child characters I can remember watching where the longer we followed her, the less likable she became.

This was definitely my favorite narrative feature I caught at SXSW. I highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys great filmmaking, who is willing to patiently journey through the world of an angry child’s eyes.

CITADEL takes about five minutes to get into the thick of things and thrust you into its odd, dystopian future. The film follows Tommy (played with a palpable tension by Aneurin Barnard) as he struggles with agoraphobia after the tragic murder of his wife. She was murdered by what I can only describe as demon-feral-children. They kill her in the opening scene and later kidnap Tommy’s child. This forces him to overcome his fears and get out of his house and team up with a renegade priest and a creepy blind kid to get his daughter back.

CITADEL is a thriller, but treads the line of being a horror film with its jolting and unexpected scenes of violence.

The theme of the film is how to use faith to overcome fear. It does a good job of putting you in a fearful mindset. Many of the thrilling scenes come unexpectedly and without warning. As a viewer you often wonder if what you’re seeing is actually happening or just delusions of our protagonist. Once we discern this is reality, everything is fair game and that adds even more fear. It makes you identify with Tommy’s affliction and that helps drive the film. You’re rooting for him to overcome his fears, but it’s hard because you are right there with him. The priest shows some tough love and adds some comedic relief.

The filmmaker Ciaran Foy did a great job making something that felt fresh. The metaphors are there, but not heavy-handed. This is a film that horror fans can appreciate, but also non-horror fans alike. There is more here than just your typical, run-of-the-mill cheap thrills. Some people may find it hard to believe this strange reality or transform themselves into it, as it doesn’t give you much time to let things resonate. But if you decide to be along for the ride from the opening scene then when the end credits roll you will most likely be happy with your decision.

by Jackie Richard

From the opening scene, Eden forces the audience to travel inside a dark world few of us ever willingly go. Eden is loosely based on the true life experiences of a teenage girl plucked from a seedy bar and held captive for over two years in the early 90s, long before human trafficking was openly acknowledged as a real epidemic. The more time goes by, the more she is forced to build relationships with her captors, both as a day-to-day survival mechanism and as a strategy to plan her escape. While she does eventually outsmart her oppressors, her harrowing experiences will forever leave her scarred.

The film stars former ‘Real World: San Diego’ reality star turned aspiring thespian Jamie Chung, Matt O’Leary, and Beau Bridges. Director Megan Griffiths was rightfully awarded the SXSW Chicken & Egg Emergent Narrative Woman Director Award for her smart and delicate approach to such a seedy subject matter. Her main objective was to make a watchable film so that the audience danced just up to the line of grotesque but not obscene, where they could feel deep sadness and compassion for the protagonist without feeling like the film was borderline pornographic.

I was pleasantly surprised with the daring performances, especially newcomer Jamie Chung, who was awarded a Special Jury Recognition for her gripping portrayal of Eden.

What a privilege it was for the audience to meet the “real life” Eden, who bravely joined the cast and crew onstage for the Q&A. Judging from her emotional reaction to watching the film, the filmmakers did justice to her story, although she did remark “the script was quite watered down; I wish I had it as easy as Eden did..” (which to the audience did not look the least bit easy).

Griffiths and her scriptwriter made some really wise decisions by keeping the plot steadily moving along without dwelling too much on the graphic nature of the story. This also leads to a handful of climatic encounters where you have no clue how Eden will react or what decision she will make when pushed to the brink, leading you to question “what would I have done differently than Eden?” To which my gut tells me, probably nothing.