Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong

Mickey and Jules (Bill Skarsgård and Maika Monroe) are young lovers and criminals on the run. When they break into a secluded home in the woods they meet a sweet-as-pie couple who have a dark secret they don’t want to get out.

Villains is your typical Bonnie and Clyde feeling Film but with a hilarious twist. Co-Directors and Writers Dan Berk and Robert Olsen comedically play with the concept of what if the people who are committing the crime become the victims. It offers all around great performances from a knockout cast consisting of Kyra Sedgwick, Jeffery Donovan, Monroe and Skarsgård, who gets to show off his comedic talents.

Villains screens at SXSW on March 9 at 3 PM at ZACH Theatre, March 12 at 10:45 AM at Alamo Lamar D, March 13 at 5:45 PM at Atom Theatre, and March 15 at 2:15 PM at Alamo Ritz 1.

Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong

When an ex-convict (Ethan Hawke) gets released from prison after 21 years for a petty crime he finds a baby in a dumpster which gives him a new lease on life.

First-time feature film Director and Writer Logan Marshall Green delves into the impacts of the three strike rule America used to have. He examines the psychological and societal impacts prison can have on those who’ve been newly-released. It focuses on one man in particular who is played captivatingly and to raw emotion by Hawke.

Adopt A Highway screens at SXSW on March 10 at 8:30 PM at Stateside, March 11 at 6 PM at Satellite Venue, March 13 at 5:30 PM at Rollins Theatre, and March 14 at 11 PM at Alamo Lamar E.

Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong

Rose (Maeve Higgins) has a supernatural gift, a gift she fears. Word has gotten around her rural Irish neighbourhood and when a feared father (Barry Ward) ask for her help, she must overcome her fear and help save his daughter.

This Film is a perfectly mixed bag of genres that makes for one of the most unique film-going experiences at SXSW this year. Moments of uncontrollable laughter turns to moments of shock. All while showcasing some of the most deadpan comedic writing executed perfectly by Higgins, Ward and the always funny Will Forte.

Extra Ordinary screens at SXSW on March 10 at 5:30 PM at Stateside, March 11 at 1:45 PM at Alamo Lamar A, March 14 at 7:45 PM at Alamo Lamar A, and March 15 at 8 PM at ZACH Theatre.

Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong

Director Chris Morris has brought 100 true stories to the big screen to show that it’s easier to manufacture a terrorist than actually catch a real one.

The Day Shall Come  is a crazy thrill ride that tells quite the horrifying reality of what lengths homeland security go to. Morris knows this reality is a tough pill to swallow so rather than making this a heavy-hitting Drama, he has intelligently infused it with Dark-Comedy throughout. He’s also brought together a stellar Cast who alleviate the already great Script, including Marchánt Davis, Anna Kendrick, Danielle Brooks and Denis O’Hare.

The Day Shall Come screens at SXSW on March 11 at 6:30 PM at The Paramount, March 12 at 5:45 PM at Alamo Lamar E, and March 15 at 5:15 PM at Alamo Ritz 1.

Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong

When Alice comes to the realization that her husband has left her completely broke due to his addiction to escorts, she finds herself drawn into the life of high-end prostitution to save her home and provide for her son.

First-time Feature Director-Writer Josephine Mackerras has truly outdone herself with Alice. The complex Script and layered characters have created a Film with the ability to open people’s minds to the world of prostitution. Even though this Film has a lot to say about the world of escorts, it’s more of a story of one woman’s means at survival. Most importantly, it shows the way she chooses to control what she does in order to survive. The title role of Alice is performed captivatingly by Emilie Piponnier who expresses two contrasting emotions in every scene.

Alice won the Grand Jury Prize in the Narrative Feature Competition. It screens at SXSW on March 10 at 11 AM at Stateside Theatre, March 11 at Alamo Lamar C at 8:15 PM, and March 14 at at Alamo Lamar E at 8 PM.

Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong

Zak is a 22-year-old male with Down Syndrome who escapes from the retirement home he is forced to be in, in the hopes of meeting his Wrestling hero.

This Film has an enormous amount of heart with one of the most touching stories. The Script is tight with some of the richest characters who have been cast to perfection. The Cast includes Dakota Johnson, Thomas Haden Church, John Hawkes, Bruce Dern and the anchor of the Film Zack Gottsagen who plays Zak. However, the most moving performance is from Shia LaBeouf. He’s completely dedicated and extremely authentic in a different role than we have seen him in before.

The Peanut Butter Falcon screens at SXSW on March 9 at 8 PM at Atom Theatre, March 12 at 4:45 PM at Alamo Lamar D and March 13 at 5:15 PM at Stateside.

Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong

When popular high-schooler Sara (Mary Nepi) loses her virginity she rapidly becomes pregnant and gives birth to something other-worldly.

Directors Stephen Cedars and Benji Kleiman have created a hilarious Horror-Comedy that’s a mix between your favourite Alien genre Film and High-School Comedy Film. There is a lot of fun to be had with Snatchers, this is due to its tight Script, creepy creature and lovable characters. Those characters are shot to life by a charismatic young Cast who delight.

Snatchers screens at SXSW on March 10 at 11:30PM at Stateside Theatre, March 12 at 11:30PM at Alamo Lamar E, and March 14 at 4:45PM at Alamo Lamar A.

Review by Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong

Run This Town follows a young reporter (Ben Platt) who gets a tip that there is a video of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford (Damien Lewis) smoking crack.

Writer-Director Ricky Tollman has crafted a Film told from the perspectives of the newspaper reporters – primarily Platt’s character who is eager to break his first story – those who worked at City Hall at that time. This Film offers a look into the Toronto government during the Rob Ford scandal and draws parallels to the political climate today.

The Cast, including Platt, Nina Dobrev and Scott Speedman, are great. However, all eyes are on an unrecognizable Lewis who has convincingly transformed into Ford.

Run This Town screens at SXSW on March 9 at 8:30 PM at Stateside, March 11 at 11 AM at Alamo Lamar A, and March 15 at 11:15 AM at Alamo Ritz 1.

By Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong

It’s day four of the SXSW Festival and things are still moving a mile a minute. We attended two different Panels today that consisted of Actors and Producers of some of our favourite movies.

The first talk was from Ethan Hawke and Jason Blum who are here promoting their newest Film together called Adopt A Highway. It follows an ex-convict who finds a child in a dumpster and changes his life. The two spoke about working on prior projects together, such as Sinister and The Purge, and how Adopt A Highway is different from those. Blum stated that 80 per cent of the Films Blumhouse produces are of the Horror genre, while 20 per cent aren’t. His newest Film falls in the 20 per cent category. He said that he makes sure he really loves the content and the people working on the project if it is going to be outside of the Horror genre. The two also spoke about their long-time friendship, which even got Blum teary-eyed.

The second Panel was for the star and Executive Producer of the new Hulu show, Shrill. Aidy Bryant stars as Annie, a woman who wants to change her life but never her figure.  Elizabeth Banks serves as Executive Producer and also  attended the Panel. Banks had a lot to talk about in regards to the Show and her career from starting out as an actress to now producing and directing some of the most successful Film and TV Shows. “I am here for the revolution, that is women making more content,” she proudly pronounced to a huge round of applause. Banks also spoke about her upcoming Charlie’s Angels Film which she is directing, producing, writing and acting in! She said she doesn’t want to give too much away, but is really excited for it.

Then the Film Premieres began down at The Paramount Theatre once again tonight. First up was the newest Film from Director Chris Morris called The Day Shall Come. It stars Anna Kendrick, Danielle Brooks, Jim Gaffigan, Marchánt Davis and more. Before the Film started, the stars arrived and each spent time with their fans.

The final Film of the night was Good Boys which has a lot of Canadian talent attached to it. Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg produced the Film and Canada’s golden boy Jacob Tremblay stars in it. The Trailer for the Film also dropped today, and for those of you who have seen it, then you know this Film is going to be funny. And we can confirm it is the funniest Film we have seen at SXSW and in a while! The audience constantly was laughing or having “aww” moments during Good Boys. The boys charmed the audience in-person also in their Q&A.

Things begin to slow down a bit starting tomorrow as the Festival’s Awards Ceremony honouring those titles in competition, will take place in the evening.

By Amanda Gilmore for Mr. Will Wong

We are on Day Three of the SXSW Festival and the majority of our day was spent walking around some pretty great installations.

The first one we attended was a fan art installation for Jordan Peele‘s Us. The moment you walk in, you’re faced with the costumes the Actors wore and the soon to be iconic scissors they use. You are then given a card that gets you one free download for the Soundtrack of the Film. They also treat guests to two drinks as they walk around the Exhibit. The Art is stunning to look and even more amazing considering it is Fan Art based on its Trailer alone.

Then we headed to Amazon Prime Video’s Good Omens exhibit, taking place over an entire outdoor parking lot, and had quite the queue to get in. Once inside, you are given a free umbrella and tote bag that displays the Show’s title. As you walk around, Top 40 music is blared from Drake, Ariana Grande, Cardi B as you are treated to free chicken and pork, drinks, beers and wines. There is an area for people to get their hair and nails done, once again for complimentary, and a huge floor chess board for people to use. However, one of the greatest parts for us was getting to see the adorable puppies they had for guests to pet and swoon over! It is hands down one of the best times I’ve experienced so far this SXSW. It’s also certainly put the new show Good Omens, starring David Tennant and Martin Sheen, on our must-see list with all its hype. Check out the Trailer if you don’t believe us!

When it came to the evening, the Premieres started down at the Stateside and Paramount Theatres. The first of the evening was Netflix‘s The Highwaymen, starring Woody Harrelson and Kevin Costner. Word has it that Willie Nelson and Matthew McConaughey came to the Premiere also.

Next was Adopt A Highway, it’s a Blumhouse Production and stars Ethan Hawke, Betty Gabriel and more. While fans were waiting to catch a glimpse of Hawke from outside the theatre, they were surprised by two actors who were waiting to go in. Both André Holland (Moonlight) and Sterling K. Brown (This is Us) were outside Stateside Theatre talking on the sidewalk. When fans noticed it was them, they formed a crowd circling around them. Both were very patient and took Selfies with any fans who asked.

The final Premiere of the night was Booksmart, which is the directorial debut for Olivia Wilde. Nearly everyone in the Cast was on-stage for the affair. When they arrived at the Red Carpet, many were friendly with the fans, but none more so than Wilde and her partner, Jason Sudeikis who stars in the Film too. Both came over immediately from exiting their vehicle and took time with fans. It was an extra special night for Wilde as she was celebrating her birthday. When she came on-stage to intro the Film, the SXSW team surprised her with a cake and the entire audience serenaded her with Happy Birthday. When the Film was over, the audience gave a standing audience with loud cheers. It’s true, Wilde‘s first Feature is a beautiful and near-perfect coming-of-age story. Review here.

There are no signs of SXSW slowing down as there are even more Red Carpet Premieres are taking place tomorrow. There will also be some Panels consisting of Jason Blum, Ethan Hawke, Aidy Bryant and Elizabeth Banks. So stay tuned!

(Photo credit: Amanda Gilmore)