Though Fantastic Fest '08 is nearly five months away (why won't you work, time machine!?), devotees and newcomers alike can get a taste of the kickass genre film festival TONIGHT as the Alamo presents Exte: Hair Extensions and Big Man Japan, two favorites from FF '07....

Spiral follows a lonely, nerdy telemarketer who sketches portraits as a hobby. But when he begins sketching a hot new ladyfriend (Amber Tamblyn), shocking secrets from his past begin to emerge. If the reviews on the Fantastic Fest B-Side site are any indication, it's quite good....

The inimitably awesome Crispin Glover will be coming to the Alamo Downtown February 9 through 11, to screen two films he directed and to give an introductory slide show called "The Big Slide Show". After the films, he will answer questions. ("How did you get that way?" is probably off limits as a question.) ...

Son of Rambow - Free Screening!Monday, December 10thAlamo Drafthouse South Lamar (1120 S. Lamar)Free, 7pm[info]Amidst the blood, guts and graphic violence of Fantastic Fest 2007, which we lovingly embraced in all its gory glory, was nestled a small, quiet film about the wonders and struggles of growing up and growing out. Son of Rambow was like a tall glass of Iced Tea on a 110 degree day: refreshing, calming and cool. We went into......

Fantastic Fest '08 Badges are on sale now! VIP badges sold out while the '07 festival was still running, but there are some new ticket options for '08 including "2nd Half" and "Daytime Only" badges. UT Professor Ellen Spiro and Talkshow Host Phil Donahue's doc "Body of War" has made the Oscar shortlist. Check out Chris Garcia's interview with Spiro here. The Belgian government has honored four Austin filmmakers for their documentary work. We......

Still from The District! The DistrictNovember 16-222110 South Lamar (2110 S. Lamar)Various Showtimes, $8.25[info]We heard a lot of good things about Áron Gauder's one-of-a-kind animated gem The District! during Fantastic Fest last year, but we hadn't had a chance to see it until recently. It's a Hungarian Hip-Hop / time travel / gangster odyssey set in Budapest's notorious 8th district, where rival crime families feud like Montagues and Capulets. That is, until their kids fall......

Image from Austin Asian Film Fest official site Austin Asian Film FestivalThursday November 8 - Sunday November 11Various VenuesAll access badge $30, Individual films $7 / $5 students, AFS, TAA[info]Austin has a mind-blowing number of film festivals. In the last six weeks alone we've had the Austin Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, aGLIFF, The Austin Polish Film Festival and the Dismember the Alamo Zombie Film Fest--all of which were awesome. And beginning tomorrow, we'll have another......

We’re absolute fiends for Halloween, though we'll admit that sometimes we go a little overboard. Last year our porch was so scary that several elementary-aged trick-or-treaters refused, absolutely refused, to step foot on it, sending their parents up to nab their candy. Something about the creeping tentacles and clouds of fog unnerved the wee ones. That was before they saw the giant 14-foot spider hanging in the carport. Good times. Naturally, one of the things......

There are so many great films playing at this year's Austin Film Festival that we've been having trouble keeping track of them all. And one that flew completely under our radar until this morning is a Vietnamese martial arts film called The Rebel, which is screening at the Paramount tonight. Billed as the "first ever Vietnamese martial arts film", The Rebel looks like all kinds of action-packed awesome. Secret agents? Check. Black magic? Check. Face-kicking......

Today is the day! Fantastic Fest--North America's coolest, fastest growing genre film festival--officially kicks off this afternoon at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar. With around 100 feature films, shorts and special events, Fantastic Fest is a horror / sci-fi / fantasy / action film lover's dream come true. As of yesterday, badges are all sold out. But don't despair, badgeless film lovers--you can still buy individual tickets to certain screenings. We got an early look......

As Fantastic Fest kicks off tonight, Austinist will be bringing you previews of films playing at the festival. We begin today with Wendigo director Larry Fessenden's latest, The Last Winter. An interesting yet practical genre mash-up, the film is an eco-horror piece concerning the fate of an oil crew who are damaging the environment in rural Alaska. There's no serial killer here: the antagonist(?) is actually the planet, which begins to fight back when......

Technically, Fantastic Fest doesn't start until Thursday. But for badgeholders who get into town early (or, you know, live here), the fun will begin on Wednesday night as Casey Affleck hosts a free sneak screening of his new film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. We've been huge Affleck fans since his criminally under appreciated role in Good Will Hunting. And with The Assassination and Gone Baby Gone (both of which......

Don't forget to submit your entry for our Fantastic Fest Bruce Lee Lookalike Contest! The festival starts this Thursday, so get your entry in ASAP for a chance to WIN TWO FESTIVAL BADGES! Fantastic Fest is our favorite eight days of the year. No lie. In fact, last year's fest was quite possibly the best eight days of our entire lives. And though we didn't think it was possible, this year is shaping up to......

Fantastic Fest is our favorite eight days of the year. No lie. In fact, last year's fest was quite possibly the best eight days of our entire lives. And though we didn't think it was possible, this year is shaping up to be even better! To celebrate the festival's opening night, we cordially invite you--nay, we challenge you--to compete in the Finishing the Game: Bruce Lee Lookalike Contest! Here's how it works: Dress up like......

Are you a master of Jeet Kune Do? Do you possess fists of fury? Well, friends, even if you don't, you can still strive to match in visage alone the badassitude of the all-time greatest martial artist by participating in our Bruce Lee Impersonation Contest. You heard us! In conjunction with our friends at Fantastic Fest, we're looking for a sweaty-chested action hero (or heroine) to call our own, but we prefer that said sweaty-chested......

We don't know about you, but we freaking love horror movies. Like, really love 'em. And this month, we've got a hell of a lot of scare-tastic stuff to be excited about--not only is Fantastic Fest right around the corner, but last year's FF Audience Award Winner, Hatchet, is about to be released theatrically! We missed Hatchet at last year's fest, and we're still kicking ourselves over it. By all accounts, this thing is the......

So apparently this new movie not only makes Paul Giamatti into a bad guy, but also features a gunplay scene filmed entirely while the principal battlers are falling from airplanes, as well as several semi-dangerous-looking gunfights with a human infant in the middle of the proceedings. Clive Owen is the good guy—once again, as in "Children of Men", protecting a baby that's not his own (come on guys, doesn't Clive Owen deserve his own freaking......

Untitled by Michael WutzDried heads hanging from a wooden beam, contraptions inspired by dystopian nightmares, and ghostly visions of faceless men: while these sound like images gleamed from next month's Fantastic Fest, they're actually all part of Volitant Gallery's current exhibition, Silver Lining flat lining. Curated by Austin-based art historian and independent curator Till Richter, Silver Lining flat lining is the largest body of works to date by German artist Michael Wutz. Primarily a printmaker,......

We totally wish we were 16 or under again, 'cuz the folks at Fantastic Fest have just announced a kickass new contest called “Reel Heroes: the Fantastic Fest Trailer Competition”. The basic idea is this: individual youth filmmaking teams will write, shoot and edit a short film (25 to 45 seconds) featuring an original concept superhero. The film must explain the powers of the superhero, and must end with the superhero saying, “(Name of superhero)......

As part of the "Last Month at the Original Alamo" festivities, Ain't It Cool News and Fantastic Fest have just announced a special sneak screening of Eli Roth's highly anticipated new horror film Hostel Part 2 this coming Sunday night. A longtime friend of the Alamo, Roth will be in attendance to introduce the film, and the AICN announcement suggests that there'll be some other fun surprises as well. Though we have no idea what......

Are you a fan of Hollywood blockbusters? Better head on over to EW.com, then, because Fantastic Fest is not for the faint of heart—or imagination. A genre film festival that’s been around Austin for a few years, Fantastic Fest is the place to go for films featuring gore, glory, gangstas, giggles, gigolos, and general greatness. Its self-described genres include science-fiction, fantasy, horror, animation, crime, Asian, but it also recognizes “all-around badass” cinema. New films and......

For those of you who saw Teen Wolf Too, Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights or Ocean’s Twelve, you are apparently not averse to watching extremely bad sequels. We aren’t either, as long as they are accompanied by oversized pints of booze, but “bad” is not what the Alamo Drafthouse and the Fantastic Fest had in mind when they announced their Unnecessary Sequels contest last month. Tonight and tomorrow night, the rotten eggs will finally hatch and......

The fine folks at the Alamo Drafthouse have just announced a special, last-minute QT Fest (kinda) to be held at the Alamo Downtown next week. As a tribute to the historic Colorado St. location, Quentin Tarantino will take over the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown for one last run of QT-style grindhouse triple bills, including a "Sex Comedies" night, a "Regional" night and a "Swinging" night. The series—dubbed "Last Night at the Alamo Grindhouse"—will run May 10th,......

Sure--we already told you about our amazing Other Side Guide to the South by Southwest Film Festival. But we're posting again to let you know how excited we are about this thing! Not only can you effortlessly browse the huge list of amazing films playing at SXSW this year (by title, theatre, category or day), you can also rate movies, read and write reviews, keep a festival blog (maybe even a hilarious festival blog),......

Now in his fourth year as producer for the South By Southwest Film Festival, Matt Dentler might just be the busiest guy in the Austin film community. In addition to his year-round duties at SXSW Film, he's also a programmer for the mega-awesome Fantastic Fest, a curator for two national film distributors, an active blogger, television show host and occasional film festival panelist, judge and lecturer. And as if that weren't enough to keep him......

In our effort to help you sort through all of the excellent screenings at SXSW Film Festival, we've partnered up with Austin-based B-Side Entertainment, who create nifty online program guides for film festivals all around the world. Locally, they're responsible for the interactive schedules you might have encountered at Austin Film Festival, the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival, and Fantastic Fest. Here are just some of the things you do over at......

Though it’s still a full eight months away, the third annual Fantastic Fest is already gearing up, and badges officially went on sale today at noon. If you missed our coverage of last year’s fest, here’s a quick primer: Fantastic Fest is an eight-day festival showcasing the very best in new horror, sci-fi, fantasy, Asian and cult films (supplemented by various genre retrospectives and classic horror). The festival is curated by AICN's Harry Knowles, Big......

The Second Annual Fantastic Fest is over, and though we’re happy to finally catch up on our sleep, we can’t wait to go back next year. Eight full days of the best new horror, sci-fi, Asian, thriller and genre films screened at the coolest theatre in North America – what more could we ask for? (Okay, maybe free beer, but still.) In addition to the big-name Austin premieres (including Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning,......

It's like attending a film festival in your pajamas. And the popcorn is free. “SXSW Presents” premieres tonight on KLRU. The purpose of the show is to “share festival-circuit gems with television audiences.” Produced by SXSW, in conjunction with Austin-based company, Beef & Pie Productions, the show endeavors to bring the film festival to you. Tonight’s first installment will feature Robert Brinkmann’s film, Stephen Tobolowsky’s Birthday Party. The film is a performance-based documentary that......

THURSDAY [28] music • Ratatat, Envelopes, Panther (outside), Maritime, Ghost of the Russian Empire (inside) at Emo's ® music • Clap Clap at Whisky Bar music • Jonny Lang at Stubb's music • Jose Gonzalez w. Death Vessel at The Parish Room ® music • AUX, Red Leaves, Belhome at Flamingo Cantina music • Boy Band Hoot Night with Single Frame, Golden Bear, and more at The Mohawk (912 Red River) ® music •......