The best documentaries tell you more than you think you’d ever want to know about a subject, perhaps fulfilling a curiosity you didn’t know you had. That’s the case with Kevin Macdonald’s Bob Marley documentary Marley, which stretches out at a languorous two hours and 24 minutes without dragging or getting bogged down in extraneous details. Everything in it – from interviews with the singer’s bandmates and his widow, Rita, to vintage and contemporary images of his hardscrabble birthplace of St. Ann Parish, Jamaica, to live-performance footage that captures his extraordinary charisma – feels essential, albeit in a relaxed way. By the end you feel you’ve learned something about the man, yet his mystique emerges intact.
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Each year SXSW plays host to a slate of risk-taking fare of all kinds, from true indie offerings to upcoming studio releases geared to a slightly more open crowd, and the 2012 film line-up features no shortage of movies poised to earn that precious film festival commodity: Positive buzz. But some projects have more at stake than others -- say, Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard's long-awaited Cabin in the Woods, Will Ferrell's Spanish-language comedy Casa de mi Padre, or the directorial debut of actor Matthew Lillard. On the eve of SXSW 2012 (which runs March 9-17 in Austin, Texas), check out the ten SXSW titles with the most to prove going into their festival debuts.
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After debuting to geek enthusiasm at Butt-Numb-a-Thon in December, Joss Whedon's long-awaited Cabin in the Woods will have its official world premiere at SXSW 2012 this March, the festival announced today. Also on deck to headline the film portion of the annual Austin conference are Jonas Akerlund's Small Apartments, Kevin MacDonald's music documentary Marley, and Lena Dunham's post-Tiny Furniture, Judd Apatow-produced HBO series GIRLS, which will preview its first three episodes. More details after the jump.
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