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There's a very special feeling that comes over movie fans on the first day of a film festival: it's a peerless, boundless anticipation that borders on giddiness. All those movies!, you think; all that promise! And today is no different. It's the first day of South by Southwest—well, the first full day, since a small handful of movies premiered last night—and the next two weeks will be a cinematic indulgence that borders on the obscene. (Seriously, we really like movies.) We'll be seeing a lot of everything while we're here in Austin, but here are the 12 we're most excited about, from zombie documentaries to the return of Veronica Mars.
Veronica Mars
We've waited almost ten years to find out what happened to Veronica Mars after she walked away in the rain on the final episode of her canceled-too-soon show, and now it's finally here: the Veronica Mars movie. Debuting at SXSW, the crowdfunded film reintroduces us to a grown-up Veronica who has walked away from sleuthing and devoted her considerable talents to working as a New York lawyer and dating perpetual good guy Piz. She's got it all together – until she gets a call from Logan Echolls, the ex she could never really shake. He's suspected of murder – yes, again – so it's back to her hometown for the high-school reunion she never wanted and the PI life she tried so hard to leave behind. But can creator Rob Thomas truly recapture the magic of his show nearly a decade after it went off the air? Tens of thousands of fans want answers, and thanks to Kickstarter and $5.7 million worth of fan devotion, they'll finally get them. —Laura Hudson
The Raid 2: Berandal
The hyperkinetic Indonesian martial arts film The Raid: Redemption brought the fight-your-way-through-a-building premise to new extremes, and now star Iko Uwais is back in a sequel that will take him not through a gang-ridden apartment house but into Jakarta's sprawling criminal underworld. The second part of a planned trilogy by writer and director Gareth Evans, Berandal – which means “thugs” in Indonesian – is more of a drama than the claustrophobic survival tale that preceded it. Instead of merely attacking the criminals, protagonist Rama infiltrates a lethal crime syndicate to expose the corruption behind the original Raid and the very police force he works for. Setting Rama free in the streets of Jakarta opens up all-new possibilities for action – including a car chase and a subway battle – and early reviews have praised the film's brutal, beautifully choreographed violence. —Laura Hudson
Bad Words
This is the directorial debut of Arrested Development's Jason Bateman, who also stars. The comedy is raw, cruel, and very blue. It's also about the nerdiest thing on Earth: spelling bees. But instead of being about kids going for the glory a la Spellbound, this one is about a schmuck named Guy (Bateman) who never graduated and is now going about terrorizing every bee in his path. (But fear not, softies: it's also got quite a bit of heart.) The supporting players include the never-off-their-game Kathryn Hahn and Allison Janney, but the one to watch is Rohan Chand, who after Bad Words premieres will no longer be That Kid Brody Tutored on Homeland. He steals every scene. —Angela Watercutter
Doc of the Dead
Four years ago director Alexandre O. Philippe brought The People vs. George Lucas to SXSW and put the grievances of many Star Wars fans up on the big screen. This time around he's looking at zombie fans and the storytellers that created their genre of choice, from George A. Romero to Robert Kirkman. But beyond just looking the creators of walker lore, Philippe's doc also examines how the genre has evolved and what impact it has had on pop culture. Spoiler alert: It's a big one. —Angela Watercutter
Chef
As storied a career as Jon Favreau has had—whether behind the camera for favorites like Iron Man and Elf or just acting—he's always at his best when he's doing more than one thing at once. That's how we were introduced to him in 1996's Swingers (which he also wrote), and that's what he's giving us now with Chef, his first full writer/director/star venture since 2001's Made. It's the story of a chef (surprise!) who, when his restaurant goes under, finds redemption in the world of food trucks. That's the sports-movie version of the log line anyway; regardless, while there may not be a trailer yet (the movie premieres at SXSW, but doesn't open until May), a laundry list of cameos from the likes of Scar-Jo, Robert Downey Jr., and Dustin Hoffman gives us hope. Plus, with the recent Top Chef-ification of pop culture, it's about time we had another movie about the culinary arts. The last decent movie about food was what, Ratatouille? —Peter Rubin
Beyond Clueless
When many of us hear "teen movie," we think of the John Hughes era: Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, Say Anything, et al. But last year, filmmaker Charlie Lyne took to Kickstarter to fund a documentary positing an intriguing notion: that the years between Clueless and Mean Girls (1995-2004) were actually the most fecund time the genre had ever seen. Not surprisingly, he funded it easily, and now Beyond Clueless is one of 30 SXSW Film selections that began as Kickstarter projects. It's mostly made up of footage from other movies stitched together collage-style, but if you have even passing nostalgia for Cruel Intentions, American Pie, and Can't Hardly Wait, then you know that's not a bug—it's a feature. —Peter Rubin
Wicker Kittens
If there's one thing we love more than documentaries about subcultures, it's documentaries about truly nerdy subcultures. And after a decade that gave us gems about the New York Times crossword puzzle (Wordplay)and competitive Scrabble (Word Wars), Amy C. Elliott and Mike Scholtz are joining the fray with a movie that chronicles competitive jigsaw puzzlers. Yes, jigsaw puzzlers—apparently, the St. Paul Winter Carnival Puzzle Contest is the World Series of reconstituting pictures of cats. And if the idea of walking, talking NPR tote bags doing rainy-day activities sounds boring, than we have two words for you: Delicious Dish. —Peter Rubin
Obvious Child
After a brief stint on Saturday Night Live, Jenny Slate has become a formidable comic actress—you likely know her as Jean-Ralphio's sister on Parks & Recreation or half of Kroll Show's "Publizzity" team, but she's had memorable recurring roles on Hello Ladies and House of Lies as well. Basically, any time you need someone to play a frenemy, an egomaniac, or just someone completely unhinged, Slate's your woman. Now, she takes things a bit closer to the bone in Obvious Child, playing a standup comic who loses a job and a relationship—but gets pregnant. (All in true Slatesianly self-absorbed fashion.) While it's been dubbed an "abortion comedy," it's really just an opportunity to see a promising actress take center stage for the first time. —Peter Rubin
Harmontown
It's hard to say what people know Dan Harmon for best: creating the NBC sitcom Community, or getting fired from it. Dismissed from the show in 2012, Harmon found he suddenly had nothing to do – so he decided to tour the country, doing his Harmontown podcast live in different cities and meeting fans. Although Harmon has since been restored to the helm of Community, the documentary is a glimpse at the life of a gifted, occasionally troubled creator at particularly lost and honest moment, and the devoted fans who love him all the more for his foibles.—Laura Hudson
Space Station 76
There are more than enough space odysseys to go around these days, but how many of them delve into campiness? (Star Trek Into Dark had some, but it seemed unintentional.) Space Station 76 looks to scratch that itch. Set on a space station in a 1970s-esque future, the flick is described as a dramedy about what happens when the drama amongst the crew – a group that includes The Conjuring's Patrick Wilson and Magic Mike's Matt Bomer – becomes "as dangerous as the asteroid that's heading right for them." So it's probably not Plan 9 From Outer Space, but maybe just as crazy/fun. —Angela Watercutter
*Oculus *
This is the latest from Blumhouse Productions, the people that bring you all those Paranormal Activitys, Purges, and Insidiouses (?). It's about a woman who tries to prove that her brother didn't kill their parents—supernatural forces did. Specifically, a supernatural force released through an antique mirror in the family home called the Lasser Glass. Sounds cool enough, but can we talk about how freaky Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica's Starbuck) looks at the end of this trailer? Also, the avenging sister is played by Doctor Who's Karen Gillan, who will be taking on the supernatural here before joining the superheroes in this summer's Guardians of the Galaxy. Sounds frighteningly fun. —Angela Watercutter
Only Lovers Left Alive
Sure, it's yet another vampire romance. But this one has the both Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston going for it, as a pair of eternal lovers named -- yes -- Adam and Eve. When Adam, a disaffected musician displeased by his growing fanbase, starts contemplating suicide, his long-time love (Swinton) meets him in Detroit and remind him why (undead) life is still worth living. Directed by Jim Jarmusch, Only Lovers Left Alive takes what could easily feel like a mess of tired cliches and aims for something more interesting: a love story about two people who have every reason to see the entire world as a tired cliche but keep finding a reason to stay in it. —Laura Hudson
