SXSW 2015: Nine Movies We're Really Excited About Seeing

Austin film festival kicks off tomorrow night

By Marc Malkin Mar 12, 2015 9:38 PMTags
Russell Brand Alo Ceballos/GC Images

We're heading to Texas, y'all!

This year's South by Southwest movie festival kicks off tomorrow night in Austin.

What's on the lineup? Here, we give you nine films we're really excited about seeing...

1. Brand: A Second Coming: This documentary from award-winning filmmaker Ondi Timoner takes a look at comedian, author and activist Russell Brand. It also snagged the coveted slot of being the fest's opening night film. "Ondi Timoner's bold and lively documentary on Russell Brand knocked us out with its humor, insight and raw energy, pulling back the curtain on a truly passionate figure as he grapples with fame, influence and where we are as a 21st century society," Janet Pierson, SXSW's head of film, said in a statement.

20th Century Fox

2. Spy: Melissa McCarthy is a CIA analyst who is enlisted to go undercover to save the world from an evil arms dealer. Jude Law, Rose Byrne, Bobby Canavale and Jason Statham co-star in the Paul Feig-directed comedy.

3. Tab Hunter Confidential: Tab Hunter was one of Hollywood's hottest matinee idols of the 1950s who also happened to be secretly gay. Director Jeffrey Schwarz (Vito, I Am Divine) takes a look at his colorful life in this documentary which includes interviews with Clint Eastwood, Portia de Rossi, Robert Wagner, George Takei and director John Waters, among many others. Best part? Hunter, now 83, will be on hand in Austin for the premiere!

Bold Films

4. Lost River: Ryan Gosling's writing and directorial debut is a dark fantasy thriller with a cast that includes his real-life love Eva Mendes, Christina Hendricks, Saoirse Ronan, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actor Iain De Caestecker and Doctor Who's Matt Smith.  "It was truly wonderful and probably one of the most creative things I have ever worked on and most collaborative," Hendricks told us after the film wrapped shooting. "[Ryan] was tremendous as a director. He knew exactly what he was looking for, set an environment for people to be truly creative in a way that I never experienced before."

Universal Pictures

5. Trainwreck: Directed by Judd Apatow, the trailer for the Amy Schuster and Bill Hader comedy about a woman who tries to give monogamy a try is downright hilarious! We can't wait to see the rest.

Universal

6. Ex Machina: Alicia Vikander stars as a stunningly beautiful female created through artificial intelligence that becomes close to a young computer programmer (Unbroken's Domhnall Gleeson). The trippy sci-fi drama co-stars Oscar Issac.

Picturehouse

7. Gloria: This is a biopic about Gloria Trevi, the singer who VH1 once called the "Supreme Diva of Mexican Pop." She has sold more than 20 million records with many politically charged songs that take on religion, prostitution, drug trafficking and violence against women in Mexico. But when she and a backup singer were arrested and charged with corrupting minors in 2000, Trevi spent more than four years in prison before the charges were dropped for lack of evidence.

Through Films

8. Adult Beginners: Nick Kroll is a failed entrepreneur who goes to live with his sister (Rose Byrne) and her husband (Bobby Cannavale). Let the hilarity begin!

Universal Pictures

9. The Breakfast Club: Yes, we've watched this John Hughes classic a gazillion times, but a newly restored version of the film will premiere at SXSW just in time for its 30th anniversary. PS: It's available now on Blue-ray and DVD if you want to check it out for yourself.

For more scoop live from SXSW, make sure to follow @marcmalkin on Twitter and Instagram.