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Under discussion:

Hamlet  (2000)

X-Men  (2000)

X-Men Origins: Wolverine  (2009)

I’m still not crazy about the idea of Liev Shreiber playing Sabretooth (aka Victor Creed) in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I think of the actor as being more a white-collar kind of guy. And maybe a bit smarter. I know Sabretooth isn’t supposed to be nearly as dumb as he was portrayed (by Tyler Mane) in X-Men, but I think of him as being more animalistic than intelligent — I know it’s probably wrong to think that, and it’s been years since I last read an X-Men comic, but that’s what I’ve always thought. Meanwhile, I expect to see Schreiber wearing a suit and tie (or reciting Shakespeare, or both!). Hooray for typecasting!

Anyway, most of you have probably already seen these latest set photos courtesy of Just Jared, but I thought I’d showcase my favorites, which include that one above and this one and this one and this one. I’ll give it to the more knowledgeable fans who will point out that Creed has brains, but did he also have boobs? Surely they should have cast a more fit actor, or had Schreiber get in better shape. And I don’t just mean the obvious issues seen in these pics. Shouldn’t Sabretooth have gigantic shoulders, at least?

Under discussion:

Married Life  (2008)

Paranoid Park  (2007)

Married Life, Paranoid Park, and Snow Angels: three independently produced American films, all being released this weekend by indie arms of major corporations, and three films that, according to Anthony Kaufman, are surprisingly serious about the “notion that we must come to terms with our complicity in other people’s pain, as well as our own.”

In this piece at Filmcatcher, Kaufman wonders what prompted filmmakers Ira Sachs, Gus Van Sant and David Gordon Green to tackle similar themes in very different ways. “Could it be some long-gestating post-9/11 reflection, or a reaction to the Iraq war and its horrendous collateral damages, from Abu Ghraib and Haditha? Or is it a newfound understanding of globalization, that we are all interconnected and responsible for each other?”

I haven’t seen Snow Angels. I saw Married Life months ago, but I really didn’t care for it and don’t think I could consider it seriously. But Paranoid Park is a really interesting film, one I wish I had time to write more about, but unfortunately haven’t been able to really cover in the madness of True/False and SXSW. It’s definitely a film about the psychology of Getting Away With It, and I can see how it would be tempting to graft political parallels on to that, in that it essentially mines horror from a criminal’s self-interested refusal to take personal responsibility. Still, even if the filmmakers were somehow taping into a zeitgeist, these films are all festival holdovers from 2007, and I’m not sure their simultaneous says anything other than that they’re neither likely Oscar contenders nor summer blockbusters. I’m personally skeptical that three corporate entities would suddenly come to a “newfound understanding” of their complicity in globalization and try to ameliorate their guilt by releasing three adult dramas on the same day.

Speaking of Snow Angels, indieWIRE is sponsoring an Apple Store event tonight in New York, with Angels director Green and co-star Olivia Thirlby (yes, the girl who said “honest to blog” in Juno). More info here.

Under discussion:

8 Mile  (2002)

Battlestar Galactica  (2004)

Nerdcore Rising  (2008)

An administrivia note: we still have a couple of SXSW previews to push out over the next two days, but starting this afternoon we’re going to start posting full-fledged reviews of films in advance of the festival’s opening on Friday. Make sure to check our SXSW 2008 category for all the goodies.

Now, for today’s preview. Probably the only documentary in recent memory featuring appearances from both Weird Al Yankovich and Jello Biafra, Nerdcore Rising (premiering at SXSW on Sunday as part of the 24 Beats Per Minute program) delves into a subgenre of hip hop that’s all about nerdery. The trailer for the doc can be found above, and director Negin Farsad answers the 4 Questions We’re Asking Everyone below.

Tell us about your movie. Who did you work with, why did you make it? Give us the reductive, 25-word or less, “It’s like [pop culture reference a] meets [pop culture reference b]!” pitch, then explain what the quick and dirty sell leaves out.

Nerdcore Rising is like Battlestar Galactica meets 8 Mile.

Basically, its a documentary that explores a rapper who’s trying to make it – though in this instance the pseudo-fictionalized Eminem is being played by lovably geeky and lyrically speedy, MC Frontalot, the godfather of Nerdcore hip hop. And, like Eminem, before being a rapper Front’s life was hard – though that hardship was less financial and more algorithm-related. Frontalot used to be a web coder/designer but decided to invent a new genre of hip hop, drop all the bandwidth, and form a band (puns!). Also, I’d like to note that Eminem and MC Frontalot happen to share exactly the same skin color though I believe their similarities end there.

But, other similarities pick up with Battlestar Galactica because Frontalot is a Cylon. Kidding. Because the film takes place in outerspace. Kidding. Because Frontalot is a big geek and he really loves fictional space odysseys as do his fans. In fact, his fans are the real stars of the movie because throughout the film they share with us their love of video games, their obsession with Star Wars, their weakness for table-top gaming, and, of course, an unabashed belief in the Nerdcore hip hop. They provide the proof that Nerdcore isn’t simply about one nerdy guy with “thick-ass birth control glasses” (as someone in the film describes them) but it’s really about a movement, complete with die-hard fans. Fans that have been looking for a space to bob their heads to strident hip hop beats with lyrics that mean something to them. Nerdcore is that space and Frontalot is making their heads bob.

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