for the past few days i've been going to screenings at the austin film festival. most of the films i've watched have been very well done with the exception of one film about zombies. it was like blair witch hung out with 28 days later and made a ugly baby. here's a list of the films that i loved.

juno
a hilarious film about teen pregnancy. written by diablo cody and directed by jason reitman (thank you for smoking). this movie is witty, charming, and i want to watch it over and over again because i know that i didn't catch all the great lines the first time.

lars and the real girl
i loved this film. yes, i'm biased a bit because i have a soft spot for both ryan gosling, paul schneider and patricia clarkson, but this is a sweet, original film. lars develops a delusional disorder in which he believes he is having a relationship with bianca, a girl from eastern europe that is devoted to god. the catch is she is a life-sized sex doll. to help him recover from his delusion the community embraces the situation and takes bianca in even though she isn't real. everyone gives a great performance and it's probably gosling's best yet. the production design is also cohesive in conveying the lonely, gloomy mood of the film.

the cake eaters

reservation road

in search of a midnight kiss

the living wake
brilliant, hilarious, original. i've never seen a film like this. the production design is amazing. writer/actor mike o'connell is a true character. the film inspires to be a period piece but not at the same time. if you get an opportunity to see this film, go watch it. you won't regret it.

american fork

starting out in the evening

don't eat the baby: adventures at post-katrina mardi gras

and a couple from netflix:

a summer's tale

head in the clouds