I don't need much of an excuse to visit Austin, Texas. Find me an event that A) strings more than four movies together, and B) takes place at one of the Alamo Drafthouse movie theaters, and there's a good chance I'm checking my bank account, desperately scrambling for flight money. But despite the fact that I've done five SXSW visits, three Fantastic Fest trips, and a few more Austin journeys just for the heck of it ... I'd never attended a BNAT shindig. But I made it to the tenth annual Butt-Numb-a-Thon, and of course I had a damn good time once it got rolling.

Let's just do a quick run-through, chronologically speaking, and I'm listing just the FULL movies here. At the end I'll go over the various clips we were treated to...

Sure enough, the first week of December brings the first formal slew of awards nominations, today's coming from Film Independent's Spirit Awards. The Hollywood Reporter bring us the list of nominees, with dramas Ballast, Frozen River and Rachel Getting Married each tied for the most nominations (six a piece, including Best Feature; the other two nominees there are Wendy and Lucy and The Wrestler).

Now, these awards aren't necessarily Oscar precursors or anything -- some of these films are just too small -- but it's difficult to deny that the likes of Milk, The Visitor, The Wrestler, Rachel, River and documentary contender Man on Wire are all looking at the first of many nominations in the coming weeks, most of which I can safely say are or will be deserving. I can't speak for Ballast, but it's been earning attention in the indie world for months and months, so do as I do and keep an eye out for it.

The greatest assurance can only be taken once the Spirit Awards are awarded on February 21. See the full list of nominees after the jump.

"Darren did not put a strip pole in his office." -- Marisa Tomei.

Does the New York Film Festival still matter? The 46th edition opened last Friday, and while the fest may not have the celebrity cachet and discovery intent of Sundance and Cannes, or the welcoming populist mentality of Toronto, it stubbornly insists on being recognized as the gatekeeper for all that is worthwhile in world cinema.

Nonetheless, press conferences with a big-name American director and a resurrected American star (and his fetching, Academy Award-winning co-star) have stolen the spotlight during the first week of the festival. Looking somewhat like a guerilla himself, Steven Soderbergh arrived to promote his four-hour epic Che, starring Benicio del Toro as the revolutionary leader. According to the director, "There are a million Ches -– he means something different to everyone."

That attitude has irked some critics; Karina Longworth at Spout felt that Soderbergh's "unwillingness to make a statement may be a major part of the problem." On the other hand, Glenn Kenny of Some Came Running opined: "Silly me, I imagined that such an approach constituted a statement sufficient unto itself, but apparently not." The film will get a rare "roadshow" treatment when it opens in December: trotted around in its four-hour entirety to selected cities for one week only by IFC Films in December, complete with elevated ticket prices and a fancy giveaway program of some sort. Dreamgirls for the intelligentsia?

After the jump: The Wrestler and two fresh new films about those darn kids.

Cinematical has just received this cute and quirky exclusive trailer for The Pleasure of Being Robbed (watch it below), which marks the feature directorial debut of Joshua Safdie, and is a comedy that revolves around a kleptomaniac who touches the lives of everyone she steals from. Eleonore Hendricks stars as the attractive, fearless and stealthy thief, and also co-wrote along with Safdie. Pleasure first debuted back at the SXSW Film Festival before hopping across to Cannes where IFC eventually picked it up, and it's left a trail of great buzz all summer long. The Pleasure of Being Robbed will enjoy an exclusive theatrical run at the IFC Center in New York City beginning October 3, and will be available On Demand as part of IFC's Festival Direct (which I love, and have used multiple times) on October 22.

Bonus points go to the reader who can name the artist and song in the trailer. (And yes, this is for purely selfish reasons ...) Enjoy.

If you're like me, stuck at home, reading about all the great films playing in Toronto, and wondering, "When can I actually get to see the darn things?," I have some good news. Two "big buzz" titles have been acquired for distribution: Steven Soderbergh's Che, starring Benecio del Toro in the title role, has been nabbed by IFC Films (not Mark Cuban) for North America, and Summit Entertainment has secured US rights to Katheryn Bigelow's The Hurt Locker, featuring Guy Pearce and Ralph Fiennes.

IFC will release Che for a one-week awards qualifying run in New York and Los Angeles in December, according to an official statement received by Cinematical. It will then open in January via the company's "IFC in Theaters" platform, which means it will be available in select theaters and "on demand" through cable and satellite systems the same day. Ever since Che's world premiere at Cannes in May (where James Rocchi reviewed it), there has been speculation about how the film would be presented. Che is comprised of two stand alone parts -- The Argentine and Guerilla -- and the total running time is more than four hours. Now we know we'll some of us will be able to see the whole thing at one time. *

1. People are willing to get out of bed at seven in the morning to watch a movie about people starving themselves to death. I don't care how much people paid to be here: it is simply amazing that the 8:30 am showing of Hunger (which Kim reviewed at Cannes) -- one of the most intensely unpleasant films I've ever seen, with a program description that did that aspect of it justice -- was a near-sellout at Telluride's largest venue. By the time I got to the theater at 8 am on a rainy Sunday morning, I was 259th in line. Everyone keeps saying that what "makes Telluride special" is the enthusiasm and undying cinephilia of the audience (most of whom come back year after year), and nothing epitomizes that attitude better than this morning's Hunger queue.

2. Anyone who fights to save the whales is automatically a hero, no matter his means. Just as it was remarkable to see people line up at the crack of dawn to watch an indescribably painful art film, it was disappointing to see a Telluride audience give an uncritical standing ovation to "eco-pirate" Paul Watson following a screening of Pirate of the Sea, the mediocre, one-sided documentary profiling him. Watson, a Greenpeace dissident who goes out on a boat and tries to sink or sabotage whaling or seal-hunting operations, may well be a hero, but there's no way you could fairly come to that conclusion after watching the hagiographic documentary, which takes Watson's word as gospel, and refuses to explore the troubling implications of his often violent efforts. Another documentary about Watson, called At the Edge of the World, will play Toronto; here's to hoping it's a bit more considered and thoughtful.

I had a ball describing Fear(s) of the Dark to my fellow movie freaks. After really enjoying the film at last January's Sundance Film Festival (and calling Fantastic Fest Master Chief Tim League to give him the scoop), I made sure to come up with an apt description for the film. "Hmm, what's it about?" my fellow fest-goers would ask, to which I'd reply "Oh, it's your typical French animated ... horror ... anthology. In black & white." The next response was either "Oooh, cool," (my friends) or "Meh, not my speed." (total strangers).

Created by a collection of gifted graphic artists that includes names like Charles Burns, Romain Slocombe, and Marie Caillou, Fear(s) of the Dark is not exactly a Creepshow-style omnibus, but for genre fans who can appreciate a little culture now and again, I'd call it a very cool little treat. And if you're a big fan of graphic arts or the craft of animation, then I suspect you'll devour this French delicacy with a very large spoon. Plus, best of all, it's creepy!

Fear(s) of the Dark opens on in New York City (and On Demand! Like in your living room!) on October 24 before rolling into other towns -- and yep, it's also screening a few times at Austin's Fantastic Fest -- but we're very proud to bring you the first official poster for the film. Trust me when I say the poster fits the movie quite well. Click below for the noir-ness!

Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for the film Ping Pong Playa (click image above to enlarge), directed by Jessica Yu (Protagonist). Starring Jimmy Tsai (who also co-wrote the script with Yu), Ping Pong Playa follows one kid who dreams about escaping his dead-end job and playing professional basketball in the NBA ... except his entire family is obsessed with the world of ping pong. His dad runs a ping pong-related store, his mom teaches the sport and his brother is a ping pong champion. Will our hero break away from the pong pressure and live out his b-ballin' dreams, or will he discover that the game he dissed was the game he missed?

In her positive review from last year's Toronto International Film Festival, Cinematical's Monika Bartyzel called Ping Pong Playa "a refreshing reversal from the usual comedic fare -- a lone Asian American beacon of laughs in a sea that usually has only spots of color." Check out the trailer after the jump. Ping Pong Playa arrives in theaters on September 5.

Cinematical has just received this exclusive clip from In Search of a Midnight Kiss, which opens in two NYC theaters today (IFC Center, Clearview Cinema) before expanding to other cities. Nothing but good buzz has been following this title around for well over a year now -- so much so that a slew of my friends have been itching for this flick to hit theaters. And I have very cool friends ... who like to do very cool things ... just so you know. The film, which is set on New Year's Eve, follows around two misanthropes who meet online with each in search of something a little more fulfilling out of life. It's currently running at 90% over on Rotten Tomatoes (excellent for a small indie like this), where folks are comparing it to films like Woody Allen's Manhattan, Swingers and Before Sunrise. Seems like a great date movie, so if you're in NYC tonight and looking for that first kiss ... well, I think we know what you should be doing ...

Poised to debut in its native land today, a Korean Western is also making plans to conquer the United States. The Good, the Bad, the Weird has been acquired by IFC Films for US distribution, according to CJ Entertainment, the film's Korean distributor.

As noted by the Korean Film Council, advance ticket reservations are unprecedented for what's been described as South Korea's most expensive production (US$17 million) to date. Directed by Kim Jee-woon, The Good, the Bad, the Weird debuted at Cannes in May. Kim Voynar said it is " a crazy, busy Western that centers around a map to a treasure happened upon by a (seemingly) bumbling fool, who ends up being pursued by a good-guy law-enforcement type, a wicked bad guy dressed in black, and, at one point, an entire army. It runs a little long, but it's funny and sharp, with a spectacular chase sequence near the end and a nice final payoff."

The film will have its North American Premiere at Toronto and then open in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and three other major cities in the first half of 2009. The director most recently made the terrific horror flick A Tale of Two Sisters and crime drama A Bittersweet Life. but he also made the wrestling-themed comedy The Foul King and the very darkly humorous The Quiet Family. You can watch the trailer, check out the posters, stills, and more at the Korean-language official site.

[ via Twitch ]

It's been a wild run for the duo (Arin Crumley and Susan Buice) behind Four Eyed Monsters. They first premiered their little gem of an indie back at Slamdance in 2005, and since then the flick has just taken on a life of its own. Arin and Susan have been everywhere with it -- multiple film festivals, premiering it on YouTube, in Second Life, self-distributing it to theaters around the country, answering questions in this forum, in that forum -- and in the process they've created 13 brilliant video podcasts (or diaries), which not only document their experience as filmmakers, but also as lovers.

I can't even begin to explain how much they've accomplished in the three years since finishing the film (feel free to visit their website, their YouTube page and check out this two-part interview with Arin on Cinematical), but I'm proud to call them friends and I'm happy IFC decided to put out their DVD (which apparently comes with all 13 video podcasts and a compilation CD). That said, Spout is hosting a final Q&A with Arin and Susan now that their DVD is out and in Borders stores -- and in typical Crumley/Buice fashion, the two artists are providing answers via video.

So in honor of this final Q&A, we present to you Episode 1 of their 13-episode video podcast/diary. Seriously folks, if you've never watched them and have no idea what I'm talking about, head on over to IFC and check out the episodes in order. Or, better yet, buy the DVD and make a weekend out of it. These two are f**king brilliant, and we here at Cinematical wish them all the luck in the world moving forward.

Talk about conflicted emotions! In a very fine article at indieWIRE, Anthony Kaufman reports on filmmaker Lance Hammer's recent decision to pull out of a distribution deal with IFC Films for his Sundance award-winning feature, Ballast. While I'm heartened that Hammer is willing to place creative control ahead of financial concerns, I'm also discouraged that there appears to be little room in the current distribution landscape for Hammer's critically-acclaimed independent drama to find its audience.

Ballast details the lives and connections between a man, a woman, and her son. It won praise from our own James Rocchi -- "Cineastes, looking for an American film that offers something on-screen other than glossy consumerist fantasies, will embrace Ballast with the ardent fervor of a drowning victim offered a rope" -- even though James acknowledged the challenges the film would face in drawing viewers from "outside the film festival circuit."

Paris-based sales outfit Celluloid Dreams nabbed nternational rights (outside the US) at Sundance, and then IFC made a deal for US rights in February. But Hammer told indieWIRE that, while he wasn't thrilled with the prospect of not even recouping his production budget from the deal, he was "particularly dissatisfied with the lengthy terms of the contract." All things considered, Hammer decided to walk away: "It becomes difficult to justify giving up creative control."

Some of cinema's most iconic shots of Chicago appear in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and the film is certainly Matthew Broderick's most iconic role. So, it's hard to watch the actor in the Chicago-set Diminished Capacity and not ask yourself, "is this what's happened to Ferris?" He is now relatively passive, paunchy and pitiful in the role of Cooper, a newspaper editor who has recently suffered a mildly debilitating concussion. And the character could be classified as yet another sad sack, one of three such parts he can be seen playing at present (Then She Found Me opened in April and is still in theaters; Finding Amanda debuted last week).

But is it fair that we most associate Broderick with Ferris, thereby continuing our disappointment in seeing him play one nebbish nobody after another? Couldn't we redirect our memories and accept that Broderick's modern roles are more like grown-up versions of Eugene Jerome, of Neil Simon's plays Brighton Beach Memoirs and Biloxi Blues, who he portrayed on Broadway as well as in the film adaptation of Biloxi? Were Eugene not the fictional incarnation of Simon and had he not therefore become a famous writer (and were he not from an earlier time period), the character surely could have gone on to be the pathetic teacher of Election or Then She Found Me or the absentminded editor of Diminished Capacity.

Cinematical is stoked to bring you this exclusive new poster for In Search of a Midnight Kiss (click image to enlarge), which I've heard is just absolutely awesome. Seriously, my best friend caught this flick back when it first premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2007 and he hasn't stopped talking about it since. I swear, he's a nut -- completely and utterly in love with this film. And I think it's totally rad. Written and directed by the very cool and extremely talented Alex Holdridge, Midnight Kiss tells of Wilson, who, considering he'll be broke and alone on New Year's Eve, is convinced by his best friend to post a personal ad. Through that he meets Sara, who's hell bent on finding the right guy to be with at midnight.

We talk up a lot here on Cinematical, but I have such good vibes about this one. Watch it. Support it. Then watch it again. Oh, and here's the trailer. In Search of a Midnight Kiss hits theaters in limited release on August 1.

Despite dropping more than 50% in its second week of release, Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (Picturehouse) outdrew all other specialty releases over the weekend, earning $21,200 per screen at five theaters, according to estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo.

Directed by Canadian indie veteran Patricia Rozema (I've Heard the Mermaids Singing, When Night is Falling), Kit Kittredge has clearly benefited from a devoted fan base that convinced thousands of their parental units to fork over $20 per ticket -- which, to be fair, includes a limited-edition t-shirt -- to see the movie in advance of its wide release tomorrow. That's a very good performance when you consider its main competition was not, actually, a French-language flick that skewed very adult, but actually a heavily-advertised animated film.

Catherine Breillat's The Last Mistress (IFC Films), starring Asia Argento, took in $17,600 per screen at two locations, which probably owes as much, if not more, to the name recognition of Argento as that of the often-confounding Breillat.