This is a repost of our review from the 2014 SXSW Film Festival.
Don’t pay any attention to its baffling, boring title – Two Step is actually a nasty and riveting little flick that, thanks to its excellent execution and fine performances, should land at the top of any self-respecting thriller junkie’s watchlist.
Two Step opens with James (Skyy Moore), a dopey guy in his early twenties who, after being kicked out of college, finds himself tasked with settling the affairs of his recently deceased grandmother. When James discovers that his beloved relative was being conned out of thousands by a criminal masquerading as him over the phone, he foolishly decides to try to track down the man, a rough customer named Webb (James Landry Hébert), and confront him on his own. When Webb unexpectedly shows up on his grandmother’s doorstep and realizes James’ identity, things go south fast.
Don’t pay any attention to its baffling, boring title – Two Step is actually a nasty and riveting little flick that, thanks to its excellent execution and fine performances, should land at the top of any self-respecting thriller junkie’s watchlist.
Two Step opens with James (Skyy Moore), a dopey guy in his early twenties who, after being kicked out of college, finds himself tasked with settling the affairs of his recently deceased grandmother. When James discovers that his beloved relative was being conned out of thousands by a criminal masquerading as him over the phone, he foolishly decides to try to track down the man, a rough customer named Webb (James Landry Hébert), and confront him on his own. When Webb unexpectedly shows up on his grandmother’s doorstep and realizes James’ identity, things go south fast.
- 8/9/2015
- by Isaac Feldberg
- We Got This Covered
One of the discovery highlights of SXSW 2015 was the thriller “Two Step” from director Alex R. Johnson. Starring Beth Broderick, James Landry Hébert, Skyy Moore, Jason Douglas and Ashley Rae Spillers, the movie is a fast-paced Texas thriller in which the lives of a directionless college dropout and a career criminal with his back against the wall violently collide. But one of the things we enjoyed about it so much was the emotional heft mixed in with the taut tension of a tradition thriller. Our review from SXSW called the movie “deeply human and quietly unsettling,” and the picture should be one that lands on your radar. Set in Texas, music is an important part of film, and country, alt-twangy tunes sit alongside a score from Andrew Kenny of the '90s and '00s indie rock bands The American Analog Set and The Wooden Birds. With the film's release on the horizon,...
- 7/29/2015
- by The Playlist
- The Playlist
The Austin Film Society begins a very rare series this Sunday afternoon at the Marchesa called "The Sepia Screen." They'll be spotlighting 35mm "race" films from a special collection at Southern Methodist University from the days when movie theaters were segregated. This weekend, they'll be screening a 1946 short called Vanities, a 1946 feature called Dirty Gertie From Harlem U.S.A. and 1949's feature Souls Of Sin. Elizabeth's preview has details plus some insights on the series from Afs programmer Lars Nilsen.
On Tuesday evening, Afs is hosting Two Step, a locally-shot SXSW 2014 favorite (Don's review). Director Alex R. Johnson and composer Andrew Kenny (The Wooden Birds, The American Analog Set) will be in attendance for a Q&A. The current Afs Essential Cinema series is closing out on Thursday evening with Liv and Ingmar. After filling the Marchesa's screen over the last few weeks with some of their greatest collaborations,...
- 7/25/2014
- by Matt Shiverdecker
- Slackerwood
SXSW is now underway, and there's a lot to choose from, and so to help those of you on the ground in Austin, we collected our 15 Most Anticipated Films Of The 2014 SXSW Film Festival. One we hope you'll make some time for, and featured on our list, is director Alex R. Johnson's feature debut "Two Step." Starring Beth Broderick, James Landry Hébert, Skyy Moore, Jason Douglas, Ashley Rae Spillers and more, the story follows James, a directionless college dropout, and Webb, a career criminal with his back against the wall, who violently collide. What brings them into each other's orbit is the "grandparent scam," which we see set in motion in this exclusive clip. It looks like a compelling thriller, and soundtrack folks will want to take note that Andrew Kenny, the founder of The American Analog Set and its more countrified successor The Wooden Birds, has penned a score for the flick.
- 3/7/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
![Kenny Rogers](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjA0NDA2ODM0M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNzI2NjQ0._V1_QL75_UY207_CR7,0,140,207_.jpg)
![Kenny Rogers](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjA0NDA2ODM0M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwNzI2NjQ0._V1_QL75_UY207_CR7,0,140,207_.jpg)
The Wooden Birds are on fire. They teased their recently released second album, "Two Matchsticks," with an Ep that featured covers of two radically different, yet equally brilliant songs -- Hall & Oates' lusty "Maneater" and Kenny Rogers and the First Edition's forlorn, "Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town."
The third track on that Ep was the ditty, "Two Matchsticks," which is also the full length album's title track, and its artfully menacing video (below) was created by animator Justin Goldwater. The Wooden Birds' spark and jangle is crafted by frontman Andrew Kenny (American Analog Set, Broken Social Scene), Sean Haskins, Leslie Sisson and Matt Pond (Matt Pond Pa). The album also features special guests, Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard and members of Ola Podrida. "Two Matchsticks" is out now on Barsuk.
The Wooden Birds On Tour:
6/17 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo (18+)
6/18 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar (21+)
6/19 - Santa Cruz,...
The third track on that Ep was the ditty, "Two Matchsticks," which is also the full length album's title track, and its artfully menacing video (below) was created by animator Justin Goldwater. The Wooden Birds' spark and jangle is crafted by frontman Andrew Kenny (American Analog Set, Broken Social Scene), Sean Haskins, Leslie Sisson and Matt Pond (Matt Pond Pa). The album also features special guests, Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard and members of Ola Podrida. "Two Matchsticks" is out now on Barsuk.
The Wooden Birds On Tour:
6/17 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Echo (18+)
6/18 - San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar (21+)
6/19 - Santa Cruz,...
- 6/22/2011
- by Brandon Kim
- ifc.com
While Andrew Kenny has worked with a wide range of bands—Arthur & Yu, Her Space Holiday, and Broken Social Scene—he’s best known for his work fronting American Analog Set. He draws most from that band for his newest project, Wooden Birds. The result isn’t the most sonically adventurous work Kenny’s created, but it’s a formula that works well. Picking up where the band’s 2009 debut, Magnolia, left off, Two Matchsticks maintains Wooden Birds’ distinct sound: hushed vocals over low, chugging acoustic guitars with lockstep percussion, including the occasional maracas. But the new set of ...
- 6/14/2011
- avclub.com
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