The Best Weekend of Your Life

How to make the most of ACL Fest 2012: 5 insider tips

Photo courtesy of Austin City Limits
Photo courtesy of Study Breaks

Well, this is it. Starting Friday, we're knee-deep in ACL Fest for the last three-day weekend format before it switches over to an improved two-weekend schedule next year.

Even for veterans, the festival feels like a different beast from year to year, with new bands and different ways of experiencing the music. To keep you festival-goers happy and on top of your game, CultureMap has pulled together the top five tips on what's in store for you at this year's festival.

Enhancements to wristband credentials
The best news for one-day attendees is the opportunity to have a wristband, allowing for everyone to come in and out of the park as they please. This was not the case before, and it has led to thousands of disheartened music lovers throughout the years.

Now, with the RFID capabilities, you can register your wristband, allowing you to replace it if you somehow lose it in a mosh pit. Registering your wristband also enters you to win VIP upgrades and prizes from the festival.

Improvements to the ACL Fest 2012 app
The ACL app has been vital to scheduling the festival for years, but now you can also use the GroupMe chat function, which allows you to stay in communication with your group across the park. (Don't lose the flags or blow-up dolls, though. That's tradition.)

You can also post Instagram photos for the whole festival to see just by tagging #aclfest. And the music doesn't stop once you leave the park, thanks to the Slacker Radio ACL Fest Channel, which is streaming shows throughout the weekend.

Wider selection of Austin-friendly food and drink
The amazing food selection is one of the best parts about ACL Fest, and this year it's even better. Chi'lantro and Second Bar + Kitchen are two of the new additions to the ginormous food tent area, which already features Mighty Cone, Mandola's, Seedling Truck and Salt Lick.

Additionally, reflecting Austin's growing reputation as a serious craft-brewing community, the Zilker Drafthouse tent will have a huge selection of craft beers on tap.

Watch the Texas-OU game at the festival
It's a rare occurrence when the famous Red River Rivalry falls on the same weekend as ACL Fest, but this year some very hard decisions had to be made by fans of football and rock. For those who chose ACL, we salute you.

You should know that you can still watch the game on Saturday at the Rock Island Hideaway (in the middle of the festival, behind the Austin Ventures stage). Just make sure you're wearing burnt orange because this is Longhorn territory.

Watch the festival action on the web
If you didn't get tickets, don't fret too much. Although you won't get to experience the artists in person, you can basically get a front row seat in the comfort of your home by tuning in to the ACL Fest YouTube channel. This official webcast happens in real time, filmed onstage with the performers, so you don't have to miss a moment of the action.

It's easier than running from stage to stage while two of your favorite acts are performing at the same time (like, ahem, Friday night).

Those are the biggest announcements for this year, so now you're in the know. If I were your mother, I would also remind you to check the weather updates every morning and plan accordingly. You might need a poncho and sunscreen on the same day if this weather keeps up.

Go now. Have fun. Be safe. Wear earplugs. Come home at a decent hour. Make good choices. You know how we worry about you.

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Scary Movie

Horror comedy film The Monkey could have used a few more laughs

Photo courtesy of NEON

Theo James in The Monkey.

Horror comedies tend to be a good entry point for non-hardcore fans of the genre, as they provide for a good amount of levity amongst the carnage shown on screen. Examples like the original Scream, Shaun of the Dead, and Get Out keep the spirit of horror alive while still giving the audience plenty of laughs.

Writer/director Osgood Perkins, who wowed some genre fans with Longlegs in 2024, is back with a much different type of film in The Monkey. Based on a Stephen King short story, the film features a villain who is not a person, but rather an organ grinder monkey toy that inexplicably causes the death of someone nearby when activated.

The toy changes hands a few times in the film, but always seems to come back into the lives of twin brothers Hal and Bill (Christian Convery as a child, Theo James as an adult). No matter what they do, they cannot rid themselves of the monkey, and few in their orbit are safe from its unexplained wrath.

The high points of the short, 95-minute film are unquestionably its many kills, which are heightened to a degree that laughter is pretty much the only response if you’re willing to go along with it. The deaths seem to increase in absurdity as the film goes along, and the inventiveness of each one makes it feel like Perkins drew inspiration from the Final Destination series.

The problem for the film comes in Perkins’ storytelling outside of the violence. There’s little that’s compelling about the lives of Hal and Bill other than the tragedies they witness along the way. Their times with their mother (Tatiana Maslany), aunt and uncle (Sarah Levy and Perkins himself), and others fail to have any meaningful impact, and their own twisted relationship is too odd to be fully involving, as well.

Because of the disparity between the violent and non-violent parts of the film, the film never maintains any kind of momentum. To be fair, Perkins spends a lot of time with his main characters, but because their stories fail to inspire, it feels like the film is just twiddling its thumbs until it can get to the next over-the-top kill. The mystery of the monkey is okay, but could have been enhanced.

Despite some high-profile roles (the Divergent series, The White Lotus), James is somewhat of a blank slate as an actor, and he feels miscast here.. The dual roles can be tricky to pull off, and he never makes either twin brother pop. Maslany is given the showiest role and it’s fun to see her ham it up to a degree. The oddest casting goes to Elijah Wood, who shows up in a cameo that leaves many questions about his character going unanswered.

It’s unclear why Perkins didn’t commit fully to the comedy part of The Monkey, as the scenes that go all-in in that respect are the best ones in the film. But anytime he veers away from them, the movie gets less interesting, and ultimately the balance goes too far in the wrong direction.

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The Monkey opens in theaters on February 21.

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