Los Angeles United Film Festival 2009

A fantastical and disturbing humanistic freakout. As much about bleak isolation as it is about exaggerated colorful optimism. The long awaited feature film by The Flaming Lips is set in outer space on the surface of Mars. The double failures of a clunky old oxygen generator and an exotic but finicky gravity control pod have conspired to weaken the resolve and psychological judgment of the crew and the film’s protagonist Major Syrtis. This means he has horrific hallucinations that are centered around the artificial birth of the Christmas baby. An alien super-being arrives and with his otherworldly powers fixes the oxygen generator but it’s the station’s genius mechanic who fixes the gravity problem. And in a way that crystallizes The Flaming Lips philosophy “It’s magic and hard work that really gets the job done.” Beware, it is a strange experience not meant for children, but for the inner child in all of us grown-ups. *Appearances by Adam Goldberg, SNL's Fred Armisen, and Flaming Lips own Wayne Coyne who also directs.

In January of 2006, just outside of Las Vegas, Billy Gaines and Duncan Carroll held the inaugural World Series of Beer Pong (WSOBP). A drinking game that had been relegated to fraternity basements and local sports bars finally had a national stage. In 2007, Billy and Duncan doubled the prize money to $20,000, and in doing so, more than tripled the number of teams. Players from across the country descended on Mesquite, NV to compete for the money and, more importantly, their chance to be crowned World Series Champion. Last Cup follows four of these competitors for whom beer pong is more than a simple past time, it's a way of life. Using strict training regiments, fierce dedication, and statistical analysis that rivals even the most ardent sabermetrics these competitors will stop at nothing to claim the world title. A movie about the seemingly dismissible world of competitive beer pong, Last Cup cuts through the drunken fog that has shaped the public's perception of the game and examines the players thirst for competition, their reluctance to "grow up" and their desire for fame and glory.