The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival opened officially on October 17 — over 200 films in 29 days at three separate venues (Cinema Paradiso, AMC Coral Ridge, and the Miniaci Performing Arts Center).

New Times reviews some notable entries, including the Southeast premiere of the opening night film, Coyote, and an intriguing collection of politically-themed films.

And we’ll continue to review some of the stand-outs, week by week, as the nation’s longest film festival unreels.

Click here for a schedule of FLIFF movies. Or click on the film titles below for film reviews and trailers.

A Deal Is a Deal
The thin, gimmicky premise of a train robbery is meant to e played for pitch-black comedy but comes off a murky gray.

Coyote
Two likable Tucson slackers fall into one of the sweetest easy-money schemes imaginable when they become "kindler, gentler" coyotes.

Murder, Spies, & Voting Lies: The Clint Curtis Story and Boogiemen
These two thorough investigations delve into Clint Curtis, who was asked to design a computer program that would throw an election, and Lee Atwater, the famed Republican strategist and dirty-trick pioneer.

Neshoba

In interviews with those who remember the 1964 disappearance of three civil rights workers in Neshoba County, Mississippi, Neshoba shows how a guilty conscience has frozen the community in time.

Newcastle

This road trip film involving a group of teenagers from eastern Australia catches teen angst in unexpected ways and goes, as you expect, into dark territory.

Pussyfoot

Nothing curdles comedy more quickly than forced whimsy, which is what this would-be romantic comedy has in abundance.

An Unlikely Weapon

A profile of Pulitzer-winning photographer Eddie Adams, who returned from capturing war and became weird to the point of iconoclast.

The Youngest Candidate

Jason Pollock's The Youngest Candidate ought to be enough to douse the fire of youthful idealism, at least when it comes to electoral politics.

Click here to read four more reviews for The New Twenty, The Auteur, Rez Bomb, and The Last Lullaby.