Movies This Week: Easy Sweethearts of Catfish Town

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Metropolis

Jenn is trying to recuperate from one fabulous film festival before diving deep into another one, so I'm pinch-hitting on Movies This Week. Austin has a surprising number of new movies opening on Friday, at least for September -- and most of them look very promising, especially for September (generally kind of a lame month for new films).

Also, as we've probably told you a million times, Fantastic Fest opens next Thursday. If you don't have a badge, you can still buy tickets to the gala screenings at the Paramount -- these movies are twice as enjoyable if you watch them with a thousand other film lovers.

Here's what's opening today (if I forgot anything, feel free to comment):

Alpha and Omega -- The tagline for this animated family film is "A Pawsome 3D Adventure." I have no comment ... and since it didn't screen for press, we have no review.

Catfish -- Since this film premiered at Sundance, it's generated a lot of interest and controversy. The marketing campaign promotes the idea of a "big secret" and encourages people to say nothing about the film. If you want to hear what I have to say about it, read my review. (wide)

Devil -- Chris Messina stars in this thriller about a bunch of people stuck in an elevator who realize "The Devil" is trapped in there with them. That premise could make a hilarious short. Whether it works as a feature is something I can't say, since it didn't screen for press.

Easy A -- What looks like a routine teen comedy is apparently above-average, judging by the reviews.  I was interested the minute I heard that Emma Stone's parents were being played by Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci. See what Anne Heller has to say in her review. (wide)

Grease Sing-A-Long -- The "sing-along" version of Grease sold out nearly every screening at Alamo South this summer. Now Tinseltown is bringing it back for a limited run. (Tinseltown South)

Metropolis -- Alamo Drafthouse is showing the recently discovered "early cut" of this 1927 Fritz Lang silent film, at least once a day for the next week. (Alamo South)

Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo -- Filmmaker Bradley Beesley (The Fearless Freaks, Okie Noodling), who sometimes lives in Austin, is behind this documentary about women prisoners working on rodeo challenges. The film played SXSW 2009 and I've been regretting I missed it ever since then. Read Don's review for more details. (Alamo South)

The Tillman Story -- This documentary about Pat Tillman opens in Austin today. It didn't screen for Austin press, so we don't know much about it, but I'm intrigued. Directed by Amir Bar-Lev (My Kid Could Paint That). (Arbor)

The Town -- Ben Affleck's latest feature as a director sounds fascinating and has been generating a lot of buzz. See what Elizabeth thought of this star-studded drama. (wide)

Virsa -- This week's Bollywood selection at Tinseltown is a musical.  (Tinseltown South)


Check out our personal picks below. Don't forget you can always alert us to special screenings, new film series, etc.

Debbie -- As a journalism major at Texas A&M back in the early 80s, I was introduced to the masters of films in a film history class. That's where I viewed and consequently fell in love with the works of Fritz Lang, M and most notably Metropolis. The 1984 version of Metropolis with a modern soundtrack was a travesty, but all has been redeemed by the rediscovery of an early cut of Lang's monumental 1927 classic in an Argentina film archive. This version is over 20 minutes longer than the previous restored cut, and Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar will be offering several screenings between September 17-22.

Don -- Winnebago Man has had an amazing Austin run and is still playing at Alamo Village.  Although I'm not totally smitten with this locally produced documentary about The Angriest Man in the World, it's worth seeing for any fan of Jack Rebney's infamous, deliciously profane Winnebago sales video.

Jette -- On Sunday night, I'm heading to Alamo Ritz for this month's Cinema Club screening: the 1939 Howard Hawks film Only Angels Have Wings, starring Cary Grant and Jean Arthur. Charles Ramirez Berg will be this month's guest speaker. Then on Monday, it's over to the Texas Union for Austin Cinematheque's first film of the semester, a free screening of Francois Trauffaut's film Stolen Kisses at 7:30 pm.