Movies This Week: Harry Potter and the Blustery Day

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The Trip

It's a good weekend in Austin for juvenile films -- and no, I don't mean Adam Sandler fare, but rather movies that appeal to kids of various ages. Grownups who aren't thrilled by the gangs at Hogwarts and the Hundred Acre Wood might want to head over to Arbor or Violet Crown.

If none of the new movies are grabbing you, head over to the Paramount, where they're showing a Katharine Hepburn double feature of The African Queen and the underrated and delightful Holiday, Tuesday through Thursday. Or perhaps you'd prefer The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai at Alamo Drafthouse Ritz on Sunday night.

If you like short films, Austin Film Society is bringing the Texas Filmmakers Showcase to Austin Studios for two screenings Wednesday night. The lineup includes local films The Man Who Never Cried, Sasquatch Birth Journal 2 and short doc Noc Na Tanecku (Night at the Dance); two Dallas favorites from SXSW 2011, Pioneer and 8; and two shorts from the Houston area, Fatakra and LCD Soundsystem - "Home." Find details and buy tickets on the AFS site.

Movies We've Seen:

  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 -- This end to the seven-book and eight-film series is review-proof; you're unlikely to care what I say when my review is published Saturday. I'm glad I saw it but it did feel like one of the weaker movies in the series, focusing more on special-effects spectacle and not enough on the characters we've come to enjoy over the past decade or so. The 3D was unremarkable; save money and go to a 2D screening instead. (wide)
  • Winnie the Pooh -- The joke is on Don and me; we thought he should see this movie with the possibility of going all Dorothy Parker in his review. Turns out it's "gentle and charming and funny and warm-fuzzily retro." We're thrilled to have our expectations exceeded. (wide)

Other Movies Opening in Austin:

  • The Trip (pictured above) -- No, it's not the Roger Corman movie. The latest film from Michael Winterbottom follows two gentlemen, played by Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, on a trip through the English countryside. By all accounts this is very funny and I'm hoping to give it a look. Check out Kimberley Jones' review in the Austin Chronicle for more details. (Violet Crown)
  • Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara -- Bollywood drama about three young men taking a vacation together before they get married and settle down. (Tinseltown South)