Movies This Week: May 11-17, 2012

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Mommie Dearest

This week offers a curiously blockbuster-free list of new releases, giving film fans a chance to avoid the madding crowds and see less-hyped fare, or maybe even take Mom to an indie movie to celebrate her special day. (She'd probably like that more than flowers.) For example, Richard Linklater's Bernie (my review) expands to include the Arbor and Tinseltown North as well as Violet Crown.

Speaking of Mom, there are few worse maternal role models than Joan Crawford -- and therefore few more appropriate Mother's Day films than Mommie Dearest. As part of the Celluloid Handbag series, the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar is hosting a Mother's Day Mommie Dearest Brunch for you, Mom and anyone else who needs a stern reminder not to use wire hangers. (This being an Alamo event, everyone of course gets a free wire hanger.) Even if your mother drives you crazy sometimes, watching Mommie Dearest will remind you that at least she's not Joan Crawford.

If you missed last week's screening of Luis Buñuel's L'Age d'Or, you actually didn't. (Doesn't that sound suitably surreal?) The screening was rained out and has been rescheduled for Monday, May 14. Refer to last week's Movies This Week or the Austin Film Society site for details.

The Austin Film Society is presenting 2012 ShortCase & Brews, an encore presentation of the AFS Member ShortCase from SXSW 2012 on Thursday, May 17 at Austin Studios. AFS Filmmakers will screen and talk about their short films -- and there will be beer. Co-sponsored by North by Northwest Restaurant and Brewery, the event features complimentary craft beers, and local brewers will be on hand to celebrate American Craft Beer Week. Really now, what better week is there to celebrate?

Movies We've Seen

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel -- This British film is a somewhat predictable story of a group of British retirees who move into an Indian hotel that's definitely exotic, if in all the wrong ways. Although Jette considers it a bad habit to call a film a "pleasant surprise," her review calls the film ... a pleasant surprise: "While some of my general predictions about the The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel were indeed pretty accurate, the movie still surprised and delighted me." (Alamo Lamar, Arbor, Violet Crown)

Dark Shadows -- In Tim Burton's semi-spoof of the macabre 1960s soap opera, vampire Barnabas Collins returns to his family estate in Maine in 1972 to find that his descendants need his help. The critical reception has been only a little warmer than the inside of Collins's coffin. As Elizabeth says (look for her review this weekend), "Dark Shadows is so confused; when it wants laughs, it gets them, but attempts at seriousness fall flat ... If you were hoping the film would be scary, you will be disappointed." (wide)

The Dictator -- Will this Sacha Baron Cohen satire (opening Wednesday, May 16) about a two-bit dictator's visit to New York City be more like Borat than Brüno? Let's hope so; the supporting cast (Ben Kingsley, John C. Reilly and Kevin Corrigan) looks promising.  Look for Mike's review next week. (wide)

Sleepless Night -- In this French thriller, a cop tries to rescue his kidnapped son. Jette caught the film at Fantastic Fest 2011 and has this to say: "Set almost entirely in a maze-like nightclub, it's a good, non-dopey summer movie choice." (Alamo Lamar)

Other Movies Opening in Austin

Girl in Progress -- This tween dramedy features Eva Mendes as a single mom having an affair with a married doctor while her daughter yearns for adulthood and finds inspiration in coming-of-age stories. It's better than it sounds, at least according to Marc Savlov's Austin Chronicle review: "Despite an unnecessarily convoluted ending that reeks of ABC Afterschool Unspecialness, Girl in Progress is an old story about a young girl told in a smart way." (wide)