Movies This Week

It's another week free of hype and blockbuster films, with plenty of gems around Austin to keep film fans pleased, especially classic film fans. The Paramount Theatre kicks off its highly anticipated Summer Classic Film Series next Thursday night with To Kill a Mockingbird and Pillow Talk.

Galveston-based animator and filmmaker Kelly Sears will be in town to screen a series of short works for the Experimental Response Cinema on Wednesday, May 23, 7:30 pm, at Spider House. This 2011 Texas Filmmaker Production Fund (TFPF) recipient has had her experimental films screened at Los Angeles Film Festival, Sundance, and SXSW Film Festival including the animated short horror film Once It Started It Could Not End Otherwise. Her films feature images of the past to tell modern stories through the use of analog and digital animation.

The Alamo Drafthouse is screening the classic movie Rashomon at the Ritz on Monday at 7:30 pm as part of their Film Foundation series. This 1950 film is a classic representation of the radical style of Akira Kurosawa, as well as the gorgeous cinematography of Kazuo Miyagawa, and the stoic but sometimes amusing performance of one of my favorite classic actors, Toshirô Mifune.

Every third Monday of the month beginning this Monday, May 21, Austin Film Festival (AFF) presents their Audience Award Film Series. The first film in this series to be screened at the Alamo Village at 7 pm is Sironia (review). Shot in Waco by now-local filmmaker Brandon Dickerson, this music-heavy film from AFF 2011 tells the story of a LA musician whose quest for stardom doesn't go as planned, so he and his expectant wife retreat to the simplicity of Sironia, Texas ... or so they think. Be sure to stay through the credits for a treat.

Movies We've Seen

Mansome -- The latest documentary from Morgan Spurlock explores masculinity in a time where metrosexual and manscaping abounds. Mike states in his review, "In exploring what it means to be a man, Spurlock focuses only on the superficial and avoids any internal answers to the question as he presents these vain, arrogant, even asinine subjects as being just as superficial and worried about appearance as women." (Arbor)

What to Expect When You're Expecting -- This romantic comedy depicts five interconnected couples experiencing the joys and surprises of pregnancy and parenthood as they learn not everything goes according to plan. J.C. says it's "far from the worst thing you'll ever see in theaters, but its cheap laughs might trick you into thinking you've seen a decent movie until you start really thinking about it." Read his review. (wide)

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)

Discriminating filmgoers in Austin will be pleased to find that this week offers plenty of choices, a surprising number of which do not involve Joss Whedon.

The best retro offering of the week is the exquisite, digitally restored Yellow Submarine, playing nightly May 8-13 at various Alamo Drafthouse locations. Based on the seminal Beatles hit, animated in a vibrant oh-so-Sixties style and released when Joss Whedon was only 4, Yellow Submarine (pictured above) is a landmark film that stands the test of time. If you love Sixties pop culture, you'll love this movie. (And if you're too young to remember Sixties pop culture, watch Yellow Submarine and learn. Your life will be so much the better for hearing "Eleanor Rigby.")

In the mood for something trippy but not so psychedelic? On Monday the Austin Film Society and Justine's Brasserie are presenting L'Age d'Or, proto-tripster Luis Buñuel's 1930 follow-up to his masterpiece Un chien andalou (yes, the one with the sliced eyeball -- an image one cannot unsee). L'Age d'Or is every bit as surreal as its predecessor, but with an actual plot about two lovers who rebel against puritanical societal norms.

In the time flies department, it's been 20 years since Quentin Tarantino took "Stuck in the Middle with You" in a whole new direction with the joyously amoral Reservoir Dogs. To mark the anniversary, Bangarang! presents a one-time screening of the cult classic on Tuesday at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz with Dogs star Michael Madsen in attendance.  Wear a black suit and enjoy the symphony of F-words.

This is a great week for first-run comedies in Austin. I've seen three of these new movies and I would watch them all again -- they all made me laugh. And if those aren't not enough for you, The Cabin in the Woods is still screening in town.

In addition, SXSW 2011 multiple awardwinner and Central Texas-shot film Natural Selection (Debbie's review) returns to Austin this week as part of Austin Film Society's "Best of the Fests" series. Writer/director Robbie Pickering and producer Paul Jensen will attend the Wednesday, May 2 screening at Alamo Drafthouse Village. Get your tickets now via the AFS website.

On Thursday night, Cinema41 screens the 1997 movie Clockwatchers, starring Toni Collette and Parker Posey, at Salvage Vanguard Theater. And the Hayao Miyazaki film Princess Mononoke is playing at Alamo Drafthouse all week long as part of Alamo's Studio Ghibli series.

Movies We've Seen

Bernie -- Austin filmmaker Richard Linklater's latest is a very dark comedy starring Jack Black and Shirley MacLaine and based on an actual East Texas event, as recounted in a Texas Monthly feature by Skip Hollandsworth. In Don's SXSW review, he calls it "arguably the best Linklater film in a decade, an uproariously funny and engaging movie based on one of those only-in-Texas stories that would be the stuff of great fiction if it weren't astoundingly and painfully true." (Violet Crown)

Safe -- Debbie says, "Writer and director Boaz Yakin (Remember the Titans, Fresh) takes a risk with Safe, depending less on Jason Statham and more on young newcomer Catherine Chan as well as the convergence of two subplots connecting an unlikely pair." Read her review  to find out whether Yakin succeeds. (wide)

Juan of the Dead (pictured at top) -- This Fantastic Fest 2011 favorite is screening nightly at Alamo Village. Rod says in his review that the Cuban zombie comedy is amazing and highly compelling. I thought it was just pretty damn funny and urge you all to go see it. And Bernie too. Not to mention...

Astute Austinites should avoid most of the major new releases this week (four words: Zac Efron, Steve Harvey) and stick with the arthouse fare and special screenings.

Among the antidotes to the horrors at your local multiplex is the Austin Film Society's Essential Cinema "Seefest Austin: Films of Southeast Europe" series, which continues on Tuesday with a screening of The Way I Spent the End of the World. Set in 1989 Romania before the fall of Nicolae Ceaușescu's Communist dictatorship, this 2006 film follows 7-year-old Lalalilu and his 17-year-old sister Eva, who is charged with a political crime and unjustly sent to a reform school. Vowing revenge, young Lalalilu decides to kill the country's "beloved leader."

The Violet Crown is screening the Dallas-made Wuss on Tuesday, presented by The Show! as part of the Austin Auteurs series. Wuss (pictured above) is the story of a high-school teacher whose students repeatedly beat him up until he fights back with a help from a young girl feared for her family's violent reputation. In her SXSW 2011 review, Jette called Wuss "charmingly disturbing," saying Austin filmmaker Clay Liford "chooses to dig past the obvious, and Wuss becomes a story about a character struggling to deal with a brutal world, when he lacks the necessary thick skin." Liford will attend the screening.

Today's date is 4/20, and those who appreciate the countercultural meaning of 4/20 won't want to miss tonight's screening of Dazed and Confused at Top Notch, where parts of Richard Linklater's classic teen comedy were filmed. Bring your lawn chairs and family (okay, maybe this isn't an ideal family film) and get there plenty early for a good spot in the parking lot. (The film starts at 8:30.) The Notch is offering food specials, and Oat Willie's will be on hand with door prizes. As David Wooderson would say, this event will be all right, all right, all right.

Finally, don't forget that Cine Las Americas starts next Tuesday, April 24, and runs through April 29 with an excellent lineup this year.

This week Austin moviegoers can choose from an unusually large number of new releases and special screenings offering everything from horror to slapstick. (Here's an intriguing mashup idea: The Cabin in the Woods and The Three Stooges.)

If the nine new releases simply won't do -- and if so, perhaps you're being a bit too picky -- the Austin Film Society is screening The Trap on Tuesday at the Alamo Lamar. This Serbian drama is the story of a father caught in a moral quandary: To afford life-saving heart surgery for his son, he must commit a terrible crime. The screening is part of the AFS Essential Cinema "Seefest Austin: Films of Southeast Europe" series.

My special screening pick of the week will surprise no one: the Blazing Saddles (pictured above -- and I swear this is the only available photo) Quote-Along on Thursday evening in Republic Park. What's better than Blazing Saddles? Blazing Saddles with beer ... and pie! This Alamo Drafthouse Off-Centered Film Fest event features a wide array of Central Texas craft beers, and the brewers will be on hand to tell you about their tasty beverages. The pies, alas, are not for eating -- but you can throw them at the brewers to raise funds for the Texas Craft Brewers Guild. I cannot imagine a more refined cinematic event. And remember: It's Hedley Lamarr.

Movies We've Seen

Blue Like Jazz -- In this fish-out-of water comedy, a Southern Baptist college student from Texas expands his horizons at a liberal campus in Oregon. J.C. reviewed the film at this year's SXSW festival, saying Blue Like Jazz is "filled with incredibly funny and really heartfelt moments that make it the kind of film anyone can really enjoy." (Gateway, Tinseltown North)

Bully -- I'm less impressed than many critics with this much-hyped documentary about bullying. As I said in my review, "Bully is very effective at generating great sympathy for its subjects; we certainly feel the kids' pain and share the grief of parents whose children were driven to suicide. What the film lacks, however, is any real journalistic depth." (Alamo Lamar, Arbor, Barton Creek)

The Cabin in the Woods -- Despite this horror film's seemingly tired concept (five friends get more than they bargained for while staying at the titular cabin), critics are raving about it. Based on his review, Rod is raving also: "This horror movie has the power to change your worldview of what a horror movie is and should be -- The Cabin in the Woods is a genre game-changer." (wide)

Footnote -- This Israeli import follows a father and son who are rival professors in Talmudic Studies. Debbie is impressed, saying in her review that she "found this film to be rather engaging -- I thoroughly embraced the humor and never felt isolated from the story or its characters." (Arbor, Violet Crown)

The Austin Film Society begins a new Essential Cinema series Tuesday, featuring films from South East Europe. This year AFS welcomes Vera Mijojlic, director of the annual South East European Film Festival of Los Angeles (SEEFest) as curator of SEEFest: Austin. Her knowledge and experience of this multi-ethnic melting pot fuels her ability to educate and promote cultural diversity amongst film audiences. This year six films return along with one "TBA mystery film."

The first film in this series, Fuse (Gori Vatra) screens on Tuesday, April 10 at 7 pm at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar. General admission tickets are $8 and AFS members pay just $5. Fuse is a satire that focuses on the tension in a rural town when U.S. President Bill Clinton is set to visit to witness the results of the peace accords. Bosnians and Serbs must be able to work together to convince the President as well as one another that they can truly live in peace.

Movies We've Seen:

Boy -- This bittersweet comedy is a timeless and often imaginative while brutally honest tale of a young boy desperate for a father. I highly recommend seeing this film -- read my review for details. (Regal Arbor)

Undefeated -- Elizabeth says in her review that she "started Undefeated as a skeptic, but as the film progressed, the story of these four guys and their football program drew me in. I don't watch many sports movies, but Undefeated is definitely one of the best I've seen." (Regal Arbor)

Austin offers the usual eclectic mix of options for filmgoers this week. If the half-dozen new film openings don't interest you, check out the The Reconstruction of Asa Carter, which screens on Wednesday at the Violet Crown Cinema. This documentary tells the story of the notorious white supremacist Carter, who authored the critically acclaimed The Education of Little Tree, a "true story" (actually, a complete fabrication) about a Native American child. The event includes a reception and Q&A with filmmakers Douglas Newman and Laura Browder.

If you're looking for something lighter, try the Algerian comedy Masquerades. The story of an Algerian gardener who dreams of improving his family's fortune by marrying off his narcoleptic sister to a wealthy "real gentleman," Masquerades screens on Tuesday at the Alamo Drafthouse on Lamar as part of the Austin Film Society's Essential Cinema series "Children of Abraham/Ibrahim 6: Films of the Middle East and Beyond."

If you share my taste in cinematic guilty pleasures, your week will be incomplete if you miss the Alamo Drafthouse's Cinema Club exploitation double feature of Ed Wood's The Violent Years and James Landis's The Sadist at the Alamo Ritz on Sunday. Exploitation film expert Johnny Legend will be on hand to discuss the finer points of the genre.

Movies We've Seen

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen -- Lasse Hallström directs this romance set in the Republic of Yemen. J.C. says in his review that "the performances from the main three leads carry the film beautifully ... This is the kind of movie you remember after you watch it, and chances are you'll remember it fondly." (Alamo Slaughter, Arbor, Violet Crown)

The Raid: Redemption -- Based on Rod's review of this much-anticipated Indonesian action film, I suspect he's a fan: "Every year there are films that receive a lot of hype. Sometimes these films live up to the hype and sometimes they disappoint. I recently saw one of these highly hyped films, The Raid: Redemption, and let me say it right now this movie lives up every bit of the hype." (Alamo Lamar, Violet Crown)

It's time to stop recuperating from SXSW and venture back into the world of Austin moviegoing. Fortunately, plenty of options are available. The Austin Jewish Film Festival starts tomorrow night -- read Chale's preview for details. And one of my favorite movies is screening at Alamo Drafthouse Ritz this week: catch Harold and Maude nightly Saturday through Tuesday. Or you could head over to the Blue Starlite Drive-In on Saturday night for a double feature of Back to the Future and The Goonies.

This is also a good week for indie film-watching. Boston-to-Austin filmmaker Andrew Bujalski will be at Alamo Ritz on Sunday night for a 10th anniversary screening of his film Funny Ha Ha. And on Tuesday night, the Texas Independent Film Network hosts a "beer and bbq" documentary double-feature at Violet Crown Cinema: Chris Elley's Barbecue: A Texas Love Story (narrated by Ann Richards) and Mike Woolf's Something's Brewin' in Shiner. You could walk right over to Lambert's afterward ...

Movies We've Seen:

Being Flynn -- Rod says in his review that this movie starring Robert De Niro and Paul Dano "shines a light on many facets of the human condition: the relationship between fathers and sons, the problem of self-medication in the form of substance abuse, and finally how quickly you can go from being fully employed with a roof over your head to sleeping on a park bench." (Arbor)

The Hunger Games -- Mike, take it away: "Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson run an all-star cast through the gauntlet in Gary Ross' adaptation of the Suzanne Collins young-adult novel The Hunger Games. Fans of the series will enjoy this vivid if somewhat bland adventure. Those new to the story may be left scratching their heads wondering why many characters do what they do, as Ross foregoes any peripheral character-building." Look for his review on Saturday. (wide)

Sound of Noise (pictured at top) -- The Fantastic Fest 2010 award winner returns to Austin for a weeklong run. Mike says in his review that it's "fun, but not GREAT fun." Mike is wrong. (Sorry, dude.) This noir-ish comedy about "musical terrorism" is great fun and I encourage everyone to see it. (Alamo Ritz, Alamo Slaughter)

It's a great weekend for free films with your kids. The Family Movies series at the Southeast Austin Community Branch of Austin Public Library is showing Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules at 1 pm Saturday. Alamo Kids Camp at the Slaughter Lane location has free screenings on Satruday and Sunday of the classic Wizard of Oz and my favorite 2010 animated film, How to Train Your Dragon. What better reason to take your kids to the movies?

Alamo Drafthouse also has a special run of the 2000 film Battle Royale at Lake Creek and Slaughter. In addition, remember that Village and Slaughter are satellite venues for SXSW through Saturday night, and nearly all screenings have had room if you want to buy tickets. No excuse to miss checking out the new Slaughter venue.

Movies We've Seen:

21 Jump Street -- The trailers for the reboot of the popular TV series look terrible, but I've heard they're nothing like the movie. "Channing Tatum is easily the most fantastic part of the film," J.C. says in his review, which will run this weekend. (wide)

Casa De Mi Padre (pictured at top) -- Not so much a Will Ferrell helmer as a send-up of pulp Mexican cinema. Many recognizable faces including Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna and Efren Ramirez. Debbie says in her review that it's "mildly amusing, but not entertaining enough to recommend that you rush out to see it at theaters." (wide)