Movies This Week: Another Planet Key Change

August is here, which means the summer blockbuster season is starting to wind down. School will start soon and that means the end of many of the series in Austin's Free (and Cheap) Summer Movies, although you can still find plenty of free movie opportunities around town.

The Paramount Summer Classic Film series is still going strong: this week's selections include Peeping Tom, Playtime and Amarcord. One of my favorite movies to re-watch on DVD, Clerks 2, is screening at Alamo Drafthouse Ritz on Saturday with actor Brian O'Halloran in attendance. Blue Starlite Drive-In is showing Valley Girl on Wednesday and American Graffiti on Thursday. And Cinema East will bring SXSW selection The Dish and the Spoon back to Austin on Sunday night on the French Legation lawn.

One more thing: To prepare us for the Slacker 2011 premiere at the end of this month, Austin Film Society has teamed up with Alamo Ritz for two screenings of the 1991 film Slacker: this Wednesday (8/10) and next (8/17). Some Slacker 2011 filmmakers will show previews of their scenes, and the proceeds benefit the Texas Filmmakers Production Fund. If you haven't been reading our Slacker 2011 interviews, you've been missing a lot of fun.

Movies We've Seen:

• The Change-Up -- Mike says in his review that this comedy about Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds "doing a Freaky Friday" is okay but unmemorable, not to mention full of scatological humor. I'm with him on pointing you all at Friends with Benefits instead, which I saw earlier this week and enjoyed very much. (wide)

Other Movies Opening in Austin:

• Another Earth -- This drama with a science-fiction twist premiered at Sundance this year and then played SXSW in March. Check out Peter Martin's review at Red Carpet Crash for more info. (Alamo South Lamar, Arbor)
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes -- The latest attempt to revive the classic Planet of the Apes franchise did not screen for Austin critics, although press in other cities got to see it and so far, are generally pleased with the film. Of the criticism I've read so far, I'd recommend Eric Snider's review at Film.com. (wide)
• Sarah's Key (Elle s'appelait Sarah) -- Set in both contemporary and WWII-era France, this story takes a personal look at the Holocaust. For further details, check out Marjorie Baumgarten's review at the Austin Chronicle. (Arbor, Violet Crown)
• Tabloid -- Another film that screened at SXSW returns to Austin -- the latest documentary from Errol Morris. Morris looks at the case of Joyce McKinney, who was accused in the late 1970s of kidnapping a Mormon missionary. (Arbor)