Movies This Week: July 27 - August 2, 2012

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Planet Terror

With the possible exceptions of Dark Horse (which may appeal only to Todd Solondz fans) and Klown (which may appeal only to fans of Danish gross-out comedies), it's another great week to seek out alternatives to the new releases.

My first suggestions are shameless, unapologetic repeats from last week: Beasts of the Southern Wild, Moonrise Kingdom, and Bernie. Really, people, your life will be incomplete until you see all three films. Stop reading immediately and go see them now.

If you're in the mood for some outdoor movie fun, the Blue Starlite Drive-In offers an irresistible, zombie-centric double feature on Friday night: Robert Rodriguez's Grindhouse: Planet Terror and George Romero's Night of the Living Dead. Presented as part of the Austin Film Society Summer Series, this event will be fun for the whole ... well, maybe not the whole family, but it's sure to be an enjoyable evening for the undead, their supporters and those who enjoy films about them.

Not a zombie fan? AFS is presenting Juventud (Youth), a film in which I assume all the characters are very much alive. Screening on Tuesday at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar as part of the AFS Essential Cinema series, Juventud is set in 1958 Mexico and is the story of a young man who dreams of moving to Mexico City to pursue a writing career. Director Jaime Humberto Hermosillo made the film in his hometown of Aguascalientes as the culmination of an academic project, with a predominantly local and nonprofessional cast and crew.

Movies We've Seen

Klown -- In this lowbrow comedy based on a Danish sitcom and distributed by Austin's own Drafthouse Films, a man tries to prove his fatherhood potential to his girlfriend by taking her 12-year-old nephew on a debauched canoe trip. J.C. says in his review that Klown has its faults but still recommends it since the movie "has all the charms of a regular and only mildly vulgar American road-trip comedy ... It may or may not be your brand of comedy, but it's hard to argue that there's something special here." (Alamo Lake Creek, Slaughter Lane, South Lamar and Village)

The Watch -- Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill star in this comedy about a neighborhood watch group that must protect the Earth from an alien invasion. J.C. calls The Watch "a really funny film. One of those late-summer pleasant surprises that make trips to the movies worthwhile. Vince Vaughn makes a welcome return to his ultra-funny form." Look for his review this weekend. (wide)

Other Movies Opening in Austin

Bill W. -- This documentary profiles Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson, who earned a place in TIME Magazine's "100 Persons of the 20th Century." The Austin Chronicle's Marjorie Baumgarten panned the film, saying it "manifests a jumble of styles and techniques that will leave viewers feeling woozy if not a bit drunk themselves." (Arbor)

Dark Horse -- Todd Solondz brings us this dark romance involving two misfit thirtysomethings, a manchildish toy collector who lives with his parents and a woman who is the dark horse of her family. Given Solondz's penchant for cinematic misanthropy, this probably isn't a great date movie. But fans of Welcome to the Doll House and other Solondz films -- I'm definitely one of them -- may enjoy the writer/director's cynical take on relationships. (Violet Crown)

Step Up Revolution -- Expect lots of dancing in this fourth installment in the dance-based Step Up series of dance films, which are known for lots of dancing. This time around, a dancer and her dancer boyfriend conspire against her father, an evil, non-dancing developer who threatens to raze and redevelop the boyfriend's neighborhood, a place where people like to dance. At risk of spoiling the ending, I assume all that dancing somehow saves the day. (wide)