Movies This Week: September 7-13, 2012
The Lights. Camera. Help. annual nonprofit film festival is now in its fourth year, and runs Wednesday, September 12 through Friday, September 14 at the Texas Spirit Theater and the Scottish Rite Theater. This three-day event focuses on short and feature-length films, including PSAs, that convey messages for charitable organizations and important causes. The keynote speaker is local filmmaker Turk Pipkin, who will also premiere his new short film, Let There Be Sight, which tells "the incredibly hopeful story of The Nobelity Project's partnership with The Seva Foundation, an eyesight surgical camp in Nepal."
The school year is well underway, but kids and parents can still enjoy an entertaining and family-friendly time on a school night courtesy of Austin Public Library on Tuesday, September 11, at 6:30 pm with a free screening of The Lorax at the Twin Oaks location. Folks interested in more adult and "queer poetics and politics" content can attend a free screening Tuesday at 6:30 pm on the UT campus of The Meeting of Two Queens, Looking for Langston and Dottie Gets Spanked courtesy of Emily and Andy's Film Club.
Award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee will be in Austin on Saturday at 7:30 pm for a conversation and Q&A before a special screening of his 1999 film Summer of Sam at the Paramount Theatre with tickets still available here. For folks only wanting to watch the movie at 8:40 pm, tickets are available here.
Finally, a restored version of Raiders of the Lost Ark is playing all week at Gateway and Barton Creek Square Mall.
Movies We've Seen
Neil Young Journeys -- Classic rock legend Neil Young returns home and reminisces about his youth in Ontario in this documentary that also showcases new tunes and classic favorites. As much as I enjoyed Young's storytelling, the musical performances were overwhelming and loud at times. Read more about this film in my review. (Regal Arbor)
The Words -- This romantic drama portrays a young writer who falsely achieves literary success through a novel he didn't actually write himself. J.C. says in his review that "it’s an absolutely brilliant script that will stay with you long after you watch it." (wide)
For A Good Time, Call... -- Two twenty-something women move in together and start a phone sex line to afford their high rent, with unexpected consequences. "In what could very well be the best romantic comedy of 2012, For A Good Time, Call... turns the notion of the rom-com on its head," J.C. says. Look for his review this weekend. (Alamo Drafthouse Village, AMC Barton Creek)
Red Hook Summer -- Jette saw this movie and says, "Red Hook Summer, the latest feature film from Spike Lee, was a great disappointment. The story of a middle-class teen forced to spend the summer in Brooklyn with his preacher grandfather is poorly structured and feels twice as long as it is, despite Clarke Peters' dynamic performance." Look for her review this weekend.
Other Movies Opening in Austin
Branded -- Anyone even mildly concerned with the future of the human race in WALL-E regarding truth in advertising and overconsumption of unhealthful food will be disturbed by the dystopian future in this film. Corporations control the population through mind control, in a plot that can be loosely compared to premises within John Carpenter's They Live as well as The Matrix. (wide)
Portrait of Wally -- A documentary centered around the story of Egon Schiele's painting Portrait of Wally, which was thought to have been destroyed during Nazi looting -- only to be found almost fifty years later on the walls of the Museum of Modern Art. Filmmaker Andrew Shea is an associate professor at The University of Texas in Austin -- read Matthew Odam's article in the Austin American-Statesman for the interesting story about how Shea became involved in this subject matter. (Violet Crown Cinema)