Movies This Week: October 25-31, 2013

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Shepard & Dark

It's a relatively light week for new releases and specialty screenings across town, which is honestly a big relief. If you're like the majority of the Slackerwood gang, you'll be exploring the films and panels of Austin Film Festival until next Thursday. Or perhaps you'll dive into the inaugural Housecore Horror Film Festival, covering both film and music. That doesn't leave a lot of room for squeezing in outside screenings, but this update should help you prioritize your moviegoing calendar if you do. 

Tonight, the Austin Film Society is hosting an event called "Chester Turner Overdrive" at the Marchesa. Just in time for Halloween, you can enjoy Black Devil Doll From Hell and Tales From The Quadead Zone along with director Chester Turner and actress Shirley L. Jones in attendance. Halloween night (next Thursday) will also allow you to get creeped out by the legendary David Cronenberg on the big screen with a rare 35mm presentation of Videodrome. If your tastes run more towards world cinema than horror, earlier in the evening on the 31st you can enjoy the Essential Cinema selection of Kenji Mizoguchi's The Life Of Oharu, also at the Marchesa

Notable bookings at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz this week include Ridley Scott's Alien (with new exclusive Mondo posters available) on Saturday and Sunday, a 35mm screening of Predator on Sunday, Alan Arkin's 1971 dark comedy Little Murders on Monday and Homo Arigato! will also host a rare Beta presentation of Thundercrack!  Meanwhile, the Alamo Lakeline and Slaughter Lane will both serve up The Wolf Man for a classic horror treat this Saturday and Sunday. 

Finally, Blue Starlite Drive-in is offering several nights of classic Halloween movies, from a double feature of The Addams Family and The Shining on Saturday night to Monster Squad on Tuesday and Beetlejuice on Thursday.

Movies We've Seen

The Counselor -- Ridley Scott (Blade Runner) directs the first original film screenplay from author Cormac McCarthy (No Country For Old Men) in this thriller with an incredible cast that includes Javier Bardem, Michael Fassbender, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz and Brad Pitt. Mike's review says it has a "murky plot" but is "very very dirty." The MPAA rating warns of graphic violence and strong sexual content. What more could you possibly want? (wide)

I Am Divine -- Director Jeffrey Schwarz brings the larger than life story of Divine to the big screen in this documentary that had its world premiere earlier this year at SXSW. Mike caught the film during the festival and his review said the film "elevates Divine to the status of a true hero, who endured pain and mistreatment but found success through talent, hard work and perseverance." The film is still touring the festival circuit around the world, but you can check it out with nightly late-night screenings over the next week. (Alamo Slaughter Lane) 

Shepard & Dark (pictured at top) -- This documentary chronicles the friendship between actor/author/playwright Sam Shepard and Johnny Dark. Directed by part-time Austinite Treva Wurmfeld, Debbie's review calls the film "poignant" and says that it captures the "long and odd relationship between two men that obviously are of great importance to one another." (Violet Crown Cinema, also available on DVD/VOD)

Other Movies Opening in Austin

Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa -- At this point, I think it's safe to say that the Jackass franchise is either something that appeals to you or something that doesn't interest you in the least. It's somewhat surprising to see a spinoff movie turn up from Paramount, but here we have Johnny Knoxville reprising his old man Irving Zisman character in a full-length feature. National reviews, much like they have been for the other films in the series, have leaned positive. (wide)