Movies this Week: Moons and Gardens and Cutters

in

Breaking Away

With record-breaking temperatures all week, staying in the delicious chill of AC is ideal. Austin offers plenty of movie events to keep you busy this week.

Opening this Week
Many Austin film film fans ave been waiting impatiently for Moon to open locally after a very successful SXSW premiere, and our patience is finally rewarded. Director and co-writer Duncan Jones, along with Nathan Parker, have penned an old-fashioned science-fiction tale, the sort that utilizes an unfamiliar landscape to explore the human condition and social vistas. In this case, Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is at the end of three-year stint alone on the moon, and has clearly been there too long, when he has a very personal encounter. It's the type of movie that screams for lengthy discussions after viewing, but works best the less you know.

Needless to say, it's not a typical post-millennium Hollywood movie, but one that is destined to become a classic. The underrated Sam Rockwell finally gets a lead role that really allows him to show his chops, far beyond his comedic turn in Galaxy Quest, or the shamefully under-viewed Joshua. It's playing at Dobie and Arbor, and if you don't see it, turn in your sci-fi geek card immediately. It's not quite a shame it's not playing at the Alamo, as you don't want to be distracted during this quiet, thoughtful, cerebral film.

A completely different kind of moon is far too frequently over-exposed in Sacha Baron Cohen's latest persona comedy, Brüno. Where Borat was shocking yet enlightening, Brüno is anything but. The jokes are forced and stale, and the film meanders senselessly. It's not so much insulting as it is tired, and pointless, and all the anal bleaching and genital CGI in the world will not make it a funny film. Ten years ago the gags might have been funny and even edgy, but in the post-Queer Eye era, it's as flashy and contrived as the latest Transformers film.

Another SXSW favorite is Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq bomb squad character study, The Hurt Locker, which opens at the Arbor. The film stars Jeremy Renner (The Unusuals, 28 Weeks Later) as the black sheep replacement in an elite team of demolitions experts in Baghdad. Mark Boal's script has the same problem as his other film, In the Valley of Elah; great characters stuck in a film with too much patriotism battling it out with cynicism. Don't take my word for it, though, it's still worthy of your attention, if not a masterpiece.

I Love You, Beth Cooper opens as well, but didn't screen in advance. Teens. Nudity. You do the math.

Also opening this weekend is The Girl From Monaco, at the Arbor. It's apparently about "an ambitious, sexy and ultimately deadly weather girl on one of Monaco’s TV stations" played by a "a former real-life weather girl on French television." OK.

Friday, July 10
The Paramount Summer Film Series continues its Paul Newman tribute with The Hustler and The Color of Money on Friday. You can get in free if you bring any non-perishable "Newman's Own" food item to the box office. All items will be donated to the Capital Area Food Bank.

Saturday, July 11
Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid and The Sting and play all weekend, with Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid playing twice today. Tomorrow, The Sting gets a double showing. No excuse not to catch up on these classics.

Sunday, July 12
Breaking Away is playing for free at Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop, as a Rolling Roadshow presentation. This classic 1979 film put Daniel Stern and Dennis Quaid on the map, and is one of the films people most often remember Jackie Earle Haley for before his meteoric comeback in Little Children and The Watchmen.

[Jette would like to note that Breaking Away is one of her all-time favorite films, ever ever, and hopes some of you will go because her husband can't stand the film and it would be fun to see familiar faces there.]

The AFF/Blanton New Directions Summer Film Series continues with The Juche Idea, a comedy about a video artist who moves to North Korea.

The next Fantastic Fest Presents film, [Rec], is a special screening at Alamo Village at 10:15 pm. It's open to all, but Fantastic Fest badge holders will be seated first. Yes, it's coming out on DVD on Tuesday, but this is a film the Fantastic Fest guys had to fight for, and it's being hyped as a truly scary film, which is always more fun with a good Alamo crowd. The downside is, it's playing late on a Sunday night, which makes it hard for those of us with less flexible day jobs to make it, especially if we rely on public transportation.

The Garden starts a special three-night run at Alamo South Lamar, with director Scott Hamilton Kennedy appearing at screenings Sunday and Monday night. The documentary is about an LA community garden and the battle to save it from developers who want the land, which became the largest urban farm in the US. This would make a great double bill with Food, Inc.

The Sting and Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid play the Paramount with two showings of The Sting. And you can save up to $8 if you bring in any non-perishable "Newman's Own" food item to the box office.

Monday, July 13
The Garden continues at Alamo South Lamar.

Tuesday, July 14
The Garden continues at Alamo South Lamar.

Hal Ashby fans need to check out The Landlord and Shampoo at the Paramount, either today or Wednesday. You can see Shampoo free if you bring any new/sealed hair care product to the box office for free admission. All items will be donated to SafePlace.

Wednesday, July 15
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince opens nationwide today, but IMAX fans will have to wait until the end of the month to view it on the gigantic screen. Nine shows at the Alamo South Lamar, including all six of the midnight shows Tuesday night were already sold out by 9 pm Thursday night, so if you want to watch it at the Alamo, you'd better be patient, or have a flexible schedule. We'll be running our review on Wednesday.

Also on Wednesday, if you are one of the first 100 people at any Austin Chipotle who buys a burrito, bowl, salad or taco order (basically their menu), you will get a free pass for an Paramount Summer Film Series film. Personally, I like their barbacoa tacos with lots of guac, and there's one conveniently three doors down from the Paramount.

Thursday, July 16

Locally made indie drama Shotgun Stories plays at 7 pm as part of the AFF/Blanton New Directions Summer Film Series. The 2007 film won the Best Feature award at AFF and also received an Indie Spirit nomination.

Marathon Man is on a double bill with The Parallax View at the Paramount. If you like your thrillers taut and politically laced, these are films for you.

Jette again, noting that Alamo Lake Creek's "Cult Thursday" film this week is the completely bizarre Darktown Strutters, a 70s blaxploitation film about a group of biker chicks who uncover a very strange plot by a crazy white politician. Or something. I saw it as part of an Alamo all-nighter one Thanksgiving weekend a few years ago. Definitely a late-night kind of flick.