The latest entry on the Alamo Drafthouse blog tentatively gives an opening date for Alamo at the Ritz: Friday, November 2. (You may remember that Chris got a sneak peek at the new theater a few weeks ago.) This date hasn't yet been officially announced or anything -- an update to the entry notes that Tim League is actually shooting for Nov. 1. But I'm hoping that they go with the second day of the month.

The reason? Nov. 2 is my birthday. Getting to spend it at the brand-new downtown Alamo would be -- well, not the best birthday present ever, since my husband is so good at finding fabulous film-related gifts for me. But it would be a pretty damn fine way to spend my birthday, especially if they have milkshakes at the new Alamo. Yes, this is a hint. I don't even care what's being shown (as long as Chris Columbus wasn't involved), although I'll let you know as soon as details are available. 

On Thursday the 2007 edition of the Austin Film Festival takes over the Driskill Hotel, the Paramount Theatre, and various other venues around town. Even if you're the kind of cinephile who balks at downtown parking or just driving in general, there's no excuse for missing the screenings near you. Whether you find yourself the converted ballroom upstairs at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel, the Regal Arbor, or the Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek, there are great films to be seen. Here's the first installment of a few AFF previews coming your way at Slackerwood.

American Fork

Only in independent film could a picture like American Fork get made. What studio executive in his right mind would greenlight a movie that plays a three-hundred pound protagonist for his sensitivity instead of broad laughs? A handful of indie favorites (Bruce McGill, Kahtleen Quinlan) and unlikely character players (including the unexpectedly wonderful William Baldwin, who also shows up at AFF 2007 in A Plumm Summer) populate a strong story supported by deft cinematography and a lively score.

If American Fork feels like a kinder, gentler Napoleon Dynamite, there's a reason -- they share a number of crew members, including producer/editor Jeremy Coon. The two films also share a certain quirkiness and a sense of tragic comedy, but I think American Fork may lose some Napoleon Dynamite fans for its refusal to camp things up. It will certainly win admirers for its sympathetic presentation of its main character, Tracy Orbison (Hubbel Palmer, who also wrote the screenplay) and on the whole I think American Fork is a better movie.

But while Fork offers a more complete story and a set of wholly believeable characters, it won't gain a cult status quite like Dynamite's. A lot of the fun in Napoleon Dynamite comes from its extreme turns between the cruel and carefree. Fork walks a more moderate road. The picture wallows in the mundane to great effect and occasionally delivers a heartbreaking bit of dialogue, but keeps its feet stubbornly on the ground where other films might veer off into fantasy.

The comparison to the earlier film is easy and natural, but a bit unfair: American Fork has more serious things to say, greater depths to plumb. It stands tall -- and wide -- on its own. American Fork is an easy festival favorite.

American Fork plays Saturday afternoon at the Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek and Monday evening at the Bob Bullock History Museum.

I think this one pretty much speaks for itself -- either you're Trekkie enough to be into this or you're not, so I'll just quote the press release. Local theaters participating include the Metropolitan 14 on the South side, the Gateway 16 on the North, and the Cinemark way up in Round Rock.

Boldly go where no man has gone before to see two of the most famous "Star Trek: The Original Series" episodes – your local movie theatre! "Star Trek: The Original Series" will be beamed onto the big screen for only one night in select movie theatres nationwide on Tuesday, Nov. 13th at 7:30PM (local). This event features the original Season 1 episodes "The Menagerie" Part 1 and 2, digitally re-mastered in High-Definition and Cinema Surround Sound. Also included is greeting from creator Gene Roddenberry’s son, Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry and an exclusive 30-minute behind-the-scenes look at how the episodes were digitally re-mastered.

Read the full details after the jump.

Zombie lovers take note: The Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek presents Dismember the Alamo on October 23 - 25th with evening screenings of zombie flicks both new and old. The lineup so far: Pathogen (with writer/director Emily Hagins in attendance), Re-Animator, blackspoitation "classic" Sugar Hill, Peter Jackson's Dead Alive, Fido, Return of the Living Dead, and a selection of zombie shorts that will be screened free to a first-come, first-serve crowd.

That's quite a varied lineup, even for a bunch of zombie movies. ­Fido, though flawed, has some intriguing imagery and manages to make a zombie character sympathetic, while Sugar Hill should just be a hoot. (And when was the last time you think that one played on a big screen in Austin?) The Lake Creek branch of the Alamo has really been trying to step up its game, programming-wise, and this is the best move they've made so far.

(Well, that and providing a screen to the Austin Film Festival for some up-North screenings during the fest. It's worth mentioning that next week Lake Creek will host a number of genre-interest titles from AFF like Trail of the Screaming Forehead and The Zombie Diaries, as well as some other great indie fare like American Fork and Judy Toll: The Funniest Woman You've Never Heard Of.)

All screenings at Dismember the Alamo are $5 each (except for that free shorts program). See the Dismember the Alamo web site for screening times and more information.

AGLIFF rolls on at the Regal Arbor theater this week and through Saturday, with a couple of can't-miss screenings (at least from my perspective on the closing afternoon/evening).

First up at noon on Saturday it's the "My Gay Movie" program, the results of a competition that challenged filmmakers to create a 10-minute short with a "queer sensibility." The top ten shorts are on display here and several of the directors are in attendance. Particularly curiosity-piquing titles include Potato/Potata (Jude Potato is a 2-year-old's toy, but dreams of being a celebrated Austin DRAG KING) and Gaydar (a man with "gaydar" contemplates the benefits for him, if everyone had it, to the obvious degree he has it).

At 6:30 pm the festival presents Poltergay, a horror comedy that actually promises a few laughs. As a rule horror comedies tend to flub one half of the equation or the other, and from the looks of the trailer I'd have to say that Poltergay is probably a little light on the creepy, but one can probably trust the French to make jokes about homosexual ghosts from the '70s without pulling any punches.

View the entire aGLIFF schedule for the rest of the week here.

I've been writing Fantastic Fest reviews for Cinematical, and these are currently available:

• Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door
• Aachi and Ssipak
• Southland Tales
• Selected Shorts #1
• Selected Shorts #2

In addition, my colleague Scott Weinberg has reviewed Sex and Death 101 and Wrong Turn 2: Dead End. We're both working on more reviews now; check out the Fantastic Fest category at Cinematical for the latest coverage.

I've also seen several movies that I won't be reviewing for Cinematical, because they've already done reviews:

• Persepolis is an animated film about a girl growing up in Iran in the 1980s; this may be my favorite film of the festival. I just found out it is France's submission for the foreign-language Academy Award.
• Sex and Death 101 was funny, and it's a pleasant change to see a sex comedy for grownups. Patton Oswalt nearly stole the film, and I liked Simon Baker. It did have some uneven spots, the ending seemed too cute for a dark comedy, and I'm not sure I liked the overall depiction of women. Still, I'd recommend it.
• Finishing the Game was a slight but fun comedy, and since IFC is planning to release it next month as part of a theatrical day-and-date experiment, hopefully you'll get a chance to see it soon.
• Son of Rambow is delightful. It's about two boys in the UK who see Rambo: First Blood Part 2 and are inspired to make a similar stunt-laden film with a home video camera. I hope this movie gets as wide a release as possible.

Tonight is the closing night of the festival, with the last "secret screening" still to be revealed, and the awards ceremony afterwards. I've had a great time all week and it'll be tough to return to my daily routine.

Evidently not content with simply running a wildly successful third iteration of Austin's premiere festival for geeks, Tim League and company held an invite-only double-secret probation screening of End of the Line at the new Alamo Drafthouse Ritz location on Monday night. Visiting filmmakers and other Alamo staff and supporters were shuttled to the unfinished theater on 6th Street, where beer, sandwiches, and a jury-rigged "Rolling Roadshow" style screening setup awaited them. League welcomed visitors with a brief tour of the facilities and let drop a few tidbits I hadn't heard before. Some of this was dropped in various blog entries earlier in the year but if you weren't paying attention, here they are again:

• The actual completion date of the two-screen venue is uncertain but they hope to have it done in time for Halloween this year.
• Both theaters (one 180-seat room and another, under-100 seat room) have stadium seating.

The second "secret screening" at Fantastic Fest just took place: Persepolis, which played at Toronto and Telluride earlier this year. I'd like to refer you to Kim Voynar at Cinematical for a good review of this film from Telluride. I enjoyed the animated film very much, especially its striking visual style.

In addition, I was able to interview Southland Tales director Richard Kelly earlier today, which I think went very well. I'm reviewing the film now for Cinematical -- I'll post a link tomorrow when it's available.

And Fantastic Fest has added yet another secret screening for tonight at 11:30 pm. I'm not sure I'll stay here that long tonight (I have a 9:30 am meeting Monday), but I'm definitely tempted.

I just saw Southland Tales -- I have no idea how I'm going to review this movie, it's so strange.

I figured out what the secret screening would be when I noticed director Richard Kelly walking through the Alamo lobby, about an hour beforehand.

The opinion I'm most interested in hearing is Matt Dentler. He's the only person I know at Fantastic Fest who saw the longer cut of the film at Cannes in 2006, so I'm hoping he'll check in with a comparison soon on his blog. 

More later -- I'm now in the theater waiting for Sex and Death 101 to start. 

Day Two of Fantastic Fest didn't have the partying excitement of opening night, or any secret screenings, but all that means is that I don't have a lot of photos or breaking news. All I did was to watch two good movies, each followed by interesting Q&A sessions with the filmmakers, and hang out with a bunch of film-geek friends. Oh, and I got a squishy skull that bubbles blood out of its eyes when you squeeze it -- a promotional item for Flight of the Living Dead. I'll have to take a picture.

The first movie I saw was one of the few documentaries screening at Fantastic Fest -- Moebius Redux: A Life in Pictures. I met the director, Hasko Baumann, at the opening-night party, and he seemed concerned that no one would want to watch a documentary at this festival. He was wrong -- a good-size crowd was in the theater when he introduced the film.