Movies This Week

Texas singer-songwriter Buddy Holly was immortalized onscreen in Steve Rash's 1978 movie The Buddy Holly Story, brilliantly played by Gary Busey (pictured above). The Alamo Drafthouse Ritz presents a special screening of a new 35mm print for this week's Music Monday as well as an additional screening Sunday afternoon.

On Sunday at Alamo Village, Cine Las Americas presents Anita as part of their Signature Series, co-presented by the Austin Jewish Film Festival. Anita is a young Argentinian woman with Down syndrome who lives with her mother Dora (Academy Award nominee Norma Aleandro) until tragedy strikes nearby. Anita must then fend for herself as she ventures out across Buenos Aires and encounters other survivors of the deadliest bombing in Argentina's history. After viewing the opening clip, I can't wait to see what happens next.

Elizabeth already covered the Stateside Independent special screening of Academy Award foreign film nominee War Witch on Monday but I want to reiterate -- don't miss this powerful story about a young female child soldier.

The Austin Film Society's Essential Cinema presents the Turkish film Toll Booth on Tuesday at the Alamo Drafthouse Village. Introverted toll booth officer Kenan may seem to live a humdrum life but his imagination more than makes up for it in this darkly humorous drama.

Hoo boy -- is it ever a busy week in Austin movie land! No less than 13 new movies are releasing in River City theaters, and among the usual forgettable and formulaic fare are a couple of standouts.

The Gatekeepers, a documentary about the Israeli security agency Shin Bet, is generating great critical buzz and is the Austin Chronicle's Pick of the Week. And don't judge the over-the-top dark comedy Spring Breakers by its title or trailer; this bikini-clad, candy-colored commentary about youthful excess is getting great reviews. (It will surprise no one that Spring Breakers tops my list of films to see this weekend. Social commentary? Copious youthful nudity? The Gatekeepers can wait a week.)

If none of the baker's dozen of new releases interests you (really, you should be a bit more adventurous), the Austin Film Society's Essential Cinema series is presenting the Palestinian import Habibi Rasak Kharban (Darling, Something's Wrong with Your Head) on Tuesday at the Alamo Drafthouse Village. A modern day retelling of an ancient Sufi parable, the film is the story of two lovers who caught between Israeli occupation and Palestinian traditions. Director Susan Youssef will attend the screening.

Oh, man. I'm so tired from SXSW that after Saturday, I won't want to watch a movie again for ... at least a day. Maybe three. However, if you're not feeling quite so burned out, there are lots of choices for moviegoing this week. In fact, if you're not sick of SXSW, there's still a full day of filmgoing on Saturday, and it would probably be quite easy to get a ticket for movies at the larger venues. Check out our reviews of movies screening tomorrow: The Retrieval, Rewind This! and The Bounceback. And although we don't have reviews for these films published yet, I'd recommend Continental, Debbie says All the Labor is great for Gourds fans, and Rod liked Drinking Buddies.

If you miss Rewind This! at SXSW, the "love letter to VHS" will have an encore screening on Sunday night at 10 pm at Alamo Drafthouse Ritz. Ritz is also showing Repo Man that night (and Monday), so you can really wallow in the 80s if you want.

On Monday, hopefully you will have recuperated enough to go back to the Ritz for some Sam Peckinpah, namely Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. If not, you can see it on Tuesday at Ritz or Slaughter, and on Thursday at Slaughter. Austin Film Society continues its Essential Cinema series on films from the Middle East on Tuesday night at 7 at Alamo Village with The Long Journey. Actor Alon Pdut will be in attendance.

While the SXSW Film Festival isn't the only thing happening in town this week, it's almost the only thing happening.

Heading to the festival? You know the drill: Avoid driving and parking downtown if you can (MetroRail has become a popular alternative), get in line much earlier than you think you need to, and consult Slackerwood's über-handy SXSW Film Fest Omnibus Survival Guide for everything you need to know about navigating the madness of Austin's largest film festival. Godspeed, indie film fans -- and I hope you catch a glimpse of Matthew McConaughey or your favorite film celebrity or at least one of Austin's bicycle thong guys.

The SXSW Community Screenings offer free films that anyone can see, first-come, first-served, at the Boyd Vance theater in the Carver Museum. The AFS Shortcase, which our contributor Debbie Cerda helps program, is one of the highlights. The Carver Museum is not quite downtown, and thus has plenty of parking.

Also, UT's Women in Cinema will host an unofficial SXSW panel, "SXSW Women in Cinema," on Wednesday at 7:30 pm at the University of Texas: Communications Building B (CMB), Studio 4D. The panel is free and open to the public. The filmmaker panelists are Jillian Schlesinger (Maidentrip), Lauren Wolkstein (Social Butterfly), Julia Pott (The Event), Lola Bessis (Swim Little Fish Swim), Frances Bodomo (Boneshaker) and Celia Rowlson-Hall (The Audition, Si Nos Dejan).

Polari and Stateside Independent present the Austin premiere of Any Day Now on Monday night at 7 pm at the Stateside Theatre. Alan Cumming and Garret Dillahunt star as a gay couple who take in and provide a loving home to an abandoned teenager with Down syndrome. More information, including how to buy tickets, is available here.

The Austin Film Society celebrates the 20th anniversary of Dazed and Confused (pictured above) on Wednesday night at the Marchesa Hall & Theatre, with screenings at 7 and 9:30 pm and a cast Q&A and after-party. Purchase tickets here.

This week's Austin Film Society Essential Cinema offering is Scheherazade, Tell Me A Story. An Egyptian female talk show host stirs up political controversy when she focuses her on-air discussions on the topic of women's issues. Scheherazade, Tell Me A Story screens Tuesday at 7 pm at Alamo Drafthouse Village.

And don't forget the Slamdance on the Road event on Saturday, complete with a Q&A I'm moderating.

Movies We've Seen

A Place at the Table -- This compelling documentary exposes the truths and debunks myths about the critical issue of hunger experienced by millions of Americans on a daily basis. I find myself discussing several key elements of this film with friends days after watching the screener, and hope that others will join the dialogue about hunger insecurity. Read more in my review. (Violet Crown Cinema)

Long-time Alamo Drafthouse programmers Zack Carlson and Lars Nilsen may be moving into the next chapter of their careers, but one project that you can expect these vanguards to continue to support is the nonprofit American Genre Film Archive (AGFA). AGFA board members and advisors include Alamo Drafthouse founders Tim and Karrie League as well as Nilsen and Carlson,  Joe Ziemba, and Sam Prime, who oversees the operations and development of the archive.

On Sunday at 2 pm, AFGA hosts a Reel One Party at Alamo Drafthouse Ritz. Periodic inspections are conducted on undocumented 35mm film prints contained in the archive by threading up several "reel ones" (which come in containers like the one at top), then watching the first 15-20 minutes to take note of opening credit information, overall condition of the film, and general plot information. Nobody knows what to expect and whether a film will be fun or a dud. After the mystery selections are played, the audience will vote for their favorite with the winning title screened at 11 pm. Tickets for the evening feature are $3 with proceeds going to AFGA.

As part of the monthly series "A Decade of Comedy in Latin American Cinema," Cine Las Americas presents a free screening of the Chilean comedy drama Ilusiones Opticas (Optical Illusions) on Wednesday at 8 pm at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC). A group of characters attempt to deal with disappointments and setbacks, under the shadow of a corporate culture based on the privatization of the state health-care system.

In the interest of brevity, I'll ignore this week's new releases (helpful hint: you should, too!) and go straight to the impressive lineup of special screenings.

Few film franchises are more impressive than Michael Apted's Up documentary series. Debuting in 1964 with Seven Up, which introduced viewers to 14 British 7-year-olds, the groundbreaking series has followed the progression of their lives with a new movie every seven years. They're now 56, and the latest installment, 56 Up, is screening Monday and Tuesday at the Stateside to kick off the new Stateside Independent film series.

Film fans old enough to remember the Seventies (and younger fans who, for reasons not well understood, think the Seventies were cool) shouldn't miss Paul Williams Still Alive (pictured above), Stephen Kessler's acclaimed documentary about the songwriter and pop cultural icon's phenomenal career and difficult personal life. Paul Williams Still Alive screens on Monday (and also on Saturday, February 23) at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz. Read Mike's thoughts on it from SXSW 2012.

Cine Las Americas continues its Latin American comedy series with 25 Watts, the story of a weekend in the lives of three suburban Montevideo slackers. The three men make an art of doing not much of anything in this 2001 Uruguayan film. 25 Watts screens for free at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center on Wednesday.

As always, the Austin Film Society's Essential Cinema series offers something unusual: the Iranian import This Is Not a Film, a riveting 24-hour portrait of renowned filmmaker Jafar Panahi, who for 20 years has circumvented the Iranian government's ban on his making films. AFS presents This Is Not a Film on Tuesday at the Alamo Drafthouse Village.

Local filmmaker Ronald Short premiered his comedy Billi & Theodore (seen at top), at the Indianapolis International Film Festival in July 2012, and finally makes its Austin debut Saturday at 10:45 am at Alamo Drafthouse Slaughter. This buddy road-trip film features Jordan McRae and Travis Emery as best friends picking up the pieces as they endure a car-jacking, parking lot brawls, and angry exes. McRae will be in attendance at this special engagement.

Most folks know the ND Austin venue at 501 Studios as a music venue, but art and film offerings are also taking place throughout the month. On Tuesday at 7 pm, The Puro Chingon Collective presents a free screening of Alfonso Cuaron's Mexican road-trip tale Y Tu Mama Tambien. Be sure to check out ND Austin calendar for more film-related events including screenings with live scores, and note that the North Door Pizza kitchen opens for calendared events.

As part of the monthly series "A Decade of Comedy in Latin American Cinema," Cine Las Americas presents a free screening of the comedy O Cheiro Do Ralo (Drained) on Wednesday at 8 pm at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC). Pawnshop owner Lourenço (Selton Mello) manipulates his desperate clients for his own amusement. When he meets an attractive waitress (Paula Braun) at his local diner, he becomes obsessed with her "perfect well-shaped buttocks," much to his demise.

As a public service, I must open this week's column with a follow-up to the opening of last week's column: Despite its parade of stars, Movie 43 sucks. I know you're shocked.

Most of this week's new releases look to be no better, with the possible exception of Warm Bodies, which has garnered some positive reviews. Once again, I encourage lovers of great cinema to avoid their local multiplexes in favor of some interesting special screenings at smaller venues.

Speaking of which, the most important film industry trend in recent years is the transition from film to digital production and exhibition. Anyone interested in this transition shouldn't miss Side by Side, Christopher Kenneally's documentary about the digital future of movies. Chock-full of interviews with famous filmmakers from Martin Scorsese to George Lucas to David Lynch, Side by Side takes a balanced look at the film and digital formats, intending to foster discussion about the new technology. The film screens -- probably digitally -- Saturday and Sunday at the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz.

Oh, if only Movie 43 had screened for press before it opens this weekend. The premise -- a search for the world's most banned movie -- and cast are tantalizing. (Dennis Quaid, Greg Kinnear, Seth MacFarlane, Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Emma Stone, Richard Gere, Naomi Watts, Uma Thurman, Halle Berry and a dozen other famous faces -- yeah, even Snooki -- in the same movie? Yowsa -- I'm reminded of It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.) But prudent filmgoers should wait awhile to find out if this star-studded but unreviewed collection of comic shorts is any good. Let your friends take one for the team by seeing it first.

Two other new releases are critically vetted and worth a look, depending on your taste: Amour is outstanding but oh-so-sad, and Quartet is a Dustin Hoffman-helmed comedy that's garnering some good reviews but may not be for everyone.

The Love God? (pictured above) also may not be for everyone, but I'm recommending this Alamo Drafthouse screening because it features a live appearance by the patron saint of film criticism, Joe Bob Briggs. This 1969 comedy stars Don Knotts as the publisher of a bird-watcher's magazine that becomes a porn magazine in the hands of an unscrupulous business partner. I'm sure Joe Bob has plenty to say about this largely forgotten film, which screens Wednesday at Alamo Drafthouse Ritz.