Movies This Week

Movies this Week: Me and the Serious Port of Call Slammin' Princess

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We're smack dab in the height of "for your consideration" season, which means that award hopefuls the studios have been holding back for months are starting to get released.  Just in time for our wintery weather. And it's BNAT weekend, too. Are you going? I am. Yay!

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans -- It's the Showgirls of bad cop movies. If you take this as a serious drama, you'll have a hard time with it. But if you bring your lucky crack pipe and just experience it, it's a very memorable film.  Nicolas Cage gets his freak on as a cop who plays by his own rules. Just don't expect a sequel or remake to the original Bad Lieutenant film. Look for Jette's review this weekend. (Arbor, Alamo Ritz)

Dave Matthews in 3D: Larger than Life -- Well, I guess it has Dave Matthews. In 3D. Larger than life. Although apparently it also has Ben Harper, Relentless7 and Gogol Bordello, and it was shot at ACL fest this year. (Gateway)

Movies This Week: Everybody's Adrift in Armored Brothers

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Tired of turkey yet? I still have a pot of turkey soup, but with the chilly weather, it's hit the spot. There's quite a wide variety of new films out today, so take a look at the new options for taking a break from the holidaze.

Adrift in Tokyo -- A perpetual student rambles through Tokyo with the debt collector who'll cancel his debt in this surreal, funny, and sweet film. If you like your cities wierd and quirky with lots of heart and randomness, you just may fall in love with Adrift in Tokyo, and it's by the grace of Fantastic Fest that we're getting to see it, because it doesn't have U.S. distribution, so go help prove it's worth seeing (because it really is). Be aware though, it's only playing single shows Friday through Sunday, so catch it while you can. Read my review for more.  (Alamo Ritz)

Armored -- Armored truck guards plan a heist, but the plan goes awry.  I want to see it not just for some great actors (Jean Reno and Fred Ward for starters), but because it's by Nimród Antal, the director behind Kontroll. (wide)

Movies This Week: Fox and Old Dog Ninja Assassins

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Why, yes, we are doing Movies This Week early. But it's also the start of the holidaze, with movies opening today and Thanksgiving feasts tomorrow, so Wednesday is the new Friday.

Opening in Austin theaters:

Fantastic Mr. Fox -- Wes Anderson's love child with the spirit of Roald Dahl is destined to top quite a few Best Of lists this year. The puppetry is mesmerizing, and you're sure to leave smiling. In short, it's cussing good.  Read my review, and see once now so you're only slightly distracted when you go to the Alamo feast. After you see it once, you'll really want to see it again. It does hold up, and if you see movies on Thanksgiving, this is the movie to see.

Ninja Assassin -- Slick, dark Hollywood sword-porn. What it lacks in plot it makes up for in unimpressively outrageous fight scenes so dark you can barely see what's going on. Debbie saw it, and is willing to tell you more in her review.

Movies This Week: The Precious Blind Side Messenger

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It actually feels like fall, doesn't it?  More Oscar hopefuls are starting to crowd the theaters.  In case you need to take a break from watching your Blu-Rays of Up and Star Trek, there are several new movie options out there in theaters. 

Antichrist -- Chaos Reigns! Lars von Trier knows how to make two kinds of films: provocative and thoughtful, and provocative and pretentious. Antichrist wants to be the former, but it's really the latter. 

The Blind Side -- John Lee Hancock makes an inspirational film for the discerning filmmaker.  Yes, I am among the growing number of people saying they aren't ashamed to admit they really liked Sandra Bullock's latest movie.  The only flaw is that being based on the true story of Michael Oher, this football heartwarmer wasn't filmed in Texas. Read my review or check out Jette's review on Cinematical.

Movies This Week: Dogme Alums Get An Education with Bronson

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Bronson by Alamo Drafthouse.

Happy Friday the 13th! Walk under a ladder, hang out with a black cat, and see some movies.  It's a very British heavy release week; three British films are opening in town (two with Emma Thompson in them). Two films new to Austin are directed by Dogme 95 alums. You know, the minimalist film movement started by Lars von Triers and others to thumb their noses at Hollywood and big budgets, with a manifesto demanding a vow of cinematic chastity?  Can you guess which film on the list is anti-Dogme? 

An Education -- It's London in the 1960s, and a teenage girl encounters a playboy in this coming of age story.  Directed by Lone Scherfig (Italian for Beginners, Dogme #12 ), with a slew of memorable actors, including Dollhouse's Olivia Williams, Rosamund Pike (Pride and Prejudice), Dominic Cooper (The History Boys), and the inestimable Emma Thompson.  Only a select few were able to see this at AFF this year, including our Jette.   (Arbor)

Movies This Week: The Damned (Untitled) Carol Gentlemen

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The Box

Thanks to everyone who came out forThe Men Who Stare at Goats last night; it was a great turnout. It was so full we had to turn people away, even with two theaters (and two other sponsors, but still, Slackerwood fans represented). Keep following us on Twitter for future screenings.

Austin offers plenty of movies to see this week before the Austin Asian American Film Festival starts next Thursday. Check out the list below, and our personal picks to help you decide.

The Box -- Richard Kelly, the mastermind behind Donnie Darko and Southland Tales, directed this cautionary tale of a couple being offered a million dollars ... but at the price of killing someone they don't know. The movie (pictured above) is based on Richard Matheson's short story "Button, Button" and stars Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, and Frank Langella.

Movies This Week: House of No Impact Dreams

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Meaning of Life

Austin Film Festival is barely over, and it's now Halloween weekend, complete with an extra hour of revelry possible, thanks to Daylight Saving Time ending. Not a whole lot of new films are coming out this weekend.

House of the Devil -- This homage to vintage horror, written and directed by Ti West, has more build up than body count.  Read Debbie's review

Michael Jackson's This Is It -- The much-anticipated concert/tribute film about the late Michael Jackson opened on Wednesday. From all reports from MJ fans, it's good. 

No Impact Man -- This documentary is about the Beaven family, which decides to live for one year without electricity, toilet paper or anything that will leave a carbon footprint. 

Movies This Week: Amelia, Astro Boy, Assistants and Good Hair

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Good Hair

Surprise!  We're busy into Austin Film Festival, but there are actually a number ofmovies being released this week that aren't playing at AFF.

Amelia -- They had me at "Mira Nair" (Monsoon Wedding, The Namesake), and lost me in one of the least cohesive films I've seen in a long time.  If you're addicted to period pics, you'll still be disappointed.  Read my full review for more.

Astro Boy -- The latest adaptation of the manga-fied Pinocchio-esque story of a robot boy.  It's not just a kid's movie, it's actually a little bit dark, and a little bit smart.  And the animation is so sharp it almost felt like 3D.  The three kids I saw it with give it three thumbs up. 

Blue -- Hindi language, filmed in Thailand, with a cameo by Kylie Minogue.  How could I not list it? That's not an endorsement, but it seems so ... noteworthy.

Movies This Week: Serious Wild Afghans and Coco

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Afghan Star

This is the week before Austin Film Festival starts, and the studios are slowly starting to release their Oscar hopefuls. It's quite a selection this week, a little something for everyone.

Where the Wild Things Are - This adaptation of Maurice Sendak's beloved children's book is one of the most anticipated films of the year, I had very high hopes for it. Unfortunately, it didn't quite live up to them, although I'm hard pressed to say exactly why. It's definitely a good film, and worth catching, although it's more a film about childhood than a kid's flick. Check back with Slackerwood later today for my review. (wide)

Afghan Star - Havana Marking's documentary (pictured above) about the risks that aspiring pop stars take to appear on the Afghanistan television show Pop Idol was popular at SXSW, and finally gets a local theatrical release. I haven't seen it but I've heard great things, and it's good enough to be the UK's official submission to the 82nd Academy Awards. (Dobie)

Movies This Week: Crude Retreats in Public

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We Live in Public

We've hit the lag that comes before the Oscar rush, folks. Not a lot of big new movies are coming out this week, but a few indie/arthouse films are opening here in Austin. The only new film in town we were given the opportunity to see before it opened was Couples Retreat, but we were all sickly slackers who didn't make it. 

We Live in Public opens at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar with director Ondi Timoner in attendance Friday and Saturday night. It's a cautionary tale about how much we are living in public, oddly enough. 

Paranormal Activity is getting another shot at the Austin box office after last weekend's special run at the Alamo Drafthouse, only this time with a couple more theaters added.  It didn't scare me, but I'm hard to scare, and it did keep my attention all the way through.  If you like being scared, you owe it to yourself to check out this flawed but very worthy ghost story.

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