Movies This Week

There's a lot going on in Austin for movie fans this weekend. Two big films opening, including Pixar's latest success, Up, which has been wowing audiences at sneak-peek screenings, and Sam Raimi's return to form in Drag Me to Hell. But there are others out there that you might want to check out.

Raimi brought Drag Me to Hell as a work-in-progress to SXSW this March, and wowed the audience at the single sold-out midnight show. The advance screening hosted by AICN proved that the SXSW screening wasn't a fluke. Raimi, best known for the Evil Dead franchise, returns to the style of filmmaking that made him famous, complete with body humor, gross-outs, ridiculousness, and likable characters stuck in impossible situations. If you don't like the style of the Evil Dead franchise, you probably won't like this, either. But Raimi's films are fun, and he's the master of horror comedy. Just don't bring a PETA supporter with you.

The first summer holiday weekend is upon us, as well as UT's commencement weekend. While that may tempt you to get out of town or stick to your own backyard, there are some film events around Austin this weekend that may catch your eye.

First and foremost, this is the opening weekend of the Paramount Summer Film Series, an annual event that brings vintage classics to Austin audiences in a classic old theater. The Summer Film Series has a Film Fan membership option that gives discounts and reserved seating to members, as well as free popcorn. Single tickets are good for all shows that day. This weekend's films include Mary Poppins, Casablanca and From Here to Eternity.

But wait, there's more. Lots more.

If you're at odds for something to do this weekend before the Memorial Day barbecues, the (Original) Alamo team has been thinking of you. The next Rolling Roadshow event in Austin is going to be a "bike-in" screening of Pee-Wee's Big Adventure downtown on Saturday night, May 23, at 8 pm.

As the event description says, "Fun didn't exist until Pee-Wee invented it, and now the most funrocious, funtacular, fungorious funsplosion in the history of FUN will be presented on the big BIG screen in a gorgeous 35MM print!"

Bicycles are optional. The screening will take place outdoors in the lot by Progress Coffee.

The happy news:

• The Austin Public Library has started a Reel Independents series this summer, with foreign films screening every month at both the St. John and Ruiz libraries. Free movies!
• The Harry Ransom Center has posted a video showing how they catalogued the new Robert De Niro collection.
• The Two-week Turnaround Tour filmmaking project will be in Austin from May 15-28 and they're looking for local filmmakers to help. They plan to write, shoot, and screen a short film during their time here.

The summer movie season started last Friday, which means most screens will be showing Hollywood's blockbuster hopefuls. Smaller films have to fight for screens, and usually don't last much longer than a week or two. Still, it's possible to see these films locally. Austin is currently the test audience for an Anchor Bay theatrical release -- a thriller currently playing at Dobie that will expand to screens in Los Angeles and Phoenix later this month.

Director Brad Soref and Producer Donald Zuckerman brought Not Forgotten to Austin this weekend, including a special Austin Film Society screening with a Q&A, and at least one sold-out screening on a sunny Saturday when Pecan Street Festival and other summertime events were all competing with each other.

Not Forgotten is a twisted thriller that begins with unsettling images of a murder then cuts to an idyllic small-town softball game. Jack Bishop (Simon Baker, pictured above) is coaching his daughter's team, and everything looks close to postcard perfect. Even Jack's wife, Amaya (Paz Vega) has a great relationship with her stepdaughter, Toby (Chloe Moretz).

Tonight is a busy night for film in Austin. If you're looking for something to do, it seems there's something for everyone. So if you want to celebrate getting your taxes done, or need an excuse to put them off one more night, Austin's film scene has plenty of choices for you.

Solar Movie Night at the Texas Capital is a special screening of several shorts about solar power, followed by a panel of legislators about the progress of solar bills at the Capitol. Popcorn and other refreshments will be served. The event is at Texas Capitol, Legislative Conference Center, Capitol Extension, Room E2.002, from 6-7 pm. RSVPs are requested.

One of the more memorable films of SXSW 2008 was The Toe Tactic, which filmmaker (and animator) Emily Hubley is bringing back to Austin for a series of special screenings cosponsored by Austin Film Society.

It's a little film that takes a low concept and does it very, very well, mixing live action and animation, personal myth and emotion. The story is simple; Mona is mourning her father, and trying to find her lost wallet. Anyone who's ever felt there are forces meddling in their lives will sympathize, as Mona has a bunch of poker playing cartoon dogs meddling in her life.

It's a very poetic story; one friend disliked it for that reason, but that's what made me really enjoy this film last year. I highly recommend checking it out, as director Emily Hubley will be in attendance at the 4/5 and 4/6 screenings; it will also screen on 4/13. More information at the Austin Film Society website.

January is possibly the crummiest month of the year for new releases in movie theaters, although in smaller cities like Austin we do at least get some of the Oscar contenders this month, so it's not too terrible. In which case, February would be the worst month ... I don't want to think about it. Let's look on the bright side and see what kind of good stuff is playing around town this week.

• Alamo Kids Club is showing The Adventures of Baron Munchausen for free at noon on Saturday at Alamo South Lamar. It's not Terry Gilliam's best movie by any means, but if you're going to see this film, see it in a theater where you can enjoy all its lavish big-screen gorgeousness. Hopefully the smaller children won't get restless and distracting.
• If you happen to be near Waco on Saturday instead, head over to the WISD Playhouse Theater for a screening of the documentary Six Man, Texas that will benefit a rural school scholarship program. Details on the film's website.

We haven't had a Movies This Week in awhile, so why wait? Let's see what's out there. The film elite may be at Sundance this week, but Austin is a lot warmer and you don't have to rush around to see good movies. A few are even free.

• The time-travel suspense thriller Timecrimes opens today at Alamo Village. I reviewed this clever, low-budget movie when it played Fantastic Fest in 2007, and enjoyed it very much. That's writer-director Nacho Vigalondo in the above photo, dancing with Tim League at FF '07.
• Austin Film Society is hosting a free screening of the doc Stranded: I've Come from a Plane That Crashed on the Mountain on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 11 am at Alamo South Lamar. It's first-come, first-served for tickets.
• Have you heard yet about the Office Space 10th anniversary screening on Sunday, Feb. 8 at the Paramount? Tickets go on sale at noon Saturday through Paramount's ticket service, gettix.net (yay, excessive service charges!). Mike Judge and cast members to be named later -- Gary Cole and David Herman have been confirmed so far -- will be at the event, which is co-sponsored by SXSW and Fantastic Fest. How many chances do you get to see this movie with 1200 other people?

The big movie in theaters this week, if you're a teenager, is the vampire film Twilight. The movie didn't screen for Austin critics so I can't tell you what I thought. I saw Bolt instead, which has no fangs (in a literal or figurative sense) but is a very cute family movie.

But the movie I want to recommend for this week is JCVD, which opens today at Alamo Ritz. You don't have to be a Jean Claude Van Damme fan to enjoy the film. I'd say it's like Dog Day Afternoon meets Being John Malkovich but that would be entirely wrong. Go see it for yourself. If you see it on Thanksgiving Day, Alamo is offering a turkey dinner special.

Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, there are fewer special screenings than usual in Austin this week, but here are some of the most interesting:

• The Dobie is showing My Name is Bruce all week long. Check out my review and my interview with Bruce Campbell, who directed the comedy and stars as ... Bruce Campbell. If you can coordinate movie times, this would make a fabulous double-feature with JCVD.
• If Twilight and Let the Right One In have given you a craving for more vampire films, Alamo Ritz can help you out. On Sunday night, you can see The Lost Boys and Near Dark. The theater is also offering Bloody Mary cocktail specials that night.
• On Monday you have to make a decision: Austin Cinematheque is showing Louis Malle's Murmur of the Heart, and the Harry Ransom Center is showing the 1947 film The Lost Moment. Austin Cinematheque prides itself on showing 35mm prints, and HRC tends to show DVDs ... but both movies are free.