A new starlet emerges
Posted by Daniel Metz
Philippe Mora double post: THE BEAST WITHIN (1982) and MAD DOG MORGAN (1976)
Posted by Daniel Metz
This past week, we were lucky enough to have been visited by directer Philippe Mora, who’s Howling 2 pleased both a Terror Thursday and Terror Tuesday audience. Mora is a hilarious storyteller, and the comments he made on the Ritz stage had both Tuesday and Wednesday night crowds in stitches. Zack and Lars did a fine job conducting the discussions, too.
You won’t want to look away from this FISH TANK (2009)
Posted by Stephen Jannise
Dir. Andrea Arnold
The Dobie, 3/08/10, 7:15pm
WARNING!!! You’ve only got three more days to see one of the best new films of the past few years! Inexplicably, The Dobie is shoving out Andrea Arnold’s marvelous new film Fish Tank after only one week to make room for the Oscar Nominated Shorts programs, even though the Oscars have already been handed out. This all-too-brief stay in Austin won’t do much for Arnold’s visibility in our fair city, which should be much higher after her very fine, Academy Award-winning, 2003 short Wasp and her stunning debut feature Red Road, which I saw at the Lincoln Plaza Cinemas in Manhattan in 2007. I remember thinking Arnold could be one of the next big things in contemporary filmmaking. But that film was almost completely ignored by American audiences, and Fish Tank, which is her best work to date, looks set to suffer the same fate. What does this woman have to do to get noticed?
Live Blogging the Oscars, 2010
Posted by Austin Cinephile
We’ll be here all night live blogging the worst night in cinema. Will Avatar win big? Perhaps Mo’Nique is going to win. We’re still hoping Nic Cage is going to pull a Kanye away from The Dude.
I'ma let you finish, but Nic Cage is the best actor of all time.
2009 Cinephilia Award Winners
Posted by Austin Cinephile
Just in time for you suckers to kvetch about the Oscars, Austin Cinephile has tallied up its votes and come up with the winners of its own awards, the colorfully titled Cinephilia Awards. You may remember our nominations from a month or so ago. In case not, you can check them out.
There were some tough calls, and none of us are happy with all of the winners. I guess that’s what voting is all about. Well, without further ado, the people and movies that made us love the movies the past year:
Stepping into THE UNKNOWN (1927)
Posted by Stephen Jannise
Dir. Tod Browning
Alamo Ritz, 2/28/10, 7:00pm
Local Austin band The Invincible Czars made seeing Tod Browning’s The Unknown again a real pleasure. The band made fine use of the many instruments at its disposal, among them violin, flute, and all the usual rock band accoutrements, and some haunting vocals moments added a few lovely emotional notes to the film. The Czars are a talented group of players, and you can catch this performance/screening again during SXSW on Thursday March 18 at 12 noon at the Alamo Ritz. Now, onto the film itself…
Opportunities for the Week of 3/5-3/11
Posted by Austin Cinephile
Time for the weekly roundup of Weird Wednesday, Terror Tuesday, special events and outstanding new releases that you will not want to miss this week. Only the best selections here, aiming to ensure you see at least one great film every day.
Assignment #4: Dedicated Fans
Posted by Austin Cinephile
Every week, we will be posting a prompt related to cinephilia, and some of our founding members will contribute a short response. Hopefully you, our dear readers, will feel compelled to respond in our comment section as well. This week’s prompt was:
Are there any actors/directors whose new films you will see regardless of any conditions?
Daniel
I chose this question because I think it is provocative and gets at the heart of moviegoing in the 21st century. As anyone interested in film history knows, the experience of cinemagoing is always changing. One of the major changes in the past century is a shift in audience perception from an actor oriented cinema to a director oriented cinema. So, in 1939, It’s A Wonderful Life is a Jimmy Stewart picture. Now, in 2010, it is most likely a Frank Capra film.
Quick musing on the issue of aging
Posted by Daniel Metz
Who is the better actor?
I don’t know much about Mr. Colin Firth. I enjoyed him in A Single Man. So did Stephen.
I recently saw him in Shakespeare in Love. To be honest, I didn’t really recognize him. So I searched him on Google Images (he passes the nudity test, by the way), and what I found was two different men who both went by his name. In his earlier career, he is a soft-faced dream, too flattering sweet to be substantial. In A Single Man, his face is distinguished, there is maturity in the folds of his cheeks. Not since Harry Dean Stanton have I seen an actor so benefit from aging. He’s got character now.
Ever made it with a chick in a trance before? Then you’ll love DELINQUENT SCHOOL GIRLS (1975)
Posted by Daniel Metz
Dir. Greg Corarito
Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, 2/24/10, 11:59pm
This week, we were lucky enough to experience one of the all-time great Weird Wednesday presentations. For those of you keeping track, our last trip to perfect exploitation was one month ago, the fabulous and madcap Lord Love a Duck. Well, ten years after that film, schlockmeisters still knew how to please, as was evident in Delinquent School Girls.
