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.
Friday 3/5 -Thursday, 3/11
The Dobie, FISH TANK
Andrea Arnold’s latest film Fish Tank arrives in Austin on a wave of highly positive critical reaction. Arnold has already proven herself to be a promising filmmaker with her Academy Award-winning short film Wasp and her debut feature Red Road, the latter of which can be seen right now on Netflix Instant Streaming (recommended, it’s a great movie). Returning to the impoverished British slums that she explored in these earlier films, Arnold’s new movie follows fifteen-year-old troublemaker Mia, played by the amazing newcomer Katie Jarvis, as she yearns to escape from her neighborhood and her irresponsible mother, who barely seems older than Mia herself. That is, until Mom brings home a dashing new boyfriend, played by Michael Fassbender. Suddenly, for Mia, things are getting a little more interesting around the house. Although a full review will be posted soon on this site, Austin Cinephile can tell you now that this is a film you do not want to miss.
Friday 3/5 -Thursday, 3/11
wide, ALICE IN WONDERLAND 3D
Tim Burton and Johnny Depp are back together again, two long years after one of their finest achievements as a filmmaking team, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Can they top that film with this, the latest rendering of the literary classic? You certainly should be excited to see a film in 3-D that isn’t Avatar, since it has been about four months since such an opportunity has presented itself. Apparently, Crispin Glover is involved, so Austin Cinephile will see you there.
Friday 3/5 -Thursday, 3/11
Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar and Regal Arbor, THE GHOST WRITER
Roman Polanski is back, this time with more bona fide movie stars per square frame than any other movie he has ever made. Surprisingly, or I guess unsurprisingly given how talented a filmmaker Polanski is, he has corralled these talents into a film that critics are declaring his finest since 2002’s Academy Awards party crasher The Pianist. I won’t give you a synopsis here, mostly because I myself have avoided learning any information about what promises to be another of Polanski’s signature twisting and turning cinematic thrillers. What I do know is that you will see Moulin Rouge’s megawatt smile Ewan McGregor, the “real” James Bond (for anyone born in the mid to late 80s) Pierce Brosnan, and a host of others including Sex and the City’s Kim Cattrall, Timothy Hutton, Eli Wallach, Rushmore beauty Olivia Williams, and Tom Wilkinson, who, it is said, has never been in a bad movie. If there isn’t at least one actor there that you like, may I direct you to Paul Blart: Mall Cop, showing all week on Starz?
Saturday 3/6
9:00pm, Alamo Village, EVE’S NECKLACE
This film claims to be the first ever motion picture featuring an all-mannequin cast. Either you’ve moved to the next entry, or you’re actually intrigued by what I just said. If you are still here, I can direct you to the Alamo blog entry for this movie, where you can learn more and obtain free tickets. We wish you good luck.
Saturday 3/6 – Sunday 3/7
Alamo Ritz, Brunch @ the Alamo: SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN
If this Oscar weekend is getting you down, and you want to remember a time when movies that were declared great actually were great, than I suggest you head over to the Alamo Ritz on Saturday or Sunday afternoon for one of the greatest movies ever made: Singin’ in the Rain. Most people in the world fall into two categories (Austin Cinephile’s resident grump Daniel being an exception): those who have seen this movie and can’t wait to see it again, and those who haven’t seen it. Obviously, no matter which category you fall into, you’ll want to catch this brunchtime screening, where the Alamo chefs will be offering two special menu items created just for this classic movie. You just started whistling the tune to “Good Morning,” didn’t you?
Monday 3/8
10:00pm, Alamo Ritz, Music Monday: STILL BILL
Have you heard the song “Lean on Me?” “Ain’t No Sunshine (When She’s Gone)?” “Just the Two of Us?” Then you’ve heard of Bill Withers, the focus of the new documentary showing this week at Music Monday. Normally, Austin Cinephile wouldn’t be terribly excited about one of these documentaries in which an old musician rattles on, but, judging from this trailer, Bill Withers seems to have some interesting things to say. Worth a try.
Tuesday 3/9
7:00pm, Alamo Ritz, Girlie Night: NOW AND THEN
Daniel has never seen this movie, and Stephen can barely remember it, but it does feature Christina Ricci and the dialogue exchange, “Have you ever French-kissed before? – Are you kidding? I don’t want to get pregnant!” If you have fond memories of this movie, or of Christina Ricci, the Alamo is giving you the chance to enjoy a little nostalgia.
Tuesday 3/9
10:00pm, Alamo Ritz, Terror Tuesday: BURIAL GROUND
According to Terror Tuesday host Zack, this film is one of the finest to follow in the footsteps of 1980s Italian zombie schlockmasters like Lucio Fulci. If you’ve seen any of the other Terror Tuesday presentations of Italian zombie films, you know that this is one of the most consistently entertaining genres in the series. You’ll be guaranteed a lot of blood, a lot of screaming, and probably some decent makeup effects. Maybe some indecent ones, too.
Wednesday 3/10, PICK OF THE WEEK
11:55pm, Alamo Ritz, Weird Wednesday: DR. TARR’S TORTURE DUNGEON
After Luis Bunuel left Mexico in the mid-1960s to make movies with Catherine Denueve in France (wouldn’t you?), the door was left wide open for new Mexican directors to step into his surrealist crazy shoes. In 1973, Juan Lopez Moctezuma decided he was up for the challenge, turning an Edgar Allan Poe story into this film about an asylum that has been taken over by the inmates. If you’ve seen an Alejandro Jodorowsky film and lived to tell about it, this may be the film for you, which is why it is our PICK OF THE WEEK.
