Opportunities for the Week of 4/30-5/6
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.
Sunday 3/2, 7:00pm, PICK OF THE WEEK
Alamo Ritz – Cinema Club: NIGHT NURSE
Seems like it was only yesterday that we were reveling in the glories of Bride of Frankenstein, but Cinema Club is back! This month we are going to dirty our towels with the salacious, pre-code classic Night Nurse, a film that lacks for nothing. We’ve got two of Daniel’s favorite screen sirens, Barbara Stanwyck as the titular character, stealing the screen with her usual sexy confidence, and Joan Blondell, one of cinema’s finest supporting actresses, not to mention Clark Gable as a mean chauffeur and director William A. Wellman (The Public Enemy) bringing it all home. We will be joined by Kim Morgan, who, in addition to running her blog Sunset Gun, has an awe-inspiring amount of experience writing and talking about films, with essays in Huffington Post, Entertainment Weekly, and GQ and a guest appearance filling in for Roger Ebert on At the Movies. She knows her stuff, folks, and if you attend this rare and unique event, you will too.
Tuesday 5/4, 9:45pm,
Alamo Ritz – Terror Tuesday: THE BROOD
Uh oh everybody, it’s David Cronenberg and we are in for some wild shit. This is a man whose most marketable film is probably the one where a stark naked Viggo Mortensen gets into a knife fight in a London bathhouse. Before he and Mortensen started tackling more down-to-earth subjects (their next collaboration will see Mortensen as Sigmund Freud), Cronenberg was known for some truly legendary sci-fi flicks like Videodrome and the remake of The Fly with Austin Cinephile favorite Jeff Goldblum, as well as a few horrifying pictures like The Brood. The only thing crazier than Cronenberg’s early work is the fact that they kept letting him make these films. I think more than a few new Cronenberg fans will be created tonight.
Wednesday 5/5, 7:00pm
Alamo Ritz – Cinco de Mayo Feast: THREE AMIGOS
Stephen doesn’t mind telling you that he would love to go this and enjoy once again one of his favorite childhood comedies, even if it clearly is not the most politically correct film the Alamo could have chosen to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. You remember last week at your office when someone asked you if you had enough staples and you said yes and in a Spanish accent they said “Would you say that we have a plethora of staples” and you thought “What the hell is Phil talking about?” This movie will tell you! And my mouth is watering just reading about the three courses being served along with it.
Sunday 5/2-Wednesday 5/5, varied times
Alamo Ritz – THE EVIL DEAD
Surely you’ve seen this movie already. Can one even make it through middle school without having seen this film? Before the Spider-Man spectacle, Sam Raimi was stretching his ten dollars to create this bloody, cheeky romp through demonic possession and zombie killing, reminding all student filmmakers that it doesn’t cost much to film a woman being sexually assaulted by a tree. This movie is probably why we stopped climbing trees in the 6th grade, so stop by for a bit of nostalgia.
Friday 4/30-Thursday 5/6
wide – A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET
I have to tell you, I’m not terribly excited about this one, but I can’t not mention a new horror movie. I actually thought the Last House on the Left remake was pretty decent, Friday the 13th a little less so. In the case of Elm Street, though, most of the allure of the original was Robert Englund’s performance as serial dream murderer Freddy Krueger and Wes Craven’s marvelous way with making cheap visual effects look spectacularly eerie. Jackie Earle Haley is no chopped liver, but he’s stepping into some of the biggest shoes in the history of horror cinema, and I have a bad feeling. See at your own peril.
Thursday 5/6, midnight
everywhere that has a movie screen – IRON MAN 2
These days, you pretty much have to talk about a big new movie in terms of Thursday midnights. The studios have been cashing in on our crazy desire to stand in line until midnight on a weekday to see the latest movie 12 hours before everyone else, and Iron Man 2 will surely be no different. If you’re inclined, the Alamo Village is showing a double feature with the first film, starting at 9:45. More on this film on next week’s calendar, where it really belongs.
