Opportunities for the Week of 5/21-5/27
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 5/21-Thursday 5/27, NEW RELEASE PICK OF THE WEEK
Alamo Ritz – HAUSU
Now you may be asking, “How can a film made in 1977 be Austin Cinephile’s new release pick of the week?” Well, this film is just now realizing its first United States theatrical run in good ol’ 2010, so, as the saying goes, it’s new to you. And the word on the street is that this hour and a half of absolute crazy hasn’t aged a day. It drew rave reviews when it played during Fantastic Fest last year, and film critics everywhere have adored it. The screenings for this Japanese haunted house flick are few and may not last long, so get out of your hausu and head down to the Ritz before it’s too late. P.S. If I really dig this movie, I’ll consider it for my top 10 of 2010 list. We can all look forward to this really bothering Daniel.
Sunday 5/23, all day
The Paramount – CASABLANCA and THE MALTESE FALCON
Casablanca, arguably a perfect film, will be followed by another classic, The Maltese Falcon. It may be Sunday, but even God can’t do better than that. So put on your “They don’t make ‘em like they used to” frown and head on over to the Paramount!
Monday 5/24, 9:45pm,
Alamo Ritz – Music Monday: THE DOORS: WHEN YOU’RE STRANGE
Either you love The Doors, and the Val Kilmer-led biopic about them, or you can go fuck yourself. This new documentary follows the band on their ascent to stardom, narrated by Johnny Depp.
Tuesday and Wednesday 5/25-5/26
The Paramount – ANOTHER THIN MAN and THE THIN MAN GOES HOME
It’s difficult to recommend these films to anyone who has not already seen the original Nick and Nora mystery masterpiece, The Thin Man. Not only is it the best of the series, but it does a brilliant job of establishing this greatest of screen couples, played by the incomparable William Powell and Myrna Loy. So your homework assignment for the weekend is simple: watch The Thin Man. Then we’ll see you at the Paramount for the third and fifth films in the series, in which Powell gets drunk and Loy rolls her eyes for the third and fifth times.
Tuesday 5/25, 9:45pm,
Alamo Ritz – Terror Tuesday: FEAR NO EVIL aka LUCIFER
A kid who gets picked on a lot realizes he has the powers of Satan and decides to have a little revenge on his classmates. Sounds a bit like Carrie, doesn’t it? But hey, this is Terror Tuesday after all, so expect the filmmaking to be a little less classy and the actors to be a little less on-their-way-to-stardom. But it looks like some good, gory, supernatural fun, which is just what we’re looking for on Tuesday nights.
Wednesday 5/26, 11:55pm, CLASSIC PICK OF THE WEEK
Alamo Ritz – Weird Wednesday: SWEET SUGAR
The city of Austin is due for another Women in Prison movie, and recent guest Stephanie Rothman had a hand in the creation of this one, which adds the extra intrigue of a mad doctor experimenting on the buxom inmates by, among other things, throwing angry housecats at them. What astonishing scientific results will this yield? You’ll have to stop by to find out!
Friday 5/21-Thursday 5/27
Regal Arbor – THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES
This film just won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, beating out favorites like A Prophet and The White Ribbon. Considering the track record of this award in recent years, this does not mean the movie is any good, but it might be.
Friday 5/21-Thursday 5/27
The Dobie – THE SECRET OF KELLS
If you’re a fan of animation like Stephen, you’ve probably been wondering when this Academy Award-nominated film would be coming to Austin, if ever. Well, the Dobie has finally made itself useful for a change, bringing a movie to our city that hasn’t already been playing here for over a month (like their other “new” arrival this weekend, Greenberg). I have no idea what it’s about, but it looks bright and colorful and French (it’s from the producers of The Triplets of Belleville, another fine animated feature). Maybe it will remove the icky taste left in our mouths by Ponyo. Remember how disgustingly cute and childish that was? Let’s hope for something else with this one.
Friday 5/21-Thursday 5/27
Alamo South Lamar – THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE
This is one of those moments when we are really lucky to have the Alamo in our town, because if the Arbor or the Dobie tried to screen this aberration of a film, several of our fine city’s senior citizens would end up either angry or dead. I can’t wait. This movie appears to be about a man who sews people together ass to mouth. They’re still alive by the way. I saw the trailer for this film with the Weird Wednesday crowd last week, and it was blowing our minds. There’s going to be some fainting and probably some gagging during this movie. And that’s just the audience.
