I should feel so very guilty. I bought a ticket in advance to see Me and You and Everyone We Know last night, and then I didn’t go. I got stuck in a meeting, it was storming pretty badly, I was exhausted from a personal training session at the gym at lunchtime, I hadn’t eaten, I accidentally had taken some medication that might have made me drowsy, I had a ton of stuff to do because we’re going to San Antonio today. Excuses, excuses.
So I didn’t post a review on the day the movie opened in Austin, which is a little sad, especially because I haven’t posted anything this week. Oh, the guilt.
I don’t feel too guilty, though, because at least the money I spent on the ticket I didn’t use went to a good cause (CinemaTexas), and it turned out I did in fact need the rest. The movie is playing at Arbor Great Hills all week and hopefully I will see it eventually and even write about it.
I probably won’t see any movies this weekend, though, because I’m going to be in San Antonio with my immediate family. My sister expressed an interest in seeing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but I have no idea if any San Antonio theaters are near the area where we’re staying. San Antonio does have an Alamo Drafthouse but it isn’t near the actual Alamo.
Before I go, I wanted to let y’all know—well, at least let the Austinites know—that Alamo Downtown has posted its August schedule on the Web. Looks like a good line-up, including Antonioni’s Blow-Up, Oldboy, Tell Them Who You Are (the documentary about cinematographer Haskell Wexler, made by his son Mark), and even The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, if you’re into early Kurt Russell.
My sister will be terribly jealous because on August 21, Alamo is showing all three Lord of the Rings movies back-to-back (it starts mid-morning) with an all-day Hobbit menu. I wonder if we could sneak her back into town for this. Well, I wish we could, anyway, although she would probably want Orlando Bloom for dessert.
If you are in Austin this weekend you can see Dr. Strangelove or A Hard Day’s Night at the Paramount, Fast Times at Ridgemont High or Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle at Alamo Downtown, and The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie for free at Alamo South Lamar.
Also, March of the Penguins is opening at Arbor Great Hills and my boyfriend and I may be weirdly tempted to see that in the next week. And I will see the Miranda July film. And catch up on my movie reviews. And finally write about my theory on the alleged box-office slump (now that it’s allegedly over). And not feel guilty when I fail to do all of the above.
more than they could handle
My grandfather has probably never seen the movie Raising Arizona, since his TV tastes run more toward sports events and old Charles Bronson or James Bond movies. And if he ever did see that hilarious Coen brothers comedy late one night, flipping through the channels, my guess is that he would not remember much about it. Not really his type of humor.
So my grandfather doesn’t even know that he missed the perfect opportunity to utter one of the most memorable lines from that film. It was the kind of opportunity that few of us will ever experience, although not exactly the kind that we would dream about.
July free-for-all: the proof
Last week I boasted that you could see a free movie in a theater in Austin every night of the week. I wondered if I could prove it.
I can. Here’s a list of free movies playing in Austin next week, one for every day in the week. Some of them are outdoors instead of in theaters; some of them are screenings of DVDs instead of reels of film. Some are in the greater Austin area … Round Rock, San Marcos, etc. But it is still true that if you’re short on cash (and have a source of reliable transportation), you can see a free movie every day around town.
Some of the films on this list are part of various theaters’ summer film series for kids. But I see no reason why grown-ups can’t sneak in. If you think it’ll be a problem, tell the theater staff that you’re meeting your sister and her kids and they’re already in the theater. Some people might not like the idea of watching a movie in a theater full of kids, but if it’s a good movie that kids like, I think it’s delightful to watch them enjoying the film. (It’s the bored kids who are no fun in theaters.)
Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
Howl’s Moving Castle: 2004, dir. Hayao Miyazaki. Seen at Arbor Great Hills (June 17).
Howl’s Moving Castle (aka Hauru no ugoku shiro) is still in a few theaters, and if it’s playing near you, I recommend seeing it in the theater, whether it is dubbed or subtitled. The best thing about this movie is the way it looks, and the charming little details of animation, which might be lost on a smaller TV screen.
I was pleased that the Arbor decided to show the subtitled version of Howl’s Moving Castle instead of the dubbed version. I doubt the movie loses much being dubbed, because I have seen other Miyazaki movies dubbed by Disney and they do a great job. But I thought I would prefer the subtitled version just the same.
AFS special screenings in July
An Austin Film Society membership is the best deal in town. You can become an AFS member for as little as $20 a year and if you see films with any regularity, the membership pays for itself easily. (I think mine paid for itself sometime in March.)
Many of the Alamo Drafthouse special screenings have AFS discounts, including the Texas Documentary Tour series. AFS nearly always has some other film series going on with weekly movies that are free for members, movies that are often hard (or impossible) to find on DVD. And every so often, AFS holds sneak previews where members can get one or two free tickets if they respond quickly enough.
Those are just the free movie perks … I haven’t even mentioned benefits and discounts for filmmakers. Because of my AFS membership, I was able to audit a master class in film at UT last semester, which was an unforgettable experience.
Also, I really like AFS-sponsored movies because you usually can buy the tickets online at the AFS Web site, which doesn’t charge extra for online ticket purchases like most movie theaters do.
Besides their regularly scheduled films, Austin Film Society is sponsoring two preview screenings in the next couple of weeks:
Me and You and Everyone We Know—Playing at Alamo Downtown on Thursday 7/14. Tickets are $5 and the proceeds go to benefit Cinematexas. Miranda July’s film won an award at Cannes and has been getting great reviews all over the place. You get to support a female filmmaker and a deserving local short film festival. Tickets are still available on the AFS Web site (I got mine) and I don’t think you have to be an AFS member.
The Bad News Bears—Playing at the Paramount on Wednesday 7/20. Tickets range from $8-50 depending on whether you’re an AFS member and whether you actually want to be able to see the film from your seat. Director Richard Linklater and cast members to be named later will be in attendance. Tickets are available through the Paramount.
As much as I’d enjoy seeing (and reviewing) this movie in advance and hearing Linklater talk about it, I’d rather see it in a theater where I don’t have to spend $40 for a good seat (although that $40 also gets you into an after-party at Dart Bowl). I wish I could get a press pass. Hey, I’m a film critic. Somebody comp me.
Bizet is back
In a previous entry, I reviewed the 1976 Bad News Bears and wondered if the remake also would incorporate Bizet’s Carmen in the soundtrack. (I believe the use of that opera in the original movie is absolute genius.)
I dug around the Web and found this SoundtrackNet article about the remake soundtrack, which was arranged by Ed Shearmur. From the article:
“As with the original 1976 film, in which composer Jerry Fielding adapted Bizet’s Carmen to fit the action on screen, Shearmur as well is arranging the classic opera for this new remake. In addition to that, though, he wrote original music to balance against it, using ethnic instruments such as the ocarina, and recorders.”
I am totally intrigued by this remake. Usually I have nothing good to say about remakes but I might actually want to see this one.
And I am happy to hear about the possibility that another generation of kids might walk around humming Bizet. Hee.
Man with the Screaming Brain (2005)
Man with the Screaming Brain: 2005, dir. Bruce Campbell. Seen at Alamo South (July 5).
Poor Beau. He’s so nice about accompanying me to all kinds of films, as long as they aren’t bawdy, advertised as Motion Picture Events about the Triumph of the Human Spirit, or independent films about poetry.
Last month I dragged him to The Forbidden Zone. Last night I dragged him to The Man with the Screaming Brain, a film directed by Bruce Campbell for the Sci-Fi Channel. Bruce Campbell, whom some of you might know from the Evil Dead movies, was at the screening to answer questions and sign his new book, Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way. So you could say it was a motion picture event, but the fun kind, not the begging-for-Oscars kind.
Man with the Screaming Brain is a goofy, intentionally bizarre little movie that I think would probably play better on TV than it does in a theater. It wasn’t bad, but it might be more fun to watch in your living room with a group of Bruce Campbell-lovin’ friends and a case of beer and maybe some pizza.
twelve six-minute reviews
All right. For every job that must be done, there is an element of fun … find the fun, and then just do a half-assed job. It’s the American way. Or something.
I want to write 12 movie reviews on which I have been procrastinating dreadfully. So I’ve made a game of it. I have 6 minutes to write something about every movie, and that will be my review. The exception is the Enron movie because I already wrote a chunk of it and I just have to finish it (and maybe take out some of the old text since it was written while I was in A Mood about corporations).
I wrote down all the movie titles on little slips of paper, so we will randomly select the order in which I will review these movies. Now, let’s see how this will work. My boyfriend has kindly offered to draw out the first slip of paper …
movies this week: holiday riches
Remember how disappointed I was on Memorial Day weekend because I couldn’t find anything to see in theaters? I wonder if Somebody Up There (you know, in the projection booth) took pity on me, because Austin has truly an embarrassment of movie riches this week. I wish I could take the whole week off work and catch Double Indemnity and the Preston Sturges double feature and Casuistry: How to Kill a Cat and American Beer and … wow. I have a four-day weekend and it is not enough.
This will be a difficult week for me because I have to accept the fact that I can’t see all the movies I want. I have to go to work and go to the gym and see my boyfriend somewhere other than a dark theater and clean the garage and taunt the cat. The rule of thumb lately has been that the movies I can’t see on DVD take precedence over the ones I can, with the exception of The Wild Bunch, just because. (That movie really needs a better DVD release, by the way.) Also, I already bought tickets in advance for various films at Alamo, and I can’t see more than one movie at a time.
I suppose I should be happy that no one has invited my boyfriend and me to any July 4 picnics or barbecues or other festive gatherings this weekend, because now I can make more time to watch movies and write about movies and read film weblogs and recover from movie-induced migraines.
a short survey
I was starting to look through Austin movie theater Web sites so I could pull together this week’s Movies This Week and I wondered: why I am going to this much trouble? It takes me hours to write a Movies This Week entry, because I have to check all the Alamo Drafthouse schedules and the Paramount schedule and the Austin Film Society calendar, and then I check Austin360 and the Austin Chronicle movie sections to see if I am missing any special screenings. I usually end up venturing over to IMDb to find out what some of these movies are about, and sometimes I use Google to find out more about this or that film. If I have time, I start the entry on Thursday lunch or Thursday night, work on it during Friday lunch, and post it Friday after work.
It has been just about one year since Omar ran out of time to write his Movies This Week entries and I asked him if I could take them over. It’s been fun, but I’m starting to realize that I might not want to invest as much time in these weekly entries as I do now.
I don’t mind doing this and it does mean that I walk around with the week’s schedule of Austin films in my head, which can be useful in conversations (okay, or dull) and which is a good reminder for me that I should put such-and-such film on my calendar or buy tickets now.
Here’s what I want to know: Are you reading all of Movies This Week? Do you read just the part “above the fold” that is posted on the index page, and don’t click through to the actual listings? Do you read about the new movies but skip the part about Austin special events (which I realize would be interesting only if you live in Austin)? Do you actually use the listing to find out about movies you might want to see?
I’m not getting rid of Movies This Week but I am seriously considering cutting it down in scope. I might list and discuss only new movies, or I might list only the most notable special screenings in Austin. (As it is, I don’t list DVD screenings or movies I don’t like, and it still goes on forever. You could watch a free movie or DVD screening every night in this town if you wanted.) I mean, that’s what Omar did when he wrote Movies This Week, but his entries were a lot funnier and I felt compelled to make up for the lack of humor with more information about Austin screenings.
I don’t want to write all this stuff, for which I am not paid, if no one is using it as a resource. After all, on Fridays you can pick up an Austin Chronicle or go to their Web site, click on Calendar and Special Screenings, and view an even better (if less snarky) list.
So please, if you read this site regularly, post a comment to let me know if/how you’re reading Movies This Week. I’d really appreciate it. Also, let me know if you live in/near Austin. I’m certainly not going to cry or fuss if you tell me you don’t read the damn thing or you think it sucks; I want to know so I can make a good decision.
Meanwhile, I am going back to the Alamo site to marvel at the number of good films that one local theater chain can show in one week. Thanks for helping me decide what to do about the Movies This Week thing.