movies this week: hmmm. interesting.

It truly has been one-week-on, one-week-off in Austin theaters. Perhaps this is a nice gesture on the part of film distributors to allow us to catch up on the good films during the off weeks.
Most of the movies this week look interesting. Not loads of thrills, not full of stunning visuals or amazing special effects, but the kinds of movies that keep your brain occupied and absorbed for a couple of hours. (I’m not counting the Hilary Duff movie. I’m ignoring it. Or the Jimmy Fallon movie, for that matter. Okay, maybe this was a dumb generalization to make, but I can’t think of anything better right now.) And if you want something a little more fun, there are good movies still playing in theaters from previous weeks.

New movies in Austin this week:
Friday Night Lights—I own this book and yet I have never read it. (It’s currently on extended loan to my boyfriend.) But if you live in Texas you get the general idea anyway: people in this state are insane about high-school football. This could be a very enjoyable movie. Also, I think if you live in Austin you’re practically required to see it. (Did I ever mention that I almost ended up living and working in Midland-Odessa once, where this movie is set? I have no regrets about turning down that opportunity.)
I Heart Huckabees—You all know how I feel about using the word “heart” as a verb. I think it is atrocious. When confronted with a little heart and forced to interpret it, I will say “love” instead. So I was determined not to like David O. Russell’s movie because of the overly twee title. However, I have heard lots of good things about it, mostly from Toronto Film Festival reports, so I am willing to sullenly deal with the “heart” thingy and maybe go see this intriguing movie.
The Motorcycle Diaries—An adaptation of Che Guevera’s journals about a road trip he took through S. America in the Fifties, during his med-school days. This is another movie everyone has been praising.
Raise Your Voice—Hilary Duff. Enough said.
Taxi—Dear Queen Latifah: Please start making movies I would actually want to see. I loved seeing you in Chicago. But this? Ew.
Uncovered: the War on Iraq—Another very relevant documentary. The title makes my eyes glaze over. Directed by Robert Greenwald, who also directed Outfoxed, a movie that disappointed me somewhat. (Hey, look! He also directed Xanadu. The Web is a wonderful fund of information, isn’t it?)
The Yes Men—Two guys travel around the world pretending to be World Trade Organization representatives. Hmmm. Could be worth seeing. One of the directors, Chris Smith, also directed the documentary Home Movie, which I thought was entertainingly cute. If I were forced to see a movie at Dobie this weekend, I might just pick this one.
Notable events/revivals in Austin:
Austin Film Festival—Running from Oct. 14-21. Lots of movies, lots of theaters around town. Their Web site has a complete schedule.
Bright Leaves—Ross McElwee’s latest documentary is playing at Alamo Downtown Oct. 12-14. Long before Michael Moore started clowning in front of the camera, McElwee walked around with his camera on his shoulder, talking to ex-girlfriends and swearing the camera was off when it wasn’t, in Sherman’s March. I liked Sherman’s March except that it was about 30 minutes too long. This movie is shorter, and it’s about the tobacco industry and how McElwee and his family have been affected by it.
See, this is why I haven’t bought a pass to Austin Film Festival. I could go to the Alamo all October long and get a great variety of worthwhile films … and I don’t even seem to have time for that, much less a weeklong film festival.
Control Room—Playing at the Paramount on Sun. 10/10. I think this documentary is about to be released on DVD, but if you have some Paramount Flix-Tix to burn (which we do), this could be a great way to do it. Also playing at Alamo Downtown on Thursday 10/14.
Re-Animator—Playing at Alamo Downtown on Mon. 10/11 for $1. I’m planning to go, because I have never seen this movie. It’s one of my little brother’s very favorite films, but then he loved Napoleon Dynamite and hated Chicago, so we’ll see how I like it.
Stand By Me—Playing at Alamo Village on Sun. 10/10. Wil Wheaton will be attending this screening, and you get in free if you buy his new book, Just a Geek.
Winged Migration—Playing Sun.-Mon. 10/10-11 at Paramount. They are advertising this documentary about birds with “Anyone who loved Baraka will love this movie as well.” Yeah, I think I’d rather see Re-Animator myself.
This weekend we are having zombie-a-go-go fest at the house: we have Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead on DVD, and then we are going to see Shawn of the Dead. Kinda like the Russ Meyer fest from a few weeks ago, except with a severe reduction in what my sister calls The Boobage.
Also, if time permits, I would still like to see A Dirty Shame, although that might have to wait one more weekend. (Dear Arbor: Please keep the movie there one more week. For me? Merci beaucoup.)
I still need to write reviews for movies I’ve seen in the past few weeks: House of Games, The Front, Dear Pillow, The Bourne Supremacy, and Russ Meyer’s Vixen movies (which I had seen before, but want to write about anyway). Funny how I wrote the Napoleon Dynamite review right away, but I wanted to record my immediate and undiluted response.