Ring in the new, indeed. There are hardly any new movies opening this week, at least not in Austin. Most everything opened Christmas Day or right beforehand.
So this is a good week to catch up on all the movies you missed while you were out shopping for gifts, or wrapping gifts, or stressing about relatives, or travelling, or eating, or eating more, or doing other typical holiday things. Check out the Movies This Week from last week or the week before if you need to refresh your memory about what’s out there. Alamo Downtown is showing all kinds of crazy and fun stuff, too.
New movies in Austin this week:
Beyond the Sea—I’m not sure what the buzz is for Kevin Spacey’s pet project, a biopic of Bobby Darin. I haven’t heard anything particularly enthusiastic about it. I don’t feel at all enthusiastic about possibly seeing it. There are too many other movies out there that I haven’t seen yet that look much more entertaining.
Notable events/revivals in Austin:
Drunken Wutang—Playing at Alamo Downtown on Mon. 1/3. Bizarre kung-fu movie from 1983 that sounds just plain insane … and admission is $1.
Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers and Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe—Playing at Alamo Downtown on Wed. 1/5 as part of “The Ultimate Garlic Experience.” Two movies directed by documentarian Les Blank, neither of which are available on DVD, accompanied by a garlic-laden dinner. This sounds like a lot of fun. Tickets are $25. Anyone want to go with me?
The In Sound from Way Out—Playing at Alamo Downtown on Mon. 1/3. Alamo Downtown’s film programmers created this documentary in-house. It’s a collection of clips advertised as “aural oddities from musical madmen.” And, hey … admission is $1. I love Dollar Night.
Jailhouse Rock and Viva Las Vegas—Playing at the Paramount next Saturday 1/8. Double-feature to celebrate The King’s 70th birthday. (Me, I would prefer to see Bubba Ho-Tep again instead.) Free popcorn if you dress up as Elvis.
The Jerk—Playing at Alamo Downtown on Thurs-Sun. 1/6-9. The Alamo is offering free pizza in a cup to accompany this midnight movie, which is also playing at 7 pm on Sunday (yay! thanks, guys!).
La Dolce Vita—Playing at the Paramount on Fri. 1/7 and Sun. 1/9. A newly restored print, showing as part of a salute to Fellini continuing into mid-January. This movie bored me endlessly when I saw it in college, so I have no desire to see it again. (I thought the movie was ending and it went on for another solid hour.) No, they don’t give you free popcorn if you dress up as Anita Ekberg.
Monumental—Playing at Alamo Downtown on Wed-Thurs 1/5-6. Documentary about David Brower, founder of the Sierra Club.
Motorcycle Diaries—Playing at Alamo Downtown on Sat-Sun, Tues. 1/1-4. I haven’t seen this movie yet and this might be an excellent opportunity to catch it in a theater. Many people consider this one of the better movies of 2004.