What, there are movies opening in Austin this week that aren’t part of SXSW? Oh. Hm. I hadn’t been paying attention.
New movies in Austin this week:
Hostage—Bruce Willis. Kevin Pollak. Blah blah blah family held hostage. I will wait to see Bruce in Sin City.
Imaginary Heroes—A seemingly normal, all-American family, with the focus on the depressed teenage son, hides secrets and tragedy under the surface … sounds awfully like Ordinary People. Good cast, though, including Sigourney Weaver and Jeff Daniels.
Robots—This looks appallingly dumb, despite the all-star voice cast. I know, kids will love it and it’s inoffensive, so parents will be all over this movie. I’m glad I’m not a parent.
A Tale of Two Sisters—I’ve heard a lot of good things about this film, probably because I spend time reading film weblogs where they go crazy over movies like this. This 2003 horror movie from S. Korea was directed by Kim Ji-Woon and is just getting US release now. If I can’t get into a SXSW film playing at Alamo South, maybe I’ll catch this movie.
Notable events/revivals in Austin:
The most notable event right now is the SXSW film festival, which starts today and runs through Saturday 3/19. You can get a film festival pass at Waterloo Video or buy tickets for individual screenings. The schedule is here.
Unfortunately, the film festival is taking place in theaters that would normally have special screenings, so there’s not a lot else going on. If you want free movies, head over to Pedazo Chunk or Spider House (listings for both venues are in the Austin Chronicle).
Delicatessen—Playing at Pedazo Chunk on Mon. and Thurs. 3/14 and 3/18 at 9 pm. Normally I don’t mention movies that play in video stores or other small screens, but Delicatessen is not available on DVD in the US and it is a wonderful, gorgeous movie. And it’s free.
Guys from Paradise—Playing at Alamo South on Sat. 3/12. Free admission to this Takashi Miike film, which complements the Austin Film Society’s series.
Leprechaun—Playing at Alamo Lake Creek on Thursday 3/17. This is how Alamo celebrates St. Patrick’s Day. Too bad they won’t have green beer.
The Muppet Movie with sing-along—Playing at Alamo Downtown on Sun. 3/20. Okay, this time I think I’m going to be there. It’ll be a very nice way to end a week of movie mania.
Rainy Dog—Playing at Alamo South on Sun. 3/13. Free admission to this Takashi Miike film, which complements the Austin Film Society’s series.
At home, I still need to finish watching Gunga Din, which did not exactly overwhelm me in its first 30 minutes. We also have Maria, Full of Grace, which I’d like to see, but my boyfriend may end up watching it without me and sending it back. I need to write reviews for Bride and Prejudice and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. I also want to write about the enjoyable time I had seeing Duck Soup at the spiffy new Alamo South.