movies this week: dear Alamo

Dear Alamo Drafthouse:
You know I love you dearly and I hate to pick on you, but why aren’t any of your fine theaters showing Howl’s Moving Castle? I was hoping to see this movie at Alamo South. Galaxy Highland and Dobie aren’t showing it either. Is it some kind of Buena Vista thing? Tell me it’s their fault, not yours. I had to go to a Regal cinema to see this movie, and even though it’s Arbor Great Hills, a very nice theater, I still had to put up with that migraine-inducing crap they play before the film.
But that’s not why I’m cranky. I want to fuss about some gender stereotyping y’all have been perpetrating. For both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, you offered some special dinner-and-movie combinations. The moms got The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Roman Holiday, two unabashedly sappy, mimsy-pimsy movies. Because, what, all women (or all moms) like that stuff? The dads are getting The Great Escape and Cool Hand Luke, two very fine films that anyone would enjoy watching. I think there’s some kind of bias here. And Alamo Lake Creek is showing Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which while not in the same class as the other two films, is at least livelier than The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. (I don’t even want to compare the menus that accompanied said movies.)
Also, I am cross because I would love to see The Great Escape in a theater but don’t want to pay $30 for beer and bratwurst along with it. That’s $60 with boyfriend. While you’ve got the prints right there, couldn’t you schedule a few non-food-included showings? My boyfriend hasn’t ever seen The Great Escape, which means he’s missing out on some of the humor in the arguably finest Simpsons episode ever, “A Streetcar Named Marge.” I am dying to introduce him to The Cooler King and it won’t be quite the same on TV, even on our fabulous new TV.
The point is, dear Alamo, that I wish you would reconsider your gender/parental stereotypes when you schedule movies for these holidays next year. Yes, I know everyone else does it, but I hope you can rise above that kind of thing. I’m not saying you should show Psycho (although my mom loves Hitchcock) or The Manchurian Candidate, but surely you can think of some less wimpy programming for Mother’s Day. How about the Kill Bill films? Hey, that could work for Father’s Day too.
I can’t stay too mad at you, though, because of the Bruce Campbell thing. Got the tickets today. See y’all there.

New movies in Austin this week:
Batman Begins—What could I possibly say about this film that you don’t already know? I will say it looks more interesting to me than the other Batman movies were, although not enough for me to see it on opening weekend. (And not as interesting as Spider-Man 2, but then I’m biased about Sam Raimi films.) Maybe in a few weeks I could be persuaded, since the cast is so stellar (although the less I see/hear about Katie Holmes right now, the better) and I quite liked director Christopher Nolan’s earlier film Memento.
dot the i—Love-triangle uspense film from 2003 that stars Gael Garcia Bernal (Y Tu Mama Tambien, Motorcycle Diaries).
Howl’s Moving Castle—The latest film from Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away), which I have been waiting and wanting to see. Last week I even read the book by Diane Wynne Jones from which it was adapted. If you watch the dubbed version, then you can say you saw the other Christian Bale movie opening this week, I guess. I’m not sure how I feel about the dubbed voice cast (Billy Crystal? Is that going to work?) … but hot damn! I just found out that Arbor Great Hills is showing the subtitled version, and that’s what I want to see.
(I started writing this on my lunch break … and now it’s 10:30 pm and I’ve already seen the movie. Subtitled. Lovely movie; odd ending. Will share more later. Y’all go see it.)
Ladies in Lavender—Maggie Smith and Judi Dench … you know, I don’t care what happens. I’d watch these two actresses do just about anything together onscreen. I’d really like to see this, although with so many other things going on, I might have to wait for DVD.
Mad Hot Ballroom—The documentary about New York fifth graders who have to learn ballroom dancing is finally playing in Austin. Sounds promising.
The Perfect Man—Hilary Duff and Heather Locklear … you know, you lost me already with that cast. I don’t need to know anything else. Actually, I heard it’s about how single moms Need A Man, so I better tell my sister to keep away from it too.
Notable events/revivals in Austin:
This one isn’t just for Austin: PBS is showing The Education of Shelby Knox on Tuesday, June 21 as part of their POV series. This is an excellent documentary that I cannot recommend enough. Check the time your local PBS station is showing it, and if you’re not home, set the TiVo or the VCR or whatever you’ve got. I wrote about the movie here when I saw it at SXSW.
Barbershop—Playing outdoors at the George Washington Carver Museum on Wed. 6/22. Live music starts at 8, the movie starts at 9. Free admission. Best of all, you can buy concessions from Gene’s New Orleans Style Po-Boys. Mmmmmmm. Po-boys make everything better.
Cool Hand Luke—Playing at Alamo South on Sun. 6/19. Admission includes a dinner that features … lots of eggs. Maybe 50. Cute.
Duck Soup—Playing at the Paramount Fri-Sat. 6/24-25 on a double-feature with Horse Feathers. I just saw this at Alamo a few months ago (with a great all-soup dinner) and it’s well worth seeing in a theater with a responsive audience. Just be careful … this movie almost gave me a concussion once.
East of Eden—Playing at the Paramount all week long on a double-feature with Rebel Without a Cause. Did I ever mention that long ago, in the days before my sister fell for George Clooney, she had a huge crush on James Dean? And then I read her something from Hollywood Babylon and she still hasn’t forgiven me. Sisters can be so cruel.
Fight Club—Playing at Alamo Lake Creek on Fri-Sat. 6/17-18 at midnight. Free soap with admission.
The Great Escape—Playing at Alamo Village on Sun. 6/19. Even though there are no women in this movie, even though James Coburn’s Australian accent is even more atrocious than Dick Van Dyke’s Cockney, even though it’s Yet Another WW2 Buddy Movie … who the hell cares, I love this movie to death. Admission price includes a dinner that features beer and bratwurst. You could buy the DVD for the price of admission … but you really ought to see this movie in a theater.
Horse Feathers—Playing at the Paramount Fri-Sat. 6/24-25 on a double-feature with Duck Soup. I’m not sure why, but this is the Marx Brothers movie that I like the best. Maybe it’s Thelma Todd. Maybe it’s the multiple renditions of “Everyone Says I Love You.” Great stuff.
Land of the Dead—Playing at Alamo South on Thurs. 6/23. The new George A. Romero film has a special premiere with Alamo advertising “zombie food and drink specials.” I know what zombies eat, and that’s not something I want to try, guys.
Night of the Living Dead—Playing at Alamo Downtown on Sun. 6/19 and Wed. 6/22, and at Alamo Lamar on Thurs. 6/23. The first Dead movie from George A. Romero (the word “zombie” does not appear in this film, oddly). I guess it’s an undead classic … everyone and their aunt has paid homage to it or spoofed it. Worth seeing once, at least.
Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure—Playing at Roger Beasley Mazda South on Fri. 6/24. Rolling Roadshow presents a drive-in movie night with a really fun film. You can watch the movie from your car (with a special radio frequency for the sound) or bring blankets and chairs. Free admission, although pet food donations for Austin Humane Society are encouraged. Free admission plus “movie refreshments” (which I hope will be non-zombie). I still think Alamo South should have named one of their theater screens “The Basement” in tribute to this film.
Rebel Without a Cause—Playing at the Paramount all week long on a double-feature with East of Eden.
Shaun of the Dead—Playing at Alamo Downtown on Sun. 6/19 and Wed-Thurs. 6/21-22. No, this isn’t a special Father’s Day event, it’s to prepare you for the upcoming movie Land of the Dead. We tried watching all the Romero movies before we saw Shaun of the Dead so we could get all the jokes. Don’t do that. This movie is damn funny no matter how many zombie movies you haven’t seen, and if you haven’t seen it already … go.
Strange Brew—Playing at … no, not Elsinore Brewery, but the Independence Brewing Co. on Sat. 6/18. Rolling Roadshow rides again. Admission includes a free beer, which you may well need in order to truly appreciate this film.
A Woman is a Woman—Playing at Alamo Downtown on Tues. 6/21 as part of the Essential Cinema: Shattering the Narrative series from Austin Film Society. I already used my Godard joke a couple of weeks ago, so I have nothing useful to say.
Personally, if I were to recommend appropriate Father’s Day movies, I’d suggest either Baaadasssss! or Slums of Beverly Hills. That might make a fun double-feature, come to think of it.
I have actually written some reviews that I just need to post: Shaolin Soccer, The Cooler, and Raging Bull. Still need to write reviews for Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, My Little Chickadee, Slums of Beverly Hills, The Bad News Bears, But I’m a Cheerleader, Spy Kids 2, The Celluloid Closet, The Iron Giant, and Maria Full of Grace. Oh, and the movie I just saw a couple of hours ago, Howl’s Moving Castle.