special
screenings
BY MARJORIE BAUMGARTEN The symbol (*) indicates full-length reviews available online: austinchronicle.com/film.
SATURDAY
29
Adventures in Babysitting (1987)
D: Chris Columbus; with Elizabeth Shue, Maia Brewton, Keith Coogan, Anthony Rapp, Vincent D’Onofrio. (PG-13, 102 min.) Kids Club. More teen escapades in Chicago – with Shue as the trying-to-please-everyone babysitter. @Alamo Drafthouse South, noon; free.
The Bible: In the Beginning (1966) See p.74. The Breakfast Club (1985) See p.74. Kanthaswamy (2009) @Tinseltown South, 3,
Star!
6:15pm. (See Friday.)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
D: Jim Sharman; with Richard O’Brien, Barry Bostwick, Susan Sarandon, Tim Curry. (R, 95 min.) Austin fans have been dressing up and doing the “Time Warp” thing live for more than 30 years straight. For more info, see www.austinrocky.org. @Alamo Drafthouse Village, 12mid.
Star! (1968) D: Robert Wise; with Julie Andrews, Richard Crenna. (G, 176 min.) Summer Film Classics: In Glorious 70mm. After collaborating so successfully on The Sound of Music, Andrews and director Wise hoped to recapture musical magic with this biopic of stage star Gertrude Lawrence. They didn’t, but the extravagant musical numbers should still look great. @Paramount, Saturday, 3pm.
SPACES Back to the Future: Part II (1989) D: Robert Zemeckis; with Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson. (PG, 108 min.) Trailer Park Film Series. BYOB. @Austin Trailer Park and Eatery, 8:30pm; free. Just a Little Bit Crazy (2004) @Texas Spirit Theater at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, noon, 5pm. (See Thursday, 8/27.)
SUNDAY
30
The Bible: In the Beginning (1966)
THURSDAY
27
Amarcord (1973) D: Federico Fellini; with Magali Noel, Bruno Zamin, Pupella Maggio, Armando Drancia, Giuseppe Lanigro, Nando Orfei. (R, 123 min.) Summer Film Classics: Fantastic Fellini. With this film, Fellini gives us the story of life in his small Italian home town and his joyful, funny, lusty, and poignant experiences there as a child and young man. It is a lovely portrait, full of emotions and detail, and a story Fellini knew inside and out. @Paramount, 7:15pm. Cook County (2008) D: David Pomes; with Anson Mount, Xander Berkeley, Ryan Donowho, Polly Cole. (NR, 93 min.) UT alum Pomes has crafted a darkly beautiful Southern Gothic about the frailty of the human heart as well as its muscular powers of redemption. When an absentee father returns to his family, he finds a house full of crystal meth addicts and must do something about the situation. Writerdirector Pomes will be present for a Q&A following the film. @Dobie, 7:30pm. Mystery Team With Derrick Comedy (2009) D: Dan Eckman; with Donald Glover, D.C.
Pierson, Dominic Dierkes, Aubrey Plaza, Matt Walsh. (R, 105 min.) The Derrick Comedy troupe of YouTube fame will be present for the local theatrical premiere of their film, which is an R-rated comedy throwback to the Encyclopedia Brown detective series. @Alamo Ritz, 7pm.
See p.74.
SPACES
Mallanna (2009) D: Susi Ganesan; with Vikram,
Homoscope See p.76. Just a Little Bit Crazy (2004) @Texas Spirit
Theater at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, 5pm. (See Thursday, 8/27.)
MONDAY
31
Rock ’N Tokyo (2007) D: Pamela Valente. (NR, 90 min.) Music Monday. Japanese underground rock culture is seen through the eyes of Guitar Wolf, the 5-6-7-8’s, Jet Boys, and Nine. @Alamo Ritz, 10:40pm.
SPACES The Dark Crystal (1983) D: Frank Oz and Jim Henson; with Henson, Kathryn Mullen, Oz, Dave Goelz, Brian Muehl. (PG, 94 min.) Mundi Movie Madness. Outdoors; free. @Cafe Mundi, 8pm. Just a Little Bit Crazy (2004) @Texas Spirit Theater at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, noon, 5pm. (See Thursday, 8/27.) Sno Cone Inc. (2008) D: Travis Knapp; with Morgan Fairchild, Tony Sirico, Ryan Carnes, Steve LiGambi, Luis Lopez. (NR, 86 min.) Filmed in Austin, this movie tells the story of three stockbrokers who reach a quarter-life crisis and open a snow cone stand “in an attempt to climb their way down the corporate ladder.” It features cameos from Michael and Susan Dell, John Paul and Eloise Dejoria, “Leslie” Cochran, Robert Earl Keen, and others, as well as music by Bob Schneider, Ruthie Foster, Carolyn Wonderland, and more. @Belmont, 8:30pm; free. Twelve Monkeys (1995) D: Terry Gilliam; with Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer, Frank Gorshin, Jon Seda. (R, 130 min.) Trailer Park Film Series. BYOB. (*) @Austin Trailer Park and Eatery, 8:30pm; free.
TUESDAY
01
Motel Hell (1980) D: Kevin Connor; with Rory Calhoun, Paul Linke, Nancy Parsons, Nina Axelrod, Wolfman Jack, John Ratzenberger. (R, 102 min.) Terror Tuesday. When spending the night at this place, don’t opt for the smoked sausage. (*) @Alamo Ritz, 10:40pm.
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
Shriya Saran, Prabhu Ganesan, Krishna. (NR, 200 min.) This is the Telegu-language version of the Tamil film Kanthaswamy, which played earlier this weekend. @Tinseltown South, 3pm.
God Thinks You’re a Loser (2009) D: Gary
(See Saturday.)
SPACES
SPACES
Time Bandits (1981) D: Terry Gilliam; with John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, Katherine Helmond. (PG, 110 min.) Trailer Park Film Series. BYOB. @Austin Trailer Park and Eatery, 8:30pm; free.
D: Stephen Herek; with Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, George Carlin. (PG, 90 min.) Trailer Park Film Series. BYOB. (*) @Austin Trailer Park and Eatery, 8:30pm; free. Chason; with Sue Rock, David Born, Foster Davis, Bill Wise, Annika Peterson, Natasha Melnick. (NR, 89 min.) Chason describes his film as a “zany comedy about strippers and oil men with plenty of kinky sex, drugs, and the reckless pursuit of sensual pleasure.” Director Chason and star Rock will be in attendance for a post-screening discussion. @The Independent, 8pm; $10 suggested donation benefits The Rag Blog.
Just a Little Bit Crazy (2004) D: Will Dotter. (NR, 58 min.) This locally made feature film documents Taylor’s annual Rattlesnake Sacking Championship. @Texas Spirit Theater at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, noon, 5pm.
FRIDAY
28
The Bible: In the Beginning (1966)
See p.74.
The Breakfast Club (1985) See p.74. Kanthaswamy (2009) D: Susi Ganesan; with
Star! (1968) @Paramount, Saturday, 3pm.
Back to the Future: Part III (1990) D: Robert Zemeckis; with Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen. (PG, 118 min.) Trailer Park Film Series. BYOB. @Austin Trailer Park and Eatery, 8:30pm; free.
offscreen
Austin FilmWorks: Feature Lab is now accepting registrations for this fall’s class sequence in which
filmmaker Steve Mims requires students to produce two short films and play a key role on a class-produced feature-length film. See website for details. www.austinfilmworks.com.
Austin School of Film Classes An excellent slate of classes is available for your cinematic advancement at the Austin School of Film, with professional instruction in Final Cut Pro, DV and HD cameras, animation and lighting techniques, and more. See website for details. www.austinfilmschool.org/classes. Floating the Future of Film Don’t let indie cinema drown in a flood of Hollywood sewage; put some money where true new movies come from. Supporting the Austin Film Society’s Texas Filmmakers’ Production Fund and the Screen Door Film Series at Salvage Vanguard are two ways in which you can support goodness against a world of dreck. See the websites, click, and save the day! www.austinfilm.org, www.screendoorfilm.com.
One-Hit Wonders of the Eighties @Alamo
Vikram, Shriya Saran, Prabhu Ganesan, Krishna. (NR, 200 min.) New Tamil movie is a Robin Hood-style story. @Tinseltown South, 9:30pm.
John Pierson’s Master Class Hear interviews with Austin’s own king of the hill Mike Judge, whose new film Extract opens on September 4, and South Park’s Matt Stone, recorded from the 2009 class session. Sun., Aug. 30, 11am. KUT 90.5FM, www.kut.org.
Summerhood (2008) D: Jacob Medjuck; with
Mystery Team With Derrick Comedy (2009) @Alamo Ritz, 7pm. (See Thursday, 8/27.)
PictureBox Studio, 701 Tillery Ste. A-7. www.reelwomen.org.
Ritz, 11:10pm.
Joe Flaherty, Christopher McDonald, Lucian Maisel, Reva Timbers; narrated by John Cusack. (NR, 96 min.) Austin Film Festival. Summer camp is portrayed fondly in this funny coming-of-age story about a 10-year-old boy who pulls lots of pranks and falls head over heels for the camp’s local beauty. @Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek, 7:30pm.
Surf Nazis Must Die (1987) D: Peter George;
with Gail Neely, Robert Harden, Barry Brenner, Dawn Wildsmith. (R, 83 min.) Cult Thursday. The postapocalyptic silliness of this movie is one of Troma’s more memorable offerings, if for no reason but the title alone. @Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek, 10pm; free.
SPACES Back to the Future (1985) D: Robert Zemeckis; with Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover. (PG, 111 min.) Trailer Park Film Series. BYOB. (*) @Austin Trailer Park and Eatery, 8:30pm; free. Just a Little Bit Crazy (2004) @Texas Spirit Theater at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, noon, 5pm. (See Thursday, 8/27.)
78 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E AUGUST 28, 2009 a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m
Reel Women Workshop: SAG Agreements and Low-Budget Filmmaking Sat., Sept. 12, 1-4pm.
Screen It Like You Mean It Austin Studios has a state-of-the-art screening room, which is available to the public on a rental basis. Community and indie rates are available for the room, which sports an 18-footby-7-foot screen, 28 fixed theatre seats, and a surround-sound system and supports Super-35, 35mm, 16mm, VHS, and DVD formats. Handicap accessible, restrooms – the works. It also has a “break room” suitable for presentations, meetings, and general cinematic tomfoolery. 322-0145. www.austinstudios.org. SXSW PanelPicker Powers Engage! You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, and you can help pick the panels to be held at next year’s SXSW. Log in and vote for what you want to be part of the music, film, and interactive conferences. See the website and get to clicking, hero. Deadline: Sept. 4. www.panelpicker.sxsw.com. The Screenplay Workshop Offerings include: Introductory Script Consultation A 1½-hour private consultation on your screenplay or screenplay ideas. $70. Private Instruction and Story Consultation Package 7½ hours of private instruction. $370. All programs taught by professional screenwriters in Central Austin classrooms. www.thescreenplayworkshop.org.