At The Movies: Indie Picks This Weekend
It's a historic weekend here in Austin for film lovers as the iconic Dobie Theatre is closing its doors on Sunday night. It remains to be seen if new owners will come to the rescue, but Landmark is still opening two local exclusives today if you want to get out for one last screening this weekend.
Life During Wartime (Dobie)
The Austin debut of the new film from Todd Solondz is bittersweet since it will only play for three days and nobody else in town has booked it to play. A sequel of sorts to Happiness, it stars Ally Sheedy, Allison Janney, and Paul Reubens. The reviews have been generally favorable, but we recommend going in with at least a general knowledge of the previous film to be able to fully enjoy.
Cairo Time (Dobie)
We mentioned this breezy romance starring Patricia Clarkson to you a few weekends back when it debuted on the IFC In Theaters on demand service, but now you have three days to catch it theatrically at the Dobie.
Wild Grass (Regal Arbor)
Directed by 88-year-old Alain Resnais (Last Year At Marienbad), this romantic comedy won a Special Jury Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for Best Film at the French César Awards earlier this year.
Farewell (Regal Arbor)
This is a one-week engagement of the French Cold War thriller, directed by Christian Carion. Variety called it "a harrowing, richly human and well-acted espionage tale."
The Killer Inside Me (Alamo South Lamar)
Michael Winterbottom's controversial and brutally violent adaptation of Jim Thompson's novel opened elsewhere back in June and recently disappeared locally after one week at the Dobie. What makes this booking all the more puzzling is that the movie hits dvd next week as a 'Blockbuster Premiere' and the Drafthouse will just be screening it once a night. If you were itching to catch it on the big screen, consider this your last chance.
Winnebago Man (Alamo South Lamar/Ritz)
A hit from SXSW 2009, this documentary about a YouTube sensation was picked up for distribution by Kino. It returns to town with Friday and Saturday night screenings at South Lamar that will feature Director Ben Steinbauer. It will then move downtown to the Ritz for at least one show a night from Sunday-Thursday.
Additional special Alamo Drafthouse events this weekend:
*Film Score Focus with North By Northwest (Sunday @ Ritz)
*The Red Shoes (4K Digital Restoration) (Sunday @ South Lamar)
*SXSW presents Registered Sex Offender with Director Bob Byington (Sunday @ Ritz)
