At The Movies: Indie Picks This Weekend

It's another fairly slow weekend for new releases in town. The most notable films of the week include The American, which opened on Wednesday, and the action packed Machete. Both of these titles are getting wide releases nationwide, but have plenty of independent spirit. As always, there are some very unique special events going on across town which are also detailed below.

The American (wide)
Famed music photographer & video director Anton Corbijn follows up his moody Ian Curtis biopic, Control, with a moody thriller starring George Clooney as an assassin who is out for one last job.

Machete (wide)
The roots for this one go back to Grindhouse, where it originally appeared as a fake trailer squeezed in between Planet Terror and Death Proof.. Robert Rodriguez shot this one around Austin last summer. Danny Trejo leads an eclectic cast that also include Robert DeNiro, Cheech Marin, Michelle Rodriguez, Jessica Alba, Steven Seagal, and even Lindsay Lohan.

Mao's Last Dancer (Regal Arbor)
Directed by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy), this was the highest grossing Australian film of 2009. Based on the true story of Li Cunxin, a ballet dancer from China who performed for the Houston Ballet and was forced to defect to the United States after falling in love with a fellow dancer and getting married.

2nd Annual Big Lebowski Scavenger Hunt (Paramount Theatre)
We're pretty sure that the Paramount isn't hiding toes, bowling balls, or White Russians around town, but you can turn up at 2pm on Sunday afternoon to participate in a Scavenger Hunt prior to the 3pm screening. For the less adventurous, there is also a regular screening of the movie at 7pm.

Carl Gottlieb live with The Jerk & Caveman (Alamo Ritz)
Screenwriter Carl Gottlieb will guest along with a 7pm screening of Carl Reiner's 1979 classic The Jerk and also the 1981 comedy Caveman (starring Ringo Starr!) which he wrote and directed at 10pm.

Cinema East presents Trinidad
Local filmmakers PJ Raval & Jay Hodges created this fascinating documentary about a small town in Colorado that has become the "sex change capital of the world." This special screening happens at 8pm on Sunday night, as part of the Cinema East series which will be hosted by Rebecca Havemeyer and include a Q&A with the filmmakers.

Dogtooth (Alamo Ritz)
OK, we're cheating a little bit because you have to wait until this weekend is over for this critically acclaimed Greek film to play. It is being presented by SXSW for three screenings at the Alamo Ritz on Tuesday, Wednesday and next Sunday.

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