Indie Picks: At The Movies This Weekend

Zeitgeist Films

Queen To Play (Violet Crown Cinema)
This weekend's lone indie release is an import that features a few notable American actors including Kevin Kline and Jennifer Beals. This one debuted on the festival circuit back in 2009 when it premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. It was acquired for the U.S. by Zeitgeist Films and finally opened in bigger markets back in April.

In this film, which The New York Times called "a lighthearted, grown-up fairy tale," Kline plays a widowed professor. Sandrine Bonnaire is a chambermaid in a local hotel who offers to clean his house in exchange for lessons on how to play chess. If you're up for a slight but sweet diversion this weekend, this is your best bet. Fair warning: because we're getting this film so late after being released in New York and Los Angeles, it's already been announced for DVD on August 16th.

Also this weekend:
*Legendary horror maven John Carpenter returns to the big screen for the first time in a decade with The Ward. Reviews have been fairly mixed, but Austin is one of the few markets in the country where you can see it theatrically this weekend. Limited evening-only screenings begin tonight at Alamo South Lamar.

*There are lots of great films at the Paramount Theatre this weekend for their Summer Film Series. Tonight brings 25th Anniversary screenings of Aliens and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Sunday's theme is Dystopian Futures, which serves up a brilliant 35mm double feature of Terry Gilliam's Brazil and Robert Altman's Quintet.

If you haven't been attending the Summer Film Series, you're really missing out! Next week's schedule brings Albert Brooks and Alfred Hitchcock double features. How can you resist?