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Indie Picks: At The Movies This Weekend
Point Blank (Regal Arbor, Violet Crown Cinema)
This relentless thriller from French director Fred Cavaye wastes no time throwing you into the action. It begins with a chase scene, and then follows one outrageous situation or another for almost the entirety of the film's 84-minute running time.
Everything revolves around Samuel (played by Gilles Lellouche), a nurse's aide who thought he was just doing his job when he saved the life of a patient while working night duty in the hospital for his residency. Unfortunately for him and his pregnant wife Nadia (Elena Anaya), there were some very bad guys who definitely intended for that man he saved to die. From there on, you'll damn near need a map to figure out who is double crossing who and where the story is headed.
Point Blank is an intense, edge-of-your-seat film that will inevitably get remade by a major Hollywood studio (just like Cavaye's debut film Pour elle, which was Americanized into The Next Three Days.)
Slacker 2011 (Alamo South Lamar - Sunday night only)
Richard Linklater changed the landscape of indie film and left an incredible time capsule of Austin life circa 1991 with Slacker. Twenty years later, a group of 24 Austin filmmakers has reinterpreted the original film that undoubtedly inspired many of them, and they've presented us with a new vision that reflects how life has evolved here since the first movie was shot.
Some of the sequences are very similar to the original. The iconic scene with Madonna's pap smear, which probably could have been updated with a more contemporary reference, is intact. Elsewhere, the JFK conspiracy theorist has become a 9-11 truther (a la Alex Jones) and pre-teens are now making movies on their cell phones.
With so many cooks in the kitchen, Slacker 2011 had the potential to be a bit of a mess. Instead, it's mostly delightful and one of the best compliments you can pay the film is that it does feel incredibly cohesive. The different directors infuse their scenes with a variety of styles, but it rarely comes off as disjointed.
Highlights from the cast of actors include Heather Kafka (who gives the film its best performance), the Alamo's Lars Nilsen playing an employee of the Continental Club, and a surprise appearance by Japanese punk band Peelander-Z. Our favorite moment in the film comes from local performance artist Paul Soileau (known better for his alter egos Rebecca Havemeyer and Christeene). Here, he is simply known as "ranter on bike" in a hysterical scene that takes place in East Austin and was directed by PJ Raval.
Before Slacker 2011 hits the festival circuit, it's going to follow up its World Premiere at the Paramount with some screenings on Sunday evenings this month at the Alamo South Lamar and Alamo Village. Get more info here.
Also this weekend:
- The Summer Film Series at the Paramount is wrapping up for the season. Kudos to Jesse Trussell for programming an incredible summer of classic films. Friday night you can catch Texas classic Giant and, as always, Gone With The Wind will close it down on Saturday and Sunday.
- The Alamo Ritz is bringing back Midnight movies on the weekends with a new series simply dubbed The Late Show. Every Friday and Saturday night, cult classics will grace the Alamo's screen in 35mm. If anything can get us to brave 6th Street on a weekend night, it's this! The Late Show kicks off tonight with Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. Upcoming features are set to include Pineapple Express, Crank, The Room and The Human Centipede (complete with chocolate pudding specials, seriously).
