Halloween is over, but there are still plenty of reasons to be scared. But turning on the television seems a lot less scary without all those “Guess who might be a Muslim terrorist?” ads, so perhaps it’s time to hit the movies. This Thursday night at 11:55, your good friends at the Alamo South Lamar are playing Let the Right One In, the Swedish horror flick that made such a splash at this year’s Fantastic Fest. But besides being Swedish, this is no ordinary vamp story.... [continue]

In these stressful times why not flashback to those golden Reagan Years everyone keeps talking about? Tonight at midnight, nerdcore rapper and Adult Swim staple MC Chris presents the Walt Disney classic Honey I Shrunk the Kids, starring Rick Moranis as absent-minded scientist-type who accidentally—do we really have to say it?--shrunk his kids.... [continue]

Still from Nutkin’s Last Stand AFF Shorts 10, feat. Nutkin’s Last StandTuesday,October 21Dobie Theatre (2025 Guadalupe)6pm[info]It’s only 18 minutes, but Nutkin's Last Stand manages to pack a bit of a punch. The citizens of a Northern England town, in an attempt to save the native Red Squirrels, set out to eliminate the American Gray Squirrels that seem to be taking over and spreading a virus that the Reds are not equipped to fight. The film... [continue]

Creepy is a good word to describe this tale of two twin sisters with manically curly red hair, who never speak except to each other, and how far they’ll go to realize their bizarre dreams. The film follows the sisters from their stay in a mental institution onto their new life in a halfway house. How they react to the outside world while maintaining the bizarre dependence on each other makes for an interesting character study.... [continue]

Hold on to your high waters, Napoleon Dynamite. There’s a new weirdo in town. We’re talking about Ethan, the protagonist in this quirky comedy about a high school kid who can’t seem to figure out how to talk to Madison, the girl of his dreams. Or any girl, really. This charming feature was written and directed by Seth Packard, who also stars, and he does a bang-up job of maintaining a whimsical sense of humor reminiscent of such insane (and beloved) teen flicks as Better Off Dead . Ethan gets falsely accused of causing some trouble and ends up getting shipped off to stay with his even more maladjusted cousins in California. How will he be able to survive there, and what will happen when he returns home to woo Madison?... [continue]

Saturday used to mean getting up early, dragging your blanket into the living room and turning on the television for a rousing episode of Muppet Babies or The Tick. Well, your friends at the Alamo Downtown are giving you the best of both worlds with their Saturday Morning Cartoon Cereal Party this, er, Saturday...... [continue]

The premise may sound a little cute--a straight-laced medical student loosens up after finding himself stranded in a pot-happy place known as "The Lost Coast"--but those of us who caught this thinking-stoner's indie flick during SXSW were pleasantly surprised by Humboldt County's originality.... [continue]

If you’re still decompressing from Burning Man and want to get your money’s worth out of that leather vest and chaps outfit you’ve only worn once, perhaps you ought to head on down to the Alamo South Lamar -- this Friday they’re putting the “roll” in “Rolling Roadshow” with a screening of The Road Warrior. In the parking lot. 'Cause that’s the way Mad Max would have wanted it.... [continue]

Originally released in South Korea under the name Cheonhajangsa Madonna” (we can see why they changed the name), this heartwarming comedy will make you smile on the inside as well as out. Deok Hwan is heartbreakingly funny as a high school sophomore who signs up for a wrestling tournament in order to win the grand tournament cash prize--the exact amount he needs for a sex change operation.... [continue]

In 1991 while the mainstream was discovering grunge music, a new revolution was already brewing. In the heart of San Francisco, Jon Ginoli and Chris Freeman were realizing that just because they were gay didn’t mean they had to like dance music. Frustrated with the lack of musical options in which to celebrate their lifestyle, they decided to create their own—gay music that wasn’t music for a gay bar. Pansy Division was born.... [continue]

Whenever someone says they’ve never seen Lawrence of Arabia, someone has to go, “What?!?! That’s so wrong!” It’s like, some sort of rule. And if someone says they’ve never seen it on the big screen, everyone has to suck in their breath really hard like they just saw two cars almost collide: “Oh, man, you gotta see it on the big screen. You haven’t seen it if you haven’t seen it on the big screen!” (We suspect that many of the people that say that haven’t seen it on the big screen either. It’s just the rules.) Well, guess what. You’ll never have to hear that again as of this weekend.... [continue]

The 21st Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival kicks off today with a slew of great films, and a sure-to-be-awesome opening night afterparty at Oilcan Harry's. aGLIFF is the oldest and largest gay and lesbian film festival in the Southwest, and this year's program contains more than 120 films from 17 countries (including some award-winning drama, documentary, comedy and horror features). The festival really gets going tonight with an Austinist-sponsored screening of Otto; or, Up With Dead People, a zombie flick with a twist.... [continue]

The Vin Diesel-starring sci-fi action flick Babylon A.D., ex-Austinite Alex Holdridge's romantic comedy In Search of a Midnight Kiss and the action thriller Traitor round out this week's big screen offerings.... [continue]

Whether you love Robert Altman or hate him, you can’t argue that he makes films like nobody else. It’s what made him a Hollywood institution and one of the most respected directors in the business. So when he calls you up and asks if you will send him some of your short stories, and then asks you to come write movies for him, you don’t say no. Because who would? That’s what happened to Anne Rapp, a native Texan and local script supervisor-turned-screenwriter; their first collaboration became Cookie’s Fortune, playing this weekend at The Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek. And that’s not all—you’ll get a chance to hear that story and much more from writer herself as the Austin Film Festival presents “Conversations in Film: Anne Rapp and Cookie’s Fortune.” For those up-and-coming filmmakers and screenwriters here in Austin (we know you’re out there, and there are a LOT of you), this is the kind of information you won’t want to miss out on.... [continue]

Every year the most adventurous (and some say most interesting) people pack their RVs and head out to Black Rock City, Nevada for a week of wild times. It’s called Burning Man—one week a year where 30,000 people come out to the middle of the desert and create their own art and their own community, and do...whatever they want. And at the end, they burn a several-stories-high statue of a man and Black Rock City disappears. This weekend, you have a chance to check it out, as your Good Friends at the Alamo Ritz are screening Burning Man: Beyond Black Rock, a documentary pulling back the curtain and showing you just what Burning Man is; and more importantly, what it’s all about.... [continue]

American Teen, the new documentary from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Nannette Burstein (The Kid Stays in the Picture), made quite a splash at Sundance as well as here at SXSW this year, and for good reason. The film follows five very different high school kids going through the ups and downs of their senior year in Warsaw, Indiana. Make no mistake, any resemblance to the seminal John Hughes film is purely intentional; witness the movie poster’s loving pose-for-pose homage and the extremely hip soundtrack. But hey, if you’re going to emulate a movie, it’s not a bad choice.... [continue]

Austin may be the Live Music Capital of the World, but it’s known for more than just that. For years now, great filmmakers are poking their heads out of the crowds and displaying a talent for visual storytelling that isn’t often seen so far away from either coast. Why, we can barely walk down the street without crossing in front of a tiny DV camera and accidentally becoming an extra in somebody’s thesis flick, or some band’s documentary. So it’s no wonder that the third annual Austin Underground Film Festival’s call for submissions should bring in a lot of local talent.... [continue]

What is it about science fiction that gets us so excited? It seems society has been obsessed with the future and what magical wonders it might hold since…well, since the discovery of time. This week, the Paramount continues its Summer Film Series with some old school Sci-Fi from way back—in double feature mode no less, so you really can feel like you’re back in the Day.... [continue]

It’s a typical Austin summer. It’s 105 degrees. The idea of stepping outside doesn’t exactly make you jump up and down with excitement. It would certainly take something special to get you out of doors. Something…unique. Unusual. Right? Well, how’s this--Transformers: The Movie outside Central Market on North Lamar Wednesday at dusk. We’re not talking about that Michael Bay seizure-inducing debacle (though we did enjoy watching Robosaurus chewing up cars at the Alamo). We’re talking about the 1986 animated adventure that only a robot-disguised-as-a-car/plane/tape deck/dinosaur-loving kid could love. ... [continue]

Whether you think Y2K really did bring down a musical apocalypse or not, you might want to check out the Alamo Downtown’s 90’s Alternative Sing-Along, presented this Thursday night.... [continue]