Entries from Austinist tagged with 'newreleases>'
September 5, 2008
First time writer/director Courtney Hunt creates a sombre and realistic drama that explores the effects of poverty and culture on the struggles of motherhood in an unfriendly world. Shot in a gritty style with digital cameras, in two weeks last year, the film works on different levels. It's sparse but gripping. The drama unfolds patiently and productively, engaging us in its characters and their decisions.The whole thing has a sort of late Clint Eastwood feel to it (as a director, of course): emotional heft, powerful, if slight, musical score, strong acting. ...
Continue Reading "New Movie Releases: Frozen River, Surfer, Dude and More"August 22, 2008
Statham stars as an ex-con and ex-race car driver who's framed for a grisly murder in order to be sent to Terminal Island, where the Death Race is held, and don the mask of fan-fave Frankenstein who just secretly died in his last race so the warden (Joan Allen, yes, the Academy Award nominee Joan Allen) can boost ratings. Fast cars, tons of explosions, dudes fighting, and chicks in tiny outfits round out the usual action fare. Producer, writer, and director Paul W.S. Anderson (not the other Paul Anderson, mind you) gives audiences a quick and easy end-of-summer flick where you can get in, watch some shit explode (and some Statham abs flex!), and get out. Bing, bam, boom. Nothin' to it. Statham does what Statham does best. He growls, he punches, he flexes. Done and done. Ain't nothing too hard to swallow here, ain't nothing going to rewrite film history either. Although, make sure to leave young'uns and the elderly at home because Death Race isn't for the squeamish. Heads are lopped off and blood spews everywhere. Wouldn't be a Statham movie otherwise, but here it seems a wee bit gratuitous....
Continue Reading "New Movie Releases: Death Race, House Bunny, and More!"August 15, 2008
August 6, 2008
Pineapple Express is a buddy drug comedy that even the most straight-laced will enjoy, even though it does smell super dank, dude. More Superbad and less Cheech and Chong, this bromantic comedy is about the love of two wannabe friends, and their love of Mary Jane. ...
Continue Reading "Smoke 'em if you got 'em: Austinist reviews Pineapple Express"July 25, 2008
With the sucker punch to the gut that was The Dark Knight, Step Brothers provides some hearty laughs that aren’t even given away in the trailer (go figure!). While not nearly as sidesplitting as Apatow’s other productions and perhaps too little of heart and humanity, Step Brothers has some memorable parts that include man bits, boats and hos, and a singing voice likened to a mixture of Fergie and Jesus. It reminds us that Ferrell is still really funny without his 70s getups or sports movies, and, really, we could watch a whole movie of Reilly’s facial expressions and doughy eyes. As long as Adam Scott doesn’t show up… ...
Continue Reading "New Movie Releases: Step Brothers, Kabluey and More!"July 18, 2008
Mamma Mia! is offered as an (extreme) alternative to the Batman film at the theaters this weekend. The basic gist of the musical is: girl is getting married, girl has no clue who her father is, girl invites three men she read about in her mother's diary to her wedding, men come to Greek island where she lives with her mom, and hilarity (and much singing) ensues....
Continue Reading "Austinist Reviews: Mamma Mia!"July 11, 2008
Bigger, badder, and exponentially goofier than its predecessor, Hellboy II is a heck of a lot of fun. The action is great, the visual effects are impressive and the humor is (mostly) dead on. Perlman is absolutely perfect as the beer-swilling, cigar-chomping superhero (Ron doesn't get enough respect, in our opinion), and del Toro's fantastical vision is just as stunningly realized as it was in his critically acclaimed Pan's Labyrinth....
Continue Reading "New Movie Releases: Hellboy II, Journey to the Center of the Earth and More"July 4, 2008
still from When Did You Last See Your Father? Ahhhh, what could have been. We're a little tore up from watching the new Colin Firth flick When Did You Last See Your Father? this week; a reaction to watching the fine acting of Jim Broadbent run headfirst into a script about the pitfalls of puberty. The book by the same name received staggering reviews as a popular memoir that refused to pander, and acted as......
Continue Reading "Pitfalls of Puberty: When Did You Last See Your Father?"July 1, 2008
Booze? Check. Will Smith? Check. Witticisms a la Jason Bateman? You bet your sweet ass. Superhero-y good times? You got it. Hancock proves that even if it rains this July 4th, there still might be some fireworks. ...
Continue Reading "Superheroes Big Willy Style: Austinist Reviews Hancock"June 27, 2008
Who knew that an emoting robot could steal your heart so quickly and effortlessly? It only takes a moment for your eyes to meet those of Wall-E, the newest pipsqueak of a trash compactor from the magicians at Pixar. But in that moment, gazing into the mechanization of his little binocular face, you realize that you could love his bleeping robot heart your whole life long....
Continue Reading "New Movie Releases: Wall-E, Wanted and More!"June 20, 2008
Get Smart PosterGet Smart We’re not ashamed to admit that we caught Evan Almighty on HBO just to see if Steve Carell was slightly funny. (No, he was not.) And maybe The Office is not quite as hil-ar-i-ous as it used to be. And so what if Dan in Real Life flat-out sucked nuts? We really want to give Carell the benefit of the doubt here, and we’re guessing so will thousands of movie-goers this......
Continue Reading "New Movie Releases! Get Smart, The Love Guru and More"June 6, 2008
Still from Foot Fist WayThe Foot Fist Way A washed-up, slack-jawed, perv-inator of a martial arts instructor simultaneously insults, intimidates and inspires his students to uphold the tenets of tae kwon do in The Foot Fist Way, a little indie princess that got fitted for its Cinderella slippers at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. After it was scooped up by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, TFFW went viral amongst the comedy community, with some people......
Continue Reading "New Movie Releases: Foot Fist Way, Mister Lonely and More"May 30, 2008
Men, do not let your girlfriend drag you to Sex and the City. While, typically, there is some knowledge of the “fairer sex” to be gained from the usual chick flick fare, there is nothing for you here. Go play some football or see Iron Man for the third time because this movie will feel like torture for you. For women (and their gay best friends), the film will still feel rather tortuous. At two-and-a-half hours, it’s pretty hard to not get antsy for Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) to get to the point already. ...
Continue Reading "New Movie Releases: Sex and the City, The Strangers and More"May 23, 2008
Have you ever spent Thanksgiving at your significant other's house, where you realize that while you like his or her mom, the pumpkin pie or stuffing isn't nearly as good as your mom's? Sure, you're satisfied. You're about to fall asleep from being so jam-packed with stuff, but you're missing a little bit of that childhood nostalgia of biting into Mom's fluffy pie. That's how Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull feels. You have yearned for it for so long, you've built it up in your head, but it's just not quite the same.....
Continue Reading "New Movie Releases: Indiana Jones, Postal and More"February 19, 2008
American Gangster PosterAmerican Gangster Do you really need a two-disc box set of Ridley Scott's American Gangster, which includes two different versions of last year's Denzel Washington/Russell Crowe movie, the ability to download yet a third, plus featurettes including one in which Scott is shown the ins and outs of heroin production by an NYPD officer (as if he didn't already know)? It depends on how much you like Scott, and if you do, it'll......
Continue Reading "New DVD Releases: American Gangster, Margot at the Wedding and More"February 8, 2008
Spiral follows a lonely, nerdy telemarketer who sketches portraits as a hobby. But when he begins sketching a hot new ladyfriend (Amber Tamblyn), shocking secrets from his past begin to emerge. If the reviews on the Fantastic Fest B-Side site are any indication, it's quite good....
Continue Reading "New Movie Releases: Spiral, In Bruges, Vince Vaughn"January 25, 2008
When you are rolling into sexy time with your lady/man friend, there should be an unspoken pact, a treaty, if you will, that both parties will emerge from the lusty lope with their person completely intact. No one wants the menacing mist of mutilation hanging in the air while they've got their pants around their ankles, that is of course as long as both bodies are willing participants in said libidinal ritual. Ah, a catch! In that asterisk lies the core of what the clumsy, campy, cringe-filled Teeth is all about....
Continue Reading "New Movie Releases: Teeth, How She Move and Rambo"January 18, 2008
Despite the obvious themes of power and faith, PT Anderson's vast, visionary epic There Will Be Blood isn’t primarily about oil, or about religion, or about extremism. Rather, it’s a thorough excavation of the foundation of American identity. And on top of all that, it’s the best film of the year....
Continue Reading "New Movie Releases: There Will Be Blood, Cloverfield and More"November 27, 2007
Between now and January, New Release Tuesday will focus on 2007 reflections and music news related to both this year's releases and 2008's potential. The standard NRT posts will resume in 2008. As 2007 winds down, most of the Internet begins to consider their favorite releases of the last twelve months. Austinist is no different: our top albums of 2007 (a collective list based on all the writers' top picks) is in the works.......
Continue Reading "New Release Tuesday: It's the End of 2007, So What's Happening in 2008?"August 24, 2007
Settle down, gore hounds, for this weekend’s movie releases are clearly not for you (put your blood-soaked dreams of a modernized Michael Myers on hold for one more week). The real question is – are this week’s new releases for anyone? If fans of Scarlett Johansson’s panty lines and Rowan Atkinson’s crotch shots really do exist, then there must be at least a few audience members out there reveling in the fact that their time......
Continue Reading "New Movie Releases: Celebrity Crotch for All!"July 3, 2007
It must be the week of a major holiday, because there won't be a lot of new beautiful stuff on the walls at Waterloo or End of an Ear this week. If you're anxious for Kelly Rowlands' latest (Ms. Kelly), you're breathing a big sigh of relief right now, but H-town is about as close to home as it gets July 3 (please correct us if we're wrong). The new Madlib effort, Yesterday's New......
Continue Reading "New Release Tuesday: Madlib, Kelly Rowlands & Local Love"June 29, 2007
Kind of a slow week for new releases here in Austin. You can either bro out and get amped on some new Die Hard, or submit to the CGI summer blockbuster force that is Ratatouille. Oh, and Michael Moore wanted to talk to you about some things. Live Free or Die Hard: John McClane is back! Now shorn bald (and resembling a very stern penis), he must jump off careening jets and donkey-punch the......
Continue Reading "Foodie Rodents, Weepy Whites, City of Lights!: New Movie Releases"June 15, 2007
From big blockbusters to foreign films, there's something for everyone being released today. These overviews should help you choose which movies you'd like to shell out for this weekend. DOA: Dead or Alive We thought DOA meant dead on arrival, but fans of video games and girls in bikinis likely won't quibble with the title of this action movie featuring scantily clad heroines. Babes! Yeah! Eagle vs. Shark Nerds kiss while wearing animal costumes,......
Continue Reading "Sharks and Surfers and Nancies, Oh My: New movie releases"February 27, 2007
We love pretty much every type of pirate, from the "Avast Me Hearties!" variety to the "selling one-dollar copies of The Departed on the streets of Shanghai" kind. Sure they "steal" things, but they also provide hours of entertainment - either through their rousing sea shanty sing-alongs or their reasonably priced new releases. Tomorrow night, the Austin Film Festival presents a documentary about a lesser-known, but equally awesome class of pirates: Radio Pirates. Pirate......
Continue Reading "AFF Presents Pirate Radio USA - Win Tickets!"February 6, 2007
I'm not sure if today would be the day to go shopping at Waterloo or not, but if you do go, check out today's new releases: Bloc Party A Weekend In the City (Vice) The story of bands like Bloc Party is familiar, but still depends upon a sort of mystery to come to fruition. Whereas the huge fame and irrepressible buzz seemed to propel them into official stardom, the stress and anguish that......
Continue Reading "Austinist's New Release Tuesday: January 6 "January 16, 2007
Brr! Good thing you're not at work today, there are some marginally interesting new releases this week for you purchase via the heavenly lady herself, The Internet. She won't freeze over on you, she won't keep you from your girlfriend's house tonight, and she won't cause you to wake up from a strange and unexpected four day weekend in an un-showered and groggy haze. Wait a second, yes she will! Crowded House Farewell to......
Continue Reading "New Release Tuesday: January 16 "December 8, 2006
There's been plenty of buzz about a couple of today's new releases (anyone noticed the abundance of commercials for diamonds lately? It ain't just the holiday season), but you might be able to pick out a few gems from the list. Depending on what you consider a "gem," of course. Us, well, we're just happy when someone else buys our movie ticket and a drink (or several) afterwards so we can go home and......
Continue Reading "Our Own Apocalypto: This Week's New Movie Releases!"October 31, 2006
Have you checked out Single Frame's "John Carpenter Halloween Remix" yet? Head over to their site, dig around 'till you find their mp3s, and grab it - then play it loudly for your friend's children. Here's what else is worth mentioning this week in the way of new releases: A Cloud Mireya Singular (Eastern Developments) Though half of A Cloud Mireya is Scott Herren, the mastermind behind Prefuse 73 and Piano Overlord, fans of......
Continue Reading "Austinist Music Preview: New Release Tuesday"September 19, 2006
If ACL fest hasn't caused you to hate music, you might want to check out this week's new releases: DJ Shadow The Outsider (Universal) DJ Shadow's latest offering has certainly managed to garner (perhaps more than) its fair share of critique, and for fans of Shadow who have been listening since Entroducing, it's fairly easy to see why. Outsider is, for the most part, DJ Shadow's most straightforward foray into hip-hop, and features an......
Continue Reading "Austinist Music Preview: New Release Tuesday"September 5, 2006
After counting your blessings for not being pierced through the heart by a stingray over the weekend, you might want to stop by your local record store and check out what's new. Grizzly Bear Yellow House (Warp) Ed Droste's Grizzly Bear are back with a full band and a shimmering landscape of an album reminiscent of Brian Wilson's hey-day, old fashioned American harmony and lush layers of sound that combine folk, post-rock and psychedelia......
Continue Reading "Austinist Music Preview: New Release Tuesday"