Every once in a while, you might stumble across the rarest of the rare: a blockbuster action film that’s more than just a whiz-bang collection of explosions and one-liners. Like unicorn or a double rainbow (ooh, or a unicorn riding a double rainbow!), when you find one you count yourself lucky. This summer, we might have to go buy some lottery tickets. We've already had the miraculous Super 8, Spielberg and J.J. Abrams’ kids-coming-of-age/misunderstood alien-on-the-loose story, and now we have Attack the Block. more ›

When people talk about the cities with the most alive musical cultures, the name of our little burg is thrown about with the likes of Seattle, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and the rest. But the local landscape has changed in recent years, and we’re not just talking about the 20-story cranes that seem to be everywhere or the skyscrapers they leave behind. As the city continues to grow, we are forced to evolve as well. Those new condos are full of people that still need to be able to sleep at night. The new documentary Echotone takes a long look at the issues arising out of these new circumstances with Austin as its focus. more ›

Alfred Hitchcock famously said, “drama is just real life with the boring parts taken out.” This is something action movies have taken to heart, and that Michael Bay probably has tattooed somewhere on his spray-tanned physique. But some of those little moments can be packed full of drama, as this quiet, confident film shows. Based on a web series originally airing on the Sundance Channel, director/writers Annie J. Howell and Lisa Robinson’s introspective film examines today’s society and asks “in a world full of touchscreens and Blu-Ray discs, can we still connect to each other in a real and meaningful way? more ›

Are you ready to go old school? We’re not talking about the Will Ferrell movie (though that film was the shiznet), we’re talking about some slammin’ beats from back in the day! If the fresh picture of MC Hammer and your homeboy Vanilla chillin’ didn’t tip you off, the title should. This Thursday, you can bust a move to some OG tunes as the Alamo Downtown hosts “Jiggy Crunk.” more ›

Dracula is one the most famous characters of all time, and has been played by some of the most interesting and talented actors in cinema. But when it comes to a thoroughly unconventional take that’s sure to make a lasting impression, it’s hard to beat William H. Marshall in Scream Blacula Scream. As part of their “Terror Tuesday” series, the Alamo downtown presents this 1973 classic, starring Marshall and a young Pam Grier, in all its blaxploitative glory. more ›

Contrary to popular belief, politics is not boring. It's actually quite exciting, more like a soap opera than C-SPAN would have you believe. There are backroom deals, double crosses, lies, intrigue. This Monday night, the Alamo Ritz aims to prove our point with the intriguing political doc, Gerrymandering. The screening will be followed by a discussion with special guests who can enlighten you further into this fascinating process. more ›

• Roger Waters' brought Pink Floyd's The Wall to Dallas…but we hear it might have been torn down.
• Is this woman from Katy the most talked-about sex offender on the planet?
• A woman is coaching an NBA-affiliate… but doesn’t the way the story is written make it sound like, “Look at the little girl who is playing with the big boys?”

This documentary explores the gang culture of the late 60’s and early 70’s. Using incredible “you are there” footage and present day interviews with some of the gangs’ leaders, director Shan Nicholson digs deep into this world. They struggled to survive, then to conquer, and later, to make peace, eventually finding comfort in a new type of music that would come to be called “hip hop.” more ›

Doug Langway's BearCity explores relationships within a group that often doesn't get much recognition in the gay community. The movie had its World Premiere earlier this summer at NEWFEST and has subsequently been a big hit at several LGBT festivals. It even received the Los Angeles Outfest 2010 Grand Jury awards for Outstanding Screenwriting and Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film. Now more ›

There are many highlights on the schedule of the 23rd annual Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Festival, but one of the biggest is the World Premiere of Daniel Alexander's documentary Freeing Bernie Baran. more ›

Jools and Lynda Topp are not the kind of people you meet everyday. These twin sisters are cultural icons in their native New Zealand, and with this entertaining biographical documentary, they’re certainly not people you’ll soon forget. Raised on a dairy farm, they realized early on that they loved to sing…and that they were lesbians. These talented ladies have brought together conservative farmers, radical lesbians, and everyone in between, and given them a place to come together. It’s a touching portrait of two incredibly interesting people that is guaranteed to inspire you…while making you laugh at the same time. more ›

As the SXSW Film Festival comes across the midway point and enters the home stretch, you’ve been offered a special gift: an extra hour of sunlight at the end of the day! How nice to be able to walk out after a marathon movie session and still catch a little much-needed vitamin D. Sure, we know that’s not what you’re here for, but it’s nice to get a little fresh hour. Enjoy it! Breathe deep. Then…get right back in there! You don’t want to miss the Swiss sci-fi flick Cargo, playing at the Paramount Wednesday night. We’re sure you know where we’re going with this, but here are the magic two words: Remember Alien? more ›

One of the great things about film festivals is the chance to attend foreign films. The down side, of course: all that damn reading you have to do. Subtitles are like homework for your brain. Well we’ve got a solution for you: Crying With Laughter is an excellent foreign film…but it’s from Scotland! (Thank us later.) more ›

Everyone in the last three generations can be divided into two groups—those who worshiped at the feet of anything Star Wars and considered George Lucas a deity…and those that think “Jar Jar is funny!” And both sides wonder—how can these things have come out of the same person? In the documentary The People vs. George Lucas, those people finally get a chance to speak out. more ›

It is quite possible that you have never heard of the film Roadie. Hell, we certainly hadn't, and it is possible that the fact that it was released the same year that we were born might have something to do with that. However, before we tell you anything about it or tonight's screening in the Texas Spirit Theater at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum, we are going to make a bold statement: YOU MUST SEE THIS MOVIE. more ›

the open road and the small towns on it have their own unique and mysterious allure. But every once in a while, you can stumble across an even more puzzling mystery—who convinced these people to hitch their boomtown dreams to a giant hockey puck? Or weasel? Or killer bee? Not to be too Seinfeldian here, but who hasn’t wondered, “what’s the deal with that thing?” more ›

Whether you consider it an invasion of privacy or a good way to catch terrorist plots before they hatch, you have to admit—there’s a lot of information in the hands of the government today. What do they know about people? What do they know about...you?That’s one of the many questions David Bond addresses in his documentary Erasing David, which makes its U.S. premiere this Friday as part of the first night of the SXSW Film Festival. more ›

Based on the posthumously released bestselling novel by Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Män Som Hatar Kvinnor in swedish, which actually translates to "Men Who Hate Women") revolves around an unlikely crime-fighting duo: Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist), a financial journalist, and a goth-y computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace). Mikael discovers that Lisbeth is hacking into his system for surveillance purposes after he has been convicted of libel against a corporate bigwig, whereupon he enlists her skills to solve a 40-year-old murder. more ›

Film nerds can rejoice—you can get back to nursing those dreams and get a little film education this Sunday, when the Alamo Cinema Club hosts a screening of Ninotchka with film historian/UT professor/Austin Film Society co-founder Dr. Charles Ramirez Berg. Dr. Berg will enlighten us as to why this Greta Garbo comedy is considered a classic. more ›

Friday. Day two of Austin Film Festival. Everything’s really getting going now, but you’re already worn out from yesterday’s insanity. Not to worry, we have you all set! We’ve even taken into account that some panels might be full, so we’ve gone ahead and given you a backup. That’s just the kind of friends we are. more ›

This Saturday at the Paramount you can get a sneak peak of Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Apprentice, the much buzzed-about film starring John C. Reilly, William Dafoe, and Salma Hayek, among others. more ›

The third wave of content for Fantastic Fest was recently announced, and it totally rocks. That's especially true if you dig vampires, ninjas and super scary stories about spooky things. We couldn’t be more enthused about the programming if we’d been abducted by an alien ship and had the special "Fantastic Fest souvenir mind control device" implanted in our brains. more ›

Whether you’re a longtime Austinite with many years of “it was much cooler back in the day” to speak of, or you’ve just moved here to join the beardeoisie, you probably have some film school friends who love the Coen brothers. From the whip-smart pacing and whacked-out dialog of Raising Arizona to the intense emotion and sheer badass-ness of No Country for Old Men, these guys have become film legends. more ›

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... more ›

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. more ›

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. more ›

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. more ›

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. more ›

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. more ›

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. more ›