alamo drafthouse Tagged Articles at Cinematical
'Mr. Fox' Deserves a Fantastic Feast
Filed under: Animation », Fandom », Exhibition »
Dear Alamo Drafthouse or any other movie theater that serves food with movies,I just saw Fantastic Mr. Fox and afterwards I realized something that no one seems to have mentioned so far: This is totally a foodie movie. It's not foodie like Julie & Julia, where the characters are baking desserts and decapitating ducks and invoking the spirit of Julia Child ... but food is a central part of the story . The three main bad guys each are rumored to only consume a single type of food or drink, and Mr. Fox is obsessed with getting his paws on some of these delicacies. There are feasts, there are large plates of French toast and desserts, there is a significant cider incident -- in short, this movie is awash in food and drink.
Therefore, I strongly suggest that you offer a feast to accompany some screenings of Fantastic Mr. Fox. It took me days to recuperate from Alamo's feast for The Simpsons Movie, but boy was it worthwhile. Alamo does feasts for all kinds of fancy foodie movies, and any other movie it likes ... this is one I hope is not forgotten, even though it is opening in Austin around Thanksgiving, when people have turkey feasts on the brain.
Cinematical Talks To Fantastic Fest Founder Tim League
Filed under: Fantastic Fest », Interviews »
Tim League founded the Alamo Drafthouse with his wife Karrie in Austin, Texas back in 1997, and since then it's become a mainstay for mainstream films with a brisk sideline business for film geeks who require a steady diet of sci-fi, horror, fantasy, Asian, cult and ... the plain weird flicks. They've become known for their offbeat programming as much as they are for the fact that you can get a cheeseburger and a pint of beer during the movie, and this week marks the start of their fifth annual Fantastic Fest film festival.
Besides being the owner of the Alamo Drafthouse, League founded the fest with Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, Matt Dentler, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, and Tim McCanlies. These days, League is usually busier than "an octopus with hives," as my uncle used to say, but we caught up with him during the relative calm before the hurricane of film geekery and all-day screenings begins. Read on after the break for the full interview, and of course stay tuned to Cinematical for all of your Fantastic Fest news.
Cinematical Seven: Reasons Why We Love Fantastic Fest (Well, Besides the Movies)
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Horror », Independent », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Thrillers », Mystery & Suspense », Festival Reports », Fantastic Fest », Cinematical Seven »
Although circumstances dictate that I don't attend nearly as many film festivals as my colleagues do, it soon became clear that my last-minute decision to head out for last year's Fantastic Fest was a wise one. FF veterans were quick to note that the event had grown in proportion to its popularity, and the relatively young festival has similarly changed things up in its fifth year out of hopes of accommodating even more attendees than ever before.
However, this is not a think-piece about a mid-level film festival struggling with the limitations of stardom. No, this will merely be a list of seven reasons why we at Cinematical and the Squads are about to very much dwell on Fantastic Fest for the week to come -- well, seven reasons other than the movies.
We'll get around to those in due time.
Blank Walls Begone! New Posters A-Go-Go From Alamo & Mondo
Filed under: Action », Fandom », Brad Pitt », Quentin Tarantino », War », Posters »
In the midst of some domestic re-shuffling, I'm finally looking to adorn the walls of my humble abode with the posters that I've stock-piled in the corners of my closet for far too long. The arrival of Mondo Tees' own Royal Tenenbaums print has been partially responsible for this renewed interest, and now that they have some new posters for sale, well... my wallet rues the day that I stumbled across their site.First up is a series of Inglourious Basterds prints to tie in to last weekend's Cinemapocalypse event (which I'll let Jette fill you in on), with one design from Mondo staple Tyler Stout --
Capping things off would be the Silent Giants' take on The Dirty Dozen, and you can find all of those right about here. Just make sure that you have the space for 'em. And the poster frames.
See some of our favorites below ...
Up All Night with Tarantino for an Austin Cinemapocalypse
Filed under: Fandom », Quentin Tarantino »
I feel like Danny Glover in the later Lethal Weapon movies, grumbling that I'm getting too old for this s***. I spent my Saturday night and Sunday morning at a 14-hour (or so) movie marathon in Austin called Cinemapocalypse, perpetrated by the programmers at Alamo Drafthouse with some help from Quentin Tarantino. Apart from the first film, none of us (except the programmers) knew what we'd be watching.
The event kicked off with Tarantino's latest film, Inglourious Basterds, introduced by Tarantino and Eli Roth, who has a role in the film. The Alamo offered Nazi Scal(lo)ps on the menu as an accompaniment to the film. And during a key sequence set in a movie theater, we all heard a loud thump and realized that Nazi flags had been unfurled in the aisles of the Alamo Ritz, to match the onscreen theater. The flags stayed up all evening and felt a bit creepy after awhile, but apparently they were difficult to remove.
A Monumental Night: A L I E N at the Alamo!
Filed under: Horror », Sci-Fi & Fantasy »
What would it take for you to get up, leave your house, spend a few dollars ... all to enjoy a film that you already own on DVD? Put another way, would you fly halfway across the country to see a brand-new 35mm print of your all-time favorite movie? Well I did last weekend! As it stands I only need the flimsiest of excuses to visit Austin, Texas, but last week I had a chance to see a friend's film in front of a packed, horror-hungry crowd (it was The Collector, and I dug it) -- followed only a few days later by an Alamo Drafthouse sold-out screening of (wait for it) Ridley Scott's A L I E N. The near-flawless* sci-fi horror film that still resides at #1 on my lifetime list.
So I sat down with a bunch of great friends (and a huge batch of wonderfully well-behaved audience members) to see a film I've gone over ... about 25 times. So what new stuff did I see? First off, I was struck by how much the audience loved Yaphet Kotto as the ever-griping space mechanic known as Parker. He's the only real source of light humor in the film, and virtually all of his dialog was met by appreciative chuckles from the audience. Especially when he keeps warning Dallas and Ash to "freeze it, freeze the damn thing! Why don't they freeze it?"
Love Horror? Live in Austin? We've Got Some Good News
Filed under: Horror », Thrillers », Mystery & Suspense », Fantastic Fest »
Back at last year's Fantastic Fest, I was privy to a conversation between Scott Weinberg and screenwriter Marcus Dunstan about the latter's latest project (he'd just done some Saw sequels and was in town for his Feast follow-ups). It was called Midnight Man at the time, and if I could remember what it was about, I'd tell you. (Honest!) I just remember being vaguely psyched for it.*Well, the film's done now, under a new name of The Collector and accompanied by a bunch of solid buzz from genre sites all over and none other than Alamo Drafthouse head honcho Tim League himself. Thusly, Fantastic Fest and our own Horror Squad have teamed up to bring an early screening of the film to Austin before its July 31st theatrical run.
For more details on this free (!) sneak peek, head on over to Horror Squad.
*"Vaguely psyched!" - Go ahead, put that on the poster.
Are These The Best Movie Houses in America?
Filed under: Fandom », Exhibition »
What are your criteria for the "best" movie theaters in your area? Most convenient? Most economical? Best popcorn? Best programming? Least corporate? "The Best Movie Houses in America" is the headline of an article in Paste Magazine, in which they list seven "top-notch" independently-owned movie theaters.
Their criteria focuses on the selection of films available at the local indie movie house: "We look to it as a calm voice of reason in a sea of neon-appointed megaplexes; as a secure place of refuge where we discover talented indie filmmakers who've been flying under the radar." They include two Manhattan theaters among the seven: Film Forum and the IFC Center, plus one each in Austin (Cinematical favorite The Alamo Drafthouse Downtown/Ritz), Boston (The Coolidge Corner Theatre), Chicago (Facets Cinematheque), Minneapolis (Riverview Theater), and Seattle (The Grand Illusion Cinema).
My criteria for "best" revolves around good programming, superior projection / sound, and comfortable seating, with the option of good, varied food and drinks a big bonus. When I lived in New York, I loved Film Forum for its programming and the Ziegfield Theatre (admittedly not an indie house) for projection / sound. I stayed in Chicago one summer and admired the programming at Facets, the Music Box Theatre, and the Gene Siskel Film Center. My Los Angeles faves were the American Cinematheque at the Egyptian, the New Beverly, the UCLA Film and Television Archive, and the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood (again, not an indie). Now that I live in Texas, the Alamo reigns supreme for me, even though it's 200 miles away.
What are the best movie houses in your area? Is there a great, locally-owned theater (or small chain) that deserves more love?
The Cinematical Roundtable: Live from SXSW with James Rocchi
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Documentary », Drama », Independent », Thrillers », SXSW », Mystery & Suspense », Festival Reports »
Welcome to the second episode of The Cinematical Roundtable, our latest podcast here at the site, where we'll speak with writers and readers alike about the latest in film offerings. Joining us this round is James Rocchi, formerly of Cinematical and currently of MSN Movies and countless other outlets, as we tackle several of the more independent titles that graced us with their presence at this year's SXSW Film Festival.
Again, please bear with the overwhelming ambiance of the International House of Pancakes (a South By staple, and not always by choice). In the weeks to come, the podcast will actually be produced in much more conducive conditions, but when in Austin, keeping it weird is the name of the game. With that in mind, your feedback is appreciated, and feel free to spread the word. Preferably the word 'podcast'. And 'Cinematical'. Yeah, that is two words, what of it?
That's what I thought...
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Live from SXSW: A 'Troll 2' Virgin No More
Filed under: Festival Reports », Fandom »
The cult following for the film Troll 2 has always perplexed me. There are lots of lousy movies in the world, after all. What makes this one so special? And doesn't enjoying something ironically get old after a while? (I'm not a fan of that thing hipsters do where something terrible is described as "awesome.")
But I am nothing if not eager to learn, so I took in a double feature Saturday night at South By Southwest. First up was Best Worst Movie, a highly entertaining documentary about the Troll 2 phenomenon, directed by Michael Stephenson, who as a young boy starred in the film. The doc prepared me for a screening of Troll 2 itself, which took place at midnight at the Alamo Drafthouse and was populated mostly -- they asked for a show of hands -- by Troll 2 virgins such as myself. That was nice, actually, because it meant there weren't a lot of people shouting the lines along with the movie, which is always a sure way to prevent newbies from enjoying something.
The verdict? Troll 2 is a singular piece of work. I assumed it would be bad, of course, but it's almost impossible to describe its badness to someone who hasn't seen it. You seldom see a real movie in which none of the actors actually knows how to act, but here it is. Nearly every reading of every line of dialogue is flat-out wrong, and the dialogue itself, as written, is impossibly bad, as if written by non-English-speakers (which it was) and translated by a computer (which it may well have been). There were times when it seemed like a parody of bad movies, like something you'd see on Tim & Eric Awesome Show Great Job.
Indie Roundup: 'Sweetgrass,' 'Clarkworld,' 'Broken Embraces'
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Interracial Harmony: 'Ninja Assassin' vs. 'Blind Side'
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