Top Ten of 2007 - Alamo style

In between trimming the tree, lighting the menorah and other traditional holiday chores, folks all over the media have been putting together their top ten lists on all manner of subjects. For better or for worse the team here at the Alamo workshop have cobbled together our own "best of 2007" lists, in this case, our 10 favorite movies of the year. Scrutiny of these lists might offer some not-so-valuable-insight into the tastes and moral fiber of the staff of the Alamo Drafthouse programming team.

As a matter of brief introductions, here are a couple of the key duties of the 5 members of the Alamo programming team: Zack hosts Terror Thursday and the Saturday Morning Kids Club; Lars creates the Alamo preshows and is the host of Weird Wednesday; Henri is the Alamo creative director and hosts sing-alongs, quote-alongs and about 50 holiday parties this season; Tim (me) is the founder of the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, is the director of Fantastic Fest and monkeys around in all kinds of stuff, and Brad is the newest member of the team and serves as the office manager, keeping everything around here organized.

On with the lists!

From Tim (me):
10) KING OF KONG. One of the all-time classic battles of good vs. evil. Unbelievable until you see it unfold on screen. When I start recommending a Donkey Kong championship movie to my mother, it has to have some universal appeal.
9) EXTE: HAIR EXTENSIONS (Japan) Sion Sono. Remember that name. Someone in Japan had the amazing idea to give a supremely wacked-out transgressive director a boat-ton of money to make a send-up of JHorror movies. Not only did he succeed on the comedy front, but the film has some genuine thrills and jumps AND there's a mainline spike of weird deviant sexuality. Plus the Hair Extensions song the villain sings while driving around town should be a top 40 hit. Craziness that can only be delivered by the Japanese.
8) SUPERBAD/KNOCKED UP I feel bad for lumping these two films into one slot, but I can't decide which one I like better. All hail the new kings of comedy.
7) LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD I went into this one with very low expectations. Consider those shattered when John Mclane starts surfing on the wing of a stealth fighter. Perfect popcorn.
6) INSIDE (France) the BEST no-holds-barred thriller I've seen in a while. The premise of an extremely pregnant woman being stalked by an psychopath intent on a "premature" delivery is crazy enough, but when they amp up the gore quotient to Monty Python proportions, it becomes a thing of beauty.
5) TIMECRIMES (Spain) We all fell in love with Nacho Vigalondo AND his movie at Fantastic Fest this year. Timecrimes is smart, funny, and one of the best-conceived time travel movie I've ever seen. Look for a theatrical release later this year.
4) JUNO - Ellen Page was my favorite actress of 2006 with HARD CANDY and it's amazing to see her range with this a completely different role. Everything about this movie is perfect. If my top 3 movies weren't perfect in every way , then I'd give this one #1 billing, just like Roger Ebert.
3) THERE WILL BE BLOOD - Daniel Day Lewis is an absolute LOCK for best actor. One of the all-time great American movies. Citizen Kane, consider yourself trumped.
2) NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN - Total return to form for the Coen Brothers. After Ladykillers and Intolerable Cruelty, I was getting seriously worried. Javier Bardem is the best cinematic badass since Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet.
1) DAI NIPPON JIN (Japan) Holy crap! I may be alone in the world for putting this at #1 of 2007, but this crazy little number blew me away. Hitoshi Matsumoto is one of the most famous TV comedians in Japan. Will Farrel, Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller and all the rest should be bowing down at his altar.

From Brad:
1. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
Best movie this year, I think.
2. EASTERN PROMISES
An admirable number 2 showing.
3. RESCUE DAWN
Painfully effective- and affective. An -ective double whammy.
4. LUST, CAUTION
I feel I have now been in love in war-torn, Japanese-occupied Shanghai.
5. THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Yes.
6. THE KING OF KONG
I enjoy films that skirt the line between pathetic and triumphant.
7. KNOCKED UP
Very funny, but it makes you think.
8. INTERVIEW
Performances alone put this one here.
9. DARJEELING LIMITED
Beautiful.
10. ATONEMENT
Lot's of war films here. Here's another. Love and war- that's what's
it all about.

From Zack:
10) INSIDE (France) tie with INVISIBLE TARGET (Hong Kong) - This was a toughie but both films had to be in my top ten. I mean, INVISIBLE TARGET had more broken glass than any action movie I've ever seen, from Hong Kong or otherwise. But INSIDE had the most ruptured uterus, and who doesn't enjoy that?
9) TIMECRIMES (Spain) - This was an intelligent, perfectly rendered quasi-scifi film with a deliberately uneasy blend of humor and tension. Plus the director taught everybody at Fantastic Fest how to do the Swastika Dance.
8) TAXIDERMIA (Hungary) - Disgusting and beautiful and brilliant. Competitive eating, pigfucking and taxidermy finally receive the treatment they deserve.
7) CONFESSIONS OF A SUPERHERO documentary - The most engrossing sympathetic view imaginable of off-kilter fameseekers dressed in tights. Seriously a heart-wrenching movie. Superman himself came to the Alamo for the Ritz opening weekend. In the aforementioned tights. Top notch.
6) I WANT SOMEONE TO EAT CHEESE WITH - Jeff "The Fat Guy from CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM" Garlin writes, directs and stars in the most gut-punchingly realistic romantic comedy of the year. Love is cruel and there is no hope...now laugh!! Also, for those of you who like to sit around and wish you were (ugh) Jimmy Kimmel, his long-time ladyfriend and much more talented comedianne colleague Sarah Silverman is in this movie almost naked. Yeep. But don't let that be the reason you do or don't rent this...it's a great film through and through, with plenty of the awkward humor that makes most movies of this type self-conscious and unfunny, except Garlin pulls it off with a massive degree of lovable chubby aplomb.
5) LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD tie with BLOOD, BOOBS AND BEAST (Don Dohler documentary) - Both of these movies knocked my bellybutton through my spine. DIE HARD IV was everything I wanted and nothing I expected. The fact that it was released as a PG-13 film didn't hold back the massive onslaught of irresponsible violence. In fact, there were probably more offscreen innocent bystanders injured by the shrapnel of Mr. Willis in this film than in the first 3 combined. Those of you who whined that it wasn't enough like the other films...well, at least it didn't have another stuffy British terrorist in it this time around.
BLOOD, BOOBS AND BEAST was a really moving documentary on late, great Baltimore schlock-horror filmmaker Don Dohler (THE ALIEN FACTOR, NIGHTBEAST, BLOOD MASSACRE). It would have been easy to point and laugh at the backyard limitations of Dohler's films, but the film instead covers the life of an iron-willed cinematic maverick and family man with terrible luck and no critical or social respect. The film ran at Fantastic Fest and there wasn't a dry eye in the packed house.
4) THERE WILL BE BLOOD - A huge sprawling epic of the highest caliber of huge sprawling epics. They just don't make movies like this anymore, ever. A seething slow boil from Daniel Day Lewis eliminates the standard story arc and instead opts for a redemption-shunning downward spiral. Pretty goddamn incredible.
3) EASTERN PROMISES - I kick the ass of anyone who speaks ill. This was an incredible step forward AGAIN from the once-seemingly-watertreading David Cronenberg. Intelligent, unflinchingly violent and featuring none of the expository crime film training wheels that wrecked THE DEPARTED. I'll be dipped if this isn't among a great director's very best work. And not just because we see Viggo Mortensen's dingus.
2) KING OF KONG doc - Without hyperbole, this is truly the most palpable battle of real-life Good VS. Evil ever captured on film. Steve Wiebe is the greatest role model of the 21st Century. Billy Mitchell: get out of here...nobody invited you to this party.
1) NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN - My favorite new American movie of the last decade or longer. For reals. Sass me and Lars will beat you up (see below).
AND...Honorable mention: UNDERDOG - There goes my credibility.

From Lars:
I didn't get a chance to see THERE WILL BE BLOOD or JUNO (yet) but I imagine
they would have made this list, along with EASTERN PROMISES, which I
stupidly missed. If there seem to be a lot of old (rereleased) movies here,
it's because I like them old movies.
1) NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN: The Coen Brothers make it good, Tommy Lee Jones
makes it transcendental. The ending is perfect. Don't think so - call me and
we can make an appointment for me to punch you in the face!
2) A COLT IS MY PASSPORT: The U.S. Premiere of this 1967 Japanese film
happened at Fantastic Fest. There's a lot of catching up to do. The audience
looked grateful and stunned at the same time, like they just found out the
world was full of candy and nobody'd ever told them about it.
3) KILLER OF SHEEP: Charles Burnett's small film (made in 1977, only widely
released this year) radiates life and beauty. The struggle to get an engine
block into the back of a truck is far more compelling than 300 and
TRANSFORMERS lashed together and set on fire.
4) HOLY MOUNTAIN: They packed the house for this hopelessly pretentious,
brilliant film by Jodorowsky at the late lamented Downtown. The colors were
booming! The crowd of mostly college students was alight with movie-love.
5) KING OF KONG: I didn't like it QUITE as much as everyone else but it was
still great.
6) UNCLE'S PARADISE: Beautiful Japanese surrealist sex fantasy. My favorite
new film of Fantastic Fest 2007. Great performances, insanely inventive,
austerely beautiful and even pretty sexy.
7) ROMANCE AND CIGARETTES: So imperfect, so doomed to fail. What could be
more romantic than a lost cause? A lot of people HATED this but I respected
director John Turturro and the actors for trying to do something different.
The quiet, unhuried scenes between James Gandolfini and Susan Sarandon were
masterful and worth sitting through the stuff that didn't work so well.
8) DARJEELING LIMITED: Seriously flawed but funny in the way ROYAL
TENENBAUMS was. Also, visually beautiful (an underrated aspect of films now
I think.) I was ready to give up on Wes Anderson as tragically celebrated
and full of himself after THE LIFE AQUATIC but I think he might make some
more good films now.
9) and 10) SUPERBAD & KNOCKED UP: Everybody's surprised when I say I liked
these. With the exception of a few masters, rude, dirty comedy is the best
thing the American film industry has going for it.

From Henri:
10) KNOCKED UP - Of the two, I think SUPERBAD was by far the better film, and KNOCKED UP had all sorts of problems for me, not the least of which was how conveniently they just argued past the point of an abortion. Cause I know it makes for a funny sitcom idea, but if you end up getting pregnant with someone that you hooked up with while drunk and don’t like at all, you should not feel like you have to raise the child together at all. Still, this movie makes it onto my list over SUPERBAD simply because of the super gross birthing scene at the end. That will single-handedly win any argument I have with any girlfriend over whether or not we’re ready to have kids. Until I’m ready, I’ll just keep that on my iPod and any time she says that she thinks it sounds fun, I’ll remind her of exactly what she’s signing up for. Boom! No trips to Babies ‘R Us for me! That kind of power to affect my life for the better automatically makes KNOCKED UP one of the top ten films of the year.
9) BEOWULF - BEOWULF is also kind of a shitty movie, but it was the one and only time I ventured outside of the Alamo to check something out, and I went and saw it on a 3D projection system (while sneaking in a flask to complete the experience), and holy crap, that blew my mind. Yeah, the actors in motion capture looked kinda creepy, but a 3D flying dragon fight? 3D Angelina Jolie staring at me while slowly rising out of cave water? Sign me up, and keep your Godard to yourself. Plus seeing this and loving David Ellis makes me very dedicated to the task of getting 3D digital projection at the Ritz before FINAL DESTINATION 4 comes out, as that movie will undoubtedly be my favorite film of the year it is released in.
8) SPIDERMAN 3 - Fuck you, haters. This movie would be higher up on my list but too many people have whined on and on about their problems with it and have thereby ruined my love, which was otherwise pure as a morning snow on a newborn baby’s butt. Yeah, there were a lot of villains, and yes the amnesia plot device for Harry was a bit of a cheat, but I loved so many moments in this and don’t care that they drastically altered the plot of the comics, because the spirit of all of the characters was there and right on. Bring it on, fanboys.
7) ZODIAC - The murder scenes were amazing. The bleakness and drudgery and the documentation of how obsession can ruin your life even if you aren’t killed was fascinating. But the best thing about ZODIAC was that it wasn’t until about halfway through that I realized that the movie wasn’t about a serial killer or detective work or any of that, but was really about how much more difficult life was back in the analogue age. When you watch DIRTY HARRY or some other movie from the 70s with 70s actors and 70s cities in it, you don’t notice how life before cell phones was a pain in the ass for these characters. But watching Jake Gyllenhaal having to actually travel all up and down California to get information from big boxes in back rooms really made me appreciate my life in the Internet age.
6) BLACK SNAKE MOAN - 2007 will go down in history as the greatest year of film ever for one simple reason: Justin Timberlake. In three movies. And while his lip sync scene in SOUTHLAND TALES was the best three minutes in motion picture history, the rest of the movie around it still isn’t worth sitting through. BLACK SNAKE MOAN is fantastic, though. I thought it was going to just be about torturing Christina Ricci and was happy enough with that premise. When the movie became so much more I was just plain thrilled.
5) THE KING OF KONG - Part of me just wants to put a documentary high on my list so I can sound like a film snob who knows what I’m talking about, but really, this movie will seriously stay with me longer than any of the others listed here. It had all of the good qualities of the “look at this quirky group of people” genre of docs, but also had a real story and genuine characters to root for and hope alongside. And it taught me a lot about how to play Donkey Kong better.
4) RATATOUILLE - I love Patton Oswalt. I love Brad Bird. I love crazy chefs and going out to eat and fantastic foods. Even so, I thought the idea of a rat wanting to be a chef was going to be a tired and clichéd children’s film and before seeing the movie and thought that maybe, just maybe, Brad Bird had lost his touch. I should be shot for having lost my faith.
3) MIRAGEMAN - The best part about picking the Chilean action movie from FANTASTIC FEST as one of my top picks this year? After it gets released in theaters next year I’ll be able to include in my 2008 list, too! I can tell you right now that it’ll be a toss up between this and FINAL DESTINATION 4 for my number one film of all time. I can only hope that they make a MIRAGEMAN 2 with the same sort of digital video in your face feel, but in 3D. If they do, that’s my favorite movie of 2009, 2010, and every year after that. Hell, if that film happened we could all stop watching movies because there is no way a trip to the cinema could ever be better.
2) BOURNE ULTIMATUM - That chase scene? Amazing. And my favorite moment in the theater all year was definitely while I was watching that on opening weekend at South Lamar – right after the whole chase ended and we all realized we’d been holding our breath for 15 minutes straight someone in the front row yelled out, “Yes! That was awesome!” Normally we hate talking in the theater, but that one little exclamation (followed by nothing else) was a perfect expression for the sheer joy we were all feeling.
1) THE LANDLORD - If Lars is allowed to include old movies in his list of the top ten of 2007, then I’m allowed to use web movies. I’ve watched and quoted Will Ferrell’s break out hit from Funny or Die more than any other movie this year. “I want my MOONNEEY!!!” Thank you, Pearl. You can have your four beers now.

Dec 29th's Ritz preview of THERE WILL BE BLOOD is sold out! But don't despair...

Those of you lucky enough to be with us for the closing night film of Fantastic Fest 2007 witnessed what I consider to be a lock for the best picture/best actor Academy Award. Daniel Day Lewis' performance as Daniel Plainview in THERE WILL BE BLOOD is nothing short of astonishing. Rarely in the entire history of film has there been a character so well drawn; he's ferocious, intense and yet gut-achingly fragile and lonely.

We are extremely proud to be one of only 14 theaters nationwide to be screening THERE WILL BE BLOOD on December 29th at midnight in a sneak preview, one-night-only midnight screening. This showing has now sold out, but read on for some good news!

The film is now definitely opening at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at the Ritz on January 18. We'll have tickets for the regular engagement on sale soon, so those of you who were unable to snag tickets to the advance screening will definitely still have a chance to witness this monumental film the way it deserves to be seen at The Alamo!

Check out the show page HERE for more info!

Here is the special YouTube trailer cut by Paul Thomas Anderson himself for this screening:


Here's the theatrical trailer as well:


And last, here's a few words from the nations top critics:

"As astounding in its emotional force and as haunting and mysterious as anything seen in American movies in recent years." - New Yorker

"[A] work [of] blistering intensity -- and filmmaking that can make your jaw drop." - Newsweek

"A masterpiece from Paul Thomas Anderson. You won't be able to shake it off. Daniel Day Lewis delivers a chilling portrait of greed. He can be charming, cunning, terrifying and pathetic -- sometimes all at once. This is a landmark performance." - Maxim

The Austin Film Critic's Association named THERE WILL BE BLOOD the best film of 2007. We at the Alamo concur.

There Will Be Blood named top film of 2007 by AFCA

The Austin Film Critics Association announced their "best of 2007" awards this week and topping out the roster is Paul Thomas Anderson's magnificent THERE WILL BE BLOOD.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD opens the Alamo Drafthouse Downtown on January 18. We are also hosting a special midnight sneak preview of the film on December 29. Tickets for this sneak are going fast; if you are going to attend, we recommend you purchase online in advance.

Here's the official release from our esteemed Austin film critics:

"There Will Be Blood," the gripping tale of an oil-man overtaken with greed, packed a punch as it led all contenders with five awards including the top honor, Best Film. Paul Thomas Anderson, who directed, produced and scripted the epic film based on the Upton Sinclair novel "Oil!" was awarded Best Director while Daniel Day Lewis took home Best Actor for his breathtaking portrayal of the lead character Daniel Plainview. Best Original Score went to multi-instrumentalist Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead fame for his musical creation and Best Cinematography went to Robert Elswit for his photography of the historic Marfa, Texas desert.

Ellen Page, the teenager who upset royalty last year, moved "away from" another veteran frontrunner and took home the award for Best Actress for the second consecutive year. As the title role Page plays an offbeat 16 year-old who decides to keep her unborn child and seek adoptive parents. The acting seemed to strike a chord with voters all-around as Allison Janney won Best Supporting Actress as Juno's supportive stepmother and Michael Cera was named the Breakthrough Artist of the Year for his performances in both "Juno" and "Superbad." Diablo Cody, a pseudonymous first time screenwriter, won Best Original Screenplay for her innovative story filled with quirky, hipster dialogue.

Javier Bardem was given Best Supporting Actor for his role as a cruel, ruthless killer in "No Country for Old Men" and the Coen Brothers, who also directed, grabbed Best Adapted Screenplay for their reconstruction of Pulitzer Prize Winner Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel of the same name.

Best Foreign Film went to Paul Verhoeven's "Black Book (Zwartboek)", the Dutch World War II resistance film. Best Animated Film went to a Pixar production for the second year in a row for Brad Bird's "Ratatouille". "The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters" won Best Documentary and Ben Affleck, who transitioned from actor, received Best First Film.

The Austin Film Award, which goes to the best film made locally, went to "Grindhouse" directors Quentin Tarantino and Austinite Robert Rodriguez, who also won the award in 2005 for "Sin City".

Awards are voted on annually for the previous calendar year's films. The AFCA's membership includes critics from daily newspapers, weekly alternatives, monthly magazines, local television news and online video and review sites.

See the Speed Racer trailer downtown!

I'm not sure about you guys, but I for one get incredibly excited about the summer blockbuster season. The film at the absolute top of my list is the new Wachowski Brothers film: SPEED RACER. John Goodman as pops, Christina Ricci as Trixie and an ACTUAL MONKEY as Chim Chim. We received an advance trailer for Speed Racer during Butt-Numb-athon, and you can check it out at the Ritz this week before all showings of I AM LEGEND!

SWEENEY TODD Now Playing at Lamar with Meat Pies! Yum.

This weekend we've got a ton of great movies opening: JUNO at South Lamar will blow minds. Plus, we can't wait to see WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY and CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR at Village. But the food/movie pair-up of the season is SWEENEY TODD at South Lamar.


Johnny Depp plays a murdering barber who grinds up his victims and makes meat pies out of them! So of course we've got a phenomenal selection of meat pies for you to eat while enjoying the film.

Here's what John Bullington has pulled out of his giant chef hat for the occasion:

Hare Pie
Roasted rabbit with carrots, parsnips, potatoes and celery root in a rich baked into a rosemary crust 10.99

Shepherds Pie
Ground Thunderheart Bison with wild mushrooms topped with mashed yukon gold potatoes and Gloucester cheese. The Bison is all natural and grassfed, so tasty and so good for you! 9.99

Duck Pie
Confit of Duck with fennel, quince, leeks and turnips in a thyme cabernet sauce baked in a peppercorn crust 10.99

And for Dessert:

Blood Orange Pie 9.99
Chocolate Pecan Crust filled with a tangy blood orange filling and topped with honeyed mascarpone.

All savory pies served with fresh greens and white balsamic vinaigrette.

And here's what the critics are saying about SWEENEY TODD:

"Scary, monstrously funny and melodically thrilling. And Depp is simply stupendous." - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

"The performances are pitched at just the right scale: theatrically exaggerated but untainted by "Broadway" bombast. Who knew Burton would have such an uncanny feel for how to film a musical?" - David Ansen, Newsweek

Join your REAL Family for an Orphan Christmas Dinner at the Ritz, Village and South Lamar!

Nowhere to go this Christmas? Or maybe you just don't feel like cooking. We've got a food option for you that's way better than Mom used to make.

Attend the Christmas Day Afternoon Round at Ritz, Village or South Lamar and take advantage of the $21.25 "Turkey" ticket at any show. Along with admission to the film you get your meal included in the ticket price.

Here's what you get:

A Santa-sized portion of Turkey and Dressing
Cranberry Sauce (the good kind)
Green Beans
Homemade Gravy and Rolls
Grandmas Sweet Potatoes with Marshmallows
and finally, Pecan Pie

Plus, when it's time to go home, we'll give you a to-go box with a hearty portion of Turkey and Stuffing to enjoy later. It's a good deal for a great meal, thanks to our chefs Trish Eichelberger, John Bullington and Elijah Horgan.

When we did this for Thanksgiving it was very popular and we sold out quickly. We're buying more turkeys this time but to be on the safe side buy your Christmas Day tickets in advance here:

Just click the $21.25 Turkey Ticket when you buy.

Ritz: I AM LEGEND 4:45

Ritz: I'M NOT THERE 3:50

Lamar: JUNO 4:10

Lamar: ENCHANTED 4:20

Lamar: KITE RUNNER 3:35

Lamar: SWEENEY TODD 3:30

Lamar: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN 4:45

Village: CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR 4:20

Village: WALK HARD 4:10

Village: I AM LEGEND 4:05

Village: GOLDEN COMPASS 4:15

And whatever you do, have a safe and happy holiday season from all of us at the Alamo.

Rewind Kindly... and win a Quad-core Dell!

Director Michel Gondry continues the surreal efforts of ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND and THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP with this imaginative comedy. Jack Black plays a man who accidentally erases every movie at a local video store, then he and the employee (Mos Def) must reconstruct every film that he destroyed by acting them out. The movie opens at the Alamo South Lamar on January 25.

Beginning on January 1, teams can sign up at www.filmmakingfrenzy.com to compete in REWIND KINDLY, a filmmaking competition inspired by BE KIND REWIND sponsored by AMD and Dell. Teams will have until January 18 at midnight to complete and upload an up-to-five-minute, homemade, low-budget remake of a popular Hollywood film. It's free to compete and you can choose any movie under the sun to remake!

Submitted films will be screened at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Lamar on January 22nd and 23rd followed by the AMD/Dell Rewind Kindly awards ceremony and "best of" screening on January 24. After the awards ceremony, stick around for the first midnight screening of the movie we cannot wait to see: Be Kind Rewind.

First prize is a brand new quad-core Dell editing station with a 30-inch monitor and runner up is a Dell 17" laptop. The winning films will also be included in the Alamo preshow for the duration of the BE KIND REWIND theatrical engagement. See www.filmmakingfrenzy.com for complete details.

Air Sex: George Bush F*cks the World!

Round 2 of the USA Air Sex Championships went down at the Alamo Ritz this past November, and we've finally got video of the winning performance. Politics and porn, together at last! Enjoy.

This clip is naughty. Parental advisory in effect.

Compete or watch the next action packed round of Air Sex at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema at the Ritz on January 26. Winners in each round will be invited back to the Air Sex World Finals in September. The Air Sex world champion will be flown to Las Vegas for actual sex.

First sneak peak at the new Alamo guide...

The January/February guide has gone to the printer and will be out on the streets by Friday. You can get a sneak peak at all the new programming, however, by checking out the online PDF. Highlights of this calendar are the return of John Gries for a triple threat of Napoleon Dynamite, Terrorvision and Real Genius, our first in a monthly series of rehearsals for the giant Austin, the first two rounds of Austin Air Guitar, a whole new slate of Terror Thursday and Weird Wednesday screenings, Spike and Mike, Justin Timberlake's birthday and more, more, more!

We're all excited, and hope you guys are too. We'll see you at the movies!

Fangoria comes to Austin in January!

I am really excited to be reporting some major horror news for our town. Fangoria is bringing their legendary weekend of horrors convention to Austin for the very first time. This is an amazing opportunity to be host city to such a major event. I’ve been reading Fango since I was a kid and it in no small way made me the movie fan I am today. We are excited to partner with FANGORIA to help make this an amazing event that Texas gorehounds will not want to miss.

In addition to supporting (and attending) the convention, we will hosting a number of official 35mm screenings at the Alamo Drafthouse at the Village. The movies, a mix of new and retro titles, will include:

MOTHER OF TEARS, Dario Argento’s latest (courtesy of Myriad Pictures, who will release the film to theaters in April/May 2008) is the final film in the "mother" trilogy, started by Suspiria and Inferno.

INSIDE, the French bloodbath that Fangoria raved about here. (courtesy of Genius Entertainment/Dimension Extreme; due on unrated DVD March 2008) We are UNBELIEVABLY jazzed to welcome back to Austin one of our absolute
favorite films of Fantastic Fest 2007. “Lean, mean, tight, ruthless and bloodier than
a slaughterhouse floor,” INSIDE spends one night inside the home of an expectant
mother as she fights off a psychopath hellbent on a premature C-section.

STORM WARNING, Jamie (URBAN LEGEND) Blanks’ intense survival shocker (courtesy of Genius Entertainment/Dimension Extreme; due on unrated DVD February 5) features some of the most uncomfortable moments we’ve seen in years, at least for those members of the audience with male genitalia.

SEED, the Uwe Boll serial killer thriller with the highest body count! Boll will introduce the film. (Courtesy Boll KG)

MANIAC COP 2, the superior 1990 sequel, to be introduced by director William Lustig.

FRIDAY THE 13TH, PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD, to be introduced by cast and crew in support of the film’s 20th anniversary

TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2, Tobe Hooper’s 1986 follow-up, to be introduced by cast members

The Fango/Alamo fright film fest will be held at the Alamo Drafthouse Village Theater (2700 Anderson Lane) and will be free for all Weekend of Horrors attendees with a convention badge or hand stamp. Shows will take place Friday, Saturday and Sunday (January 18-20), with movies unspooling at 9:45 p.m. and midnight each night. Check back to the Alamo website for more details: . A very limited number or movie tickets will be available online, the remainder of tickets are reserved for Fangoria Weekend of Horror attendees.

Check out the entire guest roster at the official Fangoria Weekend of Horrors website.

The three-day convention itself will take place at the nearby Renaissance Austin Hotel (9721 Arboretum Boulevard; about two miles from the theater). Other guests/programs set for Fango’s Texas blowout include:

• Jared Padalecki: SUPERNATURAL star who also appeared in the fright flicks HOUSE OF WAX and CRY_WOLF

• Robert Rodriguez: director of GRINDHOUSE, SIN CITY, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, DESPERADO, THE FACULTY and the SPY KIDS trilogy

• Angela Bettis: actress from MAY, TOOLBOX MURDERS, MASTERS OF HORROR: SICK GIRL, ROMAN, CARRIE remake, BLESS THE CHILD and new 3-D bloodbath SCAR. Also appearing: SCAR director Jed Weintrob and producer Norman Twain

• Tom Savini: makeup FX legend and fan favorite from DAWN OF THE DEAD, MARTIN, CREEPSHOW, FRIDAY THE 13TH, MANIAC, DAY OF THE DEAD, TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2, FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER and many more. He is also a director (1990’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD) and actor (KNIGHTRIDERS, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, GRINDHOUSE)

• Dick Durock: SWAMP THING movie and TV star! Also from STAND BY ME, RAW DEAL, A-TEAM

• William Lustig: director of MANIAC, RELENTLESS, VIGILANTE and MANIAC COP trilogy, as well as owner of Blue Underground DVD company

• FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VII: THE NEW BLOOD reunion: with director/FX creator John (TROLL) Buechler; lead actress Lar Park (HOUSE II) Lincoln; co-star Kevin (SUBSPECIES II) Spirtas; Jason himself, Kane Hodder; and actor William Butler, who has since segued into directing horror features like MADHOUSE and FURNACE

• Donnie Dunagan: actor from Universal horror classics SON OF FRANKENSTEIN and TOWER OF LONDON; voice of young BAMBI

• Gary Kent: actor on countless exploitation and genre films (DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN, SATAN’S SADISTS, THE THRILL KILLERS, ANGEL’S WILD WOMEN, THE MIGHTY GORGA, etc.), and BUBBA HO-TEP stunt coordinator

The Southwest convention will also host a costume contest, dessert party (free for Gold and Silver customers), giant dealers’ marketplace, FANGORIA TV screenings, a jam-packed indie horror movie festival and advance previews of 2008’s hottest fear flicks. Discounted hotel rooms are already available at the Renaissance Austin Hotel: call (800) 468-3571 or (512) 343-2626 to book. For more information on the conventions, go to www.fangocon.com, and watch this website for regular updates.

What Would Jesus Buy?

Award-winning doc and SXSW fave WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY opens at the Alamo South Lamar this weekend, just in time for the holiday shopping season.

As a special bonus, director Rob VanAlkemade will be live in person to introduce the shows on Saturday and Sunday nights!

Take heed brothers and sisters! The shopacalypse is upon us! America is fat with greed and addicted to shopping. Luckily, Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir are here to save our souls from overspending!

In the weeks leading to Christmas, Reverend Billy and the Choir board a bus headed from advertising-thick Times Square through the heartland’s shopping malls to the commercial mecca—Disneyland. Part performance art, part spendthrift evangelism, they cross the US singing and preaching to spend gently. With the average American holding about $8,500 in credit card debt, his work is overdue.

Reverend Billy is serious in his message. He doesn’t preach the impossible task of never buying again, but encourages us to be mindful of where our dollars go. We visit a Main Street men’s clothing store struggling for customers against the Wal-Mart up the road and a line of Christmas shoppers waiting to buy an Xbox 360 lest they feel the wrath of their consumption-addicted children.

Billy and the choir go caroling to incite ‘change-a-lujah!’ along front porches in gated community and from church pulpits. They’re making trouble, evading Mall of America security, and just like the rest of us, they’re fighting the urge to buy for the sake of spending. By the time they get to Disneyland, you may find yourself converted, ready to buy American and swear-off big box stores in favor of your local merchants.

Official Site
Tickets and additional information

Son of Rambow: free tonight (12/10)

One of my absolute favorite movies from Fantastic Fest 2007, Son of Rambow, is going to be screening for free at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar tonight.

Son of Rambow
Will (Bill Milner) is a very sheltered, conservative religious boy who has never in his life watched television or a movie. When ruffian schoolmate Carter (Will Poulter) exposes him to a bootleg copy of First Blood, it blows his mind and changes his life. The two set off to film their own sequel, SON OF RAMBOW, complete with special effects and dangerous stunts. Written and directed by Garth Jennings, director of Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Son of Rambow is a sweet, funny and unbelievably charming film. It hits theaters next year, but AICN and Fantastic Fest are giving you an early chance to see the film for free tonight!

Attendees from Buttnumbathon 2007 have priority seating to this event and will be seated by 7:00 PM. After 7:00 PM, the remainder of the seats will be made available to the general public. As many of the Buttnumbathon attendees are no longer in town, we will have quite a few seats available to the general public. These seats will be given out on a first come, first serve basis.

Alamo history in Film Journal International

Film Journal International is pretty big-time international publication for the movie theater industry. The most recent issue contained a pretty extensive profile of the Alamo Drafthouse, including a history of the business, the technical details of the new Ritz Theater, and (for better or for worse) my personal thoughts on the state of the motion picture industry.

You can read the full article here

Variety loves Fantastic Fest!

During his Keynote Address at the International film Festival Summit in Las Vegas, Variety president and publisher Charlie Koones listed Austin's Fantastic Fest in a list of "10 Film Festivals we Love," which he described as "interesting and exciting" events, not listed in order of importance. In addition to our festival, the list included industry heavy-hitters such as Cannes, Toronto and Telluride.

Check out the article in Slackerwood here

PoshDeluxe on THE GOLDEN COMPASS and how truly golden it is

A few weeks back I posted a link to Sarah's blog about the BLAZING SADDLES BBQ Run, because she seems to be much better than I am at recording the fun events of her life and sharing it with her readers. Well, not surprisingly it turns out she's also better at talking about the movies that she sees than I am. We had a chance to go see THE GOLDEN COMPASS at the sneak screening at the Village on Saturday night, and this Monday she posted her complete review on her blog. I figured I'd share that with you guys here:

on saturday night, i finally experienced something i've been anticipating for a long, long, loooooooong time.

i got to see "the golden compass"!!!!!!



first of all, if you haven't read the "his dark materials" trilogy by philip pullman, you really should. i mean, really really. i am not kidding around. i first heard about the books in the summer of 2000, when i was ordering YA books for the houston public library system. about two years later (i guess? seth e., do you remember?), i finally bought the first book ("the golden compass," also known as "northern lights") and after the first chapter, i was completely sold.

it's like if the chronicles of narnia had a baby with harry potter and that baby got sent to old school, ivy-covered oxford and developed a darkly rebellious streak.

i.e. it is awesome.

there's something miraculous and magical about a book that allows you to sit in yr favorite comfy chair and dive into a completely new and incredible world, full of fascinating people and politics and countries and creatures. it's like believing in santa claus again, except without the disappointing ending and all of the materialism.

since i love the books SO MUCH, i was both excited about the movie and also a little nervous. what if hollywood totally butchered it? what if the little girl who plays lyra is, like, the next hannah montana? what if they totally changed the story into a super happy fairy land and people never understood the social commentary behind pullman's writing?

WHAT IF IT WAS TERRIBLE?!! i could not handle that.

well, in case you were worried (about the movie... or me), please breathe a big, so-loud-it's-almost-rude sigh of relief. cos the movie is fantastic. it really is. i ate up every second like it was a cupcake going out of style (yeah, like THAT would ever happen). from the start to the finish, i sat, enthralled and enchanted, on the edge of my seat.

here are some reasons why i adore this film.

the biggest reason (besides the fact that it's based on a book i love) is the casting. honestly, i cannot think of a way they could have POSSIBLY cast ANYONE better in any of the roles. ok, well, they could have created a bit part for christian bale, maybe as a shirtless gyptian, but besides that, it was PERFECT.

since the movie centers on a young girl, lyra, as the major heroine, it was imperative that they find someone who could act without overacting, who could be strong and brave without being a brat. dakota blue richards is just that type of little actress:



ok, but what's up with the dakota names, people? if anyone out there is thinking of naming their future child "dakota," please call me so i can yell directly into yr ear at top volume. thank you.

anyway, dakota blue was absolutely wonderful and believable and smart and funny. and look at her in that precious dress!!!! that's the second reason why i loved this movie-- the costumes and art direction were absolutely exquisite. nicole kidman's outfits could feed the entire population of a style-starved country for a full year:





not to mention that her hair was AMAAAAZING. sigh.

nicole was MEANT to play marisa coulter, the deliciously conflicted villain of the film. and i mean that. pullman's had her in mind for the last ten years, and after she initially rejected the role, pullman wrote her a *personal letter* asking her to reconsider. how awesome is that? he was right, though. she's gorgeous and seductive and brilliant and sorta kinda evil, and i can never decide if i love her or hate her (unlike another ms. coulter i know).

oh, you want MORE reasons to see this film a billion times? SAM ELLIOT IS IN IT!!!!!!!



oh sam elliot, i heart you. i wish you were my cowboy uncle, so we could sit by the campfire and you could tell me crazy stories in yr thick drawl and maybe we could even share a tin or two of whiskey.

he plays lee scoresby, who is tied with iorek byrnison as my favorite character in the book. iorek happens to be a polar bear:



i swear to god, my eyes welled up with tears the first time lyra even threw an arm around this bear. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. he is incredibly noble and rough and beneath all of that armor, he has the sweetest, truest heart. every time i hear "i have a contract with the child," i feel a little shiver down my spine. like even just typing that, i was all oooOOOOhhh! plus ian mckellan does his voice (what did i say about perfect casting?!!!!!).

and of course, we have hottie mchottington, daniel craig:



why helloooo there! i mean, just look at that vest! those shoulders! that jawline! GAH!

i love that the film (like the books) features a victorian flair (is that the right time period? i'm guessing, based on the victorian family paper dolls i had when i was ten), not just in the fashion but also in the vehicles and instruments people use. everything is shiny and made of brass and way more elaborate than it has to be.

anyway, please go see this movie. i KNOW you'll love it. plus they won't make the other two movies unless this one does well, and I HAVE TO SEE THE OTHER TWO MOVIES. THEY HAVE TO EXIST.

Balcony tickets now available for Sing-Alongs!

That's right, starting at this Thursday's 90s One-Hit Wonders Sing-Along shows, you can now get your group of dancers up above the action with our newly added balcony Sing-Along ticket. One ticket gets your group of up to 6 people into the balcony, where there will already be an iced down bottle of bubbly waiting for you. Show up early to enjoy the preshow and a glass of champagne, or get there right before showtime and don't worry about the line or needing to get into the theater to find a good seat!

Balcony tickets available here, and for all future Sing-Alongs!