|
THE ALAMO GUIDE
for April 15th, 2010
|
| IT’S KICK-ASS WEEK! That means, not only does our programming kick ass (as usual! Not to toot our own horn, but you know.. toot toot!), BUT, the movie that blew our minds at Butt-Numb-A-Thon last year (then again at SXSW) hits theaters Thursday at midnight! Oh! And speaking of huge blockbuster movies that promise to do gangbusters, IRON MAN 2 TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE! Click on that link to get yours!
We also have Aussie thriller, THE SQUAREopening this Friday, The Action Pack is in it’s last week of THE WEDDING SINGER QUOTE-ALONG, continuing LADIES OF THE 80s and starting THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN QUOTE-ALONGnext week! Oh, and STREET FIGHTER IN HECKLEVISION! Master Pancakeis moving BRAVEHEARTto S. Lamar this week, MC FRONTALOTis in town for a screening of NERDCORE RISINGand a performance at THE HIGHBALL, Hey Homo! rocks PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT, we celebrate smoking with the second installation of SMOKER’S THEATER: BRIGHT LEAFand more! more! more!
Be sure to keep an eye on the Alamo Drafthouse Blog for up-to-date information and last minute awesomeness, and check out our Twitter feeds (further down on the page) to be updated on our awesome lives.
|
|
Opens Thursday at Midnight at Ritz & Village
 “KICK ASS does.”
Peter Martin, Twitch
“KICK-ASS is a movie that will have you on your feet, cheering your fucking guts out.”
Devin Faraci, CHUD
Matthew Vaughn (LAYER CAKE, STARDUST) brings forth an homage to the superhero movie that knocked out the crowd at Butt-Numb-a-Thon this year. Rising star Aaron Johnson plays the titular hero, a teenager who moonlights as a superhero. His unique brand of vigilantism is matched by Hit-Girl, played here by Chloe Moretz as a tough-as-nails heroine that is sure to be the number one Halloween costume this October. They team up and fight crime with a ruthlessness and bravado not expected from a pack of punk kids; the gunplay in this movie rivals the peak of John Woo’s hardboiled Hong Kong films. Featuring Nicolas Cage as a weapon-obsessed father and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (yes, that Christopher Mintz-Plasse) as a super villian.
CLICK HERE FOR RITZ TICKETS, AND CLICK HERE FOR VILLAGE TICKETS!
Before select screenings of KICK-ASS at the Ritz, enjoy a live, 15-minute performance of The Intergalactic Nemesis Live Action Graphic Novel.
The Intergalactic Nemesis: Episode Two, Enter Stranger
Back by popular demand! The epic story of Molly Sloan and Timmy Mendez continues in this 10-minute short. When Mysterion the Magnificent makes mind-slaves of an entire room of celebrities and diplomats (and Lord Crawford transforms into something abominable), Pulitzer-winner Molly Sloan and her assistant Timmy Mendez discover they are in waaaay over their heads. Episode Two picks up with the re-entrance of a mysterious stranger. Three actors/dozens of voices. One foley artist/hundreds of sounds. One keyboardist/thousands of notes. Plus hundreds of hand-drawn full-color comic-book images projected on the screen before your very eyes. The Intergalactic Nemesis Live-Action Graphic Novel is going to kick your ass before Kick-Ass!
Get tickets for the INTERGALACTIC NEMESIS screenings HERE!
|
|
Thursday, April 15 at the Ritz
 Win Prizes from C3 Presents to Aqua Teen Hunger Force at the Paramount Theater!
UNBRIDALED Bridal Boutique providing AWESOME $50 gift certificates to like the “MOST 80’s” at each show.
It’s time to party like its 1985! Seriously this could be mistaken for a totally ’80s sing-along with the amount of goods we get to wail out during this movie, Boy George, George Michael, David Bowie–and you even get to hear old Rosie bust out Rapper’s Delight. Couple that with the fact that this is Adam Sandler’s best comedy, and you got yourself a night to remember. Come on out and join The Action Pack for this hybrid sing/quote-along as we watch Robbie Hart sing our favorite wedding songs and try to romance Julia away from that dick Glenn Gulia. What kind of name would Julia Gulia be anyway?! Not only will we be busting out our usual bag of tricks with some prop handouts, but we’ll also be serving up a specialty menu with Rosie’s oversized meatballs and rum and cokes. Just look out, we might wanna watch your face as you enjoy them.
(Greg MacLennan)
|
Saturday, April 17 at S. Lamar
 To completely immerse yourself in the unstoppable force that is Nerdcore, join “Godfather of Nerdcore,” MC Frontalot, for this screening of his doc NERDCORE RISING before heading over to The Highball for a live MC Frontalot performance!
This hilarious and all-too-real music documentary follows MC Frontalot — the “Godfather of Nerdcore” — on his first national tour to reveal the roots of the genre, the dorky complexities of its artists, and one MC’s fight for nerd stardom. Featuring Weird Al Yankovic, Prince Paul, Jello Biafra, Tycho & Gabe, Brian Posehn, MC Frontalot, MC Chris, MC Lars and a slew of other nerdcore artists and commentators. We’ll be lucky enough to be in the presence of the mighty Frontalot himself (who’ll be performing downtown after this screening), as well as the woman behind this historical document: Negin Farsad. So join us for an unforgettable night at the frontlines of nerd entertainment.
MC Frontalot’s Website
NERDCORE RISING Official Site
Get your ticket to MC Frontalot’s live show at The Highball By Clicking here
|
| MASTER PANCAKE: BRAVEHEART
This weekend at Lamar
 PROUDLY SPONSORED BY KERBEY LANE CAFE!
Featuring an egregiously bemulleted Mel Gibson (LETHAL WEAPON 3, LETHAL WEAPON 4) as Scottish blowhard/face-painter William Wallace, a warrior and Jesus-figure that Mel can really sink his nails into. If you’re worried about run-time, you needn’t: Master Pancake has edited this epic 3-hour tale down to a lean 1.6 hours. Just enough time to make you laugh til you’re blue in the face. Come out and watch as Master Pancake declares primae noctis on this overrated classic! (John)
|
|
 “Director Nash Edgerton and writers Joel Edgerton and Matthew Dabner pull the strings with tremendously adept precision and a marvelous mean streak.” William Goss, Cinematical
A stylish Australian thriller in the neo-noir genre. Two married people are having a secret affair while biding their time before they can run off together. They hatch a plan that will make them financially stable enough to start a new life, but things start going awry when the two lovers find themselves committing crimes they never meant to commit. People are dying, the woman’s gangster husband is suspicious, and a blackmailer is threatening them.
Named one of the best Australian Films at the 2008 Australian Film Critics Association Awards!
|
|
 Feature films based on videogames are almost always a bad idea. But a movie based on a video game where the plot is simply, “Two different freaks with weirdo special moves walk into a room and punch and kick and shoryuken each other until one of them falls backward,” the idea is downright horrible, and the resulting film will most likely kill one of our more beloved character actors just like this one did to Raul Julia. With HeckleVision, though, we can have our revenge. Pull out your phone and you won’t even need to remember any special combinations of half circles and strong punch buttons – just type in your heckles and they’ll appear on screen right below M. Bison. You can launch your textual fireballs from the comfort of your seat throughout the whole movie, and afterward we’ll all go out into the alley behind the theater and uppercut each other until the pain goes away.
(Henri Mazza)
|
|
 This season of SNL has been pretty damned funny, but we keep missing the boat until someone passes a link to a Hulu clip to us on Monday or Tuesday while we’re at work. We want to watch the show when it airs, but that’s always on Saturday nights, and we keep being busy with going out and doing stuff. So now we’re going to DVR the new episode, then watch it the next morning while we recuperate from the stuff we did the night before along with the Alamo’s fantastic brunch menu and specially priced mimosas.
This week’s episode is hosted by Ryan Phillipe who will be doing a meta-plug by appearing on SNL to help hype the SNL skit-turned-feature MacGruber in which Phillipe is a supporting cast member. The musical guest is Ke$ha, who will undoubtedly be teased for having a fricking dollar sign in her name. Then we’ll find out what if she’s a lip syncer or not, and maybe, just maybe, she’ll stir up all sorts of controversy by tearing up a picture of the Pope. Although this month maybe that wouldn’t be so controversial anymore?
|
|
Monday, April 19 at the Ritz
 Sponsored by Austin’s greatest music store, End of an Ear Records, and Austin’s most essential vintage furniture and decor store, Room Service.
Patch a modular synthesizer with SWITCHED ON employee The Phantom in the Alamo lobby before the show!
Rare archival 35mm print!
It’s not surprising in a way that PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE has continued to lurk like a black-clad avenger in the shadows and catacombs of “good” film canon. Though cinematically daring and virtuosic, it’s pretty weird, and the themes of pervasive cultural death-worship may have cut a little deep at the time. So while it doesn’t take its place on the high wall of honor with other ’70s classics, some of us proudly display it in the trophy cases of our hearts. Brian De Palma plunders every era and style of cinema for his effects. It’s a demented slapstick musical tragedy. The musical numbers set a new high water mark for tastelessness and excess. A confetti cannon loaded with disposable pop music, black magic, sex, love, loss and pain – don’t miss it!
|
Tuesday, April 20 at the Ritz
 RARE ARCHIVAL 35MM SCREENING!!
It’s really hard to think of anything better than a good, old-fashioned road trip. Unless you have the opportunity to have a road trip in a giant, lavender bus named Priscilla with a whole bunch of wild queens. That’s why Hey Homo! has decided it’s about time we all to get together and enjoy one of the most memorable queer films of all time. This movie has a knockout cast including THE MATRIX’s Hugo Weaving and a young, shockingly bitchy Guy Pearce! And who could resist the opportunity to see Terence Stamp parading around in a dress? But don’t take our word for it…find out what every movie-lovin’ Homo and Not-Homo found out first hand in the ’90s: PRISCILLA is truly the reigning Queen!
|
Tuesday, April 20 at Ritz
 Win tickets from C3 Presents to see CYPRESS HILL, May 13th at Stubbs!
While California is going bankrupt, one business is booming. HOW WEED WON THE WEST is the story of the growing medical cannabis / marijuana industry in the greater Los Angeles area, with over 700 dispensaries doling out the buds. As a treatment for conditions ranging from cancer and AIDS, to anxiety, ADHD, and insomnia, cannabis is quickly proving itself as a healthier natural alternative to many prescription drugs.
Following the story of Organica, a collective owned by Jeff Joseph that was raided by the DEA in August of ‘09, the film shows that although some things have changed with Obama in office, the War on Drugs is nowhere near over. From Kevin Booth, the producer/director of Showtime’s American Drug War, HOW WEED WON THE WEST puts California forward as an example to the rest of the country by documenting how legalizing marijuana can help save the economy.
|
|
April 19-22 at the Village
 Thanks to our pals at Universal Entertainment, more and more or our favorite Big Screen Classics are being restored and made available to theaters as DCPs – Digital Cinema Packages – providing the best possible image quality at the highest resolution. We’ve seen ‘em all before in 35mm and love every, single frame…but we think our minds are about to be blown.
Watching Brian De Palma’s SCARFACE is like looking down the barrel of a loaded gun and praying that the madman behind it will let you live long enough to finish watching SCARFACE. This modern-classic gangster movie is celebrated across cultures, from the thugs of hip hop to the art house connoisseurs and everyone in between. Brian De Palma’s masterpiece (written by Oliver Stone) is a high-energy exploration of a Cuban immigrant in Miami who gets to the top much too fast. “Say hello to my little friend!”When Al Pacino puts the bazooka between his thighs and screams those lines, he solidified his role as the Marlon Brando of the 1980s. His Tony Montana is the gangster of the modern era. This film is about his great performance as the ruthless drug slinger who has only got two things in this world, and he doesn’t break them for no one.
|
| The Action Pack: 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN QUOTE-ALONG
Thursday, April 22 at the Ritz
 Win tickets from C3 Presents to see Zane Lamprey at La Zona Rosa May 7th!
You know how I know you’re gay? You like Coldplay. But straight, gay, virginally curious or other – hell, even if you’re actually Chris Martin, you’re guaranteed to lose your shit at this Quote-Along celebration of one of Judd Apatow’s feature film directing debut. Before Steve Carell was the co-manager of the Scranton Branch of Dunder-Mifflin, he was a 40-year-old electronics store employee who’d never dipped his wick. His friends take it upon themselves to fix that situation, and as so often is the case in set ups like that – hijinks ensue. We’ll have plenty of hijinks in the theater, too, and if you’re brave enough to share the story of your first time we’ll have special prizes available for our “most awkward loss of virginity” contest before the movie.
|
|
Thursday, April 22 at the Ritz
 Win tickets from C3 Presents to see The B-52s on May 15th! Also sponsored in part by Art Institute of Austin.
We’d like to pay our respects to the legends that started it all. Thank you, Cyndi Lauper, for showing us that it would be okay to show our TRUE COLORS. Thank you, Madonna, for telling us what it feels like to be touched for the very first time. Thank you Pat Benatar, for standing heartache to heartache with us. And Olivia Newton-John, we never would have known how to get physical without your guidance. This show is for all of you.
The LADIES OF THE ’80s SING-ALONG has been one of the Action Pack’s most popular shows for years now, and this year we’ve got all of the favorites back, with a few choice new selections that haven’t been featured in any Sing-Along before. So we’ll have the 99 red balloons bouncing around in the theater during the song that shares a name with the props we use, and we’ll have naked men falling from the balconies when the Weather Girls talk about the day when it first started raining men. But don’t be surprised to hear Donna Summer tell us all about how hard she works for the money, or the Pointer Sisters tell us about how excited they are (they’re SO excited, btw).
|
Wednesday, April 21 at Lamar
 Presented the Mayor’s Book Club
Rare 35mm film print! Free admission!
This year, Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell chose Amigolandby local author Oscar Casares. Mr. Casares’ novel wrestles with issues of aging and family isolation through a story about two stubborn, estranged and aging brothers who live in a small town on the Mexican border.
Although far removed from the Mexican border, Hal Ashby’s HAROLD & MAUDE wrestles with similar themes. To gain some insight into Mr. Casares’ novel, please join us for a screening to the 1971 classic followed by a panel discussion organized by the Mayor’s Book Club. Details of the panel TBA.
|
Thursday, April 22 at Lamar
 10 stories transformed by war. 10 advocates for peace. 10 tours across America.
In 2007, Invisible Children posed a challenge to youth around the world: raise one million dollars in 100 days to rebuild schools in war-torn northern Uganda. Thousands of students rallied, and 20 were rewarded with a trip of a lifetime. A trip into Africa’s longest-running war would change everything they knew about the world.
It doesn’t matter where you come from. It’s where you go.
Joining us here as part of The Legacy Tour, we’ll meet Lillian. Orphaned by the war, Lillian continues to beat the odds by being 1 of 160 northern Ugandan girls attending university.
The screening itself is free, but you can also reserve your seat with a $5 donation to support their cause now.
|
Saturday, April 24 at Tim & Karrie League’s House
 TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
Even though we all know smoking is bad for you, lots of us still do it. We can’t help it, they just taste so damn good. Plus, it makes us look cool. There’s nothing inherently cool about the little paper cylinders, but sometimes it seems like every interesting person on earth has been a smoker. Even President Obama sneaks out on the Rose Garden veranda to burn one every now and again. It’s like a little torch of rebellion. However, in recent years, we smokers have been relegated to the margins, kicked into the alley or corralled into pins like cattle. Well, no longer must we endure the sarcastic hacking nor death-ray leers from our intolerant-if-better-smelling brethren. Smoker’s UNITE! For this dramatic installment of Smoker’s Theater, we turn back the clock to the Smokingest Age of Hollywood.
Loosely based on the rivalry of tobacco tycoons Washington Duke and George McElwee, BRIGHT LEAF follows tenant farmer Brant Royle (Gary Cooper), who returns home after his family is driven from its farm by tobacco baron Major Singleton and becomes a rich and ruthless tyrant himself. Royle and Singleton battle for their respective empires while Royle becomes obsessed with the Major’s beautiful but devious daughter, Margaret (Lauren Bacall). Whether you enjoy a pack a day or just the occasional fine cigar, this is where you want to be on April 24, and we’re not just blowing smoke.
|
|
NEW PARKING DISCOUNT FOR ALAMO RITZ!
WOO! EASY DOWNTOWN PARKING!
 We all know that parking downtown can be a small hassle. While there’s usually some meter parking a few blocks from the theater, driving around and searching for that can be tiresome, and what if you’re carrying a cinder block with you to the theater cause you want to use it as a booster seat? That block is HEAVY!
Which is why we’ve partnered with the parking garage at 7th and San Jacinto and convinced them to open on days they were previously closed, as well as to provide a $2.00 discount from their regular rates to anyone who returns to their car with an Alamo ticket stub. Just pay the full price on your way in, then stop by the attendant with stub in hand on your way back to your car, and you’ll get a $2 refund. Easy parking, good deals, and all just a block away from the Ritz.
At this point that discount will unfortunately NOT apply on Friday and Saturday, but if we show them how loyal Alamo customers can be, we might be able to swing a discount on the weekends at some point in the future as well. Look for the Alamo sign on the parking garage in the next week or so, and we’ll see you downtown!
The garage is on 211 E. 7th St, Southwest Tower garage.
Big thanks to HOSPITALITY PARKING for helpin’ us out!
|
|
 We here at the Alamo love the internet. It’s got all sorts of cool things on it! Sometimes we want to share that stuff with you! Also, we like to let you know when shows are on sale, surprise screenings, and general fun things that we do. Follow us to get up-to-date and instantaneous Alamo news (and general personal information about our fantastic Programming Dept.). All the cool kids are doing it!
Tim League: @TimAlamo (Founder/Owner)
Henri Mazza: @HenriMazza (Creative Director/Programmer)
Lars Nilsen: @LarsAlamo (Programmer/Weird Weds Coordinator)
Brad Parrett: @AlamoBrad (Programmer/Booking)
Zack Carlson: @ZackAlamo (Programmer/Terror Tues Coordinator)
Caitlin Stevens: @CaitlinEStevens (Programmer/Promotions)
Sing-Along/Quote-Along info: @TheActionPack
Alamo Drafthouse information: @Drafthouse
Fantastic Fest information: @FantasticFest
MondoTees information: @MondoNews
|
|
|
|
UPDATE! While teachers may not be part of the service industry, they work their asses off trying to make kids not stupid and stuff. With that in mind, we think they deserve a break as well! Teachers, you are now welcome to the discounts of Service Industry Night! Take a load off! Have a drink!
If you work in the service industry, you deserve a break! Bring your I.D. and current pay stub from your service industry job to any Sunday, post-9:30pm screening at the Alamo Village and get in for just $5! Or purchase your ticket online and bring your pay stub to the box office before the show. We’ll also have the Working Man’s Beer Bucket special available at these shows for just $12!
Ticket rate applicable to any feature that’s accepting passes and special pricing. Some new releases exempt for first two weeks.
Want your own private theater for S.I.N? Contact Ashley Hall for details of special service industry packages available for venue rentals!
|
|
|
That’s what we’ve got for this one. Let us know what you think, and we’ll see you at theater.
SHABOOM!
Caitlin Stevens
Twitter: @caitlinestevens
Alamo on Facebook
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
|
|
|
|
KICK-ASS
|
|
Yes, it totally kicks ass. See it NOW. Opens Friday at Ritz & Village. Click Here to get Ritz tix, Click Here to get Village tix.
|
THE SQUARE
|
|
A stylish Australian thriller in the neo-noir genre Opens Friday at Lamar. Click Here for tickets.
|
DATE NIGHT
|
|
Steve Carrell and Tina Fey! YES PLEASE! Now playing at S. Lamar. Click Here to get tickets now!
|
CLASH OF THE TITANS in 3D
|
|
Epic mythology in epic 3D! Now playing at Lamar & Village. Click Here for Lamar, Click Here for Village.
|
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON in REALD 3D!
|
|
Adorable AND 3D?! Sign me up! Now playing at Lamar. Click Here to get tickets now!
|
BEST WORST MOVIE
|
|
A fantastic documentary on Troll 2’s excellent terribleness! Opens April 23 at Lamar! Click Here for info! |
TV at the ALAMO: LOST
|
|
It’s the Final Season, y’all! Tuesday at the Village & Lamar. Click Here to get Village tix! Click Here for Lamar tix!
|
RENT THE RITZ FOR SPECIAL EVENTS!
|
 |
Host your next event at our theater! Click Here for more information!
|
BRUNCH AT THE ALAMO!
|
 |
All weekend screenings before 2pm now have a brunch menu available! Click Here to see the menu!
|
|
|
We have made a location switch for the Rolling Roadshow screening of JACKIE BROWN on Friday, August 6 at 8:00 PM. Due to noise ordinance restrictions The City of Torrance would not allow the screening to take place at the Del Amo Fashion Mall. The Rolling Roadshow made every effort to make this happen within the limits set forth, but in the end our goal is to provide the optimal presentation experience.
For Sex and the City 2008 the Alamo Drafthouse put together a drink menu to match the girls of the film. We featured four unique Cosmopolitans:
If you are relatively aware of the internet in any way, shape, or form, you’ve probably heard by now about all the excitement that went on last night. If, however, you are not on the Twitter, the Facebook or what-have-you, here’s the situation: We had a sneak screening of IRON MAN 2 Tuesday night, courtesy of Paramount Pictures. The real surprise though, was that JON FAVREAU and ROBERT DOWNEY JR. popped in to say whattup! This is one of those events (like last years Star Trek secret premiere) where all this guest hubbub was super secret (and boy can Tim League and Harry Knowles keep a secret!).
