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THE ALAMO GUIDE
for February 26th, 2010
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| I’ve got to stop bitching about the weather. Last week I praised February, and then yesterday it snowed. SNOWED. Whatevs. I’m over it.We were surprised earlier this week when we found out we’d be getting Roman Polanski’s newest thriller early than expected! THE GHOST WRITER opens Friday at S. Lamar and has Ewan McGregor’s dreamy face all over it, with Pierce Brosnan trying to kill that dreamy face. I think. I haven’t seen it yet! COP OUT also opens this weekend, and if you love 30 Rock as much as I do, you’ll probably go see it just for Tracy Morgan! Also, the red band trailer makes me giggle A LOT. Speaking of giggling inappropriately, it’s time for the return of SPIKE AND MIKE’S SICK AND TWISTED FESTIVAL OF ANIMATION! Longest title ever! Grossest cartoons ever! And a whole lot of weirdness! The Action Pack has the PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE QUOTE-ALONG STARTING (with “Mr. Breakfast” food specials at The Ritz!) and the JIGGY CRUNK: POP RAP OF THE 90s SING-ALONG. We also have the bizarreness that is BIRDEMIC: SHOCK AND TERROR (with director and stars live!) and Director Philippe Mora in town for both Terror Tuesday AND Weird Wednesday!
Check out our new spring menu items that are out this week! They are VERY VERY TASTY!
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.
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Opens Friday, February 26th at S. Lamar
“Shows Roman Polanski in brilliant command of a political thriller that ties you up in knots of tension while zinging politics and showbiz like two sides of the same toxic coin.” – Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Winner of Silver Bear for Best Director at Berlin Film Festival
When a successful British ghostwriter, (Ewan McGregor), agrees to
complete the memoirs of Tony Blair-ish former British Prime Minister
Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), his agent assures him it’s the opportunity of a lifetime. But the project seems doomed from the start – not least because his predecessor on the book, Lang’s long-term aide, died in an unfortunate accident.
As The Ghost works, he begins to uncover clues suggesting his predecessor may have stumbled on a dark secret linking Lang to the CIA- and that somehow this information is hidden in the manuscript he left behind. Was Lang in the service of the American intelligence agency while he was prime minister? And was The Ghost’s predecessor murdered because of the appalling truth he uncovered?
Whatever his failings, Polanski is one of the most gifted filmmakers in the history of the medium, and when he creates an atmosphere of encroaching paranoia – of being isolated, hunted and hated – it has the power to chill your bones. His direction of the performers and staggering camera-sense makes this one of the most engrossing and rewarding political thrillers you’ll ever see, from the opening moments to the staggering final shot.
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Opens Fri, Feb 26th at the Village!
New film from director Kevin Smith!
Two longtime NYPD partners (Bruce Willis & Tracy Morgan) on the trail of a stolen, rare, mint-condition baseball card who find themselves up against a merciless, memorabilia-obsessed gangster. But before they can recover the prized ‘52 Pafko, they must first rescue a Mexican beauty who holds the key to millions of dollars in off’shore bank accounts — and who has already witnessed one high-profile murder because of them.
We highly recommend watching the RED BAND TRAILER!
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Starts this weekend at the Ritz!
NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN, WOMEN WHO ARE PREGNANT OR MAY BECOME PREGNANT, PEOPLE WITH HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, HIGH MORAL CHARACTER, DECENCY OR GOOD TASTE.
Spike & Mike’s Sick & Twisted Festival of Animation has been an annual tradition at the Alamo Downtown for almost the entire
existence of the theater. Spike didn’t have the show ready for our
usual January showdates this year – but that’s only because he was busy packing in EVEN MORE disgusting shit than ever before. The 2010 collection is filled with so much that is so wrong that you’ll be bleeding out of your eyes by the end of the show, and you’ll be laughing so hard that your intestines will likely pop up out of your
mouth and fly into the air. And you’ll still be laughing so hard at the sickness on the screen that you won’t even notice or care. Gross!
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Sunday, February 28th at the Ritz!
This truly spectacular and bizarre silent classic stars the “Man of a
Thousand Faces,” Lon Chaney. He puts in an incredible performance as circus attraction “Alonzo The Armless,” who throws knives with his feet. Beautiful young Joan Crawford plays the daughter of the circus owner. She hates and fears men’s arms. So it’s a match made in heaven, right? Wrong. It turns out that Alonzo actually has a perfectly good pair of arms tucked away under his clothes and he has on occasion used them for strangling people with – in fact his whole armless act is a designed to throw off the police who have been pursuing him across Europe. But with the buoyant energy of one truly in love, he bribes a doctor to amputate his arms so he can be Joan Crawford’s dreamy armless
loverboy. What could go wrong? Plenty, of course, but we’ve said enough. Join us for one of the most unbelievable movies ever made, accompanied by the perfect live score provided by Austin’s own globetrotting masters of musical melange, The Invincible Czars!
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Thurs, Feb 25th at the Ritz – Weds, Mar 3rd at Village
There is only one truth in this life: PEE-WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE is the FUNNIEST MOVIE EVER MADE. If anyone tells you different, they’re just trying to start trouble.
Watch the most entertaining man who has ever roamed the earth embark on a cross-country quest to reclaim his kidnapped best friend: a bicycle. Along the way, ol’ P.W. will encounter tough-as-nails bikers, giant dinosaurs, wild animals, ninjas, chubby billionaires, escaped convicts, buckin’ broncos, tone-deaf hobos, unwanted romance, fibbing gypsies, clumsy Godzillas, basement-less Alamos, vengeful boyfriends and even an undead trucker! Fun didn’t exist until Pee-Wee invented it, and now the most funrocious, funtacular, fungorious funsplosion in the history of FUN will finally get its due as the most funeriffic Quote-Along ever!
Get tickets for THE RITZ HERE!
Get tickets for THE VILLAGE HERE! |
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Thurs, Feb 25th at the Ritz – Fri, Feb 26th at Village
Win tickets to the AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE show (The Paramount, April 17th) from C3 at the Thursday Ritz show! Tickets for ATHF aren’t even on sale yet, boom!
We’re back this year with another edition of JIGGY CRUNK, and because we’re in a whole new decade now, we’re going to do something unheard of in previous Jiggy Crunk shows and add in some of the best pop rap of the ’00s right there alongside the ’90s rap and R&B! We’ll be reprising a lot of our favorite songs from last year’s show, so don’t worry about missing out on your Will Smith, Neneh Cherry, or even Vanilla Ice. Pop rap is coming back to the Alamo Drafthouse, and this time around there ain’t no future in your frontin’.
Get tickets for THE RITZ HERE!
Get tickets for THE VILLAGE HERE!
Also, there’s a new music store in town! SWITCHED ON AUSTIN invite you to their Grand Opening party this Saturday at Victory Grill! Come check out the gear at the store starting @7pm with DJs and a live in-store performance by Bodytronix!
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Thurs, Feb 25th at S. Lamar
United Way Capital Area, KLRU-TV, Austin PBS & Alamo Drafthouse invite you to FRONTLINE: Inside the Meltdown, a special screening and discussion on financial stability.
How did a series of financial events create the most disruptive economic crisis of the century? Have we learned our lesson? More importantly, can we ever fully recover? Join us for FRONTLINE: INSIDE THE MELTDOWN, the illuminating and sobering story of the events that would ultimately snowball into a global economic crisis.
After the screening, stay to hear panelists discuss key questions related to the changing financial services landscape, including the appropriate role of government regulation and the future of consumer protection. |
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Saturday, Feb 27th at S. Lamar
Ain’t Cool News & The Austin Chronicle present FREE Saturday Morning Kids’ Club!
A high crime musical exploration of old-timey gangland warfare… where all the cops n’ criminals are little kids! A truly bizarre contribution to the great Hollywood musical tradition, this zany ride through the alcohol-free gin joints of a wee mafia is led by pint-sized future superstars Scott Baio and Jodie Foster. In the world of BUGSY MALONE, machine guns shoot pie filling and kids would rather chug root beer than guzzle hooch! All of this is topped off with songs by the equally
diminutive Paul Williams and a whoooole lotta high-octane craziness. One of the most memorable movies in kid-cinema history, on the big big screen for the next generation of dice-rollers, candy swindlers and apple juice runners!
THESE SCREENINGS ARE FREE AND VERY POPULAR! SEATING IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE, SO WE RECOMMEND SHOWING UP EARLY!
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Sunday, February 28th at the Ritz
Yeah, Michael Bay gets a lot of hate. And after he made Optimus Prime say, “My bad,” in the first TRANSFORMERS, I even jumped on the anti-Bay wagon myself. But to this day, every time I get into any sort of conversation with a Bay basher I immediately end the argument before it can start using just three little words: Bad. Boys. Two. Cause when he took the buddy cop movie formula and just said, “Fuck it, I’m gonna go nuts all over this bitch,” Michael Bay created True Classic Cinema and earned his spot at the top of the cinephile ranks right up there with Coppola, Godard and Melies. Yeah, I went there. We ride together, we die together. Bad boys for life. (Henri Mazza)
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Monday, March 1st 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.
Legendary, epochal concert film showcasing Neil Young and Crazy Horse at what may prove to be their very best. First, Neil Young walks onstage with an acoustic guitar and sings Sugar Mountain, I Am a Child, Comes a Time, After the Gold Rush, Thrasher and My My Hey Hey (Out of the Blue), then Crazy Horse come on and together they rip up When You Dance I Can Really Love, The Loner, Welfare Mothers, The Needle and the Damage Done, Lotta Love, Sedan Delivery, Powderfinger, Cortez the Killer, Cinnamon Girl, Like a Hurricane, Hey Hey My My (Into the Black) and end on a sedate note with Tonight’s the Night. Yes, this is the movie with the little Jawa dudes from STAR WARS. We’re not sure why they’re there exactly but if you like Neil Young at all, even a little bit, you can’t miss this rare 35mm screening. |
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Tuesday, March 2nd at the Ritz
Here’s how writer/producer/director James Nguyen describes BIRDEMIC:
“A platoon of eagles & vultures attack the residence of a small town.
Many people died. It’s not known what caused the flying menace to attack. Two people managed to fight back, but will they survive BIRDEMIC?”
When we heard that Patton Oswalt was showing all his friends an inexpensive “romantic thriller” inspired by THE BIRDS and featuring
Nintendo-level digital effects we were intrigued. When our friends saw it and called it the next THE ROOM, we knew we had to see it. When comedians Tim and Eric jumped on the bandwagon that bandwagon started looking even funnier – so we got on it too. And now we’re looking at you. Have you ridden on a BANDWAGON recently? It’s a pretty smooth ride.
Special thanks to SEVERIN FILMS for making this screening possible.
See Birdemic.com for all your Birdemic needs. |
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Tuesday, March 2nd at the Ritz
WITH LEAD ACTOR PAUL CLEMENS AND DIRECTOR PHILIPPE MORA IN PERSON!
Pure pulse-blasting entertainment for only a buck! SPONSORED BY VULCAN VIDEO!!!
Puberty is nobody’s friend. And all those strange new hairs and
hyperactive organs are even more prevalent when you’re a product of non-consensual bestiality. 17-year-old Michael (Paul Clemens) is having a difficult time coming to terms with his voice (and skin) cracking, and sets out on a swampland odyssey to learn the secrets of his origin. What he discovers — after animalistically slaughtering half the residents of a quiet Southern community — is worlds beyond anything he could ever imagine. Also, it’s really, rrreeaallly gross. Filmmaker
Philippe Mora (HOWLING II, PTERODACTYL WOMAN OF BEVERLY HILLS) really lets the fluid fly in what’s easily his most respectable and unique horror feature.
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Tuesday, March 2nd at the Village & S. Lamar
SHIT, Y’ALL! IT’S THE FINAL SEASON! The promos keeps saying “The time for questions (bum bum bum)… is over!” – WHY DO I STILL HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS?!
We screen two episodes for each show: the previous week’s episode followed by a short break and then the new episode fresh of the DVR. Screenings will be in HD quality and booming surround sound! It’ll also be super fun and if you watch this show but never with a crowd, I highly recommend the experience. There are a lot of collective gasps and “WTF!”s that make this viewing party so much more than a private living room screening. Oh, and we don’t allow talkers, so don’t let that be a concern. We’ll kick their asses out faster than you can say “4, 8, 15, 16, 23, 42!”
To get tickets to the SOUTH LAMAR LOST PREMIERE go here!
To get tickets to the VILLAGE LOST PREMIERE go here!
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Wednesday, March 3rd at the Ritz
Ripped from the pages of real life, Mortified is a comic excavation of awkward adolescent artifacts – old journals, poems, love letters, lyrics, locker notes, home movies, etc. – shared by their original authors in front of total strangers. Hailed a “cultural phenomenon” by Newsweek and celebrated for years by the likes of This American Life, The Today Show, Esquire, The Onion AV Club, Daily Candy, Entertainment Weekly, and E!, Mortified is a celebration of the strange and extraordinary things we created as kids. Share the Shame. Get Mortified!
Check out more info at www.getmortified.com |
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Wednesday, March 3rd at the Ritz
WITH DIRECTOR PHILIPPE MORA IN PERSON!
PRESENTED BY I LUV VIDEO!
Dan Morgan was a real-life figure, a desperado who roamed the bush, committing robberies, drinking rum, killing people at the slightest provocation and generally behaving like a maniac. Obviously not just any actor could play the role, so director Philippe Mora brought in the only actor who could embody Morgan’s peculiar brand of apeshit craziness – Dennis Hopper. Hopper was dead-on perfect for Morgan but,
unfortunately for the sanity of the cast and crew, he was also a committed method actor who insisted on getting into the role by drinking at least as much rum as the real Morgan and carrying loaded weapons everywhere. We are honored to welcome director Philippe Mora to the Ritz to tell us more about this film and the bizarre circumstances surrounding its making. (Lars)
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Weds, March 3rd at S. Lamar
The Dionysium offers a unique, innovative program of debate, lecture, declamation, theatrical presentation and music in a salon-like atmosphere on the first Wednesday of every month at the Alamo South Lamar. A typical Dionysium show will feature a lecture, a declamation, a drinking song, a film or live musical performance, an appeal to Dionysus, a fiction-writing contest, and plenty of strong drink. But the heart of every Dionysium is the debate, pitting two experts against each other in toe-to-toe parliamentary combat. Dionysium debate resolutions have covered everything from Social Security reform to the future threat of genocidal robots. Check out The Dionysium Website for full information.
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Opens Thurs, Mar 4th at MIDNIGHT at Lamar and the Village!
Master of the creepy & surreal, Tim Burton, gets the best source
material of his career with this vibrant re-imagining of Lewis
Carroll’s classic tale of Alice’s trip through the looking glass.
Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter as The Red Queen, Anne Hathaway as The White Queen, Stephen Fry(!) as The Cheshire Cat, Crispin Glover(!!) as The Knave of Hearts and Christopher Lee as The Jabberwock adds up to one hell of a tumble down the rabbit hole. And it’s in 3D!!!
Get tickets for the SOUTH LAMAR screenings HERE!
Get tickets for THE VILLAGE screenings HERE!
Want to make it a really important date? Check out the ALICE IN WONDERLAND Five-Course Feast on March 9!
The Austin Human Society will be at S. Lamar Saturday, March 6th for the opening weekend of Alice in Wonderland with animals for adoption and an option to enter a raffle to win a 2010 Mazda Miata! For more information, go to
www.austinhumanesociety.org/raffle
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Starts Friday, March 5th at the Ritz
This March, Master Pancake Theater devalues GOLDFINGER (1964), the movie that made “Shaken, not Stirred” and “Pussy Galore” household names. Featuring Sean Connery as James Bond, who must foil a scheme concocted by the absurdly named Auric Goldfinger to depreciate the monetary system of the United States, a plan that – prior to George Bush – most people thought impossible. At Goldfinger’s side is a cavalcade of preposterous henchmen, including Harold Sakata as Oddjob, whose cutting edge headgear has 007 on the run, and Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore, the most ridiculously named Bond Girl since Mounds O’Snatch in SHAMROCKS ARE FOREVER. Join Master Pancake as we say “Bravo” to Bond and “Alas, poor Auric”.
MASTER PANCAKE IS PROUDLY SPONSORED BY KERBEY LANE CAFE
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Sat, Mar 6th & Sun, Mar 7th at the Ritz
Join us for this rare 35mm screening of one the most beloved Golden-Era Hollywood musicals to ever hit the silver screen! In addition to our regular weekend brunch specials, Alamo executive chef (and SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN fanatic) John Bullington will prepare some special delights available only at these shows!
Lockwood and Lamont 13.99
Seared NY strip topped with two fried eggs on a quarter Belgian waffle with fresh strawberries
Good Mornin’ 9.99
Strata of sourdough, fresh spinach, sundried tomatoes, wild mushrooms,
manchego and asiago soaked in herbed egg cream and baked and a side of
strawberries
“There is no movie musical more fun than SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN, and few that remain as fresh over the years.”
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times |
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Friday, March 5th, MIDNIGHT at the Village
Do you crave genetic perfection? Is your bloodlust only quenched by the vocal stylings of Sarah Brightman? Do you want to come up and try Paris Hilton’s new parts? Do you wish to be a legal assassin like Anthony Stewart Head? Does the thought of Ogre make you lose face? It’s in your sight. Come capture it with REPO! THE GENETIC OPERA. Whether this is your first elective surgery or your designer heart beats with common blood, you will want to jump out of your seat and Testify! Fans across the country have been performing what are called “Shadow-casts” of the film, when die-hard cultists perform the lines and songs in front of the screen, Rocky Horror-style.
Come enjoy a night at the Genetic Opera hosted by Austin’s Designer Hearts, Austin’s premier REPO! shadow-cast!
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Sunday, March 7th at the Ritz, Village & Lamar
The nominations are out and that means tickets are on sale to the
swankiest Oscar-watching party in town! At all three theaters, we’ll
have tuxedo’d hosts, outrageous contests, golden prizes, embarrassing clips of celebrities in early forgotten roles, sing-a-longs and more! And if you want to really feel like Hollywood Royalty, check out The RED CARPET FEAST at Alamo South Lamar featuring a specially prepared five-course feast inspired
by Best Picture nominated films! These shows sell out every year, so
get your tickets now!
For your geographical convenience, please note that we’re having a RED CARPET BASH at the Alamo Village, Alamo Ritz, and for the ultimate in Hollywood excess, check out the RED CARPET FEAST at Alamo South Lamar!
TICKETS FOR ALL THREE SHOWS ARE NOW ON SALE!
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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!
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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
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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!
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That’s what we’ve got for this one. Let us know what you think, and we’ll see you at theater.
I’M A LONER, DOTTIE. A REBEL.
Caitlin Stevens
Twitter: @caitlinestevens
Alamo on Facebook
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
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THE GHOST WRITER
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Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan star in Roman Polanski’s new thriller! Opens Fri. at Lamar. Click Here for tix!
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COP OUT
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Kevin Smith directs Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan! Opens Fri at the Village. Click Here to get tickets!
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SHUTTER ISLAND
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Martin Scorsese directs Leonardo DiCaprio in a fantastic thriller! Now playing at Lamar and Village. Click Here to get tickets now!
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THE WOLFMAN
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Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt and Anthony Hopkins! Now playing at the Ritz. Click Here to get tickets now!
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PERCY JACKSON & THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF
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From the director of the first two Harry Potters! Now playing at Lamar! Click Here to get tickets now!
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ALICE IN WONDERLAND in 3D!
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Tim Burton’s newest film in brain-melting 3D! Opens Thurs at midnight! Click Here to get Lamar tix, Click Here to get Village tickets!
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TV at the ALAMO: LOST
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It’s the Final Season, y’all! Tuesday at the Village & Lamar. Click Here to get Village tix! Click Here for Lamar tix!
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RENT THE RITZ FOR SPECIAL EVENTS!
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Host your next event at our theater! Click Here for more information!
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BRUNCH AT THE ALAMO!
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All weekend screenings before 2pm now have a brunch menu available! Click Here to see the menu!
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