King of the A/V Geeks, Skip Elsheimer, is our hero.  He’s your hero too, maybe you don’t know it yet, but he is.  As far as the entire Alamo crew is concerned, he’s living THE dream: he collects bizarro old films reels, watches them all day long, categorizes and catalogues little cinematic abnormalities and offers them up to weirdos in dire need of stock footage insanity. When he’s not living it up in his sanctuary of celluloid, he’s on the road bringing specially curated shows across the country to share with all of us fellow film geeks.

Well that train’s a-comin’ through, and if you’re not on it when it stops, you made some poor life choices.

He’s bringing his show ALCOHOL IS DYNAMITE! to four, count them FOUR, Alamo Drafthouses, so if you live anywhere within 100 miles of Alamo Park North in San Antonio, Alamo Lake Creek and South Lamar in Austin and/or Alamo Mason in Katy, GO SEE SKIP WORK HIS MAGIC! The educational value of his programs is always only slightly less than the pure entertainment value. So, whether you’re in it to learn or laugh, you are guaranteed satisfaction.

Check it:

8/22 at 7pm: Alamo Drafthouse Park North (San Antonio, TX)
8/23 at 7pm: Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek (Austin, TX)
8/24 at 7pm: Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar (Austin, TX)
8/27 at 7pm: Alamo Drafthouse Mason (Katy, TX)

This show of 16mm films about the drink that makes you crazy is hilarious.  Some of our favorites are:

Curious Habits of Man (1972) – A puzzling film where a Canadian party overlaps with a nature documentary.

A Case for Beer (early 1970s) – A guide for convenience store owners on how to cash in on beer profits while looking out for under-aged customers.

Alcohol is Dynamite (1958) – Tragedy-monger Sid Davis demonstrates to teenagers the slippery slope of alcohol and its ability to destroy lives.

At both of the Austin shows, there’s going to be a special beer bucket option for $25, including:
Satan Red Belgian Ale
Samuel Smith’s Imperial Stout
Brooklyn Brown Ale
Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA
Anchor Steam
and Blue Moon

And that’s not even all.  On 8/26 at 7pm at The Highball (Austin, TX), the Action Pack and AV GEEKS are partnering to do a special Highball Prom!

Skip will be showing his program YOUR PROM DATE, which includes the hysterically funny films:

As Others See Us – The Dairy Council shows us how to behave when at a social event.

Getting Closer – Will young Greg make it to the dance tonight or will his shyness keep him at home with his lizard?

It’s a Thought – A junior high girl imagines what it would be like to be a popular kid at the school dance.

And after the film show, starting at 8:30 we’ll be dancing the night away in our Highball Prom.  You’re encouraged to dress up in your best fluffy outfit/tuxedo, they’ll be a king and queen crowned by the end of the night, and spiking the punch is encouraged.

So come see some great, weird, funny, and bizarre films from some of the most forgotten corner of history:

ALCOHOL IS DYNAMITE!

8/22 at 7pm: Alamo Drafthouse Park North (San Antonio, TX)
8/23 at 7pm: Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek (Austin, TX)
8/24 at 7pm: Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar (Austin, TX)
8/27 at 7pm: Alamo Drafthouse Mason (Katy, TX)

YOUR PROM NIGHT w/Action Pack Prom

8/26 at 7pm at The Highball (Austin, TX)

We’re very excited about opening THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ALICE CREED this coming Friday at the Alamo South Lamar. This movie is a rock-solid thrill ride. It’s got so many twists that even M. Night Shyamalan felt a little carsick watching it. Alamo Drafthouse/Fantastic Fest founder Tim League has this to say about the film:

“No question, if this British chunk of C-4 weren’t being released next month, you can be damn sure it’d have a spot on the Fantastic Fest 2010 roster come September. Writer/director J Blakeson has managed to distill the suspense-thriller genre down to a 150-proof EverClear-like annihilator, then blend it perfectly with… assorted mixers and twists to create a surprisingly smooth and unsuspecting cinematic cocktail you won’t soon forget. And the super-secret ingredient is bombshell Gemma Arterton (QUANTUM OF SOLACE, PRINCE OF PERSIA), who turns in a career-defining performance as the titular Creed who won’t let a little kidnapping spoil her day.”

He’s not the only one who’s nuts over his picture. Frank Scheck of Hollywood Reporter calls the film “taut, superbly executed and consistently engrossing,” and “thrillingly old-fashioned in the best sense.” Similarly, our very good friend Scott Weinberg from FEARnet sees it as a new approach to a subgenre that we all love but which sometimes comes off as stale, “When someone is able to re-tell the old “hostage” story using only three actors, four locations, and (at least) five nifty twists, then I say that’s a low-budget import that’s worthy of some attention.”

Simon Jablonski fromFilm4 praises up one of the best parts of the film, the gorgeous and intensely simple beginning: “The opening sequence is one of the more impressive in British cinema for a good while. Without any dialogue, save the screams of Alice Creed, the first ten minutes sets out the situation brilliantly. Two men, Danny and Vic, kidnap a girl (Gemma Arterton), tie her naked to a bed and take photos of her. In the silence you’re never sure what the men are thinking or aiming for.” Also addressing this scene, Christopher Kelly from the Victoria Advocate says, “The first-time director, J Blakeson, adopts a methodical, but brisk pace, steadily deepening the sense of dread with the help of the superbly moody music by Marc Canham. It’s an extraordinary feat of visual storytelling, showing us everything, telling us nothing.”

Peter Bradshaw, of the Guardian, gives the film four stars and expresses his excitement for the visual, narrative and performative flourishes of the film: “There’s twist and counter-twist, cross and double-cross, and with each narrative reveal comes a firework display of Big Acting. It’s taut, claustrophobic and very well put together, with nice performances all round” He also singles out the director, saying, “Blakeson is a name to watch.”

All in all, this picture is a great, compact genre film, exactly the kind of thing we program for Fantastic Fest. Marshall Fine of the Huffington Post captures this quality perfectly: “THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ALICE CREED is edgy fun, a kind of miniaturist thriller that keeps its focus tight and its aim high. And it hits the bulls eye every time.”

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ALICE CREED opens this Friday at the Alamo South Lamar.

We are very excited to open THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT Friday at the Alamo South Lamar.  It was a breakout hit at the Sundance Film Festival, where it was one of the most celebrated and sought after pictures on display.  Since then, it’s been knocking the socks off of almost every critic across the country, getting top honors and raves from even the most cynical of reviewers.

Marc Savlov of the Austin Chronicle gives the film four stars, and calls it “one of the most honest and painfully, hilariously accurate portraits of an American marriage and its resultant, tumultuous family ever put on film. It may be the most honest.”  This sums up the film perfectly, but much of the beauty of THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT comes from its individual parts.

The film’s all star cast is led by Annette Bening and Julianne Moore, who play a married lesbian couple with two children.  Their performances are fantastic.  Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal, who calls the film “thrillingly funny and casually profound,” describes the women as “played to perfection” by the talented actresses.  “Foreign-language films have subtitles; this film has subtexts that enhance every scene between the two women—unspoken anxieties, insecurities, vulnerabilities, comical but corrosive hostilities.”

Into the lives of this happy and distinctly modern family comes the previously-anonymous sperm donor, sought out by the two curious children.  This donor is played by the ever-cool and charming Mark Ruffalo who, according to Ann Hornaday at the Washington Post, “draws on every ounce of his considerable sex appeal to play Paul, a mellow, somewhat feckless restaurateur who can seduce just about everything he sets his sights on.”

Hornaday also notes the very strong performances by the children, newcomers Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson.  She especially praises Wasikowska, writing, “Within an ensemble of consummate pros, Wasikowska shines as a young woman grappling with the push-and-pull of a lovingly enmeshed family and forging her own fragile identity.”

This film, more than anything, is a refreshing change of pace from the typical heart-warming indie films that clutter the American landscape.  Rather than focusing on the torment/redemption of the severely dysfunctional family, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT is about a well-adjusted clan with healthy and good natured children whose hearts are in the right places.  The fact that the film is about an alternative family, led by two Sapphic matriarchs, makes it all the more exciting.  In the USA Today, Claudia Puig describes this uplifting quality:  “What makes this story so effective is not that it strives to be relevant in its depiction of a gay couple raising children but that it captures real-life rhythms and sincere concerns — both everyday and existential — experienced by families of all kinds.  Theirs may be an unconventional family, but the quandaries and problems are the same as in most families.”

This is a film for those adults who are looking for an escape from the blockbusters of this season.  Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times writes, “Whatever your politics, between peerless performances, lyrical direction and an adventurous script, this is the sort of pleasingly grown-up fare all too rare in the mainstream daze of this very dry summer.”

You should see this movie this weekend at the Alamo South Lamar, so that you have a chance to love it and see it again.  We’re opening it at the Lake Creek theatre next Friday for you North Austinites, too.

Tonight at the Alamo South Lamar, we’re opening a very provocative documentary that chronicles the controversial California vote that revoked the right for gays to be married. At the forefront of this crusade against same-sex love is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, known colloquially as The Mormons. 8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION examines the role of the Mormon Church on this historic and much-maligned civil rights reversal, and the ties and conclusions it draws will shock and disgust you.

Shedding light on the structure of repression and shame that the Mormon Church has practiced against homosexuals for years, the film is a strong case against religious involvement in legal affairs and its destructive influence on the lives of millions of gay men and women. Its a highly emotional film that is not afraid to take a much-needed stance on this issue. It passionately fights against prejudice, judgment, and hate to present an educational and forward-thinking film.

We’re very proud to co-present this film with the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival tonight at 7:40 at the Alamo South Lamar. Advanced tickets available here.

It’s around about this time of the year that I start pining for the cooler temperatures of November and December. Here we are at the beginning of July with the dog days of August still ahead of us, although it has to be said that this summer hasn’t been too uncomfortable so far. We’re almost halfway through the hottest part of the year and we still haven’t hit 100°!

Damn, I probably just jinxed it, didn’t I.

During the summer months I also start pining for some of those delicious winter beers. Sure, I love the summer seasonals and the lighter beers that the hot weather puts you in the mood for but I’m ready for a winter warmer or two any time of the year, so with that in mind we’ve decided to take a little break from the wheats and the lagers with the inaugural Christmas in July Beerfest.

Over the next three or four weeks we’ll be featuring a few of the drafts and bottles that we’ve held back since last winter, including (but not limited to):

Avery Old Jubilation (draft)
Old Jubilation isn’t brewed with spices and other flavourings the way that many other Christmas beers are, which is probably why Avery describes it as an English strong ale rather than a winter warmer. They allow the rich blend of malts do the talking, including victory malt which lends a biscuity, nutty flavour to the brew. You should also look for a moderate malt sweetness with a good hop balance and a slightly bitter finish, plus hints of toffee and caramel, dark fruits and maybe a little cognac too.

After tapping this one and trying the first pour from the keg I can tell you that it is without a doubt one of the tastiest beers I’ve had in a long time. The months spent in our room-temperature beer store have done it a power of good. 8.0% ABV

Avec Les Bons Voeux Saison (draft)
Brasserie Dupont in Belgium is known primarily for its year-round Saison Dupont, regarded by beer connoisseurs as one of the world’s best saisons, but there is another, lesser known saison in their portfolio. Although the saison is usually thought of as a summer beer, this particular example of the style was originally brewed in very small quantities as a New Year gift to their best clients. Its full name is Avec Les Bons Voeux de la Brasserie Dupont, which means ‘With the best wishes of the Dupont Brewery’. Although it’s now part of their seasonal lineup, it’s still brewed in very limited quantities. This keg was the very first one we bought specifically for the Badass Tap, way back in January and it’s been sitting in our referigerated walk-in since then.  Seeing it go will almost be like watching your firstborn child flying the nest. 9.5% ABV

St Bernardus Christmas Ale (bottle)
The St Bernardus brewery of Watou, Belgium is held in very high esteem and rightly so, and this is a superb example of a dark Belgian ale. Plenty of malty sweetness up front, heaps of spicy Belgian yeastiness, but a deceptively dry finish with a hint of bitterness. The aftertaste of this beer is very reminiscent of barley sugar twist. This will be the first of the Christmas bottles. 10% ABV

Delirium Noël (bottle)
Another dark Belgian ale, this time from the Brouwerij Huyghe near Gent.These are the folks who put their beer in ceramic bottles with pink elephants on the label. First brewed in 2000, Noël is similar to the St Bernardus but with a slightly tart apple flavour common to the other two Delirium beers (Tremens and Nocturnum).  There’s plenty of malt sweetness and peppery Belgian-ness together with hints of dark fruit. A deliciously complex beer.   10% ABV

As hinted above, there might be a surprise guest or two added to the bill, but we’re still in negotiations. You know it can be sometimes with contract riders – a particular brand of water, no green M+Ms, just the right shade of pink on the walls, that sort of thing. Each new beer (draft or bottle, listed or surprise) will be announced on the Drafthouse Twitter feed.

And since its, er, Christmas, let’s go out with a seasonal song. Merry Christmas everyone, and a happy new beer!

Jim Hughes, Head Beer Nerd, Alamo South Lamar
“If I had all the money I’ve spent on drink… I’d spend it on drink.” ~ Sir Henry Rawlinson

Tomorrow, the Alamo South Lamar is opening a film called PLEASE GIVE. It’s one of those critically lauded films that comes out in the summer and is overshadowed by the bigger pictures like SEX AND THE CITY 2, THE A-TEAM, and GET HIM TO THE GREEK. Basically, it’s a much appreciated respite from the explosions and gut-laughs that the mainstream fare offers us in the hot months.

You should see this movie. Starring indie darlings Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Amanda Peet, and Rebecca Hall (who wowed us all in 2008’s VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA), PLEASE GIVE tells the story of a couple of New Yorkers who own two apartments. When they want to occupy one of their abodes, they realize that the current tenant standing in their way, an elderly matriarch, is a tough bird to defeat. Making matters worse, her two daughters are feisty and cynical, providing comic obstacles and guilt-ridden stumbling blocks.

The Austin Chronicle gives the film a very respectable three and a half stars. Marjorie Baumgarten sees the film as a feminist triumph from director Nicole Holofcener, “From the very opening images of Please Give, it is clear that Holofcener is determined to show us aspects of women’s lives rarely explored in feature films.” Ty Burr of the Boston Globe echoes this sentiment, writing, “It’s the rare film to be owned by its women, both before the camera and behind it, and its emotional barometer is one of infinitely fine gradations.”

Peter Travers of Rolling Stone calls the film “rare and remarkable.” He describes the pictures as “an unnervingly hilarious and heartfelt comedy of bad manners.” That’s a pretty good compliment, but nothing compared to the praise dished out by Ann Hornaday in the Washington Post, which honored the film with its “Critics Pick” distinction. She writes: “PLEASE GIVE is one of those movies that can be enjoyed simply for its funny portraits of human foibles and fumbling grasps at intimacy — but it’s also deceivingly profound. Holofcener has a knack for soothing viewers with the rhythms of quiet jokes and mordant moments and then ambushing them with scenes of breathtaking sweetness and meaning.”

Roger Ebert offers us a fine overview of the whole picture: “The movie is about imperfect characters in a difficult world, who mostly do the best they can under the circumstances, but not always. Do you realize what a revolutionary approach that is for a movie these days?”

Ok, you’re convinced to see it. Good. It starts tomorrow at Alamo South Lamar. Skip on work, take a long lunch break, schedule your date as a dinner and a movie, whatever, just see PLEASE GIVE.

When we think of South Lamar and Rolling Roadshow projectionist Dakota Milam we think about professionalism, dedication and thoroughness.

We also think he might be totally insane.

He recently got a tattoo gun and started spending most of his free time apparently tattooing every square inch of his frame.

But for his dream piece he went to his pal, the picturesquely named Jimmie Knuckles at Shaman Modifications, who created a simple but effective design based on Dakota’s favorite movie and tattooed it on the tops of Dakota’s feet. Considering the high ratio of nerve endings in the feet, Dakota no doubt screamed like a little girl from the agonizing pain. But some things are worth the pain and we’d have to say this falls into that category.

By the way Dakota, your health insurance covers psychiatric visits. Just saying…

If you haven’t seen HUMAN CENTIPEDE yet, come see what all the ink is about, it’s playing now at South Lamar.

Those two gentlemen to the left are Rogue Brewmaster John Maier (with the face furniture) and Rogue Spirits Master Distiller John Couchot. Between them they’ve created a new series of Rogue beers – the John John Ales.

Rogue also makes a range of spirits including Dead Guy Whiskey, which is made from the same wort as Dead Guy Ale. It’s taken to the distillery where magic things happen to turn it into whiskey which is then put into oak barrels for 30 days. When those are emptied and the whiskey is bottled for further ageing, they’re refilled with Dead Guy Ale and this is left to mature for 2-3 months.

As with any beer aged in wood, the oak and the whiskey both impart their own flavours, but in this instance neither are overpowering or detract from the sweet, bready maltiness of Dead Guy. Although it’s a bock, and therefore a lager, and therefore should be drunk at a relatively cool temperature, it’s worth letting this one warm up a bit in the glass to get the full effect of the barrel ageing. This one won’t knock you off your feet either with its moderate 6.5%ABV.

Jim Hughes, Head Beer Nerd, Alamo South Lamar
“If I had all the money I’ve spent on drink… I’d spend it on drink.” ~ Sir Henry Rawlinson

‘Never mix the grape and the grain’, they say – a wise motto to live by if you want to avoid the mother of all hangovers in the morning. I guess the folks at Dogfish Head didn’t get that memo because they’ve put them both in the same bottle and come up with Red & White.

First brewed in 2007 and now one of DFH’s established seasonals, it starts off as a Belgian style witbier (that’s the ‘White’ part) brewed with coriander and orange peel, but it’s fermented with Pinot Noir juice (‘Red’). At this point, a portion of the batch is drawn off and put into Oregon Pinot Noir barrels while the rest is aged in DFH’s oak tanks (some descriptions say ‘aged on oak staves’). After a few month’s it’s blended, packaged and sent out for you and me to enjoy.

This is an incredibly complex beer and a really tough one to pin down. It sure doesn’t taste like any witbier you’ve ever had. There’s a hint of the coriander and orange peel, and both the Belgian and wheat aspects are identifiable, but the wine juice and oak ageing adds several new layers to the brew. It packs an alcoholic punch at 10% ABV but the booze is well hidden. All the same, I’d recommend sharing a (750ml) bottle of Red & White, especially as it doesn’t come cheap. We’ll send this one out to you in a wine bucket and with tulip glasses to pour it into so you can savour the full aroma of this unusual… indeed, unique beer.

Jim Hughes, Head Beer Nerd, Alamo South Lamar
“If I had all the money I’ve spent on drink… I’d spend it on drink.” ~ Sir Henry Rawlinson