The Alamo Ritz New Year’s Eve Bash: THE APARTMENT!

Toast the new decade with THE APARTMENT with the finest food and drink on the planet!

Hungry for the best night out of the year? Looking to share some food and drinks with one of the best films ever made? Searching for the best way to celebrate New Years while still having time to get to the party for the midnight countdown? Then we'll be raising a glass along with you at our second annual New Year’s celebration of classic cinema, cocktails and cuisine at The Ritz!!

2008’s screening of AFTER THE THIN MAN was a true extravaganza, bringing together an incredible drinking/dining experience with one of the greatest film’s of Hollywood’s golden era.

This year, we’re stepping it up with the flat-out greatest New Year’s film in the world: Billy Wilder’s 1960 masterpiece THE APARTMENT, a brilliantly written, fast-paced, heartbreakingly hilarious adventure of a poor schlub (a young, bumbling Jack Lemmon) who just can’t steer things right to fall into the good graces of the most wonderful woman in town (a young, unbelievably charming Shirley MacLaine). In his way are an innumerable number of comic obstacles, including the great Fred MacMurray and Ray Walston as self-serving high-rollers content to kick dirt in the face of anyone who crosses them.

It’s a gorgeously shot, perfectly constructed, fun-as-hell monument to filmmaking at its very best (in AFI’s Top 100 films!), and we’re pleased to bring it to you along with a very special menu with drink pairings to ring in the new decade, all prepared by our chefs John Bullington and Elijah Horgan, with accompanying beverages masterminded by bar wizard Amy Patton.

Get your tickets HERE, and we'll see you for New Years!

Break out the visine and mistletoe...it's HIGH FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

HIGH FOR THE HOLIDAYS at The Ritz, Dec 23 - Jan 6!!!

This holiday season, feel free to sit around a fireplace listening to an old CD of Jingle Bells with your family. There's nothing wrong with that, and we respect you if that's what you want to do with yourself.

As for us, we're spicing it up a bit with a bevy of movies that have nothing to do with the holidays, but plenty to do with getting high (or drunk). From the mind-warping insanity of mutant-psychedelic classic THE HOLY MOUNTAIN to our now-classic all-you-can-eat burger show of the original HAROLD & KUMAR to ultimate odes to drunken insanity like THE HANGOVER and BEERFEST (with Beerlympics!), we have truly learned how to make Santa's nose just a little more rosy red.

Not only that, but we're mixing up an aperatif of special activities to go along with each film that makes it more than a movie, giving audience members the chance to win great prizes from MR. NICE GUYS! There's no doubt...this year, High for the Holidays will be a transcendental experience!

Get the whole HIGH FOR THE HOLIDAYS rundown HERE!

AVATAR in 3D now playing Lamar & Village!

AVATAR in State-of-the-Art 4K Digital 3D!
Click here for tickets to South Lamar
Click here for tickets to Village

"It's thrilling and lovely and sad and explosive in all the right ways, and it needs to be seen – on the big screen, in 3-D – to be believed. 4 Stars."
Mark Savlov, The Austin Chronicle

"It's an impossible but completely plausible and seductive world that invites your total immersion. Don't resist it; sink in and fly with it. All Cameron asks is that you open your eyes."
Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

"There is still at least one man in Hollywood who knows how to spend $250 million, or was it $300 million, wisely."
Roger Ebert, The Chicago Sun Times

When we first saw images from James Cameron's latest $300 million dollar behemoth, one word came to mind- "Ferngully." But then we were treated to 20 minutes of sneak-peak footage at Fantastic Fest, and HOLY MOTHER OF GOD. All the hype about the groundbreaking technology developed just to make this film pays off in a big big way. 60% CGI, 40% live action, 10,000% fun. This movie is GORGEOUS- you MUST see it in digital 3D, cause if you're seeing it in 2D, you're not seeing AVATAR. Worth. Every. Penny.

And now at Alamo South Lamar & the Village, we've got brand new, ahead-of-the-state-of-the-art Sony 4K Digital Projectors, which render Cameron's world like you won't believe.

In the distant future, Jake Sully, a paraplegic war veteran, is offered a second chance in the military. He's transported to a planet called Pandora, where the world's armed forces have been put in a fierce battle against the planet's native species (the Na'Vi) for years, struggling to mine a vital energy source for earth, which rests under the Na'Vi settlement.

See it at Village or South Lamar

Get MORTIFIED

MORTIFIED
Weds, Dec 16, 7pm
at the Alamo Ritz
Advance tix available here while they last

Tickets are going fast, but there may still be time for you to get to be a part of one of the most exciting live shows to make a fresh appearance on the stage at the Alamo Ritz: MORTIFIED.

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!

No joke!: BAD LIEUTENANT is THE movie of the year and it opens at Ritz this weekend!

BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS opening Dec 11 at The Ritz

God-DANG.

We’ll admit, we were initially merely amused at the prospect of the new BAD LIEUTENANT film. Mid-career action convert Nicolas Cage starring in a film from German renaissance wildman Werner Herzog? Sure, we’ll watch that. An advance screening rolled around about a week ago and the programmers gathered together to give the movie a fair viewing.

Two hours later, our faces were obliterated. It’s no joke: BAD LIEUTENANT is the BEST FILM OF 2009. I swear on my granny. It’s a perfectly assembled, harrowing, hilarious, one-of-a-kind film, and deserves to be seen by everyone between the ages of 16 and 3000. Nicolas Cage does things that no actor has ever done in a movie. Herzog takes chances that pay off without fail. There are invisible iguanas and breakdancing ghosts. And it all ties together in a tight, completely linear storyline. That’s some kinda miracle and these guys did it.

It’s everything you could want on a screen, and we’re not even the only ones who think so. Take a look at some of these rave reviews from normally respectable sources:

“An original, offbeat and rewarding cop story with Nicolas Cage in great form.” – Hollywood Reporter

“Here, Nicolas Cage is a fearless actor. He doesn’t care if you think he goes over the top…he will crawl to the top hand over hand with bleeding fingernails. ” – Roger Ebert

“Like a jumpy, coke-fueled Pied Piper, Cage takes viewers to the very precipice of depraved self-abasement, while preserving just enough self-conscious humor to keep from tumbling in.” – Washington Post

“A vividly acted and directed movie that stretches the boundaries of its genre and keeps you in its ever-unpredictable grip throughout.” -BoxOffice

…These are just the tip of the iceberg. This Nicolas Cage crime movie offers the most outrageous, entertaining night you’ll have until the actual Mayan apocalypse.

Believe it.

Tickets are HERE!

Cartoons, Cereal and Kamikaze Comedy attack the Ritz this weekend!

SAT MORNING CARTOON CEREAL PARTY Holiday Edition - Sat, Dec 5
STAND-UP COMEDY DISASTERS - Sun, Dec 6

This weekend will provide all fun-loving Alamo patrons with busted guts and cavities!

On Saturday morning, we'll be presenting our ever-popular SATURDAY MORNING CARTOON CEREAL PARTY Holiday Edition! Time to pull out the long red winter pajamas with the feet attached! And for the Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa edition of our Cartoon Cereal Party pursuits, we'll be putting on a special HOLIDAY edition just for you!!

Your eyes will devour Santastic episodes of your favorite cartoons, plus see some deeply bizarre holiday surprises that you never imagined existed! Forget that you grew up and got a job and started sleeping through Saturday mornings...the glory days are BACK! Because we're gonna bring you a 2.5 hour attack from the wildest cartoons in the TV Netherworld!

Just bring yourselves, and if you have a special spoon or stuffed animal you can bring that too. Pajamas are optional. Let me rephrase that: please wear clothes, even if you choose not to wear pajamas. Regardless, both the cartoons and the endless supply of cereal will unleash your powers of winter wonderlanding, sugar-eating and FUN-HAVING until you reach a new level of superhuman powertimes!!!
Tickets are HERE!

Then, on Sunday, your funnybone will explode like an atomic warhead at STAND-UP COMEDY DISASTERS. We've all seen bad stand-up comedians - comics who lack timing, personality, material, simple human dignity...the effect can be like watching a car crash happen right next to you. You feel like you should avert your eyes, but you can't. This show is a tribute to all the terrible comics.

While comedian Andy Ritchie worked with a well-known comedy booker, he brushed elbows with famous stand-ups and some of today's finest comedic minds. He also saw an endless stream of unsolicited audition tapes and demo reels. From the delusional and misguided to the downright baffling, he collected the best of the worst. Charlie Sotelo, late of the Show With No Name, has his own collection of audition tapes and on stage disasters.

Ritchie and Sotelo will present highlights from their collections to bring you a night of the worst and most awkward moments of all these documents of desperation. The results are somewhere between a kick in the groin and a choir of heavenly blonde angels singing you to sleep after pleasuring you in ways you never dreamed of. With special guests, surprises and a lot of laughs! Get those tickets HERE!

MASTER PANCAKE presents ROAD HOUSE!

Master Pancake Theater Presents
ROAD HOUSE: Benefiting Pancreatic Cancer Research
Two Shows Only 7pm (SOLD OUT)
and 10pm Wednesday 12/2 at the Ritz
Tickets on sale here.

For one show only, to honor our fallen friend Patrick Swayze, Master Pancake resurrects one of their most requested mocks ever: ROAD HOUSE (1989). We'll be donating a hefty percentage of the night's proceeds to PanCAN, the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, to help battle the disease that took down our hero, as we mock ROAD HOUSE, the Citizen Kane of bouncer movies, and possibly the most entertainingly cheesy movie of all time. ROAD HOUSE tells the story of James Dalton, an itinerant Zen bouncer (or "cooler" as it's called in the trade) played by Patrick Swayze who comes to town and uses his incredible cooling powers and Zen wisdom ("Pain don't hurt") to help turn a seedy whisky joint into a somewhat less seedy whisky joint by teaching a ragtag gang of lovable losers to believe in themselves and, more importantly, to spot a knife hidden in a shoe from 40 feet away ("Right boot"!). Swayze adds a real touch of class to this otherwise ridiculous B-grade actioner. Come on out as Master Pancake showers this movie with their own brand of affection and helps give a roundhouse kick to Pancreatic Cancer.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is fantastic!

FANTASTIC MR. FOX
Now Playing at South Lamar
Buy tickets here.

If you haven't seen the latest movie from Wes Anderson, FANTASTIC MR. FOX, what are you waiting for? It's got it all, laughs, action, drama, Clooney. You need to see it.

"Fantastic Mr. Fox is a retro marvel that should delight today's audience." - Lou Lumenick, NY Post

"Wes Anderson's stop-motion Fantastic Mr. Fox is both a delightful amusement and a distillation of the filmmaker's essential playfulness." - TIME

"Fantastic Mr. Fox is possibly the finest picture about family, community and poultry thievery ever made." - Salon

Angry farmers, tired of sharing their chickens with a sly fox, look to get rid of their opponent Mr. Fox and his family. This stop-motion animal comedy from Anderson features voice work from George Clooney, Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Owen Wilson and several more of his best-loved actors. Based on the book by Roald Dahl, who is unanimously considered to be the greatest kids storyteller in the history of our species.

Thanksgiving at The Alamo!

THANKSGIVING DOESN'T GET BETTER THAN THIS!

There's a very special holiday weekend coming up. Where other "special days" revolve around tradition, religion, romance or banks closing, THANKSGIVING is the holiday that most centers on FOOD. And next to movies, food is our favorite thing!

That's why the Alamo is proud to offer a TRUE Thanksgiving experience at our Ritz, South Lamar and Village locations. There's gonna be food a-plenty available to order at all of our Thanksgiving Day screenings. Order the optional “Thanksgiving Feast” ticket and you’ll not only get admission to the show, but also a heaping plate of all these classic hits! Featuring:

Turkey and gravy!
Stuffing!
Cranberry sauce!
Green bean casserole!
Sweet potatoes (yes, the kind with the marshmallows on top!)
Yeast roll!
Then finish it all off with a nice big slice of pumpkin pie!

All this while watching a movie. And if you like, take in some of our exclusive Thanksgiving programming, like...oh, for instance, THE GREATEST THANKSGIVING MOVIE EVER MADE:
PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES
Hollywood has provided us with no shortage of classic Christmas films, but there is only ONE great Thanksgiving epic, and it is HERE. No fibbin'...this is the flat-out funniest holiday feature ever made, and deserves to stand tall in the ranks of Perfect Movies! John Candy gives his best-ever performance as shower curtain ring salesman Del Griffith, a carefree loser who takes uptight businessman Neal Page (Steve Martin) on the misadventure-ride of a lifetime. "Those aren't pillows!!"
(This film plays on Fri & Sat with regular screenings as well. Tix are HERE.)

TEXAS VS. A&M
We've got a traditional homemade Thanksgiving Feast, open lovin' arms and THE big game of THE biggest season in a long Longhorn time on the big big Alamo screen! Watch the UT Longhorns battle their way toward an undefeated season against our friends and rivals to the south, the Texas A&M Aggies!

A $25 ticket reserves you a seat and the Thanksgiving meal. A $5 food and beverage voucher reserves you a seat WITHOUT the turkey dinner but you can then use the $5 voucher against anything else ordered during the game. If there are seats remaining the day of the game, admission will be free at the door. Oh yeah, and Aggie fans are welcome too! After all, Thanksgiving is the day for coming together and celebrating that for which we are thankful... and we are all, as Texans, most thankful for football.

That said, hook 'em.

ANTICHRIST and UNTIL THE LIGHT TAKES US: The Ritz gets unholy for the holidays!

Stunning black metal documentary UNTIL THE LIGHT TAKES US opens Friday!
Controversial, beautiful mindwrecker ANTICHRIST opens Friday too!

This weekend, The Alamo Ritz will unveil two of the most masterfully made and potentially disturbing films of the decade!

Lars Von Trier's ANTICHRIST has already cemented a reputation for crowd-pleasing and stomach-turning from ONE SINGLE SCREENING at Fantastic Fest '09. It is explicit, it is challenging, it is grotesque, it has been called offensive, misogynistic and dangerous...but it has also been called a masterpiece and perhaps the Danish auteur's finest work.

Charlotte Gainsbourg (who won best Actress for the role at Cannes) and Willem Defoe star as an unnamed couple seeking comfort in their country home after the sudden death of their child. While in their forest retreat, as summed up by the unofficial slogan of Fantastic fest '09, "chaos reigns."

ANTICHRIST tickets are HERE!

On the all-too-real side of the coin, UNTIL THE LIGHT TAKES US is a feature length documentary chronicling the story of black metal. Part music scene and part cultural uprising, black metal rose to worldwide notoriety in the mid-'90s when a rash of suicides, murders and church burnings accompanied the explosive artistic growth and output of a music scene that would forever redefine what heavy metal is and what it stands for to other musicians, artists and music fans worldwide.

To capture this on film, directors Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell moved to Norway and lived with the musicians for several years, building relationships that allowed them to create a surprisingly intimate portrait of this violent, but ultimately misunderstood, movement. The result is a poignant, moving story that’s as much about the idea that reality is composed of whatever the most people believe, regardless of what’s actually true, as it is about a music scene that blazed a path of murder and arson across the northern sky. Featuring: Gylve "Fenriz" Nagell, Varg Vikernes, Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg, Kjetil "Frost" Haraldstad, Ivar Bjornson, Abbath and Demonaz Doom Occulta, Kris "Garm" Rygg, Bjarne Melgaard, Harmony Korine and more.

UNTIL THE LIGHT TAKES US tickets are HERE!

Weird Wednesday Tonight: BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA!

WEIRD WEDNESDAY: BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA
MIDNIGHT TONIGHT AT THE RITZ ONLY $1
BUY TICKETS HERE

"You two guys are definitely on my shit list" - Warren Oates.

Sometime around the time this film was made, director Sam Peckinpah went completely insane, making this one of the few examples of that fleeting and wonderful thing - a truly psychotic work of art. The great Warren Oates stars as an American pianist wasting away in a Mexican whorehouse bar. When two leisure-suited bounty killers approach him looking for a pimp named Alfredo Garcia who has impregnated the teenage daughter of a powerful man, Benny asks around, finds out that Garcia is already dead and concocts a plan to dig up the corpse, remove the head and collect the reward. Along with his prostitute girlfriend, he hits the road on his doom-laden journey. As you might guess, all hopes are shattered and Oates ends up alone, carrying the rotting head of Alfredo Garcia in a bag across the desert as the killers pursue him. But like Peckinpah, he delivers. The reaction of El Jefe to Oates' delivery of the head is pretty much exactly what the reaction at studio headquarters must have been when Peckinpah delivered this film. '70s existential malaise at its best! (Lars)

Every Wednesday at Midnight, Weird Wednesday brings you the best in cinematic trash and depravity, all on 35mm film, scratches, splices and all. And it's only $1. See the whole schedule here.

BRIEF INTERVIEWS WITH HIDEOUS MEN

BRIEF INTERVIEWS WITH HIDEOUS MEN
Opens Friday at the Alamo Ritz!
Advance tickets available here

"Thrillingly alive. The best of the Sundance best!"
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

"YOU CAN'T TAKE YOUR EYES OFF OF IT...ONE HELL OF A DATE MOVIE...Ingeniously structured and beautifully acted."
James Greenberg, Film Journal International

Adapted and directed by John Krasinski (Jim Halpert on The Office(!), AWAY WE GO), BRIEF INTERVIEWS WITH HIDEOUS MEN is a darkly funny and disturbing exploration of men and their complex relationships with women. Based on the book by David Foster Wallace, the film features an all-star cast that includes Timothy Hutton, Ben Shenkman, Christopher Meloni, Ben Gibbard, Will Arnett, Chris Messina, Bobby Cannavale, Will Forte, Dennis O'Hare, Lou Taylor Pucci, Max Minghella, and Julianne Nicholson.

A graduate student (Nicholson) endeavors to explore the male psyche for her thesis by interviewing a cross-section of men. The men's twisted and revealing stories are juxtaposed against the backdrop of her own experience. As she begins to listen closely to the men around her, she must ultimately reconcile herself to the darkness that lies below the surface of human interactions.

Krasinski and his fine cast successfully bring the first-ever David Foster Wallace work to the big screen with a film that audiences will be talking about for a long time.

Get those tickets here!

New York's ANIMATION BLOCK PARTY invades The Ritz tonight and Sunday!

The Best of ANIMATION BLOCK PARTY!

Animation Block Party, NYC's premiere animation festival, won't return to Brooklyn until July 2010, but the Alamo Drafthouse will offer your last chance to get a taste of ABP in 2009. This November, Animation Block Party will be showcasing some of its very best films in the history of the six year festival at the Drafthouse with a program that incorporates classics from the 2004-2009 archives alongside new films that premiered at the ABP festival this past summer. The exclusive Drafthouse program includes a never before seen stop-motion cartoon starting iconic stoner, Chef Barry in his culinary show Cooking 420 with Chef Barry. Other keynotes will include Backwards from Texas native, Aaron Hughes and producer, Lisa LaBracio, Craig T. Squirrel from Mike Hollingsworth, art-school opus MFA Show from Rob Bohn, lovesick tale Replacement Dog from Garrett Koeppicus, cute bunny gone bad blip In the Beginning by Choom, fresh shorts from cartoon duo nockFORCE and much more.

The screenings will be introduced by Animation Block Party's Jonathan Mazer, former theater director at UT Austin. For more information about Animation Block Party, please visit www.animationblock.com

Get them tickets, son!

Escape reality with Weird Wednesday: CONVENTION GIRLS!

Weird Wednesday: CONVENTION GIRLS...only $1!

Since the fall of 2001, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has been hosting a series of exploitation classics, especially curated by our own film guru Lars Nilsen: from cheerleaders gone bad to blaxploitation to killer mutant animals to cheesy 80's slashers to women in prison. Many of these films are so obscure that little is known or has been written about them. Some of them are bad, all of them are enjoyable, and a rare few are mind-blowingly amazing. Weird Wednesdays is the vanguard of cinema exploration in Austin. Join us every Wednesday at midnight!

THIS WEEK!: On the surface this is one of those '70s "group of girls" movies, inspired by the success of New World Pictures' nursesploitation movies. There were tons of films that followed the day to day problems and concerns of a group of shapely nurses, cheerleaders, student teachers etc. Finally the interesting and talented Florida exploitation director Joseph Adler (SCREAM BABY SCREAM) got around to making one about the hookers who populate trade shows and industry functions. That's the starting point, anyway. On a deeper level it's about integrity and the pride of doing a good job. Rather than simply serving as a backdrop for sexploitative highjinks, the toy convention is at the core of the film. The hero of the piece is a dollmaker who refuses to sell out to a dark toy conglomerate, and it's not hard to make the case that he's like a film maker who does the best he can under every circumstance - like Adler himself. The story arcs that illustrate the central conflict of the film are tied together by the prostitutes who attend the convention and weave in and out of the various relationships. It's a really good film, with more similarities to Altman than to the usual flesh pageants of the era.

Don't miss out on our unique exploitation film series! Get your ticket HERE!

START TREKKIN

START TREKKIN
Live Star Trek inspired improv
Tuesday, Nov 10, 7pm at the Alamo South Lamar
Get your advance tickets here!

J.J. Abrams' STAR TREK reboot blasted its way to box office gold earlier this summer. NOW see the show that was inspired by the original show that inspired the movie!

Start Trekkin - Austin, after 5 critically acclaimed years at the Hideout Theatre, brings their completely improvised parody of the classic TV show to the Alamo Drafthouse on Tuesday, November 10th, at 7:00pm.

Based on audience suggestions, the show's comedic cast will boldly create a never-before-seen space epic set in the original Star Trek universe, preceded by a series of interactive improv games and scenes that YOU the audience can be a part of - including live improvised dubbing of classic Star Trek TV clips and 60s era commericals!

You'll be stunned by...
authentic music and sound effects!
fake rocks and cheap-looking sets!
thinly veiled social allegory!

The final frontier will never be the same.

Fun Fun Fun Fest guests MC Chris, Youth Brigade and Mission of Burma stop by The Ritz this weekend!

FUN FUN FUN fest presents
LET THEM KNOW: The Story of Youth Brigade and BYO Records with members of Youth Brigade LIVE!
MC Chris LIVE presenting GREMLINS
NOT A PHOTOGRAPH with members of Mission of Burma LIVE

We're partnering with Austin's incredible, mammoth weekend-long music festival Fun Fun Fun to present THREE special guest screenings at The Ritz!

Saturday, 10:15 PM
LET THEM KNOW: The Story of Youth Brigade and BYO Records with the members of Youth Brigade LIVE
** This show only $5 with a Fun Fun Fun Fest wristband **
- One of the most incredible stories of punk dedication EVER TOLD! By the time the second wave of Los Angeles punk rock began to crest in the early 1980s, most historians had already closed the book. But things were just starting to get interesting. The music got harder and faster. Politics became integral to the scene. Police-on-punk violence and massive riots were de rigueur. The concept of "D.I.Y." transformed from a necessity to a battle cry. And the Better Youth Organization was born. Founded by brothers Shawn and Mark Stern from the influential L.A. punk band Youth Brigade, the BYO was part political movement, part business venture. It was a way to organize punks to take positive action to help sustain their scene and their way of life. The ideals upon which it was founded helped countless bands put on shows, put out records, and otherwise get their music out to the world.

Saturday, Midnight
MC Chris presents GREMLINS
- God-DANG! Nerdcore rapper MC Chris is coming back to the Alamo to introduce and present another of his holy grail movies. You may know him as MC Pee Pants from AQUA TEEN HUNGER FORCE or you may know him from his jams, like Fett's Vette Now get to know him as the funniest movie host on the planet. This time the almighty Dungeonmaster Of Ceremonies has chosen a film that no card carrying nerd can afford to miss on the big screen. Seeing Zach Galligan and Phoebe Cates save the world is one of life's sublime pleasures. And those little furry dudes are pretty cool too, sometimes. MC Chris' movie showings are more like his concerts than standard movie screenings - he sets up an audience participation environment like no other - you'll be laughing like a fool. Don't miss!

Sunday, 10:15 PM
NOT A PHOTOGRAPH with members of Mission of Burma LIVE
- Legendary Boston post-punk band Mission of Burma may not have sold a lot of records in their time, but most everyone who bought one started a band, with such bands as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Sonic Youth citing them as influences. Breaking up in 1983 due to lead guitarist Roger Miller's tinnitus (made worse by the band's notoriously loud shows), Mission of Burma was one of the most important bands of its time, and when they reunited for 2004's ONoffON, documentary filmmakers Jeffrey Iwanicki and David A. Kleiler followed their return, and NOT A PHOTOGRAPH: THE MISSION OF BURMA STORY is the result. When some once-prominent bands come back after several years away, the danger of those bands destroying their legacy with substandard new material often looms large (we're looking at you, Big Star), but NOT A PHOTOGRAPH proves that Mission of Burma's return shows that some bands not only never lose what made them great in the first place, but that they're able to pick it up again after nearly 20 years apart.


...all of these shows will redefine your life as a music and movie fan, and tickets for all are cheap and available HERE!

HEATHERS QUOTE-ALONG

The Action Pack presents the
HEATHERS QUOTE-ALONG
Thursdays, Nov 5, 12 & 19
Advance tix available here!

"Dear Diary, my teen-angst bullshit now has a body count."

Before Diablo Cody made talking in a teenage lingo mean dropping in dated Internet references as often as you can, Daniel Waters perfected the art of bitchy high school teen speak dialog in his screenplay for HEATHERS.

"What's your damage?"

"Where's your urge to purge?"

"If you wanna f--- with the eagles, you've gotta learn to fly!"

This is the movie that established the teen black comedy as the ultimate way of viewing high school, and way before Lindsay Lohan learned about a new way to play through the social politics of the clique system in MEAN GIRLS, Christian Slater taught Winona Ryder that there are much more... physical ways of handling queen bees.

This movie may not be as chock full of one-liners as some of the Mel Brooks types of comedies we've done as Quote-Alongs in the past, but the magic of hearing everyone say, "Lick it up, baby. Lick. It. Up," all in unison should be magical enough. And if that line alone isn't enough, "I love my dead gay son!" will clearly make this show worthy of surviving our adolescence for. And choosing whether or not to kill yourself when you were a teenager was one of the most important decisions you made!

We'll start the show with a lunch time poll, have some puke available should you need to pay anyone back for getting you into a Remington party, and have plenty of CornNuts for everyone! Teenage suicide: don't do it. (Henri Mazza)

Music movie of the decade: ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES at Ritz!

ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES Tues & Wed at The Ritz!

In an out-of-season holiday camp on the coast of England, cult music festival All Tomorrow's Parties serves up a heady combination of alternative music, crazy golf and chalet-living; all curated by a single band or artist. This post-punk DIY bricolage uses material generated by the fans and musicians themselves, on a multitude of formats including Super8, camcorder and mobile phone material, over the history of the festival, to capture the uncompromising spirit of a parallel music universe.

Artists documented include Lightning Bolt, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Belle And Sebastian, Sonic Youth, Portishead, Daniel Johnston, David Cross, Animal Collective, The Boredoms, Les Savy Fav, Mogwai, Octopus Project, Slint, The Dirty Three, The Gossip, GZA, Iggy and the Stooges, Mars Volta, Shellac, Patti Smith and many more. Essential viewing for anyone who's ever liked music. Period.

Get them tickets HERE!

Learn THE MEANING OF LIFE

Monty Python's THE MEANING OF LIFE
Monday & Wednesday @ the Alamo Ritz
Advance tickets available here

It was 40 years ago this month that Terry Jones, Michael Palin, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Erik Idle and Terry Gilliam first introduced the world to Monty Python's Flying Circus. It didn't take long for their groundbreaking stream-of-consciousness, often absurd brand of sketch comedy to be recognized as genius, and 40 years later, it still holds together like a fine can of spam. It's rare for anyone to ever earn themselves an "esque", but to this day, in intelligent conversations around the world, inspired-if-inferior jokes, sketches or animations may be referred to as "Pythonesque." They literally redefined the game.

To celebrate, we're having rare screenings of their last film, but certainly not their least. While on the drawing board, it was tentatively called MONTY PYTHON'S FISH MOVIE, and if you've seen it you understand why that sounds like a reasonable title. If you haven't seen, you're in for good old fashioned mind-blowing.

A return to their Flying Circus roots, MEANING OF LIFE loosely weaves together sketches, each concerned with a various stage of human life- abandoning the long-form narrative of the film's two, better-known older brothers, HOLY GRAIL and LIFE OF BRIAN. The result is a wild, vulgar, hysterical, depraved, inspired beast of a film, which effectively dismantles a long history of traditions and values. The places this film goes, no others ever have or will and shouldn't. It's pure Python and a must-see for anyone who enjoys a good time.

Attain enlightenment here

HALLOWEEN at The Alamo !!!

There is a whole damn lot of Halloween electricity coursing through our veins, and 2009 has somehow exploded as the most Halloween-fueled weekend in Alamo history!

At Alamo South Lamar, Friday kicks off with the opening of the incredible new Satan-powered feature HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, one of the best new American horror films in years/decades. At 10 PM, South Lamar will also be ground zero for OWEN & ZACK'S HALLOWEEN EVE EXTRAVAGANZA, an outrageous celebration of the most underrated horror sequel of the '80s, hosted by Professor of HALLOWEEN 4-ology Owen Egerton and Terror Tuesday goofball Zack Carlson. Expect games, treats, murder and true entertainment.

Saturday at Alamo South Lamar pulls no punches either. Our Free Saturday Morning Kids Club show will be the heartstopper THE WATCHER IN THE WOODS, featuring ghosts, mystery and enough trauma to wipe out a kindergarten. Our most respectable (but still wildly entertaining) Halloween offering will be a screening of the 1929 classic PHANTOM OF THE OPERA with a live score from the Golden Arm Trio's Graham Reynolds! This is an unmissable event pairing one of the finest silent films with one of Austin's most talented musicians. Later that night, we'll be allying with The Highball to present The DANCE OF THE DEAD Zombie Prom, which will have you laughing, screaming and dancing until the sunrise melts the flesh from your bones.

But it's not over yet...the Alamo Ritz downtown will be home to Master Pancake Theater's brutal(ly hilarious) slaughtering of the original A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. After years of vicious assaults, Freddy's about to get a taste of his own medicine from Austin's most venerable yuksters.

At Alamo Village, we're continuing our run of THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS in 3D with our new 4K Digital Projection system!

Plus surprise 2009 horror faves ZOMBIELAND and PARANORMAL ACTIVITY rage onward through the weekend!!

As you can see, Austin is experiencing a proud and glorious time for beasts, creatures, bloodsuckers and maniacs. Join us for the CHAOS!!!

THIS IS IT!!!

Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT!
Opens tonight at the Alamo Ritz!
Advance tickets available here

Michael Jackson takes a final bow in this theatrical concert film featuring rehearsal footage of the late megastar as he practiced for the 100 shows in London that never came to be. HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL's Kenny Ortega handles direction duties as well as choreography chores for the HD-shot film.

We've seen some of this rehearsal footage before, of course, but this film promises to go more in depth and make us all regret the King of Pop's passing even more. I already hate that I can't go see this performance live, but I'm happy that at least we have this film as a final, fitting way to say goodbye. I glove MJ forever!

Get your tickets here

THE DUNGEON MASTERS @ The Ritz

THE DUNGEON MASTERS
Now playing Alamo Ritz
Advance tickets available here

An evil elf is displaced by Hurricane Katrina. A sanitation worker lures friends into a "Sphere of Annihilation." A failed super-villain starts a cable-access show involving ninjas, puppets and a cooking segment.These are the subjects of THE DUNGEON MASTERS.

Against the backdrop of crumbling middle-class America, two men and one woman devote their lives to Dungeons and Dragons, the storied role playing game, and its various descendants. As their baroque fantasies clash with mundane real lives, the characters find it increasingly difficult to allay their fear, loneliness, and disappointment with the game's imaginary triumphs. Soon the true heroic act of each character's real life emerges, and the film follows each as he or she summons the courage to face it. Along the way, THE DUNGEON MASTERS re-imagines the tropes of classic heroic cinema, creating an intimate portrait of minor struggles and triumphs writ large. Official selection of SXSW and Toronto International Film Festival.

Get your tickets here

The Found Footage Festival 2009

The Found Footage Festival 2009!
Sunday @ Alamo South Lamar
Advance tickets available here

The Found Footage Festival is a one-of-a-kind event that showcases footage from videos that were found at garage sales and thrift stores and in warehouses and dumpsters throughout the country. Curators Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher host each screening in-person and provide their unique observations and commentary on these found video obscurities. From the curiously-produced industrial training video to the forsaken home movie donated to Goodwill, the Found Footage Festival resurrects these forgotten treasures and serves them up in a lively celebration of all things found.

For more info, visit foundfootagefest.com

Get your tickets here

THRILLERFEST 2009!

THRILLERFEST 2009
THRILL THE WORLD at Seaholm Power Plant
Saturday, Oct 24, 5pm
Full dance lesson, performance, and Michael Jackson dance party
Tickets just $15, with proceeds benefiting Scare for a Cure and their efforts to support breast cancer recovery
Advance tix available right here




Last year, we had 881 zombies join us on the plaza at the Long Center to help set a World Record for the most people dancing the Thriller choreography at the same time and place. This year, Mexico City took the same place record from us with over 13,000 dancers, but we’re going to help take the same time record back on October 24 when we’ll join dancers all over the world and do the same dance at the same time and bring the planet together in one brief moment of shining Roar Turns.

We’re making this year’s event bigger and more bad ass than last year as well, and instead of just dancing once and then calling it a day, we’re going to have a full-fledged party.

It’s all going down on Saturday, October 24th at Seaholm Power Plant. We’ll have a dance lesson for anyone who hasn’t learned it yet starting at 5pm, we’ll join the world in Thriller at 8pm sharp, and then after that we’ll be using our Rolling Roadshow rig to bring Austin the first outdoor screening of our ever-popular Michael Jackson Sing-Along! It will be a full on dance party with props, lighting, and everything you’ll need to not stop until you get enough.

Now, all of this exciting news does come with a little bit of a catch - last year’s dance event was free, but this year with it being on a Saturday night and all of the added expenses at Seaholm we’re going to have to charge an entry fee. It will be worth every cent, of course, and at $15 it’s only a few dollars more expensive than a general Michael Jackson Sing-Along, but I wanted to let you know that upfront. You can secure your spot at this epic historic moment by purchasing your ticket now at our show page for the event, right here.

There are also several other lessons happening before the big day, because we want to make sure that Austin is the BEST performance in the world. Those lessons are all 100% free, and you can choose to learn at either The Highball (1142 South Lamar Blvd) or BodyBusiness (2700 W Anderson Lane).

The schedule of Thriller dance lessons at The Highball is as follows:
Monday, October 12 - 7pm
Tuesday, October 13 - 7pm
Saturday, October 17 - 2pm
Sunday, October 18 - 2pm
Tuesday, October 20 - 7pm
Wednesday, October 21 - 7pm
Saturday, October 24 - 11am

Feel free to come out to just one lesson or come back to each and every one and keep rehearsing with us. All of the lessons will be absolutely free, but you should expect to have it down after one or two full lessons. Each lesson will last between two to three hours.

You can start learning up north if you join up with the class at BodyBusiness, which is on Anderson Lane facing the Alamo Village across the parking lot. Their schedule is as follows:
October 16th & 23rd @ 5:30pm
October 9th & 23rd @ 10:30am
You don’t need to be a member of the gym to participate, and you can sign up at the front desk or by calling 459-9424.

Once you know the dance, you can come out and rehearse with us at Seaholm on the 24th, then enjoy the full on party! Again, tickets for all this insanity are available now, right here.

Art House Attack!

WE LIVE IN PUBLIC & BEESWAX
Now Playing at Alamo South Lamar!
WE LIVE IN PUBLIC tickets available here
BEESWAX tickets available here

Two incredible films open today at the Alamo South Lamar- two films which, despite unanimous critical praise, will enjoy only a limited theatrical release due to their lack of zombies or a Jolie. So listen up Enjoyers of masterful filmmaking and help spread the word! You will love these movies, plus you'll be doing your part to stave off the inevitable Nationwide pithing from the likes of the TRANSFORMERS prequel and Rob Zombie's THE GODFATHER.

WE LIVE IN PUBLIC
With Director Ondi Timoner live in person for Friday 10/9 and Saturday 10/10 night shows! On the 40th anniversary of the Internet, WE LIVE IN PUBLIC tells the story of the effect the web is having on our society, as seen through the eyes of the "greatest Internet pioneer you've never heard of," visionary Josh Harris. Award-winning director, Ondi Timoner (DIG!), documented his tumultuous life for more than a decade, to create a riveting, cautionary tale of what to expect as the virtual world inevitably takes control of our lives. Read Manohla Dargis' New York Times review.

Tickets available here

BEESWAX
Director Andrew Bujalski will be live in person on Friday evening, October 9, and also at the Sunday 4:15 and 7:05 screenings! Set & filmed in Austin, TX by local director Andrew Bujalski (FUNNY HA HA, MUTUAL APPRECIATION), BEESWAX centers around twin sisters Jeannie & Lauren (played by real life twins Tilly & Maggie Hatcher, luminous in their first starring roles) living/loving/working & struggling with decisions that will shape the rest of their lives. Jeannie runs a vintage clothing store with an increasingly estranged partner, and a brewing confrontation between them sets the story in motion as Jeannie turns to an ex-boyfriend, Merrill (Alex Karpovsky), who is recently graduated from law school and all too eager to try to fix her problems as a way of ignoring his own.

Tickets available here

Action Pack Thursday! BEETLEJUICE QUOTE-ALONG and BEASTIE BOYS RAP-ALONG

Action Pack presents THE BEETLEJUICE QUOTE-ALONG and THE BEASTIE BOYS RAP-ALONG
Thursday, October 8th at 7pm & 9:45pm at the Ritz

Thursdays have always been our haven for movies that we know all the lines to, and songs we know all the words to, and we would like to bring this particular Thursday to your attention. Firstly because we're showing one of my favorite movies of all time: BEETLEJUICE! We'll all be singing DAAAAAAY-O and doing the calypso and putting eyeballs on our fingers and brag about our outrageous sculptures right before we shake, shake, shake señora! Oh god I'm excited just thinking about it!

After that we have the BEASTIE BOYS RAP-ALONG! We've done this show before and you will be AMAZED at how fast those boys can drop bombs! They can't, they won't, and they don't stop so come hang out with us and our favorite Intergalactic Planetarians. We're only doing this one show so don't miss it!

Get tickets to The BEETLEJUICE Quote-Along HERE. Thursday, October 8th at 7:00pm!

Get tickets to the BEASTIE BOYS Rap-Along HERE. Thursday, October 8th at 9:45pm!

Both of these shows are produced and hosted by The Action Pack. Follow us on Twitter @theactionpack and have a chance to win free tickets to future Action Packed shows, tell us about other Sing-Alongs and Quote-Alongs we should put together, and be the first to comment publicly about something stupid we do on stage!

The Beatles' A HARD DAY'S NIGHT

A HARD DAY'S NIGHT
10/6 & 10/7 at the Alamo Ritz

Yes, we've recaught Beatlemania with the release of Beatles Rock Band (AWESOME!) and the remastered album releases (also awesome!) and we want to share this new strain of Beatlesmania with you. We already did this show once last night for our Music Monday series and it completely sold out! We also made it a Big Screen Classics show, though, so that you, dear viewers, do not have to feel sadness for getting to miss the charm and with that is this movie. I HIGHLY recommend that you snatch up some tickets to the show tonight (Tuesday, October 6th) and tomorrow night (Wednesday, October 7th) so that you can join in the fun!

This acting debut by the Fab 4 immortalizes the "innocent" moptop era of the Beatles. Featuring their British invasion pop songs Hard Day's Night, Can't Buy Me Love, and She Loves You, among others, this bubbly little movie also showcases the irreverent and contagious Liverpudlian humor that also defined the group. It's a peek into the crazy whirlwind center of Beatlemania, and will transport you to the slightly ridiculous charm of the early 60's. As if that's not enough, we'll be presenting this rock & roll classic in a gorgeous newly struck print, making the film as flawlessly fun as it was when it first hit screens. A perfect way to celebrate The Beatles' 52nd anniversary!

Get your tickets here!

Drew Barrymore teaches us to WHIP IT!

WHIP IT!
Now Playing at the Alamo Ritz
Advance tickets available here

Directorial debut from Drew Barrymore!

In Bodeen, Texas, indie-rock loving misfit Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) finds a way of dealing with her small-town misery after she discovers a roller derby league in nearby Austin. Yep, this one takes place right here in our home town, and even features a scene at the Alamo Ritz! Not to mention the very tangible link to our favorite sport: ROLLERDERBY. If you're a proud Austinite and you're not planning on seeing this film, you better pack your things and head on outta town by sunset.

Get those tickets here

UNDEAD TILL DAWN: Fantastic Fest's VAMPIRE BALL at the HIGHBALL

The VAMPIRE BALL at the HIGHBALL
Thursday, Oct 1, 10pm
A limited number of tickets are available to the general public, and we've got those on sale for just $5 right here!

The closing night of Fantastic Fest is always a bittersweet moment filled with sighs, tears, and lots and lots of partying. Last year we partied down in a cave to celebrate the Secret Screening of CITY OF EMBERS, but this year we're leaving the dwelling of bats and becoming the more sinister creatures of the night: Vampires!

Join the Fantastic Fest attendees for one last night in The Highball before we shut it down again for a few weeks and plan for our grand opening. We'll have DJs spinning the best of the darkest pop music from the '80s, blood bags for general consumption, and fangs provided for everyone. But don't let those fangs be your only decoration!

We'll also be holding a costume contest in the middle of the party, and as you can see in photos and videos from last year's Vampire Prom, you can't possible take this too seriously. But we don't care if you're the kind of vampire that has perpetual bedhead and sparkles in the sun or you're the kind of vampire with long fingernails and a spooky shadow that glides down the hall - just come out as ANY kind of vampire, and we'll keep the party going well into the night.

Bite me, fangbangers!

FANTASTIC FEST = FANTASTIC CELEBRITY GUESTS!

To say that Fantastic Fest is going to be bigger and better than ever this year is a major understatement. To say that Fantastic Fest is going to blow your god damn mind and you may never recover is probably closer to the truth.

We've packed in so many exciting events to this year's schedule. Some of them are so massive that we had to move them to the Paramount so that we could show festival goers and non-festival goers alike how serious we are about having fun. We are super serious!

These gala screenings are totally free to VIP FF badge holders! They are also free to regular FF badge holders, although admission is not 100% guaranteed (keep in mind, however, that the Paramount is MASSIVE and that most badge holders that want to attend will probably get in - it just sounds weird to say that you're 94.325% guaranteed).

All of these screenings will have very special guests in attendance so if you've never gotten to experience any piece of Fantastic Fest, take this chance! We'll see ya there!

GENTLEMEN BRONCOS with stars Jemaine Clement, Sam Rockwell, Mike White, Michael Angarano and filmmakers Jared & Jerusha Hess LIVE! - Thur, Sept 24, 7pm
Click here for tix

ZOMBIELAND with stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and director Ruben Fleischer LIVE! - Fri, Sept 25, 6:45pm
Click here for tix

THE VAMPIRE’S ASSISTANT with stars John C. Reilly, Josh Hutcherson, Chris Johnson and Chris Massoglia LIVE! - Sat, Sept 26, 6:45pm
Click here for tix

SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD with director George A. Romero, director of photography Adam Swica and editor Michael Doherty LIVE! - Sat, Sept 26, 9:45pm
Click here for tix

Fantastic Fest = Fantastic Celebrity Appearances

GET TICKETS TO THESE SCREENING HERE!

To say that Fantastic Fest is going to be bigger and better than ever this year is a major understatement. To say that Fantastic Fest is going to blow your god damn mind and you may never recover is probably closer to the truth.



We've packed in so many exciting events to this year's schedule. Some of them are so massive that we had to move them to the Paramount so that we could show festival goers and non-festival goers alike how serious we are about having fun. We are super serious!



These gala screenings are totally free to VIP FF badge holders! They are also free to regular FF badge holders, although admission is not 100% guaranteed (keep in mind, however, that the Paramount is MASSIVE and that most badge holders that want to attend will probably get in - it just sounds weird to say that you're 94.325% guaranteed).



All of these screenings will have very special guests in attendance so if you've never gotten to experience any piece of Fantastic Fest, take this chance! We'll see ya there!

GENTLEMEN BRONCOS with stars Jemaine Clement, Sam Rockwell, Mike White and filmmakers Jared & Jerusha Hess LIVE! - Thur, Sept 24, 7pm
Click here for tix

ZOMBIELAND with stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and director Ruben Fleischer LIVE! - Fri, Sept 25, 6:45pm
Click here for tix

THE VAMPIRE’S ASSISTANT with stars John C. Reilly, Josh Hutcherson, Chris Johnson and Chris Massoglia LIVE! - Sat, Sept 26, 6:45pm
Click here for tix

SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD with director George A. Romero, director of photography Adam Swica and editor Michael Doherty LIVE! - Sat, Sept 26, 9:45pm
Click here for tix

Will Gogol Bordello stop? Find out tonight!

GOGOL BORDELLO NON-STOP
Tonight at the Alamo Ritz
Advance tickets available here

"Gogol Bordello is a collective, musically and politically. We create an insane party atmosphere to deliver messages of social and political commentary." –Eugene Hütz.

From New York City's sensational Russo-disco scene to a non-stop touring marathon with his band Gogol Bordello, Eugene Hütz takes us deep into his artistic life and influences. The story unfolds over five years, beginning in 2001, and follows Eugene and Gogol Bordello's progress from underground legend to international phenomenon. Ranging in age from 25 to 50 years old, and hailing from five different countries, Gogol Bordello's members share their tales of immigration, of how they became part of the band, and how they quit their day jobs to go on tour. Through music, the film delivers messages of social and political commentary, and captures Gogol Bordello in the act of performing. But GOGOL BORDELLO also goes beyond music, beyond the political, opening hearts and ears to an artistic revolution in a globalized era.

Get your tickets here

Musical Mania at the RItz!

ACCIDENTAL ARTS ENSEMBLE PRESENTS: TOMMY LIVE!: Sunday 6:45
Buy tix here.
BEATLES ROCK BAND CHAMPIONSHIPS: Sunday 9:45
Buy tix here.

It's a double feature of musical insanity at the Ritz as we start with the Accidental Art Ensemble's Live version of The Who's TOMMY. A couple of years back we showed the movie TOMMY and had Austin's own Accidental Arts Ensemble out to play a few songs beforehand. With all due respect to the Ken Russell film, when it started the energy in the room took a nosedive - because the band destroyed. We've always wanted to have them out to perform the rest of TOMMY. Well, now's the time. This September the AAE will shred on the original and best Rock Opera of all time. No movie, just music. See you there. The Accidental Arts Ensemble consists of current and former members of The Palm School Choir, Lions, the Rockland Eagles, Michael Clay Band, The Polyphonic Spree, Low Line Caller, and more.

Then at 9:45 it's time to play Beatle's Rock Band on the huge screen in front of a crowd as part of the Beatles Rock Band Championships. Bone up on the rules here and get your Fab on tonight!

Top secret! THE INFORMANT opens this weekend at Lamar!

Matt Damon gains 30 pounds to star in the new espionage comedy from Academy Award magnet Steven Soderbergh!
Get your tickets HERE!

What was Mark Whitacre thinking? A rising star at an agri-industry giant, Whitacre (Matt Damon) suddenly turns whistleblower. Even as he exposes his company's multinational price-fixing conspiracy to the FBI, Whitacre envisions himself being hailed as a hero of the common man and handed a promotion. But before all that can happen, the FBI needs evidence, so Whitacre eagerly agrees to wear a wire and carry a hidden tape recorder in his briefcase, imagining himself as a secret agent.

Unfortunately for the FBI, their lead witness hasn't been quite so forthcoming about helping himself to the corporate coffers. Whitacre's ever-changing account frustrates the agents (Scott Bakula and Joel McHale) and threatens the case against ADM as it becomes almost impossible to decipher what is real and what is the product of Whitacre's active imagination.

BUT WAIT...CHECK OUT THESE REVIEWS!:

"A return to form for Soderbergh...he is in full control, and his star is on fire." - The New Yorker

"The pic showcases an excellent performance by a chubbed-out Matt Damon as a Midwestern executive who's so smart he's dumb. " - Todd McCarthy, Variety

Grab these tickets while they're HOT!

No Fantastic Fest Badge? Don't worry - we'll still rock your world off its axis!

Fantastic Fest at the Paramount

GENTLEMEN BRONCOS with stars Jemaine Clement, Sam Rockwell, Mike White and filmmakers Jared & Jerusha Hess LIVE! - Thur, Sept 24, 7pm
Click here for tix

ZOMBIELAND with stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone and director Ruben Fleischer LIVE! - Fri, Sept 25, 6:45pm
Click here for tix

THE VAMPIRE'S ASSISTANT with stars John C. Reilly, Josh Hutcherson, Chris Johnson and Chris Massoglia LIVE! - Sat, Sept 26, 6:45pm
Click here for tix

SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD with director George A. Romero, director of photography Adam Swica and editor Michael Doherty LIVE! - Sat, Sept 26, 9:45pm
Click here for tix

This year at Fantastic Fest we have some giant events. So big, in fact, that we've partnered with the colossal Paramount Theater to bring them to you. That means a whole bunch of tickets are available to folks who don't even have a Fantastic Fest badge. Tickets to star-packed premieres of GENTLEMEN BRONCOS with Jemaine Clement and others, ZOMBIE LAND with Woody Harrelson and others, SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD with George Romero and THE VAMPIRE'S ASSISTANT with John C. Reilly and others are available to YOU. With just the swipe of a credit card you too can be rubbing elbows with the stars and enjoying the films that all your friends will be talking about later. Don't get left out! Be there.

Big Screen Classics: SUPERFLY
Monday and Wednesday at the Alamo Ritz
Advance tickets available here

With a very special guest, crew member and brother of the director David Parks, to share some of his memories of the making of this film.

For years Hollywood gave little thought to black audiences. Theaters in African American neighborhoods mainly played second run action and western films. But when Melvin Van Peebles hit the jackpot with SWEET SWEETBACK'S BAADASSSSS SONG, and particularly when MGM was saved from imminent bankruptcy by SHAFT, producers took notice. SUPERFLY was made by indie producer Sig Shore and director Gordon Parks Jr. Unlike a lot of the blaxploitation product coming from the studios, SUPERFLY worked and truly spoke the language of the streets. A lot of the credit goes to star Ron O'Neal, who really gives it his all as Cadillac-driving, womanizing, fur-coat clad coke dealer Priest. He's determined to get ahead and live the high life even though the cards are stacked against him. Priest's story arc is like a classical tragedy set in the penthouses and back alleys of New York. Like few other soundtracks before or since, Curtis Mayfield's brilliant songs set the tone and provide a kind of funky Greek chorus - a sort of counterpoint to Super Fly's deeds. This is a film you must see with an audience to truly appreciate. Be there.

Get your tickets here

TV at the Alamo: FLASHFORWARD from the future!

TV at the Alamo presents a special sneak preview of ABC's
FLASHFORWARD
Weds, Sept 16, 7pm at the Village
Reserve your seat now with a food and beverage voucher available here!

KVUE, ABC, and the ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE have teamed up to bring Austin a special sneak peek at one of this season's most eagerly anticipated new dramas: FLASHFORWARD! Best of all, this screening will be absolutely free! You can reserve your seat by purchasing a $5 food and beverage voucher through this website and be 100% sure that you're getting in, or just show up at the theater before the show and see if we've got any open seats. However you get there, just make sure you're there. Check out this show description and watch the trailer - this thing looks amazing!

What would you do if you were given a glimpse of the future? Would you accept what you saw and live life to its fullest, or would you do everything in your power to change your destiny? When the world's population is given a glimpse of their future, it forces everyone to come to grips with whether their destinies can be fulfilled or avoided, in ABC's exciting new drama, "FlashForward."

It's just another normal day in Los Angeles. FBI agent Mark Benford (Joseph Fiennes, "Shakespeare in Love") and his partner, Demetri Noh (John Cho, "Star Trek," the "Harold & Kumar" film series), are in the midst of a car chase monitored by their boss, Stanford Wedeck (Courtney B. Vance, "Law & Order: Criminal Intent") and colleague Janis Hawk (Christine Woods); Mark's wife, Dr. Olivia Benford (Sonya Walger, "Lost"), is in the middle of surgery; Dr. Bryce Varley (Zachary Knighton) is weighing a potentially life-ending decision; Mark's friend, Aaron Stark (Brían F. O'Byrne, "The International"), is working high above the ground on power lines; and Nicole (Peyton List) -- baby-sitter to Mark and Olivia's daughter, Charlie -- is in the throes of passion with her boyfriend when suddenly and without warning, every person on Earth blacks out for two minutes and seventeen seconds and sees a series of events from their own future, taking place on April 29, 2010 at 10:00 p.m., Pacific Time. For some the future will be joyous and hopeful; for others, shockingly unexpected; and for a few, it simply doesn't seem to exist.

Everyone in the world will eventually begin chronicling what they saw in their flashforwards on a worldwide website -- the Mosaic Collective -- that will further draw people together. And some of the flashforwards just might help Mark and his colleagues piece together the cause of the blackout.

Knowing their fate will alter each person's life in one way or another and poses the questions: Can destiny be changed? And by changing just one destiny, what effect would that have on those of others?

THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE opens South Lamar!

THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE
Now Playing Alamo South Lamar
Advance tickets available here

VOGUE Czar Anna Wintour has become well-known to millions of readers and movie-goers as the inspiration for the fashion medusa editor-in-chief in THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA. Here's a chance to see the real Miranda Priestly in action. Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

"An eye-opening, highly satisfying romp." - Boston Phoenix

"R.J. Cutler's vibrant and mischievous documentary THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE is only partly a movie about fashion. At its heart, it's really a movie about work, about the ways individuals compete with, grate against and inspire one another in the workplace." - Salon

"Vogue VIP Anna Wintour slinks through this highly entertaining verite documentary like a stoic, sunglasses-bedecked fetish doll." - Time Out New York

Anna Wintour, the legendary editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine for twenty years, is the most powerful and polarizing figure in fashion. Hidden behind her trademark bob and sunglasses, she has never allowed anyone to scrutinize the inner workings of her magazine. Until now.

Every August a record-breaking number of people can't wait to get their hands on the September issue of Vogue. The 2007 issue was and remains the biggest ever, weighing over four pounds, selling thirteen million copies, and impacting the $300-billion global fashion industry more than any other single publication. An intimate, funny and surprising look at Anna Wintour and her team of larger-than-life editors as they create this must-have Bible of fashion, Cutler explores the untouchable glamour of Wintour's Vogue to reveal the extraordinarily passionate people at its heart. He takes us behind the scenes at Fashion Week, to Europe, on shoots and reshoots, and into closed-door staff meetings, bearing witness to an arduous, entertaining, and sometimes emotionally demanding process.

At the eye of this annual fashion hurricane is the two-decade relationship between Wintour and Grace Coddington, incomparable Creative Director and fashion genius. They are perfectly matched for the age-old conflict between creator and curator. Through them, we see close-up the delicate creative chemistry it takes to remain at the top of the ever-changing fashion field.

Roger Ebert's review of THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE

Get your tickets here

I WANNA ROCK!

The Action Pack presents
THE MONSTER ROCK SING-ALONG
The Best 80s Hair Metal, guaranteed to make your fist pump and your head bang!
Thursdays Sept 10 & 17 at the Alamo Ritz
Advance tickets available right here!

We celebrate hair metal every February in our annual LOVE BITES Power Ballad Sing- Alongs, but sometimes you want to do more than slow dance. Sometimes, you want to ROCK. And this month, that's exactly what we're effing gonna do. We're not gonna take it anymore, because god gave rock and roll to us and now we're going to shake you all night long.

So yeah, we've got the big hair and bigger make up of Twisted Sister and KISS. We've got the spandex of Van Halen and Poison. And we'll bring back more favorites from the Love Bites show, too, because "November Rain" isn't the only song by Guns 'N Roses. Oh, and AC/DC. Lots and lots of AC/DC.

But hey, if rock isn't for you, that's cool, too. Follow @theactionpack on Twitter and send us your ideas for future action packed shows!

aGLIFF Is On!

Austin Gay & Lesbian International Film Fest
Sept 8-13th
Tickets and Schedule Here

The Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival (aGLIFF) cultivates the Central Texas lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) film and arts community through the exhibition and support of the best in recent LGBTQI international, national, and regional films. aGLIFF is the oldest and largest festival of its kind in the Southwest, and seeks to educate the community, promote the best films, and create positive images regarding LGBTQI people. The festival showcases features and shorts, mainstream and avant-garde. Symposia and panels explore current political and social trends. Special shorts programs focus on issues faced by LGBTQI youth, immigration of LGBTQI people, gender identity and expression, adoption, marriage, military service, religion, racial identity, cultural issues, and hate crimes against LGBTQI-identified people.

Tickets to most shows can be purchased at the door. See agliff.org for full schedule.

DADLABS with Owen Egerton and friends: Tonight!

DADLABS
Monday Night, Ritz 7:15
Buy tickets here.

With $1,000 in special Giveaways from Baby Bjorn!

This Labor Day celebrate the ones who never go through Labor… Dads! Join the four dads of Dadlabs.com (Brad Powell, Clay Nichols, Troy Lanier and Owen Egerton) as they present their award winning, side-splitting, occasionally insightful videos on being a father in the 21st century. The night will also include live interaction including the Male Breast Pump Challenge! Wikipooia! And Favorite Fathering Drinking Games! Dadlabs.com broadcasts irreverent advice and entertainment to fathers and has garnered a growing national following. With videos featuring Kevin Nealon, Sara Hickman, a slew of Austin’s best comics and, of course, the four dads, you’ll learn about breastfeeding, foreskins, inappropriate playground interaction, pregnant men and all the joy of being a dad, having a dad or knowing someone who has a dad!

Be the first in line to enjoy the hilarious insight of these bold impregnators.

Click here for a brief instructional video. Warning: male breast pump footage may be disturbing to sensitive viewers.

Mike Judge's EXTRACT now playing at the Ritz!

Mike Judge's EXTRACT
Midnight Premiere at the Alamo Ritz
Advance tickets available here

"Where IDIOCRACY held up a grotesque mirror to American mass culture and politics, EXTRACT seems to be designed to give capitalism a human face."
J. Hoberman, The Village Voice

Mike Judge, Austin's most hilarious filmmaker, returns to the screen for more working man's hijinks! If you liked OFFICE SPACE. You'll love EXTRACT.

The owner of a flower-extract plant (Jason Bateman), tries to contend with myriad personal and professional problems, such as his potentially unfaithful wife (Kristen Wiig), an attractive new temp (Mila Kunis) and employees who want to take advantage of him. Judge is back in his element: championing the failures of the blue-collar world.

MYSTERY TEAM now playing!

Derrick Comedy's MYSTERY TEAM
Now playing at the Alamo Ritz
Advance tickets available here

"MYSTERY TEAM is incredibly well written... It's funnier and more original than 99% of the comedies Hollywood releases now-a-days. At very least, the film will develop a cult following. But I have a feeling that Derrick Comedy is on the edge of becoming huge."
- Peter Sciretta, Slashfilm.com

"I thought that the Derrick Comedy team's short film background would lead to a movie that was lacking cohesion and just a series of sketches, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. Watching this movie I couldn't help but think that I was seeing the future of film comedy stretching its legs and warming up."
- Devin Faraci, CHUD.com

"...with MYSTERY TEAM, these boys hit one way out of the ballpark, producing not only the funniest comedy I've seen at (Sundance) so far, but one that definitely has the potential to stand toe-to-toe with the finer comedies of 2008 and the most hyped of 2009."
- Erik Davis, Cinematical.com

On the surface, this throwback to Encyclopedia Brown seems a little too innocent to merit an R rating, but then you watch about five more minutes. It's R alright, in the best way imaginable. And it's the innocence of the three lovable members of the Mystery Team that makes the film so goddamn'd good. Still living on the fumes of their 7th grade detective glory, these now-mature man-childs embark on their first real case, to track down a murderer.

Get your tickets here

Die in 3 Dimensions TONIGHT!

THE FINAL DESTINATION in 3D!!!!
Premieres Midnight at the Alamo Village TONIGHT!
Advance tickets available here

Once, every few decades or so, a film comes along that challenges our ideas of the cinema experience- CITIZEN KANE then GODFATHER and now THE FINAL DESTINATION...in 3D! We've been raving lunatics about the FD franchise, but this 4th (and final) installment looks to be the most raging, rampaging, wrath-fueled dollop of cool-whip on one delicious death pie. And we can't wait to take a bite.

If you want to be the first to experience this eye-hammer eviscerate your brain-guts in glorious 3D, then go to the Alamo Village tonight! We've even got some free Tee Shirts we're giving away as a reward to the truly blood-thirsty.

Yep, the Grim Reaper is back in action, this time to pull some outrageously complex life-snuffing antics in 4K DIGITAL PROJECTION!!! Just Make sure to turn off the oven before you leave the theater.

On what should have been a fun-filled day at the races, Nick O'Bannon has a horrific premonition in which a bizarre sequence of events causes multiple race cars to crash, sending flaming debris into the stands, brutally killing his friends and causing the upper deck of the stands to collapse on him. When he comes out of this grisly nightmare Nick panics, persuading his girlfriend, Lori, and their friends, Janet and Hunt, to leave...escaping seconds before Nick's frightening vision becomes a terrible reality. Thinking they've cheated death, the group has a new lease on life, but unfortunately for Nick and Lori, it is only the beginning. As his premonitions continue and the crash survivors begin to die one-by-one -- in increasingly gruesome ways -- Nick must figure out how to cheat death once and for all before he, too, reaches his final destination. The film marks the latest in the highly popular Final Destination series, and its first 3D installment, giving horror fans an especially visceral thrill ride.

Get you tickets here already

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS is "top shelf Tarantino."

Now playing at the Alamo Ritz and Village
Ritz Tickets Here
Village Tickets Here

As you may have heard - INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS is a hell of a lot of fun. We're so used to turning off our brains and enjoying big loud summer movies that it's nice to leave our brains on for once. Hyper-stylish, incredibly violent and funny in the truest Tarantino sense, INGLORIOUS BASTERDS will have you walking down the street cheering afterwards.

"May be the most fun you'll have at the movies this summer. - Lou Lemenick, NY Post

"A fairy tale about the infinite power of film, it boasts all [Tarantino's] swaggering trademarks: rapid-fire dialogue, gleeful violence, endless cultural references. But it's the sharp-eyed deliberation that makes the greatest impact." - Elizabeth Weitzman - NY Daily News

"Energetic, inventive, swaggering fun, a consummate Hollywood entertainment -- rich in fantasy and blithely amoral." - J. Hoberman, Village Voice

"Once upon a time...in nazi-occupied France," Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent) witnesses the execution of her family at the hand of Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). Shosanna narrowly escapes and flees to Paris, where she forges a new identity as the owner and operator of a cinema.

Elsewhere in Europe, Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) organizes a group of Jewish soldiers to engage in targeted acts of retribution. Known to their enemy as "The Basterds," Raine's killing-squad joins forces with German actress and undercover agent Bridget Von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) on a mission to take down the leaders of The Third Reich. Fates converge under a cinema marquee, where Shosanna is poised to carry out a revenge plan of her own.

This is movie maniac Tarantino's ten-years-in-the-making tribute to Italian director Enzo Castellari's INGLORIOUS BASTARDS, and looks to serve up all possible goods in the name of violent, macho warfare, with Brad Pitt in the swastika-hatin' lead. Yo, Hitler...SIT ON IT!!!

Tonight! Bobcat Goldthwait Live in Person!! Tickets still available!

WORLD'S GREATEST DAD w/ Bobcat Goldthwait Live!
Tonight at Alamo South Lamar!
Get your tickets here

"A truly strange comedy that actually has a message hidden beneath its colorfully tacky exterior. Admirably twisted, too."
Scott Weinberg, Cinematical

"Goldthwait wrings tender humanity from disturbing premises, but his scandalously entertaining new satire proves a darker, funnier success."
Aaron Hills, the Village Voice"

A story about a man that learns the things you want most may not be the things that make you happy, and that being lonely is not necessarily the same as being alone.

Robin Williams stars as Lance Clayton, a man who has learned to settle. He dreamed of being a rich and famous writer, but has only managed to make it as a high school poetry teacher. His only son Kyle (Daryl Sabara) is an insufferable jackass who won't give his father the time of day. He is dating Claire (Alexie Gilmore), the school's adorable art teacher, but she doesn't want to get serious -- or even acknowledge publicly that they are dating.

Then, in the wake of a freak accident, Lance suffers the worst tragedy and greatest opportunity of his life. He is suddenly faced with the possibility of all the fame, fortune and popularity he ever dreamed of, if he can only live with the knowledge of how he got there.

Spinal Tap's VIV SAVAGE Live in Person!

THIS IS SPINAL TAP Quote-Along
featuring keyboardist VIV SAVAGE live in person!
Thursday, Aug 20, 7pm at the Ritz
Advance tix available here!

We've had two weeks of SPINAL TAP Quote-Alongs already, and both of those shows were awesome. People rocked out with their inflatable guitars and did air solos along with Nigel's raging guitar/violin/whatever-else-is-nearby solos on screen. We turned it up to 11 with both our quoting and singing along with the action on screen, and we had more cushion for the pushin for sure.

But all of that pales into comparison to the pure amounts of good times we'll have all the time this Thursday night. This Thursday night, practically out of the ether itself, the most bad ass keyboard rocker, one with TWO HANDS, will be joining us live in person to sign photos, answer questions, and talk about his life on the road with the Loudest Band in the World. That's right Viv Savage, the Tap's original keyboard player, is flying all the way to Austin, TX for one super special final night of the THIS IS SPINAL TAP Quote-Along.

If you miss this, you may as well just sew the sleeves back onto your T-shirt and turn your amp down to zero. (Henri Mazza)