A Samurai Film Destined to Become a Classic

Take Up Your Sword:
13 ASSASSINS
Starts Friday 4/29 @Ritz
Advance tickets available here

Cult director Takashi Miike delivers a bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.

Get your tickets for this great show now.

Zzang!!! THE DARK CRYSTAL in 35mm this Sunday!

Zzang!!!:
THE DARK CRYSTAL
Sunday 4/24, 7:00 @Ritz
Advance tickets available here

Before computers took over the universe, longtime collaborators (and Muppet-makers) Henson and Oz rolled up their sleeves and created the most beautiful otherworldly film to ever zoom across an '80s audience's eyeballs.

In an unnamed land, a pair of young, elf-like Gelflings must battle the evil Skeksis to bring their world back to the power it once held. Though this may sound like fantasy silliness, the sheer power and ingenuity of THE DARK CRYSTAL is unmatched. It's a pure-hearted, imagination-powered journey into unexplored ideas, with the most memorable characters this side of another dimension. From the graceful Land-Striders to the looming crab-like Garthim to that wily, one-eyed heroic priestess Aulghra, the colorful creatures create an entirely unique experience at the movies. There really hasn't been another movie like it, and it holds up better than any other fantasy film of the last 50 years!

If you watch only one thing during your time on this planet, make it THE DARK CRYSTAL. In fact, I hereby declare it waaaaay better than stupid old STAR WARS.

That's right. I said it.

Get your tickets for this great show now!

The Ultimate Bicycle Movie

MS 150 Fundraising Film & Feast:
BICYCLE THIEVES
Saturday 4/23, 8:00 @Ritz
Advance tickets available here

MS150, the branch of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society that challenges riders to bicycle from Houston to Austin to raise money and awareness for MS, is holding a fundraising screening of the most celebrated bicycle film, Vittorio De Sica's BICYCLE THIEVES.

On the lawn of Tim & Karrie League's home, on what is surely to be a beautiful April evening (it's Texas, after all), join your fellow bikers for a journey through this neo-realist classic about a poor man whose future is threatened by the simple act of a bicycle theft.

On hand will be Chief Executive Chef John Bullington, who has prepared a feast of Italian cuisine and will be pairing wines to go with it. Check out the menu:

Primo - Pasta Puttanesca with Seared Scallop

Insalata - Boggy Creek Giardiniera and Greens Salad

Secondo e Contorno - Richardson's Farms Ribeye Milanese with Baby Artichoke and Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Dulce - Grilled Strawberries With Ravioli Di Ricotta And Zabaglione

Support a good cause! For more info, visit ms150.org.

Get your tickets for this great show now!

PAN'S LABYRINTH at the Ritz!

A Lonely Girl Creates A Vivid World in:
PAN'S LABYRINTH
Tuesday 4/19 and Wednesday 4/20 @Ritz
Advance tickets available here

Guillermo del Toro's masterwork is a fanciful and chilling story set against the backdrop of a fascist regime in 1944 rural Spain. The film centers on Ofelia, a lonely and dreamy child living with her mother and adoptive father, a military officer tasked with ridding the area of rebels.

In her loneliness, Ofelia creates a world filled with fantastical creatures and secret destinies. With post-war repression at its height, Ofelia must come to terms with her world through a fable of her own creation.

Get your tickets for this great show now.

Cinema Club Presents RED RIVER with UT Prof Don Graham

The Cinema Club and Don Graham Present:
RED RIVER
Sunday 4/17, 7:00 @Ritz
Advance tickets available here

Next Sunday April 17, join us at the Ritz for a true Texas classic, Howard Hawks’ RED RIVER, on the glorious big screen. After the movie, we’ll talk about the film’s history and meaning with our special guest, Don Graham. If you happened to catch our Texas Show a few years back with Don and Joe Bob Briggs, you know you’re in for an informative and fun evening.

Cinema Club is an interactive series that highlights the appreciation and discussion of classic films from cinema history. At each screening a prominent expert will introduce an essential film classic. Following the film, the speaker and members of our programming team will lead a discussion of the film, offering insight into the film’s production, history, and artistic qualities. This month our guest will be Don Graham, University Of Texas Professor of English and author of “Cowboys And Cadillacs: How Hollywood Looks At Texas” and the new book “State Of Minds: Texas Culture and Its Discontents”, which will be available for sale after the show.

Though RED RIVER was Howard Hawks’ first western, it rides easy in the saddle as one of the great American classics. No less an eminence than John Ford, when erroneously credited with RED RIVER by a fan, responded, “Thank you very much.” As a drama it has real heft, the scale is as vast as the cattle country and the conflict between father (John Wayne, never better) and adopted son (Montgomery Clift) is primal. Along the way there is also lightness and humor (which thankfully is not so Fordian) as well as the most beautiful and iconic cattle drive scenery ever captured.

Get your tickets for this great show now!

Off-Centered Film Fest: STRANGE BREW Beer Party!

Off Center Film Fest Kicks Off With:
STRANGE BREW
Thursday 4/14, 7:00 @Ritz
Advance tickets available here

Join us downtown for a special outdoor Rolling Roadshow screening of STRANGE BREW! We’re taking over Republic Square Park, inflating the giant screen and inviting some of our favorite local breweries to serve up their most badass beers right alongside Dogfish Head.

At this amazing, gigantic beer event, we'll be serving beers from: (512) Brewing Company, Circle Brewing Company, Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales, Independence Brewing Company, Jester King Craft Brewery, Live Oak Brewing Company, Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling, Real Ale Brewing, and Thirsty Planet Brewing.

So, while Bob & Doug McKenzie are chugging LaBatts on screen and wolfing down jelly donuts, you’ll be able to partake in the best possible beers Central Texas has to offer and enjoy the best possible Canadian food specials the Alamo can whip up. After the screening, the owners and brewers from our booming hometown scene will participate in a dynamic discussion with Dogfish Head founder, head brewer and boundary pusher Sam Calagione.

Get your tickets for this great show now! Only $5!

Harry Shearer Comes to South Lamar

Film & TV Legend Legend Harry Shearer Presents:
THE BIG UNEASY
THIS IS SPINAL TAP
Thursday 4/14, 7pm and 10pm @Lamar

When you think Harry Shearer you immediately think of his voice, deep, resonant and authoritative on his NPR program Le Show and shockingly varied in his voice-work on the Simpsons (he voices Mr. Burns, Smithers, Principal Skinner, the Reverend Lovejoy, Dr. Hibbert, and many more characters). It’s a fine instrument and he knows when and how to use it.

With his newest film THE BIG UNEASY, he is using that voice to tell a true story. The catastrophic 2005 flooding of his beloved New Orleans was preventable. The system of levees designed by the Army Corps Of Engineers was badly flawed, and many knew about it. Other disasters are waiting to happen due to the same faulty designs in other cities. Worst of all, the new system created to replace the one that failed colossally in New Orleans incorporates many of the failings of the earlier model.

In THE BIG UNEASY, Shearer conducts his own investigation of where they system went wrong, and why it continues to go wrong. He speaks with the investigators, first responders and whistleblowers who know the story best. This is (literally) muckraking in the cause of good.

Check out these great shows! THE BIG UNEASY and
THIS IS SPINAL TAP. All with Harry Shearer Live!