AUSTIN AIR GUITAR 2008...get ready to SHRED!!!

Now with a $100 cash prize for the thrillingest shredder!!!

Compete in (or just sit back and revel in) the Austin Air Guitar Championships, Tuesday, Jan 29 at the Ritz, 9:45 PM. Contestants choose a track with hot licks, crank on the fog machine, grab their air-axes and ROCK OUT! Fabulous prizes, a trophy with an actual air guitar on the top and the green light with flocks of air-guitar groupies are yours if you win.

Details on the contest can be found here or check out the Austin Air Guitar Facebook Group.

AUSTIN AIR GUITAR PRELIMINARY ROUNDS ARE HELD ON THE LAST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH AT THE ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE CINEMA AT THE RITZ FROM JANUARY - MAY.

The top three winners of each of the Austin Air Guitar preliminary rounds will be eligible to compete in the Austin Air Guitar finals (date TBA). The winner of the Austin finals will be flown to New York for the U.S. Finals. The winner of the U.S. Finals will be flown to Finland in June to represent America in the 2006 World Finals.

An amazing spectacle for both performers and spectators alike, Air Guitar has reigned supreme at the Alamo Drafthouse since 2005. We are looking for the next air guitar savant who will represent Austin on the world stage and finaly make our town the "Air Music Capitol of the World."

The 2008 Austin Air Guitar Final Round will be posted as soon as details are announced.

It's free to compete, plus as an added bonus, each competitor will get 4 free tickets to the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. If you want to compete, bring a CD of your 60 second performance track to the Alamo Drafthouse on the night of the show or you can email it in advance to brad@originalalamo.com.

Each competitor has 60 seconds to perform air guitar to a song they either choose before the competition or bring with them. Contestants are judged on the 4.0-6.0 figure skating scale. Costumes are highly recommended as is a little practicing in the mirror, although we have had many amazing walk-up competitors over the years.

Before the show, we'll have ROCK BAND set up for a pre-air guitar jam session. After the show, join us for the jackalope for the after-party featuring $1 "remember the Alamo" shot specials.




The 2008 Austin Air Guitar Championships are sponsored by




Austin American Statesman article on Austin Air Guitar (with instructional video!)


Austin Air Guitar Facebook Group

AIR GUITAR USA WEBPAGE

AIR HALEN: THE STATE OF AMERICAN AIR GUITAR

BBC Article on Air Guitar Phenomenon

THERE WILL BE BLOOD

"THERE WILL BE BLOOD is Anderson's CITIZEN KANE."
Scott Foundas - LA WEEKLY

"Intelligent, audacious and intense, with images that will linger in your mind long after you've left the theater."
Stephen Pizello - American Cinematographer

"A monumental display of evolution for director Paul Thomas Anderson."
Scott Weinberg - CINEMATICAL.COM

"An American Primitive, Forged in a Crucible of Blood and Oil."
Manohla Dargis - The New York Times

The critics have spoken, and god damn if THERE WILL BE BLOOD doesn't turn out to be THE movie of the year, and from what we hear, Daniel Day-Lewis is a lock for every award that's ever been invented.

And when you're going to see the best movie of the year, why see it anywhere else but the best movie theater in the world? THERE WILL BE BLOOD opens with Thursday midnight screenings on January 17 at the Alamo Ritz Theatre. Tickets are available now - grab yours and don't miss out!

The REAL GENIUS Quote-Along

When we do a Quote-Along at the Alamo Ritz, we're not happy with just saying, "Hey, here's a movie. Let's all yell out our favorite lines!" We want to do more, and we want to try to one-up ourselves each and every time. And so that's how we got to the point we're at this week, where way too much of our valuable work hours have been consumed with trying to figure out how to get the maximum amount of popcorn to explode from the sky during the finale scene in REAL GENIUS when popcorn is destroying Jerry Hathaway's house. Check out our first attempt in this video blog:



Since the filming of that video, we've come up with several other methods that should be much more of a spectacle, but you'll have to come out to one of the REAL GENIUS QUOTE-ALONG parties this month at the Ritz to see how it all comes out. We're giving away free lasers and rainbow glasses and having naked Jell-O eating contests before each movie, too, so even unless you're allergic to popcorn or fun, you should come out this Thursday or next week and get your geek on. Grab tickets here, and we'll see you at the show.

See the most controversial film of the year starting Friday at the Alamo Ritz!

REDACTED, the newest film from master director Brian De Palma (SCARFACE, CARRIE, FEMME FATALE) has been a pretty hard film to see, largely due to picketing campaign led by Bill O'Reilly. O'Reilly and company are upset about the behavior of American soldiers depicted in the Iraq war film. We wouldn't recommend REDACTED for everyone - it's pretty strong stuff, the language and situations contained in the film are not toned down for family audiences - but we don't want Bill O'Reilly or anyone else telling us what we can or cannot show. It's Un-American. So if you are interested in seeing the film that has drawn the most fire and some of the best reviews of the year, see REDACTED at the Alamo Ritz, this week only.


What they're saying about REDACTED:

"AN AMAZINGLY VIGOROUS WORK AND De PALMA's STRONGEST CINEMATIC STATEMENT SINCE 'CASUALTIES OF WAR'." - Richard Corliss, Time

"ANGRY. POWERFUL. INCENDIARY." - David Ansen, Newsweek

"THE MOVIE EVERYONE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT. I hope that it makes people livid, that it's furiously debated. De Palma makes me proud to be an American." - David Edelstein, New York Magazine

"THE ONLY IRAQ FILM I WOULD RANK ALONGSIDE 'NO END IN SIGHT' IN THE CATEGORY OF ESSENTIAL VIEWING." - Scott Foundas, LA Weekly

"De Palma's anger and frustration with the media course through 'Redacted' like an electrical current." - Stephanie Zacharek, Salon

"A SENSATIONAL FILM. De Palma's filmmaking skills have seldom been as razor sharp." - Ray Bennett, Hollywood Reporter

HIGH for the HOLIDAYS

The holidays are in full swing, and so is the annual HIGH FOR THE HOLIDAYS festival at the Alamo Ritz Theatre. We've brought back a lot of last year's favorites, including HAROLD & KUMAR GO TO WHITE CASTLE featuring all-you-can-eat White Castle-style burgers, DARK SIDE OF THE RAINBOW, the classic pairing of Pink Floyd and the Wizard of Oz, and BEERFEST featuring live Beerlympics before the movie. But the runaway new hit premiere of the season is undoubtedly (GOOD) FRIDAY.



(GOOD)FRIDAY does what USA's Up All Night was always too scared to even try - we've taken the most profanity-laced film of all time and redubbed the audio so that all the bad words and drug references are gone. In their place we've added the most family-friendly white guy voice you've ever had the pleasure of hearing. Now, changing the dialogue from original lines like, "I don't give a f*ck" to the new, friendlier, "I don't really mind either way!" will, from time to time, change the entire meaning of the scene. But that's exactly what makes this new version of FRIDAY even funnier than the original. So grab a 40 oz of milk and head down to the Alamo Ritz this holiday season.

Sweeney Todd meat pies!

This weekend we've got a ton of great movies opening: JUNO at South Lamar will blow minds. Plus, we can't wait to see WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY and CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR at Village. But the food/movie pair-up of the season is SWEENEY TODD at South Lamar.



Johnny Depp plays a murdering barber who grinds up his victims and makes meat pies out of them! So of course we've got a phenomenal selection of meat pies for you to eat while enjoying the film.

Here's what John Bullington has pulled out of his giant chef hat for the occasion:

Hare Pie
Roasted rabbit with carrots, parsnips, potatoes and celery root in a rich baked into a rosemary crust 10.99

Shepherds Pie
Ground Thunderheart Bison with wild mushrooms topped with mashed yukon gold potatoes and Gloucester cheese. The Bison is all natural and grassfed, so tasty and so good for you! 9.99

Duck Pie
Confit of Duck with fennel, quince, leeks and turnips in a thyme cabernet sauce baked in a peppercorn crust 10.99

And for Dessert:

Blood Orange Pie 9.99
Chocolate Pecan Crust filled with a tangy blood orange filling and topped with honeyed mascarpone.

All savory pies served with fresh greens and white balsamic vinaigrette.

And here's what the critics are saying about SWEENEY TODD:

"Scary, monstrously funny and melodically thrilling. And Depp is simply stupendous." - Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

"The performances are pitched at just the right scale: theatrically exaggerated but untainted by "Broadway" bombast. Who knew Burton would have such an uncanny feel for how to film a musical?" - David Ansen, Newsweek

Now Playing at Lamar - WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY?

Ah, the season of Jesus, and also the season of shopping. It's the perfect time to check out award-winning doc and SXSW fave WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY. Follow Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse (the end of humankind from consumerism, over-consumption and the fires of eternal debt)!

As a special bonus, director Rob VanAlkemade will be live in person to introduce the shows on Saturday and Sunday nights!

Take heed brothers and sisters! The shopacalypse is upon us! America is fat with greed and addicted to shopping. Luckily, Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir are here to save our souls from overspending!

In the weeks leading to Christmas, Reverend Billy and the Choir board a bus headed from advertising-thick Times Square through the heartland’s shopping malls to the commercial mecca—Disneyland. Part performance art, part spendthrift evangelism, they cross the US singing and preaching to spend gently. With the average American holding about $8,500 in credit card debt, his work is overdue.

Reverend Billy is serious in his message. He doesn’t preach the impossible task of never buying again, but encourages us to be mindful of where our dollars go. We visit a Main Street men’s clothing store struggling for customers against the Wal-Mart up the road and a line of Christmas shoppers waiting to buy an Xbox 360 lest they feel the wrath of their consumption-addicted children.

Billy and the choir go caroling to incite ‘change-a-lujah!’ along front porches in gated community and from church pulpits. They’re making trouble, evading Mall of America security, and just like the rest of us, they’re fighting the urge to buy for the sake of spending. By the time they get to Disneyland, you may find yourself converted, ready to buy American and swear-off big box stores in favor of your local merchants.

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