THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE WEIRD :: Opens 4/30 S. Lamar!

Fantastic Fest 2008 Favorite
THE GOOD, THE BAD, & THE WEIRD
Opens Friday, April 30th at S. Lamar
Get tickets now HERE!

We of course think it’s every movie-lovers’ duty to check it out on the big screen, but if you don’t trust us as a reliable source, check out what some of the critics have been saying…

“A FULL THROTTLE THRILL RIDE.” V.A. Musetto, New York Post

“CRITICS PICK! Has an eye-popping energy all its own.” Bilge Ebiri, New York Magazine

“****! Unadulterated guns-and-guts fun!” David Fear, Time Out New York

“RIDICULOUS FUN…A MUST SEE. Make the effort. You’ll be glad you did.” Anton Sirius, AINT IT COOL NEWS

“Like John Wayne and Quentin Tarantino’s love child, “The Good, The Bad, The Weird” is pulpy, schlocky fun—a violent neo-Western that’s less interested in verisimilitude than it is in making sure you have a wickedly bang-up time.” Alexis Loinaz, The Chicago Tribune

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE WEIRD, at face value, is a Korean remake of THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY. However, updated with eye-popping colors, fast-paced editing, explosive action and a slightly different twist on the story, it stands on its own two feet quite nicely.

Set in 1930’s Manchuria, the intricate plot pits three outlaws against the entire Japanese army and a mob of Russian gangsters in a race to find the “treasure” that will define the outcome of the Sino-Japanese war. (The story is complex; expect to read lots of complaints that it makes no sense, but trust me, it’s all there.) Jung Woo Sung is “The Good”. While not quite as iconic as the unforgettable Clint Eastwood, he is nonetheless handsome as hell and unflappably suave. He stands for the Korean resistance, determined to use every weapon at his disposal against the Japanese invaders. Lee Byung Hun is “The Bad”. More widely known from JSA, A BITTERSWEET LIFE and HERO, he’s as bad as villains come and also icy smooth. Employed by a treacherous warlord to waylay the treasure, he has no intention of sharing any of the profit with his employer.

The stand-out is Song Kang Ho, who won my heart irrevocably in THE HOST and is also well known from JSA, SYMPATHY FOR MR VENGEANCE, MEMORIES OF MURDER and LADY VENGEANCE. His turn as “The Weird”, for my money, outstrips Eli Wallach’s Tuco for sheer fun quotient and is a stellar three-dimensional performance that provides most of the buoyancy of the film that sustains the 2-hour plus run time. Apparently just a solo bandit out making a living, he stumbles across the prize and fights off all comers to hold on to it.

Last but not least, the desert filming location is a major star. This is a fantastic Wild West location, with an Asian flair. Magnificent scenery and set pieces are beautifully shot and squeezed for every ounce of spectacle. (Karrie League)

Starts Friday, April 30, at Alamo South Lamar. Get your tickets here.

Get your eyeballs scorched by AMERICAN ARTIFACT at The Ritz!

AIGA AUSTIN presents
AMERICAN ARTIFACT: The Rise of American Rock Poster Art
Wed, Apr 28 at Ritz!

Director Merle Becker crosses the country interviewing rock poster artists from the different eras to discover that America is currently in the midst of a 21st century "rock poster art movement", where thousands of artists around the country are doing silk screened rock poster art inspired by their local scene, the music of our time, and the spirit of our era.

The film explores the history / rise of the current rock poster movement in America, and features a cast of quirky / interesting, and extremely talented rock poster artists, talking about their work, and telling the story of their underground art movement. The art, both beautiful and edgy, closely parallels the changes in American culture throughout the decades.

FEATURING: Stanley Mouse, Frank Kozik, Art Chantry, EMEK, COOP, Derek Hess, Mark Arminski, Tara McPherson, Justin Hampton, Victor Moscoso, Jermaine Rogers, Jay Ryan, Chuck Sperry, Ron Donovan, Lindsey Kuhn, Leia Bell, Jim Pollock, Randy Tuten, Jim Sherraden & Hatch Show Print, Scrojo, Winston Smith, Print Mafia, Paul Imagine, Kevin Bradley, Julie Belcher, Jeff Wood, Steve Walters, Mat Daly, Stainboy, David Singer, Dennis Loren, Mike Martin, Gary Grimshaw and Chris Shaw.

Tickets are HERE!

TOSCA STRING QUARTET Live tonight w/ special guest Rostam Batmanglij!

THE TOSCA STRING QUARTET Live!
Tonight at the Alamo Ritz
Advance ticket available here

These very special concerts will feature Rostam Batmanglij, of Vampire Weekend as guest composer and performer!

Tosca String Quartet, Austin's premier classical crossover ensemble, performs it's annual concert of new commissions presented by Golden Hornet Project and curated by its co-artistic directors Graham Reynolds and Peter Stopschinski. Last year's show won the "Best Chamber Music Concert" award from The Austin Critics Table. In addition to world premiers from Reynolds and Stopschinski, this year will feature new commissions from composers Will Taylor of Strings Attached, Sam Arnold of Opposite Day, and Christopher Cox. We will also present a world premiere and two other pieces by Vampire Weekend's Rostam Batmanglij, who will be in attendance to perform with Tosca.

With special onscreen video design by Lee Webster.

These concerts are presented in partnership with The FuseBox Festival.

Only a few tickets left- get 'em now!

Let off some steam, Bennett!

Action Pack Theatre presents
COMMANDO
with live explosions and cap guns for everyone!
Sundays April 25 and May 2 at the Alamo Ritz
Advance tickets available right here

If there's a mission that no man could survive...then John Matrix is the man for the job. The retired elite commando is enjoying his time off with his daughter in the mountains of northern KahLeeFornia when he catches wind that someone is killing off all of his former squad mates. When a supposedly dead, former elite, dishonorably discharged commando partner, Bennett, kidnaps Matrix's daughter in an attempt to blackmail him into one last job--to overthrow a democracy and reinstate a Marxist dictator--John Matrix's response is shooting Bennett's henchman and chasing him down.

Somewhere... somehow... someone's going to pay. What soon follows is a barrage of non stop gun fights, fisticuffs, and explosions.

And if you know The Action Pack, you know that's a perfect recipe for Action Pack Theatre, where we will be packing the flame torches and the pyro cannons readying to blow things up on cue!
(Greg MacLennan)

Let it shine: SUNRISE with MY EDUCATION live!

SUNRISE w/ Live Score by MY EDUCATION
Sunday night at the Ritz
Advance tickets available here

SUNRISE, directed by German expressionist extraordinaire F.W. Murnau (NOSFERATU, FAUST), is one of the greatest silent films in the medium's rich history. It ranks with Dreyer's THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, Robert Weine's THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, Lang's METROPOLIS, Chaplin's CITY LIGHTS, and a small handful of other great masterpieces of visual cinema.

This stunning film tells the story of a philandering man who wants to murder his wife and make a run for it with his lover. But this fairy tale takes a turn for the fantastic when he has a change of heart and they embark on a second honeymoon of dazzling sights, visiting a great metropolis and partying at one of the wildest carnivals ever caught on film.

Murnau is remembered as one of our finest filmmakers because of his unique and imaginative visual style. The gorgeous visuals will be paired with the haunting and calamitous music of My Education. The band has been touring across the country with their original score for SUNRISE for the past two years, perfecting one of the most impressive silent film accompaniments of our time.

You are a fool if you miss this, which is sure to be the greatest silent film event of the weekend.

Get your tickets for this great show now

The most fun you'll have at a doc! BEST WORST MOVIE opens at Lamar this Fri!

BEST WORST MOVIE
Opens Fri at S Lamar
Cast & Filmmakers LIVE on Fri & Sat night shows!

"A raging success… Infectiously fun, energetic, and crazily enthusiastic." - The Onion A.V. Club

There is NO better way to spend 90 minutes of your life than immersing yourself in this impossibly entertaining documentary.

The 1990 horror movie TROLL II is The Worst Film Ever Made. But somehow, the stories of its participants and creation weave the best documentary we've seen in years! Critically acclaimed beyond belief, BEST WORST MOVIE is a hilarious, very real and shockingly sincere exploration of the incredible and/or flawed components that somehow brought history's most ridiculous film to life. This riveting true-life story brings us the actors and filmmakers behind TROLL II, telling the story in their own words whether they've spent years in the cult movie limelight or hiding from their on-screen legacy.

An incredible experience whether you're a TROLL II fan or you've never even heard of the damn thing. It was THE film of SXSW '09, it's one of the best docs of our time and we can't wait to watch it again.

"One of the best documentaries of 2009… differing and fascinating levels of obscurity, normalcy, and dysfunction… gets us back in touch with what it means to love movies, to make them, and to have our lives changed by them for better, and sometimes Worst.” - /FILM



GET THEM TICKETS NOW!

Never Have Sex Before 40.

The Action Pack presents
THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN QUOTE-ALONG
Thursdays April 22 & 29 at the Ritz
Wednesday April 28 at the Village
Advance tickets to the Ritz here, tickets to the Village here

You know how I know you're gay? You like Coldplay! Ooh, burn!

But straight, gay, virginally curious or other - hell, even if you're actually Chris Martin, you're guaranteed to lose your shit at this Quote-Along celebration of Judd Apatow's feature film directing debut.

Before Steve Carell was the co-manager of the Scranton Branch of Dunder-Mifflin, he was a 40-year-old electronics store employee who'd never dipped his wick. His friends take it upon themselves to fix that situation, and as so often is the case in set ups like that - hijinks ensue. We'll have plenty of hijinks in the theater, too, and if you're brave enough to share the story of your first time we'll have special prizes available for our "most awkward loss of virginity" contest before the movie.