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Alamo Drafthouse Guide (12/22-12/28): Come Celebrate Christmas at The Drafthouse!

By: Brian Salisbury on December 22, 2011 at 9:56AM Comments (0)

The Alamo Drafthouse has quickly garnered a reputation as one of the greatest movie theaters in the history of mankind…or at least the history of movie theaters. With their signature events, ample food and drink selection, and strict no-talking policy, they make obsolete all tawdry multiplexes and completely redefine the movie-going experience. Here’s what they’re up to this week!

Thursday December 22nd
 
Elf Quote-Along
Almao Ritz & Lake Creek 7:00pm
 
“The Ultimate Holiday experiences begins HERE. When Elf was first released it recaptured that goosebump-inducing Christmas spirit that had been soooo lacking in EVERY OTHER holiday movie release and gave you new reason to believe in Santa Claus. This Quote-Along is so much fun, from the spaghetti and syrup eating contest at the open of it to the mandatory group tickle fight at the end, and it just doesn't feel like Christmas at the Alamo unless we get to share this movie with you. So we decided to spread that Christmas cheer the best way we know how - by singing and quoting loud for all to hear. And don't worry, if you can quote alone, then you can quote around other people. There's really no difference! Grab the kids, order something sugary and The Action Pack will be providing jingle bells for everyone, bubbles for a few key scenes, and a special present for whoever can eat their spaghetti the fastest!”—Drafthouse.com
 
 
Big Screen Classics: It’s A Wonderful Life
 
“It’s a Wonderful Life is the most Christmassy, the most inspirational, and certainly the most heartwarming, of all Hollywood output during the Golden Age.  Frank Capra’s Yuletide yarn is touching, and will bring you to tears for a good portion of its two-plus hour running time.  With its perfect winter setting, good cheer, and strong family and community message, this film is the quintessential representation of the Christmas Spirit in the cinema, and it is meant to be enjoyed over and over again.”—Drafthouse.com
 
 
Master Pancake: X-Mas Show
Alamo Lake Creek 7:00pm; 10:00pm
 
“The beloved Alamo holiday tradition returns for 2011: it's the Master Pancake X-mas Show!  We’ll be channel surfing through a flurry of clips from your favorite holiday movie and TV specials (Rudolph, The Grinch, Frosty) and some weird programs you never dreamed existed (The Christmas Shoes, Pee-Wee’s Christmas Special and more)!  Pancake regulars John Erler (the bald one) and Joe Parsons (the teacher) welcome microscopic holiday fetishist Owen Egerton who will crack jokes and make up new Holiday songs on the spot. Past audiences have been treated to amazing improvised carols such as “Deer Hooker” and “Daddy Brought his Mistress home for Christmas”.  We'll also have an audience sing-along, seasonal snacks, and maybe even a little Pudding and Butter!  Help us SLEIGH THE HOLIDAYS in Master Pancake style!”—Drafthouse.com
 
 
The Xmas Pops Sing-Along
Alamo Ritz 9:45pm
 
“Yeah, that’s right. Every single year pop stars who are trying to rekindle their career join forces with pop stars who are trying to make a quick buck while they’re still on top of the charts and they all release albums full of Christmas albums so that your family can have ‘something to cherish for years’ and ‘start a new tradition.’ The Christmas pop genre is really an obscure beast, with some singers like Mariah Carey choosing to use her trademark pipes to re-record HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS while boy bands like THE New Kids On The Block release entirely new tracks like HAVE A FUNKY, FUNKY CHRISTMAS so that the teeny bopper crowd can have their own songs while Mom and Dad are in the other room listening to Bing Crosby. Well, this show is finally something the whole family can get behind, because we’ve mixed together all of the best holiday songs from pop culture, with Jessica Simpson, John Denver and the Muppets, *NSYNC, Bing Crosby and David Bowie, and so much more. Plus, this show isn’t just a sing-along!”—Henri Mazza via Drafthouse.com
 
 
Bad Santa
Alamo Lake Creek 10:00pm
 
“David Fincher's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo may have been labeled ‘The Feel Bad Movie Of Christmas’ by Hollywood, but every Grinch knows Terry Zwigoff's deranged Bad Santa has already claimed that title years ago. In his greatest role ever, Billy Bob Thornton stars as a con man who enjoys the finer things in life - pounding women in dark alleys and boozing it up with every breath life gives him. He poses as Santa Claus and has big plans with a little man to rob a mall on Christmas Eve. His only setback is the loser chubby kid whom he's rapidly warming up to. This is the last feature from one of comedy’s’ greats - the late John Ritter.”—Chase Whale via Drafthouse.com  
 
 
Friday December 23rd
 
 
Master Pancake: X-Mas Show
Alamo Ritz 7:00pm; 10:00pm
 
 
The Xmas Pops Sing-Along
Alamo Village 11:30pm
 
 
Saturday December 24th
 
 
Cartoon Cereal Party: Holiday Edition
Alamo Lake Creek Noon
 
“Remember Saturday morning? The weekly apex of youth entertainment. Your eyes would devour Ghostbusters, He-Man, Ren & Stimpy, and Dungeons and Dragons until it was finally time to change outta your pajamas and start bugging your parents for comic book money. All the while you absorbed much more than your RDA of sugar, carbohydrates and artificial colors from huge boxes of sugary delicious breakfast cereal. Then we all grew up and got drunk and started sleeping through Saturday mornings until all we had of those idyllic frosted Saturday A.M.s was the memories...UNTIL NOW! Because we're gonna bring you a 2.5 hour Saturday Morning Cartoon Cereal Party, and the only thing we're leaving out is the crappy cartoons. 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 holiday cartoons and the endless supply of cereal will take you back to a younger, more innocent and - yes - stupider time.”—Drafthouse.com
 
 
Elf Quote-Along
Alamo Ritz 4:15pm
 
 
Girlie Night: Love Actually
Alamo Ritz 7:00pm
 
“Forget about A Christmas Story or Charlie Brown. Heck, forget about Baby Jesus! Love Actually is basically the whole reason I celebrate Christmas. For, without this masterpiece of a romantic comedy, there would be no love in this cold, cruel world. Plus, we'd all be stuck singing ‘Jingle Bells’ instead of everyone's favorite carol, ‘Christmas Is All Around.’ I challenge you to find one other movie that combines Colin Firth, an adorable little boy with a dead mom, the British Prime Minister, the porn industry, Mr. Bean, a washed up rock star and a kid in an octopus costume into something that makes me cry tears of shimmering, golden joy into my mug of spiced wine. This film TROUNCES all other holiday films in the ‘squee’ category. I mean, ask me how many times I've rewound and watched the scene when Mark shows up at Juliet's door and shows her a sign that says, ‘To me, you are perfect.’ Because OMG I WANT THAT!!!! Join us for this very special holiday edition of Girlie Night, where you're allowed (and expected) to squeal, sigh and grab your neighbor's arm when Colin Firth finally proposes to that Portugese lady.”—Sarah Pitre via Drafthouse.com
 
 
Action Pack: Die Hard
Alamo Ritz 10:00pm
 
 
“Yippe Kai Yay, mofo. Die Hard may just be the ultimate Tough Guy movie. With John McClane, Bruce Willis created a Tough Guy who was instantly relatable but still impossibly awesome. Because even though he single-handedly takes down Hans Gruber's entire gang of terrorists while roaming around an office building barefoot, he still lets us see how vulnerable he is and that makes him all the more badass. Join us this holiday season as we pay tribute to the movie that's inspired screenwriters for two decades to pitch projects as "It's like Die Hard, but in a _____________," as we enjoy Die Hard on the big screen with cap guns to shoot-along with and live explosions from the Action Pack.”—Henri Mazza via Drafthouse.com
 
 
Sunday December 25th
 
 
Elf Quote-Along
Alamo Ritz 4:00pm
 
 
High For The Holidays: Enter the Void
Alamo Ritz 9:00pm
 
“Gaspar Noe's Enter the Void is a visionary thrill ride that's riveted audiences at the Cannes, Toronto, Sundance and SXSW film festivals. At Cannes, Manohla Dargis of The New York Times called it ‘an exceptional work... the work of an artist who's trying to show us something we haven't seen before.’ The long-awaited follow up to his controversial Irreversible, Enter the Void is an immersive and mind-bending experience. Oscar and his sister Linda are recent arrivals in Tokyo. Oscar’s a small time drug dealer, and Linda works as a nightclub stripper. One night, Oscar is caught up in a police bust and shot. As he lies dying, his spirit, faithful to the promise he made his sister that he would never abandon her, refuses to leave the world of the living. It wanders through the city, his visions growing evermore nightmarish. Past, present and future merge in a hallucinatory maelstrom. Nathaniel Brown and Paz de la Huerta star in a visceral journey set against the thumping, neon club scene of Tokyo, which hurls the viewer into an astonishing trip through life, death, and the universally wonderful and horrible moments in between.”—Drafthouse.com
 
 
Monday December 26th
 
 
High For The Holidays: The Holy Mountain
Alamo Ritz (thru 12/27) 7:30pm
 
“Alejandro Jodorowsky followed up his intense cult hit El Topo with this even more intense meditation on planetary relations, black ritual, and general grotesqueries.  The Holy Mountain follows a Christlike protagonist as he joins a footless, handless dwarf to perform in a village for tourist dollars.  The man then leaves town, gets himself involved with an Alchemist who can turn excrement into gold, and finally launches into a series of astrological visions that result in a mind-numbing tornado of satirical surrealism.  Jodorowsky is a master of weird, but his films never feel superficial or arbitrary.  He is a visionary artist in the truest sense, and The Holy Mountain, while not the underground sensation that El Topo is, may very well be his most expressive and honest work.  If you like your high to be tempered with a lot of flooring ‘WTF,’ this is the picture for you.”—Drafthouse.com
 
 
The Big Lebowski Quote-Along
Alamo South Lamar 10:00pm
 
If you love the Cohen Brothers’ tribute to shiftless losers with mad bowling skills and penchants for Creedence Clearwater Revival, this is the place to be. All your favorite one-liners from The Dude will flash across the screen to prompt your collective vocal worship of this masterful comedy.
 
 
Music Monday: Bob Marley & The Wailers: Exodus
Alamo Ritz 10:30pm
 
“Come experience Bob Marley as you've never seen him before with this classic 1977 live show on the big screen. This recently restored and never before seen version of  ‘Live at the Rainbow’ was taped at the famed Roundhouse in London during Bob’s seminal Exodus Tour. Merry Christmas to you, Buffalo Soldiers.”—Drafthouse.com  
 
 
Tuesday December 27th
 
 
Terror Tuesday: The Boogeyman
Alamo Ritz 10:10pm
 
“A young woman witnesses a murder in a mirror's reflection. Twenty years later, the mirror shatters, the victim's spirit is released and the stage is set for full-scale spectral revenge. With telekinetic slayings and stilted performances by half-naked nimrods, The Boogeyman is a classic campfire ghost story coated in the awkward pizzazz of the best low budget '80s horror. Writer/director Lommel started out as a stock actor for ultra-respected filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder, but took a stunning career careen to embroil himself in punk-era exploitation with squalid character studies (Blank Generation) and new wave Hitler musicals (Strangers in Paradise). He now pays his rent making incredibly cheap straight-to-video biopics about serial killers. Dark. Rarely has anyone deliberately made so anti-triumphant a leap from highbrow artist to lowbrow wasteoid. Mr. Lommel, we salute you.”—Zack Carlson via Drafthouse.com
 
 
Wednesday December 28th
 
 
UT Football
Alamo Ritz 7:00pm
 
“The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is the premiere spot for watching UT Longhorn football in Austin. We feature the games on our movie screen with state of the art video projection. With the *possible* exception of live in the stadium, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is the best spot for the serious football fan. All eyes in the auditorium are focused on the movie screen, where the action on the field will be larger than life!”—Drafthouse.com
 
 
Weird Wednesday: Surprise Title
Alamo Ritz 11:00pm
 
“We devote the last week or so of each year to our High For The Holidays programming. During this magical period we show movies best appreciated when viewed through a haze of brain altering chemicals. We can't tell you the name of the film we're playing at Weird Wednesday this week, but let me just assure you that if you've been saving a little something for a special occasion, this might be that rainy day you've been waiting for. I'll probably stick to malted whiskey and seritonin myself, but if you are the type who injects spider eggs into your spine or something to get high, we won't judge.”—Lars Nilsen via Drafthouse.com
 
 
Houston
 
 
 
 
Girlie Night: Love Actually
12/22 6:30pm
 
 
Big Screen Classics: It’s A Wonderful Life
12/23 7:30pm
 
 
Only at the Alamo: Anime
12/27 7:30pm
 
The Alamo Drafthouse provides a welcome haven for fans of Japanese animation. Samurai swords must unfortunately be checked at the door.
 
 
Action Pack: Die Hard
12/28 7:30pm
 
 
 
 
Bad Santa
12/22 7:30pm
 
 
Cartoon Cereal Party: Holiday Edition
12/24 11:00am
 
 
San Antonio
 
 
 
 
Big Screen Classics: It’s A Wonderful Life
12/22 4:15pm; 7:30pm
 
 
Only at the Alamo: Anime
12/26 7:30pm
 
 
The Xmas Pops Sing-Along
12/27 7:30pm
 
 
 
 
Big Screen Classics: It’s A Wonderful Life
12/22 4:15pm; 7:30pm
 
 
Bad Santa
12/28 7:00pm; 9:45pm
 
 
 
 
Bad Santa
12/22 7:00pm; 9:45pm
 
 
Big Screen Classics: It’s A Wonderful Life
12/27 6:30pm; 9:45pm
 
 

Categories: Alamo Drafthouse Guide

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