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 June 23rd
TrollhunterAlamo South Lamar 2:20pm; 10:55pm
When one thinks of found footage films, one typically thinks of all the American horror films of wildly divergent quality that lean on bare bones scripts and shaky cameras. But in an effort to prove Norway is every bit as cool as the US of A, Trollhunter is irresponsibly unleashed upon the Alamo Drafthouse. It’s the story of a documentary film crew who follow around a man with a most unusual government job…try and guess what it is.
Dumb & Dumber Quote-Along
Alamo Ritz 7:00pm
There are silly comedies, there are stupid comedies, and then there is Dumb & Dumber. I’m fairly certain the script for this Jim Carrey/Jeff Daniels vehicle was written on a drunken dare and the success of the subsequent film still a complete shock to everyone involved. But whether you love this mid-90s romp or find it incredibly insipid, the one thing that cannot be denied is its quote-ability. Enter the Drafthouse to provide a forum for celebrating the best, possibly only, redeeming quality of Dumb & Dumber.
Dumb & Dumber Quote-Along
Alamo Lake Creek 7:00pm
Sing-Alongs: Totally 80s New Wave
Alamo Ritz 10:00pm
Can we all finally agree that the 80s trumps every other decade past, present, or future? Among its many, many accomplishments, the 80s gave us some of the best music in the history of human existence. Time to dust off the keyboard and come Depeche your Mode, Flock your Seagulls, and Talk to your…Heads.
Alamo Survivor’s Tip: Trollhunter is one of those Fantastic Fest favorites receiving a limited theatrical run. This in and of itself makes it worthy of your time, but Trollhunter is also one hell of a ride and a truly unique movie even while operating in an already played-out subgenre. Highly recommended.
Friday June 24th
Summer Kids Club: How To Train Your Dragon 3D
Alamo Lake Creek 10:40am
When it comes to quality family films, Dreamworks has long had to reside in the cold shadow of Pixar. Time after time they have finished a distant second in this race as Pixar’s win streak rose to the utterly ridiculous level. But How To Train Your Dragon is THE film that casts a speck of doubt on Pixar’s unquestionable supremacy. Full of stunning effects, wonderful voice acting, and legitimately heart-lifting moments that don’t feel forced, How To Train Your Dragon is an absolute triumph.
Rolling Roadshow: No Country for Old MenRanch Lands, Marfa, TX 9:30pm
“Shot on the seemingly endless state highways and vast ranch lands just outside the city of Marfa, this contemporary Western classic earned the Coen Brothers many well-deserved accolades for the film’s technical and dramatic achievements. Perhaps most judicious of all their creative choices however was the instruction to hairstylist and longtime collaborator Paul LeBlanc to create the “strange and unsettling” Prince Valiant bob worn by star Javier Bardem in his role as the murderous Anton Chigurh.”—OriginalAlamo.com
Trollhunter
Alamo South Lamar 11:40pm
Alamo Survivor’s Tip: The Alamo Kids Camp is amazing enough as it is, but they are truly outdoing themselves this week by offering free admission to How To Train Your Dragon in 3D. Given the cost of 3D movie tickets these days, this move by the Alamo deserves a giant tip of the hat.
Saturday June 25th
Summer Kids Club: How To Train Your Dragon 3D
Alamo Lake Creek 10:15am
Free Kid’s Club: The Last Unicorn w/Charles Edward Cheese Band Live
Alamo South Lamar 10:50am
“Based on Peter Beagle’s novel of the same name, The Last Unicorn is a bright, colorful tale of love and loss. The film also features the vocal talents of Jeff Bridges, Christopher Lee, and Angela Lansbury. Complete with an over-the-top soundtrack by the classic-rock band America, The is perhaps the high point of directors Rankin and Bass’ film careers, and they made that great RUDOLPH TV special!”—OriginalAlamo.com
Rolling Roadshow: GiantPaisano Hotel, Marfa, TX 9:30pm
George Steven’s 1956 film manages a degree of quintessential Americana beholden only in part to its casting of super icon James Dean. Giant is a massive undertaking of storytelling with a timeline as expansive as the Texas wilderness itself. The long form story of ranchers and oil fortune-seekers makes Giant a piece of cinema as indelible to Texas as the solitary star on the state flag.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Alamo Village 11:55pm
Thrill to all the cheap laughs, cheap women, and cheap production values of one of the world’s premier bad movies. Watching The Rocky Horror Picture Show in-and-of-itself is an event, but it takes on a whole new life when witnessed within the walls of The Alamo Village with loads of audience participation, dressed-up patrons, and general wickedness that has become a vital component to the film’s meteoritic rise to cult film legend.
Alamo Survivor’s Tip: If you’ve never seen the Charles Edward Cheese band live, it may be worth sitting through the disturbing and depressing Last Unicorn to do so. Three seemingly discarded mascots playing musical instruments and you don’t even have to order a pizza to hear them! Although, you really should order a pizza at the Alamo because they’re delicious.
Sunday June 26th
Only at the Alamo: The Ultimate Party Down Marathon
Alamo Ritz 10:00am
Possibly the greatest television series ever made…about catering, the Alamo proudly brings you a marathon of both seasons of this darkly sardonic take on the worst of nine-to-five grinds. Our favorite party facilitators, Adam Scott, Ken Marino, Lizzy Caplan, Martin Starr, Megan Mullally, and Ryan Hansen will be on hand along with Party Down creators Rob Thomas, Dan Etheridge, and John Enbom. This event will be followed by an epic after party and preceded by a re-donkey-donk pre-party featuring Neil Diamond cover band Diamond Smugglers. Need I say more?
Summer Kids Club: How To Train Your Dragon 3D
Alamo Lake Creek 10:45am
Cinema Club: Salesman w/Ben Steinbauer
Alamo Ritz 7:00pm
“Salesman is a shattering documentary made by the Maysles brothers and Charlotte Zwerin about the daily routines and philosophies of four traveling bible salesmen. The men, nicknamed “The Rabbit,” “The Badger,” “The Bull” and “The Gipper,” provide a wealth of insight into postwar America. Salesman is the first documentary to be presented at Cinema Club and we’re very honored to welcome Winnebago Man director Ben Steinbauer as our guest.”—OriginalAlamo.com
Monday June 27th
Summer Kids Club: How To Train Your Dragon 3D
Alamo Lake Creek 10:35am
Summer Kids Camp: The Muppet Movie
Alamo South Lamar (thru 6/30) 11:00am
It’s time to get up early. It’s time to bring the kids. It’s time to pay no money to see one awesome Muppet adventure. Bursting with more huge celebrity cameos than you can shake a banjo at, The Muppet Movie is among the greatest family films in existence.
Cine Las Americas Presents: We Are What We Are (Somos Lo Que Hay)
Alamo Ritz 7:00pm
“Shocking, bloody and deeply moving, We Are What We Are is a remarkable reinvention of the horror genre - a visceral and powerfully emotional portrait of a family bound by a terrible secret and driven by monstrous appetites.”—OriginalAlamo.com
Music Monday: Cottonpickin’ Chickenpickers
Alamo Ritz 9:50pm
“This ridiculous country music-filled farce farce follows a pair of shiftless backwoods drifters (Del Reeves and Hugh X. Lewis) as they make their way through the south by thumb, foot and train. When they spy a chicken house, they sneak in to nab a little nourishment for their campfire. They soon find themselves in a nest of trouble. Featuring an all-star cast of Hollywood has-beens: Sonny Tufts, Maxie Rosenbloom and Lila Lee (who was most famous for being busted for sparking up a doob with Robert Michum). Also starring Mel Tillis as Hound-hound-hound-dog B-b-b-Berrigan. Watch for the Michael Bay remake next year.”—Lars Nilsen via OriginalAlamo.com
The Big Lebowski Quote-Along
Alamo South Lamar 10:25pm
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.
Tuesday June 28th
AFS: Black Orpheus
Alamo South Lamar 7:00pm
“In a beautiful retelling of the classic story of the musician Orpheus and his search for his beloved Eurydice, French director Marcel Camus updates the story and places it in Rio de Janeiro during the samba-filled week of Carnaval. With beautiful music and wonderful dances, the tragedy of Orfeo and Eurydice is made all the more poignant than even the original.”—OriginalAlamo.com
Summer Kids Club: How To Train Your Dragon 3D
Alamo Lake Creek 10:35am
Terror Tuesday: Bloody Birthday
Alamo Ritz 9:45pm
“Most things that are excreted from the human body get wadded up in a kleenex and flushed down a toilet, with one exception: children. Instead, we coddle them, provide them with food and shelter and completely sacrifice our own dreams so they can live in comfort. And what do we get in return? Savagely murdered! This film is yet another crystal clear battle cry against the cancer of youth, featuring countless rampagingly conscience-free acts of anti-adult homicide, all perpetrated by a trio of preadolescent death machines.”—Zack Carlson via OriginalAlamo.com
Wednesday June 29th
Summer Kids Camp: How To Train Your Dragon 3D
Alamo Lake Creek 11:00am
Celluloid Handbag: Ruthless People
Alamo Ritz 7:00pm
“I want ya’ll to think long and hard about how much this film means to ya’, and then slap ya’self silly cuz it’s about to be slung into ya laps like a cheap bag a’ ransom money when CELLULOID HANDBAG presents the power of BETTE MIDLER and DANNY DEVITO in the comedy that caught the world by tha’ balls…RUTHLESS PEOPLE!”—Rebecca Havemeyer via OriginalAlamo.com
Girlie Night: The Cutting Edge
Alamo Village 7:00pm
“It's high time for the world to embrace the magic of The Cutting Edge, and Girlie Night is here to prove it. This film takes the classic romantic formula of opposites attract, throws in some 90stastic casting (this is definitely the climax of D.B. and Moira Kelly's careers) and then puts it all...ON ICE! And not just any ice, nay, but potential Olympic ice! The stakes are incredibly high, which only increases the tension between our skating hero and heroine, resulting in enough fiery chemistry to generate about a hundred bad "melting ice" jokes. I'll spare you those, but I won't spare you the awesomeness of the film's tagline: ‘The Ultimate Love/Skate Relationship.’”—Sarah Pitre via OriginalAlamo.com
Rolling Roadshow: Weird Science
Central Market, Austin, TX 7:30pm
Not all Rolling Roadshow events have to take place at insanely exotic or picturesque locales. Sometimes, it’s just plain cool to watch a seminal 80s comedy at an international foods grocery store. Come for the free trade Gouda, stay for the Anthony Michael Hall!
Horror Remix: Beast
Alamo Lake Creek 9:00pm
As it turns out, humans kind of suck and have done an immaculate job of lording their superior intellects and general overall dominance over the lesser creatures of this planet. Thank goodness for horror films, particularly those of the animal attack persuasion, to take us down a peg. Come observe humans getting torn to little pieces by fangs and claws for two entire hours!
Tough Guy Cinema: The Rock
Alamo Village 9:45pm
If you don’t like The Rock, your man card is forfeit. As if it weren’t enough of a thrill to see Dr. Stanley Goodspeed chase an elderly, but still badass, Sean Conery as he makes a mess of San Francisco in a gigantic Hummer on the big screen, there will be cap gun fire and live explosions to set the appropriate ambiance. Arrive hungry, as there will be a VX gas-eating contest to kick things off.
Weird Wednesday: Girls at the Gynecologist
Alamo Ritz 12:15am
“What do you expect us to do, NOT play this? While it may sound particularly harrowing and clinical based on that title, this is another one of that endless “sex report” series from Germany, and like all of them it’s actually pretty tame. These films masqueraded as socially responsible exposes about the issues of the day, but were of course just excuses to show sex and nudity. Here the framing device is a gynecologist’s stories about his clients and their wacky vaginae. If you find sexism and rampant bad taste amusing - and we do - this ought to stirrup a few laughs. Sorry!”—Lars Nilsen via OriginalAlamo.com
Alamo Survivor’s Tip: Some of the best horror films ever created by mankind involving the divorcing of men from their skin and limbs via sharpened teeth and claws. These horror remixes are great for gatherings of like-minded horrorphiles as they can sit and reminisce about their favorite moments of mauling and devouring.
Houston
West Oaks
Tough Guy Cinema: The Rock
6/23 7:30pm
A Night of Suspense Double Feature
6/27 7:00pm
“Two suspense films made in Houston, Texas, Hyphen (60 minutes) directed by John Hale & Maid to Kill (90 Minutes) directed by Joseph Elmore will screen at the Alamo Drafthouse West Oaks on Monday June 27, 2011. Both films are mysterious psychological thrillers. This is the premiere screening of Hyphen and Maid to Kill has previously screened at two international film festivals. Chantal Nicole was named Best Actress for her performance in Maid to Kill at the 2010 Action on Film Festival”—OriginalAlamo.com
Only at the Alamo: Anime
6/28 7:30pm
The Alamo Drafthouse provides a welcome haven for fans of Japanese animation. Samurai swords must unfortunately be checked at the door.
Horror Remix: Beast
6/29 10:00pm
Mason Park
Tough Guy Cinema: The Rock
6/25 7:30pm
Big Screen Classics: Roman Holiday
6/26 6:45pm
“What a perfect title for our Big Screen Classics series! Audrey Hepburn delivers a performance that secured her a place in the pantheon of silver screen icons (alongside the wonderful Gregory Peck no less) in this warmly remembered classic romance. Both performances are standouts of not only their careers, but of film history overall. Come enjoy this delicious romantic comedy that is impossible to not be delighted by. It is also impossible to not look up flight information for Rome after the screening and seriously consider taking a quick trip overseas to ride a scooter around the coliseum!”—OriginalAlamo.com
Free Family Fun: How To Train Your Dragon
6/27-7/01 11:00am
Only at the Alamo: Cute Night
6/28 7:00pm
Besides a cornucopia of videos that would make your mother very disappointed if she caught you watching, the internet provides a non-stop parade of the most disgustingly cute images known to man. Come celebrate adorability as the Alamo subjects you relentlessly to the most nauseatingly heart-warming fare from all over the interwebs. Play ‘em off Keyboard Cat.
San Antonio
Westlakes
Only at the Alamo: Repo! The Genetic Opera
6/23 10:30pm
Darren Bousman’s musical satire of our national health care system burst from the womb with a cult following already in tow. Few films manage to be hilariously funny, incredibly gory, and bitingly on-point all while boasting catchy musical numbers. Enjoy the madness!
Dumb & Dumber Quote-Along
6/26 7:30pm; 10:30pm
Only at the Alamo: Anime
6/27 7:30pm
Horror Remix: Beast
6/28 10:00pm
Park North
Tough Guy Cinema: The Rock
6/27 7:00pm
Horror Remix: Beast
6/27 10:30pm
Dumb & Dumber Quote-Along
6/29 7:00pm; 9:45pm
Stone Oak
Only at the Alamo: Cute Night
6/23 7:00pm
Tough Guy Cinema: The Rock
6/29 7:00pm
Horror Remix: Beast
6/29 10:00pm
Winchester, VA
Horror Remix: Beast
6/29 9:00pm
