How I'll Spend My Summer Vacation

Each summer I am reminded of why I love living in Austin, Texas. It would seem impossible to love Austin in the summer since the heat and humidity are almost unbearable. However, it is the summertime when I love Austin because from late May to early September I can escape to the Paramount Theatre and enjoy the cooling effects of air conditioning and the restorative power of great cinema.
The Paramount's Summer Classic Film Series begins this weekend and I've already planned by schedule around it for the next 3 months. I know it's not the only revival theater out there (and I'm thankful for that!), but it is Austin's only movie palace. It is my theater. And since this is my blog, I've combed the schedule to highlight some of the special screenings this season.
These certainly aren't the only films I would recommend seeing, since all the scheduled films are good (except maybe Showgirls, but even that is debatable). So, if you are lucky enough to be in Austin in the summertime check the full list of screenings online.

June 23: Wings (1927) - This tale of daring WWI flyboys filmed near San Antonio was the first film to win the Best Picture Oscar. This special screening will feature a live performance of an original musical score by Austin composer Graham Reynolds.

June 26-27: The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) - If the recent Russell Crowe "re-imagining" of the Robin Hood legend didn't quite buckle your swash, may I recommend this glorious Technicolor gem starring Errol Flynn? And just try to resist entering the archery contest which will precede each screening.

July 6-7: All That Heaven Allows (1955) - Director Douglas Sirk is known as the master of the "women's picture," a distinction which often gets his films labeled as melodramatic cheese. But there is so much more to his films than Velveeta; they offer a critique of the petty moralities and conventions of 1950s America. Heaven tells the story of a rich widow (Jane Wyman) who becomes the original "cougar" when she is unexpectedly wooed by her much younger gardener (Rock Hudson), much to the disapproval of just about everyone else in town. This film will be shown in a double feature with Sirk's Imitation of Life (1959) starring Lana Turner.

July 24-25: Top Hat (1935) - When the Paramount began showing classic films in 1975, this Astaire and Rogers musical was the inaugural picture. In honor of this 35th anniversary screening all tickets will be sold at 1975 prices - 50 cents!

August 11-12: Odd Man Out (1947) and Brighton Rock (1947) - Two excellent, but rarely shown examples of British film noir. A remake of Brighton Rock is set to be released this year, so don't miss this opportunity to see the original on the big screen.

August 17-18: The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) - Watching the absolutely beautiful Umbrellas on the big screen is a must for any classic film fan! But a double feature of French musicals starring Catherine Deneuve? Tres jolie!

August 24-25: Sunrise (1927) - A landmark film of the silent era, Sunrise was honored by the Academy for its "artistic quality of production." This screening of a restored print will include the original orchestral score.

For more viewing suggestions and profiles of some great films which I failed to mention here, read "The Greatest Stories Ever Told" by the staff at the Austin Chronicle.

On other websites...

The Cannes Film Festival is in full swing, and I just wanted to point out Roger Ebert's coverage of the festival in his blog. According to Ebert, "Cannes is still the most important annual event in the world of what some of us consider good cinema." As someone who is still interested in "good cinema," I'm eager to see what films will emerge as the toast of the festival. He writes a new entry each day (seven so far) about the films he has seen, the atmosphere of the festival, and the current state of cinema. The pieces are well-written, edifying, and entertaining; I'd expect nothing less from Mr. Ebert. Below are links to the first seven entries in the series.

Cannes #1: On a darkling plain

Cannes #2: A magical curtain for Jacques Tati

Cannes #3: Greed may still be good

Cannes #4: A good film, a bad film, and a friend

Cannes #5: Waiting for Godard

Cannes #6: Of emotion and its absence

Cannes #7: A campaign for Real Movies

Summer Movie Short List

I realized that since it's already May and the Summer Movie season officially starts this Friday with Iron Man 2, I should make my list of movies to see this summer. It's a very short list. The reason for my list being so short has already been covered in Lani's Remakes, Reboots, and Retreads entry, not to mention sequels. Since the movies that interest me this summer are so few I thought I would give my thoughts on the ones I'll be seeing.

First up, Iron Man 2. I enjoyed the first installment a lot more than I thought I would. I liked the feel and the tone of Iron Man. It was set it in real world, taken seriously, but stayed out of the "dark" territory that the Batman franchise has embraced. I'd like to see what the sequel does.

Get Him to the Greek: Forgetting Sarah Marshall was one of my favorite movies of 2008 and Russell Brand as Aldous Snow stole many scenes and had some of the funniest moments of the movie. The trailer for this not-really-a-sequel looks like it could all go terribly wrong. Still I'm fan of movies where a responsible guy in a suit has to look after a wacky guy and I'll admit I'd like to see more of Russell Brand as Aldous Snow, so I'll see this one too.

The A-Team: Starring Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, and Not Mr. T. I think this movie of a TV series sounds ridiculous (I mean it's a movie of a The A-Team, one of the TV shows you'd watch when you had to stay home sick from school), but the trailer makes it look more than decent. And, just maybe, I really would like to see how a big budget movie version of The A-Team will hold up on a big screen.

Toy Story 3: I was 10 when I saw Toy Story, the premise is interesting (the toys are donated to a day care), and Pixar has yet to make a bad movie so I will watch Toy Story 3. This is one movie this summer I can't wait to see and I will not see this movie in 3-D because a good movie doesn't need 3-D to be good.

Knight and Day: Not to be confused with Killers, which is like Mr. and Mrs. Smith mixed with Suspicion, except the the husband is trying to kill other people. I may change my mind on this one, but the trailer showed me an entertaining, funny, action-packed movie and that's what you expect from a summer movie.

Inception: This and Toy Story 3, are the movies I'm dying to see this summer. I'm still not sure if I understand what this movie is about, but that actually feels great. I'm so tired of movies that are sequels, remakes, rehashes of plots that have been used a hundred times before that I'm delighted by something that seems so unique it confuses me. You can watch the trailer here. Even better, it's by director Christopher Nolan whose films I've enjoyed very much.

Get Low: It's a little movie for the summer season, but if you look between the blockbusters you can find really good movies. I heard about this movie because, like many, I'm a big Bill Murray fan, but the star is Robert Duvall, who plays a 1930's hermit that decides to have his funeral before he dies and invites everyone, even though he doesn't know them. The trailer shows some offbeat charm and with luck it'll live up to its trailer and be a nice respite from all the action-packed blockbusters.

The Expendables: Just look at the cast list; I shouldn't have to say anything more, but here's the trailer.