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  Special Screenings

  

  Charlie’s Angels (2000)

  Whatever happened to dumb movies? It seems directors these days are always making a point, often in a pretty clumsy, didactic way – but I wanna see something fun for the sake of fun, that attempts nothing highbrow or political whatsoever. Nothing is more fun than the hottest trio of all time – Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore, and Cameron Diaz – tracking down evil billionaires using all manner of early 2000s disguises for the mysterious Charlie. Tim Curry, Sam Rockwell, and Bill Murray also appear, but the most unforgettable side character is the leatherclad Matrix-esque Thin Man played by Crispin Glover, who exudes a convincing creepiness as the trio’s primary enemy, a mute, Spock-eyebrowed assassin. [Editor’s note: This plays as part of Queer Film Theory 101, but not THAT QFT 101. It’s the other one.] – Lina Fisher Read a full review of Charlie's Angels.

  March 16-17 & 19

  Alamo Drafthouse Village, Alamo Drafthouse Slaughter Lane, Alamo Drafthouse Lakeline, Alamo Drafthouse Mueller

• Film

  Special Screenings

  

  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

  Before the cartoon coolness of Mutant Mayhem or the Platinum Dunes duds in 2014 & 2016, there were puppets in a half-shell bursting onto the big screen. A frequent in my tween-age VHS rotation – I was a little in love with the foam-rubber Raphael, okay – this Nineties live-action version of the Turtles blends Saturday morning goofs with the series’ dark & dank alt-comic origins. Violet Crown Cinema screens the oldie-but-goodie this week so a new generation can be introduced to these totally tight turtle brothers and their surfer-guy slang slung around the Big Apple’s sewer system. If you stop for pizza afterward, save a slice for your pals underground. – James Scott

  March 16 & 19

  Violet Crown Cinema

• Film

  Special Screenings

  

  The Watermelon Woman (1996)

  As with the best stuff in life, you don’t know you’re living in a golden era until after it’s over. Which is another way of saying, pour one out for the Nineties independent film movement: It was a good time to be alive and going to the movies. In its story of a video store clerk (played by filmmaker Cheryl Dunye) studying the mammy character in early film, this New Queer Cinema trailblazer at once examines Hollywood’s lousy record of Black representation while notching firsts: The first American film written and directed by a Black lesbian, it’s been a film school essential ever since and was added to the National Film Registry in 2021. – Kimberley Jones Read a full review of The Watermelon Woman.

  Sun., March 16

  Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar

• Film

  Special Screenings

  

  Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992)

  “That’s as close to perfect as a movie can be,” I thought after finishing the David Lynch-directed prequel to his and Mark Frost’s much-beloved soap opera. Before experiencing the bisected cinematic story of Laura Palmer’s last days alive – days as chaotic as her prom queen photo was calm – I couldn’t quite grasp whatever made everyone else worship the Pacific Northwest-set series. Sure, I liked the show, but I liked it the way James likes Laura: I didn’t understand anything and was doomed to be on the outside of the action. Fire Walk With Me was the key: a way inside the true thematic depth Twin Peaks offers. Now you, too, can see what lies beneath Laura Palmer’s smile – her true struggles, playing out on the big screen while you eat Drafthouse’s mustard barbecue chicken wings. – James Scott Read a full review of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.

  March 14-17

  Alamo Drafthouse Lakeline, Alamo Drafthouse Slaughter Lane, Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar, Alamo Drafthouse Village, Alamo Drafthouse Mueller

• Film

  Special Screenings

  

  Raising Arizona (1987)

  Following grimy, suspenseful neo-noir Blood Simple, Joel Coen’s second directorial production (and his third writing collaboration with his brother, Ethan) was, as one would expect, a screwball comedy. It still involves crime, with amateur robber H.I. (Nicolas Cage) kidnapping an infant child for his infertile wife Ed (Holly Hunter), but it’s filled with goofs and gags as the pair goes to great lengths to avoid the infant’s father, furniture tycoon Nathan Arizona, who seeks his child’s kidnapper. The chase unfolds into a farce, solidifying the Coen Brothers’ cartoonish yet human comedic style. – Mattea Gallaway

  March 16, 19 & 22

  AFS Cinema

• Film

  Special Screenings

  

  Socket (2007)

  Folks call any basic body horror flick “Cronenbergian,” revealing their ignorance of the director’s real trademark: stories about getting into a really specific fetish. Such is the case with the Crash-esque thriller Socket, which follows a doctor who becomes entangled in an electricity cult after his own lightning strike encounter. Drawn in by attractive intern Craig (Houston’s own Matthew Montgomery), surgeon Bill (Derek Long) gets twisted up in these zap-heads’ addiction to the point of self-destruction. While contemporary critics such as filmcritic.com’s Don Willmott called the film’s sci-fi premise a simple excuse for soft-core tomfoolery, the real schlock-os out there will recognize this as a true shock to the system. Presented by We Luv’s LGBTQIA division, aka SunGays, so get out there to support the cinema queerdos. – James Scott

  Sun., March 16

  We Luv Video