CineFile is our weekly digest of the best in Dallas’ under-the-radar cinematic fare—from indie movies, to documentaries, to foreign films, to re-screenings of the (cult) classics. Here’s what you could be watching:
Brothers Five (1970)
Action, Drama
Dir.: Lo Wei
Runtime: 109 min.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
Monday, January 20, at 7 pm
The five Kao brothers must come together to rescue Teng Lung Manor from dangerous dacoits and to avenge the murder of their father. Brothers Five is a paradigmatic Hong Kong wuxia film, an old-school martial-arts genre that emphasizes the heroic warrior’s duty to fight on behalf of righteousness and justice.
Goodfellas (1990)
Crime
Dir.: Martin Scorsese
Runtime: 146 min.
Landmark Magnolia Theatre
Tuesday, January 21, at 7:30 and 10:15 pm
Scorsese’s pet themes—masculinity, power, violence—are on foulmouthed display in this classic film adapted from a real-life Mafioso’s tell-all. It’s sadistic and gut-grabbing in its hilarity, and has an epic arch. If you’re on the hunt for a favorite film, Goodfellas is a seductive candidate.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Action, Adventure
Dir.: Steven Spielberg
Runtime: 115 min.
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
Wednesday, January 22, at 7:30 pm
Arguably the greatest adventure film in cinematic history, Spielberg’s Raiders of the Lost Ark pits the dashing archaeology professor-cum-adventurer Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) against none less than Hitler’s Nazis in search of the fabled Ark of the Covenant. What could be more spectacular?
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
Comedy
Dir.: Stanley Kramer
Runtime: 192 min.
Palace Theatre
Friday, January 24, at 7:30 pm
An oddball assortment of characters makes a dash for $350,000 in hidden treasure. Featuring an OMG-look! array of epic cameos, including Buster Keaton, the Three Stooges, and Jerry Lewis.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
Comedy
Dir.: Wes Anderson
Runtime: 119 min.
The Texas Theatre
Saturday, January 25, at 8 pm
Bill Murray is a caricature of French naturalist Jacques Cousteau in this characteristically offbeat, ironic comedy by Wes Anderson. If you can stomach it, you’re a better man than we.
