A couple of newish developments from AMC that affect local movie fans this week:
Over at Downtown Disney, the theater chain is opening a "dine-in" theater with two dining/watching options. The first is the "Fork & Screen" option, where a server brings you food and drinks to an oversized leather seat (no tables) with a kind of tray table in front. Cocktails, beer & wine is available and the food selection, though relatively basic – cheeseburgers, quesadillas, mac & cheese – is better than Mike & Ike's and a Sprite.
For a few dollars more, moviegoers 21 and up can choose the Cinema Suites option, which is like a VIP area – more spacious and intimate with exclusive food options.
It's not clear yet whether new movies will be screened at the dine-in, but their options for the press tour (which we may be covering, but I won't be since it's on my son's birthday) are of the decidedly $1.99 rental quality: Tron: Legacy, Tangled, The (new) Karate Kid, The Hangover (original), Inception and The Social Network.
The story's a lot different at the AMC at CityWalk, however. They've teamed up with Bloody Disgusting and something called The Collective for a summer-long run of curated new horror films from the festival circuit. The exciting lineup is below:
RAMMBOCK May 4th 2011 - Produced by Melanie Berke and Sigrid Hoerner, written by
Benjamin Hessler and directed by Marvin Kren, this Fantastic Fest favorite marks the first
German foray into the zombie genre. Kren’s tense, action packed feature follows a group
of strangers who try to fight off hordes of zombies in a Berlin apartment complex.
• YELLOWBRICKROAD June 1st, 2011 - Produced by Eric Hungerford, directed and
written by Andy Mitton and Jesse Holland, and starring Cassidy Freeman (SMALLVILLE),
Anessa Ramsey (THE SIGNAL), and Lee Wilkof (BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS
YOU?RE DEAD). In the Fall of 1940, the entire population of Friar, NH abandoned their
homes and walked up an ancient trail, never to be seen alive again. Their fates have
remained a mystery for over 70 years, until a team of researchers discover the trailhead
and attempt to track the path the doomed citizens of Friar took.
• COLD FISH July 6th 2011 - From Sion Sono, the director of LOVE EXPOSURE and
SUICIDE CLUB and based on a true story. Sono’s brutal serial killer film COLD FISH has
won international acclaim on the festival circuit. In the film, Shamoto’s teenage daughter
is caught stealing, a generous stranger and his wife offer a solution – have the girl work
at their tropical fish store. Too good to be true? You bet! Shamoto soon discovers the
horrific truth about the seemingly perfect couple and their brutal business. COLD FISH is
a bloodcurdling suspense drama that unveils the underlying insanity of an ordinary man.
• ATROCIOUS August 3rd , 2011 - Directed by first-time helmer Fernando Barreda Luna
and produced by Octavi Martínez, David Sanz, and Jessica Villegas Lattuada, After its
international premiere, the film screened at Slamdance this past January, garnering a
tide of online buzz and comparisons to PARANORMAL ACTIVITY. The film centers
on the Spanish police’s discovery of hours of recorded evidence that shed new light
on a gruesome murder investigation. The found footage documents a family’s summer
holiday, where a brother and sister investigate a terrifying local urban legend. As their
investigation intensifies, strange occurrences in and around the house escalate rapidly,
before culminating in unspeakable atrocities.
