If you’re still decompressing from Burning Man and want to get your money’s worth out of that leather vest and chaps outfit you’ve only worn once, perhaps you ought to head on down to the Alamo South Lamar -- this Friday they’re putting the “roll” in “Rolling Roadshow” with a screening of The Road Warrior. In the parking lot. 'Cause that’s the way Mad Max would have wanted it....

Whenever someone says they’ve never seen Lawrence of Arabia, someone has to go, “What?!?! That’s so wrong!” It’s like, some sort of rule. And if someone says they’ve never seen it on the big screen, everyone has to suck in their breath really hard like they just saw two cars almost collide: “Oh, man, you gotta see it on the big screen. You haven’t seen it if you haven’t seen it on the big screen!” (We suspect that many of the people that say that haven’t seen it on the big screen either. It’s just the rules.) Well, guess what. You’ll never have to hear that again as of this weekend....

The 21st Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival kicks off today with a slew of great films, and a sure-to-be-awesome opening night afterparty at Oilcan Harry's. aGLIFF is the oldest and largest gay and lesbian film festival in the Southwest, and this year's program contains more than 120 films from 17 countries (including some award-winning drama, documentary, comedy and horror features). The festival really gets going tonight with an Austinist-sponsored screening of Otto; or, Up With Dead People, a zombie flick with a twist....

Whether you love Robert Altman or hate him, you can’t argue that he makes films like nobody else. It’s what made him a Hollywood institution and one of the most respected directors in the business. So when he calls you up and asks if you will send him some of your short stories, and then asks you to come write movies for him, you don’t say no. Because who would? That’s what happened to Anne Rapp, a native Texan and local script supervisor-turned-screenwriter; their first collaboration became Cookie’s Fortune, playing this weekend at The Alamo Drafthouse Lake Creek. And that’s not all—you’ll get a chance to hear that story and much more from writer herself as the Austin Film Festival presents “Conversations in Film: Anne Rapp and Cookie’s Fortune.” For those up-and-coming filmmakers and screenwriters here in Austin (we know you’re out there, and there are a LOT of you), this is the kind of information you won’t want to miss out on....

Every year the most adventurous (and some say most interesting) people pack their RVs and head out to Black Rock City, Nevada for a week of wild times. It’s called Burning Man—one week a year where 30,000 people come out to the middle of the desert and create their own art and their own community, and do...whatever they want. And at the end, they burn a several-stories-high statue of a man and Black Rock City disappears. This weekend, you have a chance to check it out, as your Good Friends at the Alamo Ritz are screening Burning Man: Beyond Black Rock, a documentary pulling back the curtain and showing you just what Burning Man is; and more importantly, what it’s all about....

What is it about science fiction that gets us so excited? It seems society has been obsessed with the future and what magical wonders it might hold since…well, since the discovery of time. This week, the Paramount continues its Summer Film Series with some old school Sci-Fi from way back—in double feature mode no less, so you really can feel like you’re back in the Day....

It’s a typical Austin summer. It’s 105 degrees. The idea of stepping outside doesn’t exactly make you jump up and down with excitement. It would certainly take something special to get you out of doors. Something…unique. Unusual. Right? Well, how’s this--Transformers: The Movie outside Central Market on North Lamar Wednesday at dusk. We’re not talking about that Michael Bay seizure-inducing debacle (though we did enjoy watching Robosaurus chewing up cars at the Alamo). We’re talking about the 1986 animated adventure that only a robot-disguised-as-a-car/plane/tape deck/dinosaur-loving kid could love. ...

Whether you think Y2K really did bring down a musical apocalypse or not, you might want to check out the Alamo Downtown’s 90’s Alternative Sing-Along, presented this Thursday night....

Who loves Will Smith more than July Fourth filmgoers? That didn’t change this year, as Hancock’s 62 million dollar take proves. But remember what got this whole holiday box office bonanza thing going? Smith has been cranking out bankable Independence Day blockbusters since…well, since Independence Day (AKA ID4), 1996. This kind of big budget movie awful-ness, for which the Devlin-Emmerich creative duo has become so renowned, is exactly what makes this film perfect for the character assassins of the Master Pancake Theater. Catch the madness and ridicule this weekend at the Alamo Downtown....

If you can’t wait for tomorrow’s fireworks to start celebrating this great nation of ours; or if you love your country, but hate fireworks; or heck, maybe you like fireworks, but only when you’re the one doing the lighting, you can join others just like yourself at Alamo Ritz tonight for the Team America: World Police sing-along. ...

Wednesday nights can be tough. It’s the middle of the week, you’re not quite over the hump, and there’s nothing to do—nothing on television (“So You Think You Can Dance?” Come on!),and you’ve got to get up early tomorrow anyway, so how to pass the evening? How about a magical journey back to one of the most unique movies ever made (and later, less uniquely, re-made). We’re talking, of course, about Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Your good friends at the Alamo and 101X present a special screening in the lawn of Central Market tonight....

The Paramount’s 2008 Summer Film Series continues Wednesday with Chinatown, followed by L.A. Confidential, and switches the order Thursday for those who can’t make it all in one night. Two classic, award-winning noir flicks for the price of one admission in a theater as old as the detective genre itself—now that’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship....

Tonight at the Alamo South Lamar, the AFS is screening “Private Fears in Public Places,’ Alain Renais’ acclaimed collection of vignettes about loneliness of six strangers in modern-day Paris as they search for love. Originally written as a stageplay, the film takes a humorous but intimate look at each character, exploring the emotions and circumstances they share, sometimes without even knowing it. ...

Tomorrow, for the love of God and country, the Drafthouse Village hosts a special sneak screening of the new Rambo movie. Seriously, did anybody see the new Rocky movie? It actually wasn't that bad... ...