The Kingpins of Cowtown

Get some Cowtown cultchah this weekend

Fort Worth meets Hollywood meets Swaziland this weekend as the Lone Star International Film Festival and the Fort Worth Sister Cities International Film Festival fill up downtown Cowtown's movie theaters.

I'm hoping to bump into (or bowl with) Bill Paxton or Martin Sheen. I also want to check out the films, which range from clever shorts (some of which you can watch on our site at star-telegram.com/StarMaker) to feature films by Texas filmmakers. Film critic Christopher Kelly previewed the festivals in Sunday's S-T and he'll be reporting daily on them through Sunday.

Tied in with the Sister Cities festival, there will be a full roster of music from around the world being performed at 8.0 patio. It begins at 10 a.m. and is free. Peformances from each of FW's seven sister cities will include : Balinese dancers, Anklung players, African drummers, the TCC Velocity Dance Troupe, Ballet Folklorico, a traditional lute player, Taiko Drummers, Sakura Dancers and more.

So put down that bowling ball and grab your filmmakers' beret, people!

Can't wait for 'Grindhouse'

Grindhouse opens tomorrow -- and at least one Little Lebowski here is hungering for it like an old-time trip to a drive-in picture show.

C'mon, you remember.

It was dollar carload night.  You'd get all the guys in your class together, throw a few of them in the trunk, hide a few under blankets in the floorboards and then spend the rest of the night trying to land a date in the dark. It was fun.

Now, years later, I realize what I missed. Instead of watching worn celluloid classics like Grave of the Vampire, The Muthers or Death Rage, we were out trying to let the air out of tires or sneak off with free refills at the snack bar. At the time, I knew those double-features were cool (I liked the Bruce Lee previews), but I really took them for granted ... too busy being a dumb kid.

Now, writer/directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez have given us a second chance with Grindhouse. Rodriguez's half is a zombie flick, Planet Terror. Tarantino's half is a slasher film, Death Proof. You've seen the trailers.

Their vision might be a little more edgy than the classics. I mean, in the classic versions, I don't recall any girl with an assault gun attached to her amputated leg, but I could have been unloading some pals from the trunk at the time.

For sure, I'm paying attention this time around.

-- Tommy Cummings | tcummings@star-telegram.com