As the capital of the Lonestar state Austin, Texas is one of the most well-known cities in the country and on top of that it’s also a city where a lot of great movies have been filmed. As you might know by now cities are pretty heavily impacted when a production crew comes to town in order to film a scene or two for a movie since it can bring added revenue and a bit more notoriety to the given city in which the film is taking place. That’s why there are films out there that certain cities and their citizens are bound to love a little bit more than others simply because they can watch the movie and say things like “I know where that it is!”. Admit it, when you can point out a local landmark in a movie it gives you a little bit of a rush. Some people actually enjoy the fact that they can pinpoint spots in their home that were used in a movie, even if that movie doesn’t use the actual location they were filmed in within their description.
Here are a few movies that those in Austin might find to their liking.
5. Alita: Battle Angel
Filmed partly in Austin and partly in Dallas, Alita is a story about a far-flung future in which a cybernetic warrior is rescued from a junk pile and brought back to life by a kindly old doctor. The only problem is that she can’t remember a single thing from her past, though as she continues to regain her sense of self other, dangerous individuals come seeking her out. As Alita battles one after another enemy she begins to realize just who she is and was and in doing so begins to realize that she is much more than what she appears to be. The manga that inspired this ran on for books, and while some think the movie will be worth a watch others are worried that not enough of the source material will be revealed in one movie. We’ll have to wait until December to see.
4. Machete
A lot of the principal photography for this film took place in Austin, and the film itself was something that a lot of people could enjoy just for the gritty and grinding nature of it. There wasn’t a lot of redemptive value to Machete, it was the kind of movie you went into knowing that it was going to be a great deal of blood, guts, gore, and off-color jokes about Mexicans and their legal or illegal status in the US. Given the subject matter of the film it might have offended a few people but in truth it was meant to entertain and to pit a good guy against a bad guy no matter that people were kind of left wondering who was who sometimes.
3. Varsity Blues
You should have really anticipated seeing a football movie on here since in Texas football is one of the big sports that people pay attention to, just like a lot of places in the US. But Varsity Blues was one of those football movies that wasn’t focused entirely on the game, but on the lives of those that were playing the game as well. High school is enough pressure when you don’t have someone breathing down your neck about this play or that drive on the field. But for the guys that played for Bud Kilmer life was supposed to be all about football and nothing else, or they just weren’t worth anything in his eyes.
2. The Newton Boys
Austin was just one of the cities that hosted the Newton Boys cast but it was one of the places that made the movie at least somewhat memorable since the famed band of outlaws were one of the only groups in history to make off with the kind of heists they did and still manage to get out alive. While the movie didn’t exactly rate up there with some of the greatest it was still fun to watch and featured a lot of up and coming actors as well as those that had been established for a while. In Texas’ long history the Newton Boys are pretty well known and have carved their place in history.
1. Office Space
This film was actually filmed entirely in Austin and while it doesn’t really exemplify that down home Texas spirit that’s pushed as a stereotype at times the film is still one of those that has a cult following that is kind of impressive. Office Space is basically for the modern worker that feels underappreciated, overworked, and taken for granted at their job. It’s a way to laugh and feel empowered in a way for a couple of hours as the idea of getting back at those that make your life miserable seems a little more feasible. You might not do it of course but it’s still a nice fantasy.
Here’s to you Austin, enjoy.
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