film May 4: Film Fest Petaluma at the Mystic Theatre

Posted by Gabe Meline on Wed, May 1, 2013 at 11:05 AM

Here’s a fun way to spend a Saturday: load up on coffee in the morning, and then, mid-afternoon, plunk down $25 and park your keister for nine hours of independent film shorts ranging in length from two to 21 minutes at Film Fest Petaluma. There’s truly too much good stuff on offer here: a film about handcrafted bikes; a man who builds a Viking ship; a woman (Judi Dench) who tries to find love via social networking; a stranded astronaut; a post-apocalyptic marriage; the spoils of an affair; sexual dysfunction, and more. Local filmmakers Jackson Rosenfeld, Max Prickey, Miles Pepper and others join the lineup, too. It all goes down Saturday, May 4, at the Mystic Theatre. 21 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma. Blocks of films at 2:30pm, 7:30pm and 10:30pm. $10—$15 per block; $25 for all. 707.765.2121.

• Tweet

  Pin It

  Share

  Add to favorites

  Saving…

Permalink | Post Comments

film April 20: 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' at the Phoenix Theater

Posted by Estefany Gonzalez on Wed, Apr 17, 2013 at 3:32 PM

There are generally two types of people who’ve seen ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’: those who roll their eyes whenever they think of Tim Curry singing “Sweet Transvestite” and those who love the movie and can’t shut up about it. Those in the latter camp will enjoy knowing that the cult classic screens yet again this week with the Barely Legal cast acting out the film live onstage, just as they have been doing since 1995. The audience is encouraged to let their freak flags fly by dressing as their favorite characters, not limited to Rocky Horror—how badass would it be to see Petaluma Batman put his hands on his hips and do the pelvic thrust? See the red lipstick and golden Speedos in person on Saturday, April 20, at the Phoenix Theater. 201 E. Washington St., Petaluma. $10. Midnight. 707.762.3565.

• Tweet

  Pin It

  Share

  Add to favorites

  Saving…

Permalink | Post Comments

film March 5: 'The Wrecking Crew' at the Napa Valley Opera House

Posted by Estefany Gonzalez on Wed, Feb 27, 2013 at 11:17 AM

Denny Tedesco, director of ‘The Wrecking Crew,’ provides a behind-the-scenes look at the uncredited Los Angeles studio musicians responsible for playing on hundreds of hit songs by the Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Sonny and Cher, the Monkees and many more. Led by drummer Hal Blaine and featuring pioneering female bassist Carol Kaye, the group is truly the Funk Brothers of Los Angeles; this is their Standing in the Shadows of Motown. See the film on Tuesday, March 5, at the Napa Valley Opera House. 1030 Main St., Napa. 7pm. $10. 707.266.7372.

• Tweet

  Pin It

  Share

  Add to favorites

  Saving…

Permalink | Post Comments

film Feb. 1: Tahoe Adventure Film Festival at the Mystic Theatre

Posted by Nicolas Grizzle on Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 10:37 AM

If you can't get up to Tahoe, you can always live vicariously through the Tahoe Adventure Film Festival. Now with POV footage from GoPro-style cameras, skiing and snowboarding videos are more amazing to watch than ever. But it’s not just winter sports highlighted here. Kayaking, rock climbing, surfing, skating and mountain biking films are included, as well as BASE jumping—you know, when people put on a wingsuit and fly at high speeds like a squirrel through the air. Or, if you don’t know, be sure to see the Tahoe Adventure Film Festival on Friday, Feb. 1, at the Mystic Theatre. 23 Petaluma Blvd. N., Petaluma. 7:30pm. $15. 707.765.2121.

• Tweet

  Pin It

  Share

  Add to favorites

  Saving…

Permalink | Post Comments

film Jan 8: 'Soul Food Junkies' at the Rialto Cinemas Community Cinema Film Series

Posted by Leilani Clark on Thu, Jan 3, 2013 at 11:15 AM

Barbecued ribs, black-eyed peas, sweet potato pie, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, fried chicken—the incredible variety of delicious soul food dishes only begins here. We’re talking serious comfort food, and a menu that lies at the heart of African-American cultural identity. But the Southern-based diet, called a “slave diet” by the Nation of Islam, has also been blamed for the high rates of heart disease and stroke among African Americans in the United States due to unhealthy ingredients and a deep, abiding love for the power of the frying pan. ‘Soul Food Junkies,’ a new documentary by Byron Hurt, addresses the health effects of the soul food diet and the way it connects to the socioeconomics of the modern American diet. The program is part of the Rialto Cinemas’ free Community Cinema film series; a discussion panel follows the film, featuring Evelyn Cheatham of Worth Our Weight, James Cason of the SRJC Culinary Institute and Nancy Rogers of the Red Rose Cafe. Upcoming films in the series include The Powerbroker, a film about National Urban League leader Whitney M. Young Jr. (Feb. 12), Wonder Woman! The Untold Story of American Superheroines, which explores how pop culture’s representations of powerful women reflect societal anxieties about women’s liberation (March 12). Soul Food Junkies screens Tuesday, Jan. 8, at Rialto Cinemas. 6868 McKinley St., Sebastopol. 7pm. Free. 707.525.4840.

• Tweet

  Pin It

  Share

  Add to favorites

  Saving…

Tags: Soul Food Junkies, Rialto Cinemas, Community Cinema Film Series

Permalink | Post Comments

film Nov. 25: The Third Man screens at the Rafael Film Center

Posted by Leilani Clark on Wed, Nov 21, 2012 at 12:08 PM

I’d like to cut you in, old man. There’s nobody in Marin County that I can really trust, and we’ve always done things together. When you make up your mind, I’ll send you a message, any place, any time. And when we do meet, old man, it’s you I want to see, not the police. Maybe we could meet up on a Ferris wheel in Vienna, old man, where’ll I’ll complain of indigestion, before opening up the door in a mildly threatening manner high above the dots—you know them as people—talking of Anna, false death and the futility of human existence. For I’m Harry Lime, old man, and one thing I know for sure is that the great Orson Welles film ‘The Third Man’ screens on Sunday, Nov. 25, at the Rafael Film Center. 1118 Fourth St., San Rafael. $10.50. 7pm. 415.454.1222.

• Tweet

  Pin It

  Share

  Add to favorites

  Saving…

Tags: The Third Man, Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton, Smith Rafael Film Center

Permalink | Post Comments

film Nov. 8 and 11: Johnny Legend's 'TV in Acidland' at the Rafael Film Center

Posted by Gabe Meline on Thu, Nov 8, 2012 at 5:03 PM

Johnny Legend is a man of many roles—he's a self-proclaimed rockabilly bastard, being a musician since the hippie days, a wrestling promoter, and an archiver of the weirdest and the rarest bits of film debris. Legend is an expert in psychotronia recognized by QT and Eli Roth alike. TV in Acidland is Legend's hand-made montage of the most shudderingly strange and awesomely revealing moments early television could offer—a stream-of-consciousness look back at chimera like Pinky Lee, Spike Jones and other unfortunately less remembered performers. Legend's musical career pays off here: the stuff he assembled really gets under the skin of your ears. See Groucho Marx transcends the lens flares of the cruel cathode tube, while well-known movie stars such as Marilyn Monroe and Humphrey Bogart mortgage their integrity in embarrassing skits. The damnedest thing you ever saw. TV in Acidland screens Thursday, Nov. 8 (7pm) and Sunday, Nov. 11 (2pm) at the Rafael Film Center. 1118 Fourth Street, San Rafael. $10.50. 415.454.1222.

• Tweet

  Pin It

  Share

  Add to favorites

  Saving…

Permalink | Post Comments

film Nov. 8: Sonoma County Jewish Film Festival at the Rialto

Posted by Leilani Clark on Thu, Nov 8, 2012 at 11:44 AM

Films showing through November at the Sonoma County Jewish Film Festival include Nicky’s Family, Reuniting the Rubins and A.K.A. Doc Pomus, a documentary about the legendary rock-and-roll songwriter that got rave reviews from Greil Marcus in the latest issue of The Believer. Nicky’s Family tells the true story of Nicholas Winton, a British stockbroker who organized the rescue and transport of 669 children fleeing Hitler’s Army in 1938. Nicknamed the “British Schindler,” Winton didn’t gain recognition for his actions for more than 50 years, when his wife discovered the story while searching through the attic. The Jewish Film Festival runs through Tuesday, Dec. 4, with Nicky’s Family screening Thursday, Nov. 8, at Rialto Cinemas. 6868 McKinley St., Sebastopol. 1pm and 7:30pm. $10. 707.528.4222.

• Tweet

  Pin It

  Share

  Add to favorites

  Saving…

Tags: Sonoma County Jewish Film Festival, Nicky's Family, Rialto

Permalink | Post Comments

film Sept. 28: 'Where Soldiers Come From' at Sebastopol Center for the Arts

Posted by Gabe Meline on Wed, Sep 26, 2012 at 3:17 PM

“Supporting the troops” takes on many forms more complex than waving a plastic made-in-China flag, and one such way is to tell a soldier’s story. Heather Courtney returned to her snowy Michigan hometown to make the documentary ‘Where Soldiers Come From,’ which follows a group of friends who are lured into the Army by signing bonuses and college-tuition support. After a mission in Afghanistan sweeping for roadside bombs, the young men return disillusioned in their commitments and plagued by PTSD. That’s when their true challenges begin—as returning veterans, at just 23 years old. See Where Soldiers Come From as part of the Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival's "Best of the Fest" on Friday, Sept. 28, at the Sebastopol Center for the Arts. 6780 Depot St., Sebastopol. 4:30pm and 7pm. $10. 707.829.4797.

• Tweet

  Pin It

  Share

  Add to favorites

  Saving…

Permalink | Post Comments

film Sept. 25: 'Grand Hotel' at Napa Valley Opera House

Posted by Gabe Meline on Wed, Sep 19, 2012 at 1:25 PM

Greta Garbo. Joan Crawford. Not one, but two Barrymores. Aspiring stars, jewelry theft, brutish fighting, drunken foibles, and the famous line, “I want to be alone.” All these things and more make up ‘Grand Hotel,’ presented this week in the Napa Valley Opera House’s classic film series. Named Best Picture in 1932, the film holds up tremendously well, not only for its pioneering plot of interweaving characters and unusual cinematography, but for sheer old-Hollywood star power. There’s a thrilling climax involving a rotary phone, too, that can’t be beat—and that couldn’t possibly be effective with a lousy four-inch, 3.95-ounce iPhone 5. See Grand Hotel on Tuesday, Sept. 25, at the Napa Valley Opera House, 1030 Main St., Napa. 7pm. $7. 707.226.7372.

• Tweet

  Pin It

  Share

  Add to favorites

  Saving…

Permalink | Post Comments