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Mar 11th
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Film

Film - Reviews and Times

Gold Fever

Gold Fever

Will twice the nominees be boon or bust at 2010 Oscars?

A funny thing happened on the way to this year's Academy Awards ceremony. The Academy decided to open up its nominating process to 10 films, instead of the usual five. Who (besides Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, who will reap twice the revenue from "For your consideration …" ads), is this new policy designed to benefit? Well, the Academy, mainly, suffering from charges of elitism for failing to include more popular, crowd-pleasing titles among its most august list of Best Picture nominees in recent years. This was kind of a surprise to some of us pointy-heads who thought the Academy's recent trend toward more interesting, independent films was sort of a good thing. (Big box-office movies have big box-office receipts to console them.) After all, you don't have to go too far back in the last decade to find movies like Gladiator and Lord of The Rings: Return of the King—not exactly popularity wallflowers— not only nominated, but waltzing off with the whole Oscar enchilada.

Read more...
Film - Reviews and Times

Rock Opera

Rock Opera

‘North Face’ is a brutal, compelling moutaineering saga

It’s ironic that the mountain-climbing movie North Face should arrive in the wake of the Winter Olympics. Sure, German filmmaker Philipp Stolzl’s gripping dramatization of a true story begins like one of those “inspirational” athletic movies about the indomitable human spirit in the face of impossible odds. There’s plenty of camaraderie and suspense as fresh-faced youths test their mettle against a ferocious opponent—in this case, the notorious north face of the Eiger in the Swiss Alps. There’s even a decorous hint of romance. But as the incidents in Stolzl’s film become more harrowing, and the truly operatic scope of the drama is revealed, viewers start to realize we’re not in Hollywood any more, Toto.

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Film - Reviews and Times

Movies & Film Events: Week of Mar. 4

Movies & Film Events: Week of Mar. 4

Films This Week
Check out the movies playing around town.
With reviews and trailers.

See Lisa Jensens Oscar picks

 

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Film - Reviews and Times

War of the Words

War of the Words

Ideas, not action, drive wry Romanian cop drama ‘Police, Adjective'
If you expect a lot of shootouts and car chases from your police dramas, if you can't imagine a crime investigation that's not an action thriller, then Police, Adjective is not for you. Low-key in the extreme, this police drama from Romania unfolds at such a glacial pace, it often recalls those experimental Warhol movies of the '60s  which were all about the depiction of absolutely nothing. But viewers willing to pay attention and get into its slow, spare, real-life, real-time rhythm will discover a sly black comedy from director Corneliu Poromboiu, depending more on a gradually building intensity of ideas than conventional action.

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Film - Reviews and Times

Movies & Film Events: Week of Feb. 25

Movies & Film Events: Week of Feb. 25

Films This Week
Check out the movies playing around town.
With reviews and trailers.

 

 

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Film - Reviews and Times

Cinequest Hits a Milestone at 20

Cinequest Hits a Milestone at 20

Twenty is a sexy age—even for a film festival. Fortunately for San Jose, Cinequest has never looked better—both onscreen and off. Actually, the revered celluloid soiree, which hits its 20-year marker this week, has managed to produce one of the most impressive outings in the Bay Area this season. More than 200 film screenings roll out, among them about 76 U.S. and World and premieres from 45 countries. The fest also honors "Maverick" filmmakers and innovators. Speaking of, mark your calendar and clear you Sixth Chakra: Deepak Chopra—yes, the Deepak—is being honored with a "Life of a Maverick Award" at 7pm Tuesday, March 2 at San Jose's California Theatre. Interesting to note is that Chopra has penned the script for "The Sadhu," which is under development—the film is based on the comic book series

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Film - Reviews and Times

Twilight of the God

Twilight of the God

'Last Station' is a smart, gripping tale of Tolstoy's final years

The great thing about The Last Station is that it doesn't take sides. This lightly fictionalized story of Leo Tolstoy in his twilight years, beset by public and domestic discord, is rife with polarizing issues: poverty vs. wealth, communal life vs. privilege, religious doctrine vs. personal freedom, male vs. female. But as characters are revealed and their relationships entwine, filmmaker Michael Hoffman refuses to condemn anyone or tell the audience what to think. Instead, his smart, gripping film provides a sprawling and juicy canvas of life in all its messy contradictions.

Hoffman adapted the film from the novel by Jay Parini, which was inspired by private diaries kept by several witnesses in Tolstoy's household during his later years. In Hoffman's film, this busy narrative is pared down to  single viewpoint from which the rest of the story unspools, that of Valentin Bulgakov (solid, earnest James McAvoy), an innocent, awestruck young writer hired on as Tolstoy's new personal secretary.

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Film - Reviews and Times

Movies & Film Events: Week of Feb. 18

Movies & Film Events: Week of Feb. 18

Films This Week
Check out the movies playing around town.
With reviews and trailers.

 

Read more...
Film - Reviews and Times

CREATION

CREATION

The subject of the film is Charles Darwin, but don't go expecting high seas adventure in exotic ports on board the naturalist's famous research ship, the Beagle. What director Jon Amiel delivers instead is Creation, a mild-mannered, at times claustrophobic, yet moving period family drama about the effect of Darwin's radical theories of evolution on his family life, and vice versa. Scripted by John Collee (best known for his intricate screenwriting on Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World), the film is based on the biographical book "Annie's Box: Darwin, His Daughter, and Human Evolution." Written by Randal Keynes (Darwin's great, great grandson), using a wealth of private family documents, the book focuses on the difficult period during which Darwin produced—and almost failed to produce—his groundbreaking book, "On The Origin Of Species."

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Film - Reviews and Times

Cliff Hanger

Cliff Hanger

Banff Mountain Film Festival unleashes daring movies at the Rio Theatre

Go climb a rock. Or at least watch a movie about people who climb rocks, and put their lives at risk for fun, by catching the Banff Mountain Film Festival at 7 p.m. on Feb. 26 and 27 at the Rio Theatre. The thrill ride of a festival is back once again to woo adventurers with a series of short films that are inspiring, jaw-dropping, and feature feats that are beyond your imagination. Sporting a fantastic lineup of films, two of the ‘scene stealers’ are the films Finding Farley and First Ascent: The Impossible Climb. The latter stars Santa Cruz’s own spectacular rock climber Chris Sharma, who scales perhaps the world’s most difficult rock climb, and Finding Farley explores the aquatic journey of a couple, their toddler, and their dog as they travel down bodies of water in search of a legendary writer who did a similar trip long ago. Here’s a quick run-down of these two highlighted films.

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Page 1 of 11

Movie Times

Movies  Fri.   3/5–3/11

DEL MAR THEATRE     469–3220
The Ghost Writer 1:40, 3:20, 4:20,  6, 7, 8:40, 9:40 + Sat-Sun 11am
Precious1:00pm
The Last Station 2:10, 4:40, 7:10, 9:30 +Sat-Sun 11:50am
The Matrix *Midnight Movie* Fri-Sat 12 midnight

NICKELODEON     426–7500
Crazy Heart 2:20, 4:50, 7:15, 9:30 +Sat-Sun 12:10pm
Oscar Nominated Short Films-Animated 2:20, 6:50 + Sat-Sun 12:20pm
Oscar Nominated Short Films-Live Action 4:20, 8:50
The Most Dangerous Man In America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers 4:40, 7, 9, +Sat-Sun 11:40am
The White Ribbon 1:50
An Education 4:30, 6:40 +Sat-Sun 11:50am
The Hurt Locker 2, 8:45


APTOS CINEMA    426–7500
Crazy Heart 1:50, 4:10, 6:30, 8:50 +Sat-Sun 11:30am
The Blind Side 3:40, 6:10
A Single Man 1:40, 8:40 +Sat-Sun 11:40am

GREEN VALLEY CINEMA 8    761–8200
Alice In Wonderland 3D 1:30, 4:30, 7, 9:20, +Sat-Sun 11am
Alice in Wonderland 1:45, 4:45, 7:15, 9:40, +Sat-Sun 11:15am
Brooklyn’s Finest 1, 4, 7, 9:40
Hurt Locker 7, 9:40
Avatar 1, 4:15, 7:30
The Crazies 1:30, 4:30, 7:10, 9:25 +Sat-Sun 11am
Cop Out 1:30, 4:30, 7, 9:25 +Sat-Sun 11:05am
Avatar 3D 1, 4:15, 7:30
Shutter Island 1, 4, 6:45, 9:30
Percy Jackson: Lightning Thief 1:30, 4:30, 7, 9:30 +Sat-Sun 11am
Valentines Day 1:35, 4:20 +Sat-Sun 11am

CINELUX SCOTTS VALLEY #6    438–3260
Crazy Heart 2:10, 4:40, 7:10 +Fri-Sun 11:40am
Alice in Wonderland  2, 2:45, 4:30, 5:15, 7, 7:45, 9:30, 10:15
+Fri-Sun 11:30am, 12:15pm
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
1:30, 4:10, 6:45 +Fri-Sun 11am
Cop Out 2:20, 5, 7:30 +Fri-Sun11:45am
Shutter Island 3:30, 6:45, 9:45 +Fri-Sun 12:30
The Hurt Locker 9:15pm

CINELUX 41ST AVE CINEMA    479–3504
Cop Out 11:55, 2:30, 5, 7:30
Shutter Island 12:30, 3:45, 7
Valentine’s Day 11:30, 2:10, 4:45, 7:20


SC CINEMA 9    1–800–326–3264 #1700

Alice In Wonderland 1:40, 2:05, 4:20, 4:45, 7, ,:25, 9:40, 10:05 +Fri-Sun 11am
Brooklyn’s Finest 1:30, 4:35, 7:35, 10:25
Shutter Island 1, 3:20, 4, 6:30, 7:10, 9:30, 10:15 +Fri-Sun 12:15pm
The Wolfman 2:30, 5:00, 7:40, 10 +Fri-Sun 2:30pm
Valentine’s Day 1:05, 3:45, 6:45, 9:25
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief 1:15, 3:55, 6:40, 9:20
Avatar 12:50, 4:10, 7:50
Dear John  1:15, 4, 6:45, 9:15
Rosemary’s Baby *Flashback Feature* Thur 3/11 8pm

RIVERFRONT     1–800–326–3264 #1701
Cop Out 4, 7, 9:40 +Fri-Sun 1pm
The Crazies 4:15, 7:15, 9:50 + Fri-Sun 1:15

> Movie Theatres in Santa Cruz area >

More Good Times

 

New Lagoon

UCSC’s Natural Reserve System works to restore Younger Lagoon It’s a beautiful, mild mid-December day and Gage Dayton is standing on a gently sloping hill overlooking Younger Lagoon, a natural reserve site, as he looks politely, if a bit sternly, at a surfer. The surfer, a man in his early twenties clad in a black hooded wetsuit, is, for his part, looking both embarrassed and uncomfortable; he’s in a distinctly awkward spot, positioned several feet off the ground, halfway over a fence. His two friends, also clad in wetsuits and clutching their surfboards, are standing behind him, looking similarly abashed. “No hopping here, guys,” Dayton says mildly. “Sorry. This is a reserve.” The surfers haven’t moved; they look at him a bit skeptically. “The UC Santa Cruz police have actually been starting to patrol down here, unfortunately,” he adds.

 

In Defense of Education

“I am a language teacher!” UC Santa Cruz Italian lecturer Giulia Centineo screamed into the loudspeaker during a March 4 protest at UC Santa Cruz. Centineo held the microphone up to her lips and addressed the crowd, her hand trembling, perhaps out of nervousness or simply passion. “For years the administration has been shoving down our throats the idea that students are clients. No, students are students! I don't sell Italian! I teach Italian!”

 

What does your future hold?

Scotts Valley | Self Employed  

 

From the Editor

Some foods are too tempting to pass up. That seems to be the case this week with GT’s dining scribes. In our biggest Food & Wine issue to date, our resident foodies experimented with some old favorites and also embarked on new culinary adventures. Delicious. Plus: “11 Sexy Foods.” (Spring is coming, after all.) Send us a list of your favorite local hotspots at letters@gtweekly.com. Tell us what local foods you can’t live without. (That might be a long list.)

 

Memory Matters

Twenty years after the fact, a geologist and a historian say we must not forget “Loma Prieta was a humbling experience for most of us. a reminder of our diminutive stature in the grand scheme of things. I think that remembering events like that is a perfect antidote for our collective hubris; it keeps us honest.” —Sandy Lydon, ‘History Dude’  

 

Music Calendar

Live Music This Week Check out the latest hot concert picks happening around town. See more area activities on our events page >  

 

Cool Band Now

Ingredients: Nick Green’s guitar, Chris Hopkins’ bass, Logan Bean’s drums, ample 4-track tape recorders, a hell of a lot of irreverence, and a pinch of freak pop with the rock. Stir ingredients together in a mixer with a lot of attitude and humor on tape, then set out on a stage to cool. The result? Cool Band Now. Friends who grew up in Livermore going to punk shows and pizza parlors together, the trio formed in Santa Cruz as a reaction against the sometimes stifling nature of taking music too seriously. With each member having spent plenty of time and energy on previous projects and recordings, Cool Band Now began over a year ago as a spontaneous endeavor to just have fun. “It’s a trapping feeling sometimes when you spend so much time on a recording to make it sound perfect,” Bean says, “so this was a lo-fi escape from all that.” When Green and Hopkins (whose words sometimes grace GT pages) first haphazardly started recording sound collages that flexed their multi-instrumental talents (there’s a bit of synth, a bit of punk distortion, a bit of indie acoustic guitar) the tracks were made with the idea of television commercial breaks in mind: whacky, experimental and short—very short; some “songs” run 15 seconds long.

 

Bull’s-Eye

Zimmerman honed his chops at the San Jose Repertory Theatre writing  musical reviews in the 1980s skewering the yuppies that peppered the Silicon Valley (“YUP!”, “Up the YUP!” and “YUP it UP!”). The punning pundit-with-guitar blossomed during the comedy boom of that time. “I had a duo during that time with [Santa Cruz virtuoso] Stevie Coyle and we were called the Reagan Brothers,” the witty comic remembers. “We played the Comedy Store and all the clubs and learned a lot about standing and delivering.”

 

Hello, Spring!

Huichol Indian Shaman Brant Secunda welcomes the new season with a powerful seaside workshop and retreat For centuries, ancient peoples such as the American Indians, Mayans and Druids have welcomed the vernal equinox with lavish ceremonies meant to thank their deities for allowing them to survive yet another winter. Nowadays with modern conveniences like indoor heating and grocery stores, winters aren’t quite as troublesome as they once were in the past, but there is something in the human spirit that still relishes the first verdant signs of spring. A flower blooming here, a warm breeze there—springtime is a time of rebirth and renewal. Brant Secunda takes this time of year seriously. A shaman and healer of the Huichol Indian tradition of Mexico, this renowned teacher will be leading a spring equinox retreat that will show participants how to harness the power of nature within themselves.

 

Muns Vineyard Rosé of Pinot Noir

Rose is fast becoming one of my new favorite wines. And when you find a good one such as Muns Vineyard’s Rosé of Pinot Noir, 2008 Central Coast ($18), then one’s wine-drinking life is most certainly elevated. I first tasted the Muns Rosé at a food and wine event at Café Cruz in Soquel.  Mary Lindsay, who, along with winemaker Ed Muns, plays a major role in production, public relations, tasting events, and everything else that’s involved with running a successful winery, was pouring that day. She invited me to try the Rosé and I immediately bought a bottle to take home. I often have friends over for wine and cheese get-togethers, and it makes a change to offer Rosé—along with the Merlots and Chardonnays of this world.

 

11 Sexy Foods

Fresh strawberries 1 Raw oysters (from booth at Saturday morning Cabrillo Farmers Market) An oyster’s texture, unmistakably sensual, can make your tongue dance—and who knows what will follow. Treat yourself to some oysters with lemon and Tabasco after shopping for fresh, organic produce on a sun-filled day at the Farmers Market with your sweetheart.Cabrillo Farmers Market, Cabrillo College, 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos, montereybayfarmers.org/aptos.html.

 

Food & Wine

Vinocruz Plus:Nightlife11 Sexy Foods you just have to sink your teeth into    

 

Gold Fever

Will twice the nominees be boon or bust at 2010 Oscars? A funny thing happened on the way to this year's Academy Awards ceremony. The Academy decided to open up its nominating process to 10 films, instead of the usual five. Who (besides Daily Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, who will reap twice the revenue from "For your consideration …" ads), is this new policy designed to benefit? Well, the Academy, mainly, suffering from charges of elitism for failing to include more popular, crowd-pleasing titles among its most august list of Best Picture nominees in recent years. This was kind of a surprise to some of us pointy-heads who thought the Academy's recent trend toward more interesting, independent films was sort of a good thing. (Big box-office movies have big box-office receipts to console them.) After all, you don't have to go too far back in the last decade to find movies like Gladiator and Lord of The Rings: Return of the King—not exactly popularity wallflowers— not only nominated, but waltzing off with the whole Oscar enchilada.

GT Dining Giveaway

dine-outS2Eat out on us! Every week we pull a new registered website user name for a free dining gift certificate.  All existing and new users are eligible.  Register and you can post Community Calendar events, add comments to articles, get access to registered-only content and new features coming.  Sign-in today—it’s free, helps build a stronger community and may even earn you a free meal.
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