She Likes to Watch

Would you trust these men? If you believe “Step Brothers,” you shouldn’t

Another week, another batch of audio clips courtesy of McClatchy Interactive:

“Mad Men,” AMC’s show about hard-edged men and women during advertising’s Golden Age, has garnered an astounding 16 Emmy Award nominations, and no wonder. It’s smart, original and — most importantly — a smoky, boozy, sexy portrait of the era.

Star Elisabeth Moss talks about her newfound connection to the ’60s.

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Meanwhile, the documentary “Man on Wire” takes a fresh look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit’s high-stakes stroll between the World Trade Center towers in 1974. As Petit shares here, it was a terrifying, but thrilling experience.

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“Step Brothers,” the new movie starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, is daring in a different way.

The movie follows two grown men who become stepbrothers when their single parents marry. As you might guess from a film directed by Adam McKay and produced by Judd Apatow, their relationship is a mix of boyish exuberance and violent, foul-mouthed antagonism.

Check out this scene from “Step Brothers.” You’ll hear the voices of Ferrell, Reilly, Richard Jenkins and Mary Steenburgen.

Who says education has to be boring?

The National Geographic Society has long championed the cause of knowledge and understanding. It’s also captured some of the most stunning sights known to man on film.

National Geographic offers a number of amazing videos on its Web site, such as this Czech church decorated with thousands of human bones.

There’s also a National Geographic channel on YouTube. Its slogan? “Inspiring People to Care About the Planet.”

Here’s a video about the annual rattlesnake roundup in Sweetwater, Texas.

Security specialists learn how to “drive like a spy” at a special training school.

And, in one of National Geographic’s more popular videos, a shark tussles with an octopus. (Just ignore the goofy narration.)

I once read an article titled “When good art happens to bad people.”

The premise was this: Behind some of the world’s greatest masterpieces are morally questionable people.

Case in point: Roald Dahl wrote several wonderful children’s books including “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Matilda” and “The BFG.” He’s also been accused of racism, sexism and other evils of his era.

Playwright Norman Mailer stabbed his wife.

Beat writer William S. Burroughs shot his.

François Villon, the 15th-century French poet, killed a priest, spent stints in prison for street brawls and was banished from Paris after a church robbery.

And that’s just the writers.

Add artists, musicians and actors to the mix and you’ve got murder (Caravaggio), child abuse (Bing Crosby, Joan Crawford), assault and gang activity (Notorious B.I.G., Tupak Shakur, et al).

Add to the list Roman Polanski, a film director whose scars include a troubled childhood in Nazi-controlled Poland and a murdered, pregnant wife.

Polanski’s 1977 trial on charges that he drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl — and its bizarre aftermath — are the subject of a new documentary by director Marina Zenovich.

“Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired” premieres tonight on HBO at 9 a.m. EST. (Part of a series of summer documentaries, it’s slated to air through July 5.)

To me, “Wanted and Desired” poses an interesting question.

What do we do when an artist as talented and highly respected as Polanski commits a reprehensible, inexcusable crime? Should we cross “Chinatown” off the American Film Institute’s “Top 100″ list? Deny him an Oscar for “The Pianist”?

Do we buy R. Kelly albums, knowing about his underage child sex scandal? Or watch Mel Gibson films, considering his anti-Semitic remarks?

What do we do when smart, talented, gifted people do very bad things?

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Movie poster courtesy of MovieWeb.com.

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P.S. After further research I have removed the name of silent film comedian Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle from the list of so-called “Hollywood baddies.”

HopeDance FiLMs, the thought-provoking local movie series , is on hiatus until September.

Don’t despair, loyal moviegoers.

HopeDance Magazine is teaming up with Cal Poly this month for two food-related screenings.

“King Corn,” directed by Aaron Woolf, follows one acre of corn from the fields to the dinner tables of American consumers. The second film, “The Real Dirt on Farmer John,” chronicles the story of maverick Midwestern farmer John Peterson.

“King Corn” plays at 8 p.m. on May 21 at The Sandwich Factory on the Cal Poly campus. Bud Evans, a political science lecturer at Cal Poly, will lead a discussion on the importance of food choices.

“The Real Dirt on Farmer John” will play at The Sandwich Factory on May 28, also at 8 p.m.

Both screenings are free and open to the public. For more information, call Tracy Owens at (310) 938-0709 or e-mail towens@calpoly.edu.

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Meanwhile, you can rent films via HopeDance’s library at The Novel Experience, 779 Higuera St. in San Luis Obispo.

According to HopeDance publisher Bob Banner, the library has about 500 films, mostly documentaries on subjects ranging from spirituality to the environment to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Many have been screened as part of the HopeDance FiLMs series.

Rental prices are $3 for three days and $5 per week, with a $1 late fee.

Library users can also purchase a film card for $200, which qualifies a family to rent up to four films a week for an entire year. Novel Experience customers receive a free rental by buying more than $25 of books.

For more information, call (805) 544-9663.

With gas prices skyrocketing and future of fuel looking grim, it’s safe to say most of us have an interest in oil.

Few of us, however, have the gumption to dedicate more than two years to researching the subject.

Filmmakers Scott D. Roberts and Jeremy Wagener did just that with their documentary “Gas Hole.”

Using scores of interviews and miles of film footage, they delved into the history of oil and the future of fuel-efficient technologies and alternative fuels.

“Instead of going the film festival route or looking for distributors, we felt the subject matter was so timely and so important that we thought, ‘Let’s put on a tour,” said Roberts.

Roberts and Wagener will be in San Luis Obispo tomorrow (Tuesday) to screen the film and answer questions.

Read the rest…

Fill up at any gas station from Paso Robles to Nipomo and you may suffer from sticker shock.

Prices at the pump now run an average of four bucks a gallon, which means hard times for anyone who depends on wheels for work or errands. (Yours truly, for instance.)

That’s $40 to take little Johnny to swim practice. Fifty clams to stop for groceries. Sixty smackers to pick up Fifi from the vet’s. And that’s if you drive a compact.

At a comparably cheap gas station in Santa Maria, I overheard one man complaining that it took $100 to fill the tank of his ’60s-era boat of an automobile.

A hundred greenbacks! Zowie!

Soaring gas prices can only mean one thing: Time to trade my oil-burning laptop for one of them new-fangled ‘lectric models.

All kidding aside, however, our current oil shortage is a serious problem.

That’s why Central Coast moviegoers should check out two upcoming screenings of documentaries that focus on “the oil issue.”

“Megadisasters: Oil Apocalypse,” which screens Friday, looks at the potential crisis facing the world when we run out of oil — and the solutions that could save us.

With the History Channel documentary, organizers will also screen an animated short film, “Post Oil Man.”

The screening, sponsored by HopeDance magazine, will be followed by a discussion with local activist Zachary Stowasser, professional musician Cindy Dixon, environmentalist Jim Cole and HopeDance publisher Bob Banner.

See “Oil Apocalypse” at 7 p.m. Friday at the San Luis Obispo library, 995 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo. A $5 donation is suggested.

On Tuesday, May 6, the documentary “GasHole” examines the history of oil and the future of alternative fuels.
Narrated by Peter Gallagher (he of the enormous eyebrows), “GasHole” features interviews with U.S. Department of Energy officials, congressional leaders, users and producers of alternative fuels, and others.

Filmmakers Scott Roberts and Jeremy Wagener will be present at two screenings to answer questions.

Watch “GasHole” on Tuesday at the Palm Theatre at 817 Palm St., San Luis Obispo’s first-and-only solar-powered movie theater. The movie screens at 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m.

Tickets are $7.50, $5 for kids and seniors. (Tuesdays are also “KCPR Night,” so mention the Cal Poly radio station or wear a KCPR T-shirt and you’ll get a buck off.)

Ah, spring. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, and spring cleaning is upon us.

While emptying the recycling bins here at Movies HQ, I found a few movie-related tidbits.

HopeDance magazine offers two more movies this month in its HopeDance FiLMs series.

First up is “Everything’s Cool”, a look at the history of global warming.
Filmmakers Daniel B. Gold and Judith Helfand examine the movement from the viewpoints of scientists, activists and politicians. Hear interviews with Bill McKibben, Ross Gelbspan and others.

“Everything’s Cool” will be screened at 7 p.m. Monday at the San Luis Obispo library, in San Luis Obispo. A $5 donation is encouraged.

On Wednesday, the film series takes a look at health care with “Cuba: An Accidental Revolution.”

The documentary, narrated by scientist/environmentalist David Suzuki, looks at the island nation’s surprisingly strong health care system.

It’s paired with the PBS documentary “Critical Care,” about U.S. health care.

Moviegoers are encouraged to donate $5 to $10.

“Cuba: An Accidental Revolution” and “Critical Care” play at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the San Luis Obispo library.

More information about both films is available at www.hopedance.org.

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The Palm Theatre in San Luis Obispo kicks off its new movie series on Wednesday with “Trainspotting.”

Palm Wednesdays will offer a different flick each Wednesday. The emphasis here is on cult classics: quirky comedies, action flicks and thrillers with a strong following among Generations X and Y.

Few movies fall into that category better than “Trainspotting,” Danny Boyles’ darkly comic look at the Edinburgh drug scene. It’s smart, slick and frequently pretty damn unsavory.

“Trainspotting” will screen at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Palm Theatre, 817 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo.

Tickets are $7.50. You can also snag a six-movie pass for $35 — provided you buy it before Wednesday.

The series continues May 7 with the big-wave surfing documentary “Billabong Odyssey.” Check out the full list at www.thepalmtheatre.com.

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The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival drew more than 7,500 moviegoers, organizers said this week, the “best ever” in the festival’s 14-year history.

About 12 percent came from outside the county, said Wendy Eidson, the film festival’s executive director.

Top events at the film festival, which ran March 7 to 16, included a train-themed opening night, an awards ceremony honoring “Easy Rider” star Peter Fonda and Surf Night, featuring a tribute to pioneer surf filmmaker Bud Browne.

This year, festival organizers introduced Western Night and the Hollywood and Vines series, which pairs movies with local wineries. They also added venues in Santa Margarita, Paso Robles and Shell Beach.

For more information, visit www.slofilmfest.org.

The 14th annual San Luis Obispo International Film Festival is over.

Peter Fonda strode off stage Saturday night. The final credits of the final film flickered on Sunday afternoon. Executive director Wendy Eidson packed up the festival office earlier this week.

Only 363 days until the next film festival? What’s a movielover to do?

For those who crave thoughtful cinema, there’s HopeDance FiLMs, an ongoing, enlightening series of movies and events.

The journey starts tonight with “The Real Dirt on Farmer John,” a look at farmer/actor/activist John Peterson.

That film will be screened at 7 p.m. at the San Luis Obispo City Library, 995 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo. A $5 donation is encouraged.

On Thursday, HopeDance FiLMs will screen “Sicko,” Michael Moore’s controversial documentary about the American health care system, as a fundraiser for Health Care for All.

Learn more at a question-and-answer series featuring representatives of Health Care for All. That free screening is 7 p.m. Thursday at the library; donations are encouraged.

Also playing this month:

“Subdivided: Isolation in Suburbia”
7 p.m., March 24
SLO Library

Filmmaker Dean Terry examines how suburban sprawl is changing the face of American neighborhoods, featuring commentary from “Bowling Alone” author Robert Putnam and James Howard Kunstler, who wrote “The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and Decline of America’s Man-Made Landscape.” A discussion will follow the screening, for which a $5donation is suggested.

“Bill Hicks”
7 p.m. March 25
Honeymoon Cafe, 999 Price St., Pismo Beach

Celebrate the legacy of comedian Bill Hicks, who mixed outrageous humor with a passion for social justice. This documentary interviews his parents, David Letterman and other cohorts, while offering footage of Hicks’ stand-up routines. A $10 donation includes finger foods, which will be served at 6:30 p.m.

“One Giant Leap”
7 p.m. March 26
2975 Vineyard Dr., Templeton

It’s a new kind of music documentary. Learn about global music with Baaba Maal, Brian Eno and Michael Stipes, chat about philosophy with Anita Roddick and Tom Robbins, dance, listen and expand your mind. A donation of $5 is suggested.

The Reflecting Pool
6:30 p.m. March 27
Palm Theatre, 817 Palm St., San Luis Obispo

This new “investigative drama” challenges the official version of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Meet the film’s producers, director and some of the stars at this special screening, which requires a $10 donation.

The film will be screened again at 7 p.m., March 31, at the library. A $5 donation is requested for that screening.

For more information on the above films, visit the HopeDance Web site.

– Sarah L.

You know those lazy spring days that you spend parked between the TV and the refrigerator, wistfully wishing you actually had something to do?

Well, my friends, with the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival in full swing, you have no more excuses.

Each day offers half a dozen screenings, as well as workshops, receptions and filmmaker appearances.

Today, for instance, you could head to the Palm Theatre in San Luis Obispo for a screening of the groundbreaking “Street Scene.”

King Vidor revolutioned the movie industry by translating Elmer Rice’s single-set play onto film — using creative camera angles and swooping shots to capture the action.

Personally, I’m kicking myself that I can’t attend this afternoon’s screening of “Spine Tingler: The William Castle Story,” at Downtown Centre Cinemas.

As you may know, Castle is the modern-day P.T. Barnum who drew crowds to his schlocky B-movies by selling fake insurance policies, providing faux doctors for the nervous, and wiring theater seats to “buzz” their inhabitants. While the current fad for “torture porn” wastes no time in revealing buckets of gore, Castle’s movies gave moviegoers the delicious thrill of anticipation.

It’s followed by “This Is My Cheesesteak,” one filmmaker’s delicious quest to find the ultimate Philly cheesesteak sandwich. My mouth is watering.

Since I’m a working stiff like the rest of you, however, I’ll have to be satisfied with “Dr. Zhivago” — that beautiful, sweepingly romantic tale of love and loss during the Russian Revolution.

That Omar Shariff is pretty darn dreamy.

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Here’s the nitty-gritty:

“Spine Tingler: The William Castle Story” and “This Is My Cheesesteak”
4 p.m., today
Downtown Centre Cinemas, 888 Marsh St., San Luis Obispo

“No I in Security” and “The Union”
7 p.m.
Downtown Centre Cinemas

“Street Scene”
7:30 p.m., following 6 p.m. reception at SLOIFF headquarters, 861 Palm St., SLO
Palm Theatre, 817 Palm St., SLO

“Dr. Zhivago”
7:30 p.m.
Fremont theater, 1025 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo

Check out the film festival Web site for ticket prices and more details.

– Sarah L.

As you no doubt read in The Tribune last week, the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival has begun.

The festival kicked off Friday with a train-themed gala at the historic Santa Margarita Ranch.

On Saturday, organizers offered a host of features and documentaries from “The Little Red Truck,” a look at one far-reaching children’s theater group, to a sing-along version of “Hairspray.”

(Unfortunately for female fans, star Zac Efron couldn’t make the screening. He’s off filming in England, undoubtedly the period flick “Me and Orson Welles.)

One of the afternoon’s highlights was “Gumby Dharma,” which chronicled the fascinating life and times of “Gumby” creator Art Clokey.

Clokey himself was present at Downtown Centre Cinemas in San Luis Obispo. Moviegoers spotted the claymation pioneer and Los Osos resident being wheeled around in a wheelchair with son Joel by his side.

I caught a screening of “Monster Camp,” filmmaker Cullen Hoback’s documentary about the weird, wonderful world world of live-action role playing, or, LARPing.

Inviting comparisons to “Trekkies” and the arcade game doc “King of Kong,” “Monster Camp” offers a fun, even sympathetic look at the dedicated fantasy fans who meet every few months to dress up and engage in mock combat.

They’re drawn by a desire to escape from their humdrum lives, hang out with friends and even meet mates. These are the same folks who dedicate untold hours to the online phenomenon “World of Warcraft.” Call ‘em nerds with a niche.

“Monster Camp” is funny, wince-worthy and infinitely entertaining. Until the movie finds its way into regular theaters, learn more at www.monstercampthemovie.com.

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For more about the San Luis Obispo International Film Festivals, including ticket prices and screening locations, go here.

– Sarah L.