She Likes to Watch

Film noir, documentaries playing locally this weekend

Murder, surfing and environmental matters are on the movie menu this weekend.

Salisbury Vineyards’ film noir series ends tonight with “The Postman Always Rings Twice.”

Based on James M. Cain’s terse, brilliant novel, “Postman” has all the elements of a classic crime thriller: a rootless drifter, a beautiful femme fatale and a torrid love affair that leads to murder. The 1946 original, starring John Garfield and Lana Turner as the doomed couple, is expertly crafted and superbly executed.

The screening, which starts at 6:30 p.m., includes dinner, dessert and a private wine tasting at the Avila Valley winery. Salisbury Vineyards is located at 6985 Ontario Road in San Luis Obispo.

Admission is $50 for wine club members and $60 for non-members. That price includes a $10 voucher for beverages and a complimentary wine glass. Part of the proceeds benefit the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.

For reservations, call 595-9463.

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Missed Thursday’s showing of “One Winter Story”? Lucky for you, there’s a second showing tonight.

Directed by filmmakers Elizabeth Pepin and Sally Lundburg, the documentary follows the inspiring story of Cal Poly grad Sarah Gerhardt, who became the first female surfer to tackle Maverick’s in 1999. She’s also a scientist, teacher and mother.

You can check out The Tribune’s profile of Gerhardt here. My fellow blogger, Pat Pemberton, has more details at his blog.

Both Pepin and Gerhardt will attend tonight’s screening, 7 p.m. at La Perla del Mar, 205 Windward Ave. in Shell Beach. The event includes a question-and-answer session.

General admission is $12, with discounts for seniors, students and children under 12.

Call 748-5547 for more details or check out La Perla’s Web site.

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On Saturday, the San Luis Obispo Art Center kicks off its brand-new film series with “The 11th Hour.”

Narrated and produced by Leonardo di Caprio, this documentary examines our planet’s most dire environmental problems — drought, famine, hurricanes, acid rain and record heat — while offering practical solutions. As the tagline proclaims, “11th Hour” aims to “turn mankind’s darkest hour into its finest.”

The movie screening ties into an upcoming art exhibit, “Antarctica: A Global Warning,” which runs Oct. 17 to Nov. 23 in the center’s Gray Wing.

“The 11th Hour” will be shown at 7 p.m. tonight at the San Luis Obispo Art Center, 1010 Broad St. in San Luis Obispo. A $5 donation is suggested for members, $7 for non-members.

The Movie Night series continues with “View From a Grain of Sand” on Nov. 15.

For more information, call 543-8562 or visit www.sloartcenter.org.

“Total Recall,” “Rent” and the Found Footage Festival are among this week’s events

It’s a busy week for movies.

With “Choke,” “Eagle Eye” and “Miracle at St. Anna” all hitting theaters on Friday and a slew of movie events planned locally, I’ll probably find myself scurrying from screening to screening like a demented mongoose. I say, “Why scurry alone?”

Here’s the rundown for upcoming Central Coast movie screenings:

San Luis Obispo’s Palm Theatre starts the party tonight with “Total Recall.”

The year is 2084, and construction worker Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) keeps having vivid dreams about Mars.

He approaches Rekall, a company that sends its customers on mental vacations by implanting fake memories, and buys an “ego trip” package: a harmless fantasy about life as a spy. It works.

In fact, it works a little too well.

When the Rekall doctors dredge up actual memories, Quaid discovers that his job and his marriage to sexy Sharon Stone is a hoax. He’s actually a Martian secret agent dedicated to taking down Martian dictator Cohaagen. And he’s in big, big trouble.

“Total Recall” couldn’t be farther from its inspiration, Philip K. Dick’s “We Can Remember It For You Wholesale,” but it’s campy, violent fun nonetheless.

“Total Recall” screens at 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. tonight at The Palm Theatre, 817 Palm St. Tickets are $7.50.

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Tonight and Friday, HopeDance Magazine sponsors two screenings of “The World According to Monsanto.”

A French documentary by independent filmmaker Marie-Monique Robin, “Monsanto” takes a penetrating look at the American biotech giant that provides much of the world’s genetically engineered corn, soybean and cotton seeds. The film is subtitled “From Agent Orange to Genetically Modified Crops.”

“The World According to Monsanto” will be shown at 7 p.m. Wednesday, following an hour-long potluck, at Dancing Deer Farm, 2975 Vineyard Rd. in Templeton. You can also attend an outdoor nighttime screening Friday at Nature’s Touch, 107 Seventh St. in Templeton.

A $5 donation is encouraged. Call 369-0203 for more information.

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Long-running rock opera “Rent” may have closed on Broadway, but it’s back in theaters in two local screenings.

Jonathan Larson’s musical, based on Puccini’s iconic “La Boheme,” follow a group of starving artists looking for love and acceptance in New York City’s East Village. It won a Pulitzer prize and four Tony Awards in 1996, inspired a 2005 movie, and spent 12 years on the Great White Way, becoming one of Broadway’s longest running shows.

“Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway” will be shown today and Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Fremont theatre, 1025 Monterey St. in San Luis Obispo.

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Quirky videos are the focus of the Found Footage Festival, Thursday night in San Luis Obispo.

Self-appointed curators Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett scour garage sales, thrift stores and Dumpsters across the nation for odd and hilarious videos.

They create an hour-plus program based on their finds — bizarre home movies, befuddling commercials, cable TV outtakes and more — and take the result on the road as the Found Footage Festival. This screening will be their only appearance in San Luis Obispo.

Some of this year’s highlights include a talent show called “Stairway to Stardom,” an instructional video for a terrifying cosmetic face mask, and exercise videos starring Mark Wahlberg, O.J. Simpson and rapping pregnant women.

Catch the festival at 7 p.m. tonight at The Palm Theatre. Tickets are $10.

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On Friday, film noir meets pinor noir with Salisbury Vineyards in the Avila Valley.

Enjoy dinner, dessert and a private wine tasting as you watch a movie on the winery’s outdoor patio. This week’s selection is “His Kind of Woman,” starring Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell.

Admission is $50 for wine club members and $60 for non-members. That price includes a $10 voucher for beverages and a complimentary wine glass.

It all starts at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Salisbury Vineyards, 6985 Ontario Road in San Luis Obispo. Part of the proceeds benefit the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.

The series continues next month with two film noir classics: “Double Indemnity” (Oct. 3) and “The Postman Always Rings Twice” (Oct. 10).

For reservations, call (805) 595-9463.