She Likes to Watch

This week’s films include “Amazing Grace” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”

High-flying adventure hits the Central Coast this week with two documentaries and a martial arts epic.

Enjoy some “Good Food” tonight with a documentary about creative farmers, gardeners and cattle ranchers in the Pacific Northwest.

The movie screening is sponsored by HopeDance Magazine.

Directed and written by Mark Dworkin and Melissa Young,”Good Food” looks at the sustainable organic farming movement, which encourages healthier food grown with less energy, water and land than industrial “factory farms.”

The event kicks off at 5:30 p.m. with a potluck featuring locally produced foods. There’s also a talk with Jim Cole, a member of the Transition SLO Steering Group.

HopeDance will screen the movie at 7 p.m. at the San Luis Obispo City-County Library, 995 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo. A $5 donation is suggested.

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Love, revenge and the search for a magical jade sword drive the martial arts epic “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” screening Wednesday in San Luis Obispo.

When a masked thief steals the sword known as the Green Destiny, it’s up to martial arts warriors Li (Chow Yun Fat) and Yu (Michelle Yeoh) to recover it, discover the identity of the mysterious warrior and avenge Li’s murdered master.

Their quest is complicated by feelings of long-buried love. As Li and Yu struggle with their feelings for each other, another love affair is blooming between Jen (Zhang Ziyi), a beautiful girl with hidden talents, and the desert bandit Lo (Chang Chen).

Directed by Ang Lee, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” won an Academy Award for best foreign film and introduced many American filmgoers to wuxia, majestic martial arts epics with sweeping scenery, elaborate costumes and historical settings.

In the film, characters skim across water, dance up walls and battle in bamboo groves. They also engage in some of the most stunning action sequences seen on film.

Only a handful of films — “Hero” and “House of Flying Daggers” among them — can compare.

Catch “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. at The Palm Theater, 817 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo. Tickets are $7.50.

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Also on Wednesday, moviegoers can learn the inspiring true story behind the song “Amazing Grace.”

Ioan Gruffudd stars in “Amazing Grace” as William Wilberforce, the 19th-century abolitionist and statesman who battled to end the British transatlantic slave trade.

As Wilberforce finds a spouse who shares his conviction, he renews his fight for freedom with the support of Prime Minister William Pitt (Benedict Cumberbatch of “Atonement”), former slave Olaudah Equiano (Senegal singer Youssou N’Dour) and slave ship captain-turned-priest John Newton (Albert Finney), author of the hymn Amazing Grace.”

“Amazing Grace” will be screened at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Dancing Deer Ranch, 2975 Vineyard Drive in Templeton. A donation of $5 is encouraged.

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Thanks to LoveHKFilm.com for the image.

This week’s screenings include romance, action and documentaries

It’s a busy week for cinephiles here on the Central Coast.

We get off to a thoughtful start tonight with “Zeitgeist: Addendum.”

Directed by Peter Joseph, the documentary attempts to find the root causes of humanity’s “social corruption” while offering solutions. It’s a sequel to 2007’s “Zeitgeist: The Movie,” the controversial film that drew links between religion, the Federal Reserve and the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

“Zeitgeist Addendum” will be screened at 7 p.m. tonight at the San Luis Obispo City-County Library, 995 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo. A $5 donation is suggested; the screening is sponsored by HopeDance Magazine.

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Theater lovers and romantic-minded moviegoers will want to watch “Shakespeare in Love” Wednesday in Cambria.

Joseph Fiennes stars as William Shakespeare, a promising young playwright who’s battling writer’s block and the throes of romantic love. When he meets Lady Viola (Gwyneth Paltrow), he finds the inspiration for his greatest work, “Romeo and Juliet.”

The 1998 film won seven Academy Awards, including best picture, best screenplay, best score and best actress for Paltrow. Dame Judi Dench, who plays Queen Elizabeth I, snagged a supporting actress statuette.

Wednesday’s screening is sponsored by a new group known as The Cambria Shakespeare Lovers. It starts at 7 p.m. at the Theatre at the Old Grammar School, 1350 Main St. in Cambria.

Tickets are $4, with proceeds benefiting the Allied Arts Association. Call 927-1053 for more information.

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Another HopeDance film on Wednesday is aimed at foodies and folks interested in green living.

“Establishing a Food Forest” uses forests as a model for sustainable farming. In this documentary, created by the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia, managing director Geoff Lawton talks about the basics of “keep(ing) your forest productive” — including legumes, fungi, chickens and weed and pest control.

Watch “Establishing a Food Forest” at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Dancing Deer, 2975 Vineyard Dr. in Templeton.

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Also on Wednesday is one hell of a double feature: “Mad Max” and “The Road Warrior.”

Set in the apocalyptic wastelands of Australia, both films follow a leather-clad cop (Mel Gibson) who becomes an outlaw when members of a vicious road gang kill his wife and child and torch his best friend. With his shotgun and his dog at his side, Max wreaks his violent vengeance on a world gone mad.

The fun starts at 7 p.m. Wednesday at The Palm Theatre, 817 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo. Tickets are $10.

(While you’re in the Mad Max mood, check out these awesome posters over at Mondotees.com. “Mad Max” (seen above) is by Billy Perkins while the incredibly detailed “Road Warrior” poster is by Tyler Stout. I think they capture the film perfectly.)

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We wind the week up with yet another double feature.

Hearst Castle’s National Geographic Theater offers moviegoers “the big picture” Friday and Saturday.

The IMAX-style theater will show two large-format favorites on its massive screen, “The Living Sea” and Everest.” Each documentary features stunning visuals and never-before-seen treasures — “from the bottom of the ocean to the top of the world.”

The double feature will be screened at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Hearst Castle is located off Highway 1 just north of San Simeon.

Tickets for the special screening, presented by the Cambria Education Foundation, are $10 for adults and $5 for children 12 and under. Call 924-1500 for more information.

This week’s films cover elections, space travel and alien invasions

Another week, another packed movie calendar.

HopeDance Magazine launches its latest local film series tonight with “Free For All!: One Dude’s Quest to Save Democracy.”

Inspired by the controversy over the 2004 presidential elections, “Free For All!” follows filmmaker John Ennis as he explores the electoral process in the state of Ohio. He talks to journalists, politicians, attorneys and activists in a personal quest for truth.

“Free for All!” will be screened at 7 p.m. tonight at the San Luis Obispo Library, in San Luis Obispo. A $5 donation is suggested.

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For thrills and chills of a different sort, turn to the Palm Wednesday movie series.

Tonight, the Palm Theatre in San Luis Obispo offers a screening of “Event Horizon.”

When Earth picks up a signal from the Event Horizon in 2047, a group of astronauts led by Captain Miller (Laurence Fishburne) are sent to investigate the long-lost spaceship, lost in a wormhole on its maiden voyage. They discover the vessel in orbit around the planet Neptune, intact but seemingly abandoned.

As the crew of the Lewis and Clark explores the ship, however, they uncover the horrifying truth: Someone or something is on board. And it wants blood.

“Event Horizon” earns its R rating with gore galore and a terrifying story that mixes elements of horror, science fiction and psychological thriller.

Tim Burton’s alien invasion spoof, “Mars Attacks!”, plays Friday at the Palm.

Drawing inspiration from the popular Mars Attacks trading card series, this zany blockbuster is the stuff of classic B-movies: Big-brained aliens with deadly rayguns invade Earth.

When aliens land near Las Vegas, the President of the United States (Jack Nicholson) and his staff assume they must be friendly. Hippies rejoice. Scientists celebrate.

Sorry, folks. Turns out the interstellar travelers have other plans for Earth.

Burton harkens back to the B-movies and ensemble comedies of the 1950s and ’60s with ample camp and an all-star cast (Glenn Close, Annette Benning, Pierce Brosnan and Danny DeVito, to name a few). Don’t miss the many allusions to science fiction favorites such as “War of the Worlds,” “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes,” “Godzilla” and “This Island Earth.”

Both movies will be screened at 7 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. at the Palm, 817 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo. Tickets are $7.50.

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“Mars Attacks!” photo courtesy of the blog WhatToFix.com.

“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.

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.