and I are teaming up with Jay Porter and his restaurant, El Take It Easy, for the greatest food film series in the history of ever. And food. At least, that’s what we’re aiming for, with our forthcoming Meet Meat Matinée series, which will run at 2 p.m. every Saturday afternoon in February. No charge to get in.
As the project’s curator, I’d like to be clear: This won’t be your standard food-film series. We’re passing over the standard food porn like Big Night and Tampopo and bypassing activist documentaries like Food, Inc. Hey, I love those films, but that’s not what this is about. Instead, we’ll kick things off on Feb. 5 with Soylent Green, the 1973 Charlton Heston sci-fi flick about an overcrowded New York City and the massive food shortage it faces. Is it campy? It is. Is it awesome? Totally. As I’ve mentioned the movie to people in passing recently, I’ve been surprised at how few of them were familiar with it, so, if you’ve seen it, please keep the truth to yourself.
Hopefully, that gives you a sense of what we’re going for. Future selections will include stuff like Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (which really happened) and La Grande Bouffe (a group of middle-aged Italians decide to eat themselves to death). Ideally, you’ll see some movies you’ve never seen before (or haven’t seen in ages), hang out with some cool people, have a couple of drinks and maybe a bite to eat. Plus, I’ll be around to introduce the movies and, if anyone’s interested, to talk about them—or anything else that’s on your mind—after the credits roll.
If you’ve visited El Take It Easy, you know how cool it is, and if you haven’t, here’s your chance to find out. I should note that no money is changing hands, but I’m hoping to be compensated via an occasional cheeseburger or cazuela, though I have yet to run that past Porter and the El Take It Easy staff. Pressure’s on now, though.
Antarctica: An IMAX movie about the continent, not to be confused with the Men Without Hats song. Screens at 7 p.m. every Friday in February at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.
Every Day: Liev Schreiber and Helen Hunt play a married couple in New York whose entry into middle age isn’t going smoothly. Her cantankerous father (Brian Dennehy) has moved in, their teen son is gay and a gorgeous coworker of Schreiber’s has made it clear that he could take a break from married life with her, if he’s willing. See our review on Page 21.
Island of the Sharks: Cocos Island is a small piece of land whose only human occupants live in a Ranger station. The water surrounding the island, however, teems with all kinds of sharks, some of whom appear in IMAX at 8 p.m. every Friday at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.
Nenette: French documentary about a gorgeous 40-year-old orangutan living in the Paris zoo.
The Roommate: A hot college student (Minka Kelly) becomes besties with her new roommate (Leighton Meester), who’s an obsessive sociopath who’s gone off her meds. Think Single White Female: The College Years.
Sanctum: James Cameron produced this 3-D flick about a diving team caught in the world’s least accessible underwater cave system. When you’re under water, knowing the difference between stalagmites and stalactites doesn’t help.
The Social Network: Status update? It’s screening at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2, at the Pearl Hotel in Point Loma. Free.
Forces of Nature: A documentary profiles 12 young people dedicated to environmental causes. It screens at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 4, at the Sierra Club offices in Clairemont Mesa 8304 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.). Free.
The Duchess: Keira Knightley is the Duchess in question, an 18th-century aristocrat who lived large in her day. Part of the San Diego Museum of Art’s First Friday film series, it screens at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 4. It’ll be preceded by a lecture at 7.
Cyrus: Mumblecore meisters Jay and Mark Duplass go big-time with a real studio film. John C. Reilly is a sad sack who meets Marisa Tomei, the girl of his dreams. There’s only one problem— her 21-year-old son, Jonah Hill, who still lives at home and is a little too tight with his mother. Screens at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 4, and at 5:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5, at Cinema Under the Stars in Mission Hills.
Casablanca: Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she had to walk into his. Screens at midnight, Saturday, Feb. 5, at the Ken Cinema.
Sea Monsters: The Loch Ness monster is finally ready for its close-up. Screens at 2 p.m. Monday, Feb. 7, at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.
Monsters: Low-budget sci-fi romance about a reporter escorting an American tourist through an alien-infested Mexico. Um, that’s aliens as in outer space. Screens at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 7, at the Central Library, Downtown. Free.
The Dark Crystal: Jim Henson’s puppet fantasy tale is still freakishly creepy. Screens at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 8, at the Kensington Café. Free.
Can’t Buy Me Love: Before he was McDreamy, Patrick Dempsey was McGeeky in this sweet ’80s teen sex comedy. Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9, at the Pearl Hotel in Point Loma. Free.
Barney’s Version: Paul Giamatti won a Golden Globe for this epic look at a man who drinks and smokes and marries his way through life. It goes on too long, though, and stays a little too faithful to Mordecai Richler’s novel.
Biutiful: Javier Bardem gives a tremendous performance as Uxbal, a single father in Barcelona desperately trying to keep his head above water while facing his own mortality.
Bhutto: A documentary about Benazir Bhutto, whose 2008 assassination derailed elections in Pakistan and changed what could have / would have / should have happened in the region. Especially poignant in light of the recent events in Arizona.
From Prada to Nada: Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility gets a Latina twist in this version, which finds rich, spoiled sisters left penniless when their dad dies.
The Mechanic: In this remake of the ’72 muscle movie, Jason Statham is a hitman with ethics, and Ben Foster is his murdered mentor’s son. Together they’re gonna go medieval on somebody’s ass.
Outside the Law: A drama about the underground Algerian effort to get out from under France’s thumb during WWII.
The Rite: An American priest heads to the Vatican to learn the ways of exorcism from Anthony Hopkins, who must have his eye on a really nice boat to appear in a movie like this.
The Illusionist: Director Sylvain Chomet (The Triplets of Belleville) animates a script from French cinema titan Jacques Tati about an aging magician and the young woman he unintentionally takes under his wing.
The Company Men: Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper are all downsized from the same company and have to sort out what to do with themselves in the new economy.
Inspector Bellamy: Gerard Depardieu is the famous French inspector, who can’t even take a vacation without running into a mystery.
No Strings Attached: Can Natalie Portman keep things purely physical with Ashton Kutcher and avoid getting all emotionally attached? Probably not.
The Way Back: Based on a true story, Peter Weir’s new film was made entirely outside of the studio system. Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Colin Farrell and several other interchangeable actors escape from a Siberian prison during WWII and walk more than 4,000 miles to India.
Another Year: Mike Leigh’s film is about the ease with which longtime married couple Gerri (Ruth Sheen) and Tom (Jim Broadbent) navigate a turning of the seasons, while everyone else goes through enormous upheavals. Most affected is Mary, Gerri’s alcoholic co-worker, played by Lesley Manville in an excellent performance.
The Dilemma: Ron Howard’s new film stars Vince Vaughn as a dude who learns his best friend’s wife is getting some on the side. This one irked LGBT groups for calling electric cars “gay.”
The Green Hornet: Seth Rogen in a superhero movie written by Seth Rogen and the other guy who wrote Superbad. Directed by Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). In 3- D. That’s a lot to take in.
Blue Valentine: Michelle Williams is just amazing as one half of a couple (along with Ryan Gosling) whose marriage has fallen apart.
Season of the Witch: Nic Cage and Ron Perlman are medieval knights tasked with transporting a woman the church suspects to be a witch. A very, very hot witch.
Somewhere: Sofia Coppola lets the camera linger on Stephen Dorff, a disengaged movie star who suddenly finds himself caring for the 11-year-old daughter he never sees. It’s slow and at times intriguing, but it’s tough to care about the existential condition of a famous actor. Ends Feb. 3 at Hillcrest Cinemas.
Gulliver’s Travels: Jack Black continues his shark-jumping. So does 3-D.
Little Fockers: Another one? Fock!
Rabbit Hole: Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart are a couple struggling with the death of their young son, eight months later. He’s all about celebrating the boy’s life while she just wants it to disappear.
True Grit: The Coen brothers adapt Clinton Portis’ novel, with Jeff Bridges playing Rooster Cogburn, the part that earned John Wayne his only Oscar.
The Fighter: For some, the acting of Christian Bale and Melissa Leo in David O. Russell’s working-class boxing movie is authentic and real. For others, it’s scenery-chewing.
The King’s Speech: Though he should have taken a walk to the podium this year, Colin Firth will probably win an Oscar for playing King George VI, the monarch who led his people into WWII despite his almost-crippling stammer. Geoffrey Rush is great as his speech therapist.
Tron: Legacy: Disney’s big-budget, 28-years-later follow-up is far more style than substance, as Sam (Garrett Hedlund), the son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), enters the grid to rage against the machine. The light cycles are cooler than ever, but the story gets more and more ridiculous as the film progresses.
Yogi Bear: Going 3-D in today’s world just proves that Yogi is, in fact, smarter than the average bear. He’s voiced by Dan Aykroyd, while Boo-Boo gets Justin Timberlake’s pipes.
Black Swan: Natalie Portman has to find both sides of herself as a ballerina obsessed with playing the lead in Swan Lake in the new one from Darren Aronofsky. Well-directed, beautifully shot, completely bonkers.
The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader: The franchise is reborn after Disney stopped making the films. There’s something quasi-religious about that, right?
The Tourist: Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp team up to kill a bunch of bad guys and rake in piles of money at the box office.
Burlesque: Can Cher help small-town girl Christina Aguilera become the best burlesque dancer in L.A.? Yes.
Tangled: Disney’s take on Rapunzel is surprisingly terrific. Mandy Moore is the singing princess, Zachary Levi the dashing thief, and they’re both upstaged by an animated horse. And for once, the 3-D contributes to the movie.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: The first half of the two-part final installment assumes viewers know exactly what’s going on as the film opens. It’s as slow as the first half of the epic book it’s based upon, but fans of the Potter franchise won’t want it to end—because when it does, they have to wait until July 2011 to watch the final battle between Harry and Voldemort.
127 Hours: Danny Boyle changes pace once again. Instead of the frenetic energy of Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours is pretty much a one-man show, with James Franco playing Aron Ralston, a hiker forced to cut off his own arm to survive.
Galapagos: An IMAX look at the islands and the animals that made Charles Darwin famous. We’re most fond of the blue-footed boobie. At the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.
The Social Network: David Fincher’s new film about the early days of Facebook is more entertaining than 99.9 percent of status updates.
The Ultimate Wave Tahiti: The latest IMAX entry at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park follows super surfer Kelly Slater as he does his thing on some massive waves.
Hubble: Leonardo DiCaprio lends his pipes to this IMAX film, which uses CGI and real footage to take a close look at Saturn’s rings. Just stay away from Uranus. At the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show: The camp classic continues its ongoing run, Fridays at midnight at La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas.
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