Pete's weekend movie roundup: Creature from the Black Lagoon (in 3-D!), Return of the Cerrito

Forget the Transformers, there's lots of fun to be had at the movies this weekend.

Lot's of great stuff at the movies this week—let's get to it!

Creature From the Black Lagoon in 3-D at the Paramount. The spectacular Paramount Theatre brings back its beloved classic film series with a summer schedule that begins with a doozy. On Friday, July 10, they'll show the classic creature feature Creature From the Black Lagoon in its original 3-D format. Tickets are only $5 (perfect cheap entertainment in these tough times), which included the Deco-Win game and a bunch of fun extra features (cartoon, Movietone newsreel) before the feature.

The Cerrito Theater reopens on July 15! Big hooray, and sigh of relief for this. The wonderful Cerrito Theater closed a few months ago when its management had a falling out over not paying the rent for a bunch of months in a row. I don't know all the specifics of the falling out, but I do know that everyone who loved going there was bummed out, big time, when it closed. Good news! Rialto Cinemas, the group that manages the wonderful Elmwood Theater in Berkeley has taken over the Cerrito and will have a grand re-opening on July 15 with the new Harry Potter movie. They'll also be showing Food Inc., the how-we-eat doc featuring Berkeley's Michael Pollan.

Livermore's Vine Cinemas shows Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. For Free. I can't emphasize strongly enough how cool Livermore's Vine Cinema is these days. This cozy neighborhood cinema only charges $5 per show (this week they have Star Trek, Angels and Demons, Land of the Lost, and Brothers Bloom.) And everyday at noon, they show a family film FOR FREE. This week they have the Johnny Depp/Tim Burton version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Potter-mania. The sixth film of the Harry Potter series his theaters on Wednesday, with midnight screenings scheduled for the hardcore. I'm seeing it on Monday and will post a reviw next week. If you want to get in the mood a little early, Wente Vineyards is showing Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in its movies under the stars series on Monday, July 13.

Posted at 11:25 AM in Pete's Popcorn Picks | Permalink