Pete's weekend movie roundup: Memories of Sunvalley Cinemas, Ang Lee, Bela Fleck, the Beatles, and Sunset Boulevard

There's heaps of classic, art house, and independent films hitting East Bay cinemas this weekend.

There’s a new kiddie-oriented action film called Race to Witch Mountain hitting multiplexes and the Solano Drive-In today, and though I’m not necessarily in the mood to see a cute kids-meets-Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson-meets-CGI special effects matinee today, there’s something about this movie that makes me feel nostalgic.

Anyone who grew up along the 680 corridor in the 1970s remembers going to see kids movies at the Sunvalley Cinemas. This two-screen movie theater booked live-action Disney movies like The Apple Dumpling Gang, Candleshoe, Gus, The Cat From Outer Space, The Black Hole, and the original Witch Mountain films—Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) and Return From Witch Mountain (1979). They also used to screen Rocky Horror Picture Show and concert films like AC/DC’s Let There Be Rock (featuring the “wall of sound!”) and Led Zeppelin’s The Song Remains the Same at midnight. I have fond memories of being dropped off at the mall with friends to see these movies, which seemed like great works of art at the time. I also remember spending a quarter on a small Dixie cup of uncarbonated “orange drink,” served by a vending machine in the theater’s small lobby. One time, around 1978, my friend Doug and I noticed that the theater's billboard in the Sunvalley Shopping Center's parking lot had been re-arranged by tricksters to read, “Carter Has Hemorrhoids.” We laughed uncontrollably when our parent-chaperone explained what that meant.

I guess the Sunvalley Cinemas closed sometime in the late 1980s. The last films I remember seeing there were Young Guns and Predator.  If anyone has memories of their Sunvalley Cinema experiences, please share them in the comments section below.

Back to this weekend’s movie line-up. The San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival is underway, with screenings in San Francisco and Berkeley. One movie of interest in the festival is Half-Life, directed by East Bay filmmaker Jennifer Phang. I wrote a story about this film several years ago and visited a Walnut Creek location during filming, so I’m excited that Phang’s film is in theaters—no small achievement there. Check out this D-blog about the movie and its showtimes.

On Monday, March 16 at UC Berkeley, Oscar-winning director Ang Lee will be speaking about his films. Lee's impressive resume includes Brokeback Mountain, Sense and Sensibility, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Lust/Caution, and The Ice Storm, and I’m looking forward to his newest, Taking Woodstock, in August.

Also in Berkeley, there are some cool things happening at the charming Elmwood Cinemas on College Avenue. They’re showing the Beatles’ classic A Hard Day’s Night on Saturday and Sunday at noon. Tickets are just $4. And on Saturday, March 14, legendary bluegrass musician Bela Fleck will talk about his new documentary Throw Down Your Heart after the 2 p.m. showing.

Finally, you can look all day and night and you won’t find a better movie than Sunset Boulevard. The Cerrito Speakeasy Cinema is showing Billy Wilder’s Hollywood underbelly classic on Saturday and Sunday evening. If you’ve never seen it, make sure to see it on the big screen—and enjoy a cold beer and pizza at the Cerrito
 

Posted at 01:04 PM in Pete's Popcorn Picks | Permalink