SEPTEMBER
1–20 The GI screens the entire ALEXANDRIA TRILOGY by Egyptian director Yousef Chahine, equally a portrait of the nation as of the young artist. Grand Illusion, 1403 N.E. 50th St., 206-523-3935, www.grandillusioncinema.org.
15 Local director Lynn Shelton drew praise at SIFF for her debut feature, WE GO WAY BACK, which has an actress carrying on a dialogue with her younger self.
22 Why are some films deemed R or PG or NC-17? Are those categories essentially meaningless? Is gay sex dirtier than straight sex? The sneaky, snarky documentary ThIS FILM IS NOT YET RATED goes behind the scenes and digs up plenty of insider dirt.
22 We loved the original, so it’s fair to expect more of the same from Johnny Knoxville and company in JACKASS 2. But how much more abuse can their aging bodies stand? You may need to take ibuprofen just to watch.
22 A huge favorite of Seattle audiences, Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) has created a very personal work, without Charlie Kaufman, in The Science of Sleep, another SIFF standout.
28 Seattle Art Museum begins its annual FALL NOIR SERIES with 10 titles running Thursdays into early December. Highlights include Steve McQueen in Bullitt, Burt Lancaster in The Killers, and John Garfield in The Breaking Point. Museum of History and Industry, 2700 24th Ave. E., 206-654-3121, www.seattleartmuseum.org.
29 The Iraq war documentary MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY pretty much confirms all your worst suspicions about that conflict, only it’s told sympathetically from within that country’s often maligned Sunni minority.
29 Another documentary, THE U.S. VS. JOHN LENNON, relates how the former Beatle’s opposition to another war got him in legal bother. Yoko co-stars, unfortunately.
OCTOBER
6 JESUS CAMP takes an even-handed documentary look at the God-fearing red states, sure to be an eye-opener in secular Seattle.
6–12 The annual LOCAL SIGHTINGS series provides a showcase for area filmmakers working in all formats and genres. Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., 206-267-5380, www.nwfilmforum.org.
13 Michael Apted continues the world’s longest documentary project with 49 UP, which finds some of his subjects talking back to the camera, perhaps emboldened by reality TV. It’s as fascinating as ever.
13–22 Celebrate all things queer at the SEATTLE LESBIAN & GAY FILM FESTIVAL. Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., 206-267-5380, www.nwfilmforum.org.
20 Don’t hold Sofia Coppola to this date, but her MARIE ANTOINETTE biopic, with Kirsten Dunst in the title role, was mighty controversial at Cannes. Could it be delayed for recutting?
20 Bad boy director John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch) now shows us the literal ins and outs of the young dating crowd, as actors and actresses perform actual sex acts in SHORTBUS.
20 THE WAR TAPES allows young soldiers to collaborate with documentary director Deborah Scranton, producing one of the hottest titles on the festival circuit this year. A likely Oscar nominee.
27 Guns, fate, and calamity link multiple stories set around the globe in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s highly anticipated Babel. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are among the stars. It could be as good as Amores Perros, or merely a rehash of similar themes, as in 21 Grams.
NOVEMBER
3–5 CRISPIN GLOVER! Advance details are unclear, but he’ll be in town to present What Is It?, which may leave viewers asking the same question. Apart from the cast full of actors with Down’s syndrome, the famously eccentric actor will perform a reading and show slides. Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., 206-267-5380, www.nwfilmforum.org.
3 BORAT! If you haven’t seen this cluelessly offensive yet naive anti-Semite from Kazakhstan on Sacha Baron Cohen’s Ali G Indahouse, you haven’t choked on your Cheetos in astonishment. Cohen generally succeeds, like his creation Ali G, in getting hapless Americans to open up to their worst instincts—inspired by Borat’s own awful behavior. Montana will probably banish Cohen for life after the rodeo incident.
3 FLUSHED AWAY is the first feature from Aardman Animations (Wallace & Gromit) to use computers instead of handmade claymation models, but there’s no reason to expect any less charming results as a posh rodent (Hugh Jackman) learns to survive among Cockney riff-raff.
17 Drop the popcorn (created by insidious agribusiness monoculture)—FAST FOOD NATION is now a feature film, with a muckracking plot to suit, from Richard Linklater.
17 Christopher Guest takes on pre-Oscar hysteria with his ensemble comedy FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. Will he and his usual players (Eugene Levy, Harry Shearer, Catherine O’Hara, Parker Posey, etc.) treat the stars any kinder than the dogs in Best in Show? What do you think?
22 Pedro, Pedro, Pedro! Almodóvar’s latest, VOLVER, stars Penélope Cruz as a woman visited by her dead mother (Carmen Maura), who’s determined to put things right with her family.
29 Because critics demanded it, a documentary called FUCK. Guess what, it’s about language—not sex!
DECEMBER
8 Did you know the Jews have caused the extermination of every pre-Columbian civilization in history? It’s true—or that’s what we expect to learn in Mel Gibson’s APOCALYPTO.
8 Soderbergh and Clooney are back with The Good German, a European thriller set in the very Third Man–ish post–WWII era, and we wouldn’t bet against them.
20 Seattle Weekly publishes its HOLIDAY FILM GUIDE, all you need to know about Xmas flicks.
