Nov. 1-8, 2006

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Oddballs, Events & Rep

Billy in the Lowground Director Mary Simpson, writer Fionn Meade, and musicians Foghorn String Band combine forces in this multimedia screening event. (NR) Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., 206-267-5380. $5-$8. 8 p.m. Wed. Nov. 1.

Camp Death/Tourist Trap Performance art trio Blood Squad hosts Camp Death, a teen slasher film improvised onstage, which screens with Tourist Trap—a schlocky tale of road-trip horror. 21 and over. (NR) Grand Illusion, 1403 N.E. 50th St., 206-523-3935. $10. 10 p.m. Fri. Nov. 3-Sat. Nov. 4.

Don't Bother to Knock SAM's fall noir cycle continues with this 1952 psychotically charged thriller that also happens to be Anne Bancroft's first role—and according to many critics, Marilyn Monroe's big bid for acting cred. (NR) Museum of History & Industry, 2700 24th Ave. E., 206-654-3121. $58-$65 (series), individual ticket price not provided. 7:30 p.m. Thurs. Nov. 2.

Dr. StrangeloveYou know the plot of Stanley Kubrick's landmark 1964 A-bomb farce: Sterling Hayden launches an attack wave of B-52s to wipe out Russia—which has a retaliatory doomsday machine. Intentions—for good or evil—have their opposite effect in Strangelove's satire. Our meek president (Peter Sellers) only hastens war with his pacifism. Wimpy Brit Lionel Mandrake (Sellers again) ends up feeding ammo to Hayden instead of stopping him. And in the sole remaining B-52, the resourceful bomber crew led by pilot Slim Pickens perseveres on its glorious flight—in a backhanded celebration of all the courage and determination that makes our country great. And we're rooting for them the entire way. (NR)BRIAN MILLER Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., 206-686-6684. $5. 7 and 9:30 p.m. Thurs. Nov. 2-Sun. Nov. 5.

Green Film Series The first installment of a monthly showcase of environmental documentaries features The Greening of Cuba (a 1996 film focused on sustainable agriculture) and The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil (made a decade later). (NR) 911 Media Arts Center, 402 Ninth Ave. N., 206-682-6552. $5. 7:30 p.m. Fri. Nov. 3.

The Ground Truth: After the Killing Ends There are a thousand good reasons to get out of Iraq. Not so many good movies, however. This well-meaning but inept documentary plays like a post-traumatic stress disorder infomercial about vets and their families. The Ground Truth—be wary of any movie with "truth" in its title—will merely reinforce your own views on the war, whether pro or con. Dead-end Bush supporters are unlikely to be swayed by the veterans interviewed here, some with horrific and disfiguring injuries, who all speak in the same chorus of disillusionment. Patricia Foulkrod stumbles over the movie's most interesting idea—that the VA is diagnosing preexisting "personality disorders" rather than PTSD to keep treatment costs down—without interrupting her anti-war rally. Still, you're likely to remember some of the vets. Says one, "Americans want to honor their veterans in a cursory way, like putting a yellow sticker on their car." Or making a movie. (NR)BRIAN MILLER Rainier Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 835 Yesler Way, 206-722-4880. Free. 6:30 p.m. Fri. Nov. 3.

The Harder They FallBogie's final star turn is a 1956 noir based on the career of boxing writer/promoter Harold Conrad. (NR) Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., 206-686-6684. $5. 3 p.m. Sun. Nov. 5.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame The 1923 silent classic, starring Lon Chaney, will be accompanied live by organist Andrew J. Peters. (NR) Plymouth Church Sanctuary, 1217 Sixth Ave., 206-622-4865. $5-15. 7 p.m. Fri. Nov. 3.

Independent Exposure This hour-long compendium of 13 shorts is preceded (at 7 p.m.) by Kiki Allgeier's Connect With Me, in which the artist combines video and live performance to relate how a girl is abandoned by her mother to be raised by three surrogates. Among the main program's highlights is an eerie three-minute documentary about the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Fire; stills of the 146 dead young immigrant women—many of whom jumped from the burning building to their deaths, anticipating 9/11—are solemn and disturbing. The whimsical (but hardly blasphemous) Dutch Burka Boogie Woogie choreographs two dancers inside one very elastic black burka; it's the sort of thing that'll probably be huge with closet fans of YouTube in the Islamic world. Edited to furious club beats, Aileen McCormack's monologue Carla Cope is an angry, hectoring rant about New York after 9/11, a five-minute distillation of five years' worth of rage. It's like Laurie Anderson on meth. (NR)BRIAN MILLER Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., 206-686-6684. $5. 7 and 9 p.m. Wed. Nov. 8.

Kochuu: Japanese Architecture Influence & OriginTranslated as "in the jar," Kochuu refers to the Japanese practice of building enclosed physical spaces that create otherwordly impressions. This doc examines contemporary Japanese architects working with old philosophies in mind. (NR) Grand Illusion, 1403 N.E. 50th St., 206-523-3935. $2.50-$5. Fri. Nov. 3-Thurs. Nov. 9.

Let's All Make Love in London: The Films of Peter Whitehead SEE PREVIEW, PAGE 81. (NR)

The Monster SquadThis 1987 cult favorite about a group of monster-movie-loving kids, and their misadventures, should satisfy your sweet tooth for camp. (PG-13) Egyptian, 801 E. Pine St., 206-781-5755. $6-$9. Midnight. Fri. Nov. 3-Sat. Nov. 4.

Motherhood Manifesto Based on Joan Blades and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner's book of the same name, this film makes a case for enlightened public policies (like paid family leave and universal health care) that would ideally take some of the load off working moms. Rowe-Finkbeiner will lead a discussion. (NR) Keystone Church, 5019 Keystone Place N., www.meaningfulmovies.org. Free. 7 p.m. Fri. Nov. 3.