Pete's weekend movie roundup: Trouble in El Cerrito and Orinda, and The Devil Thumbs a Ride to the Roxie

Independent theaters are having a tough time—so give them a shot if you're going to the movies this weekend.

Yes, Pixar Cannes. Let's start with some good news; Pixar's newest, Up, became the first animated and first 3-D movie to ever open the famous Cannes Film Festival in France. Reviews are through the roof. I saw the movie last week and think it might just be Pixar's best yet.

And now for something a little less good: the state of the East Bay's indie theaters.

If Matthew McConaughey kissed Jennifer Garner in the Orinda Theater, would it make a noise? Back in the summer of 1989, I had one of the great nights at the movies of my life. This occurred the night the Orinda Theater came back to life, after being closed for many years. All thorugh the 1980s, I would drive by the Orinda's marquee blade and wonder what the theater was like in its heyday. Then, thanks to its preservation as a historic building and some community organizing, it was meticulously restored and reopened. The first film to show in the Orinda in June of 1989 was Casablanca, one of Hollywood's greatest hits. The theater was packed and the energy was amazing. And the movie was perfect.

20 years later, and the theater is still gorgeous. It doesn't show commercials before movies and or too many previews. Too many previews chaps my hide. However, attendance is minimal due to the proximity of new multiplexes in Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, etc. On Mother's Day, I took my ma-in-law to see Ghosts of Girlfriend's Past, and the only thing more disturbing than finding myself buying a ticket to a  McConaughey rom-com was the lack of attendance to a 7:30 showing at the Orinda.

So keep it the Orinda in mind this weekend, if you're heading out to see Angels and Demons or Star Trek. By the way, the Orinda is under new management—the people running the similarly charming Rheem Theatre in Moraga are now running the Orinda

Save the Cerrito: Another of my favorite East Bay cinemas is the Cerrito Theater in El Cerrito. Again, this was a community organized treat, with beer and pizza. Alas, the Cerrito is in serious financial trouble. there's an El Cerrito City Council meeting tis Monday to discuss the theater's future and/or fate. For now, they wont be open on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Hopefully, things will work out for the best...a little bird has told me that some poeple are in talks to take over the Cerrito's management and possibly re-open the Parkway in Oakland as well.

Noir Geek Heaven, Close to BART: So I want to recommend at least one film, and it's a no-brainer. Tonight, the Roxie theater in San Francisco is showing one of the rarest, nastiest film noirs of all time, The Devil Thumbs a Ride. It's part of an uber-cool noir series put on by the great film historian and programmer Elliot Lavine, who has a terrific new book on noir out called I Wake Up Dreaming.

Posted at 02:34 PM in Pete's Popcorn Picks | Permalink