"In the Land of Blood and Honey" and "A Separation" Two movies open in Sacramento this week that offer glimpses into very different cultures and places, as two couples find themselves in desperate circumstances. In one, a Bosnian woman and a Serbian meet on the eve of the Bosnian war. In the other, an Iranian husband and wife struggle to come to terms with conflicting opportunities and duties. “In the Land of Blood and Honey” tells the story of Alja and Danijel who first meet in a night club and then again later in a camp, commanded by Danijel, where Bosnian women are taken and used by Serbian soldiers. The basic premise is built around this relationship, one that might have been quite o

A couple of weeks ago I reviewed the five live action and five animated Academy Award nominated narrative shorts playing at the Crest Theatre.  Those two programs are continuing for another week and the original article can be found here. But on Thursday (Feb 23), for the first time in Sacramento, there's a chance to see the nominated documentary shorts.  Well, four of the five films - as one is missing.  This isn't that unusual, in fact it's more remarkable that the distributors of the shorts programs could corral the other 14 films into 3 programs, than it is that they couldn't get the 15th.  It's conjecture on my part, but I'd guess that there was a problem securing distribution right

Oscar Shorts 2012 This week, the Crest Theatre continues its tradition of bringing the Academy Award nominated short films to Sacramento in time for eager Oscar-watchers to fill out their ballots. And watching them in these special screenings puts you on an even footing with Academy members who are required to watch them in the same manner in order to be qualified to vote in these categories. In order to qualify for Oscar contention, short films (under 40 minutes) have to have had a run in theaters or to have won a top award in at least one Academy sanctioned film festival. The nominated films are packaged together by Magnolia Pictures and Shorts International to form theatrical packages

If you’re going to remove the sound from a film, you’d better do it right. Not being able to hear what people are saying is very odd and kind of disconcerting, especially for a modern audience. Luckily for The Artist, there is a way to make it work, and work fantastically at that. The Artist opens during the late 1920’s, at the height of our star, silent film actor George Valentin’s (Jean Dujardin) career. He’s a loveable guy, instantly showing his charisma at a premier (evoking some shenanigans from Singin’ in the Rain) for one of his movies. After the premier he bumps into Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) a beautiful young dancer who soon falls in love with him. Unfortunately for George, hi

From “Oklahoma” (1943) to “The Sound of Music” (1959), composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, popularly know as Rodgers and Hammerstein, were arguably the largest contributors to what is known as “The Great American Songbook.” Five of their musicals were major hits. Their work has been described as groundbreaking. Revivals and regional productions of their shows continue to this day. “South Pacific” recently ended a Broadway run, and “Oklahoma” was a big hit at the Sacramento Music Circus last summer. They won numerous awards, including Tonys, Oscars and Grammys. Richard Rodgers rt. Oscar Hammerstein II photo: http://www.morethings.com What sets Rodgers and Hammers

The Volunteer Center of Sacramento will hold its first-ever Academy Awards Night fundraiser on Sunday, February 27, 2011, from 4:30-8:30pm at the new Tex Mex Bar & Grill at 2326 J Street in midtown Sacramento. Proceeds from the event will benefit Center programs, such as BirthdayMAGIC — a program that coordinates personalized birthday parties for Sacramento area children living in homeless shelters, transitional living facilities, or residential treatment centers.  In addition to watching the Academy Awards on televisions around the restaurant, attendees will be able to test their movie trivia knowledge, guess who will win Hollywood's biggest night, win fabulous prizes in our raffle draw

 Looking for octopi, out-of-body experiences, and a romance that takes place entirely in a public restroom? You'll find them in some of 2009's Oscar-nominated short films, which will be showing at the Crest Theater from the sixth to the twelfth of February. Ten animated and five live-action short films are being presented, with entries from all around the world. The live-action and animated films are being shown on different programs, with each program requiring a separate ticket for admission. In addition to the five Oscar-nominated animated films, five "Commendable" films are also being shown on the animated program. Many of the films have already gotten critical acclaim, among them "O

As a film festival director myself, I’m always intrigued to talk to other directors about their festivals and their process. For every film that makes the cut, there are a mountain of discarded others that may never see the light of day (or the light of projection) and hundreds of unseen administrative tasks associated with presenting the program. I recently asked Sid Heberger, General Manager of the Crest Theatre and Co-Director of the Sacramento Jewish Film Festival about their upcoming event: Q: This is the 12th Annual Festival: How did the Festival get its start? A: Margi Park, the co-founder of the Festival, contacted me about starting a festival because she was tired of schlepping