The third night of the 12 annual Sacramento Film & Music Festival brings a solid lineup of three narrative feature films to the Crest historic main screen.  The first of these, "Face to Face," is an Australian drama that can only be seen at film festivals and which isn't even scheduled to open theatrically in Australia until next month.  "Face to Face" is reminiscent of the classic film "12 Angry Men," with the action moved from a jury room to a mediation session.  Ten people and a mediator meet to discuss an employment dispute, but it soon becomes apparent that there is far more at stake and more shared history than one young man's rash actions.  The screenplay was adapted from a stage p

“The Owl and the Pussycat” will open Wednesday as a two-person production in Sacramento Theatre Company’s intimate Pollock stage. The script is the only live-theater piece that TV writer Bill Manhoff has done and offers a timeless and comedic look at love – and how difficult it can be. “Love isn’t easy, it’s always hard,” said Matt Miller, the theater’s artistic director and the director of the play. “But it can be funny when it’s somebody else.” Miller said the play, which was originally written in the early 1960s, takes two very different people who seem to have nothing in common and throws them together, where they develop an unmistakable mutual attraction. “The whole thing keeps you

When answering a personal ad promising ‘a night that will change the course of mankind’, expect a few disappointments. When Jo and Jules hook up in B Street Theatre’s current production of ‘Boom’, written by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, their disappointment in each other is the highlight of their evening. Jo, played with an angry intensity by Sarah Aili, wants the human connection she’s never had…or, rather, she wants to have had a human connection; best get it over with! Jules, played by Peter Story, has a bit loftier goal. He wants to be the savior of all mankind and the father of all future generations! One small problem though; he can’t really…um…perform. “ But”, he’s quick to point out, “it’

The Sacramento Film & Music Festival pre-screened Paper Heart Friday evening. Paper Heart was co-written by actress Charlene Yi and Nick Jasenovec, and directed by Nick Jasenovec. The film opens with Yi holding a microphone shyly in the middle of the Las Vegas strip, asking the question, “Does anyone really love?” A love-skeptic, she embarks on a cross-country tour to gain perspective on love from couples, divorce lawyers and children at a playground. Her findings are recorded in a way that combines faux-documentary filming and traditional storytelling, only part of which is scripted. Some of the storytelling is done through sequences of puppetry reminiscent of Science of Sleep. The s

My Life In Ruins Directed by Donald Petrie By Tony Sheppard Capitol Weekly   “My Life In Ruins” is a little how I felt about my morning after watching this film. This is the follow up to “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” with several of the same production team (including Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, who also has a small role) and lead actress Nia Vardalos (who wrote the earlier movie but simply acts, or acts simply, in this one). “My Big Fat Greek Tour Guide Job” would be a more honest title.   I’m not being a snobby film elitist here, knocking the lightweight romantic comedy genre. I enjoyed the first movie, and often dig even very formulaic offerings of this kind. But this is heavy in execu

For a word-of-mouth pre-screening of “I Love You Man,” the studio challenged any guys in the audience to coordinate their clothing and make it a man date to remember, in return for preferential seating. The only two at the Downtown Century tonight who were up for it were Sac State students Ryan Johnson (left) and Alan Badarou (right). (With apologies for the poor quality photograph, courtesy of my cell phone!) The film itself is a true bromantic comedy, taking all the cues of the typical rom-com and translating them into a platonic, man-man bromance. The outcome is remarkably funny and endearing, largely as a result of the performances of leading men Paul Rudd and Jason Segal. Rudd in pa