Films always have a particular "look" -- Pirate of the Caribbean has one kind of look, Austin Powers another, and then a quiet drama like House of Sand and Fog has yet another. Sacramento will get the chance to hear from the art director responsible for the look of these films on Tuesday, February 21, when the Capital Film Arts Alliance (CFAA) brings Hollywood art director Drew Boughton to their speaker series. "Art direction and production design gives the 'look' of a film that defines the mood and atmosphere of the story, and is integral to all movies, and Drew Boughton is a master in the field," said Laurie Pederson, Board Chair for the CFAA. "The Capital Film Arts Alliance is proud to

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

The Crocker Art Museum will screen the Academy-Award-winning classic “Sunset Boulevard” on Thursday, Jan. 5, at 6:30 p.m. One of the greatest movies about Hollywood ever made, this film is at once film noir, dark comedy, high melodrama, and scathing satire. Tickets are $5 for Museum members and $10 for nonmembers, not including Museum admission. One of the most successful films of its era, “Time” described it as a story of "Hollywood at its worst told by Hollywood at its best." Gloria Swanson stars as a faded silent screen goddess who dreams of a box-office comeback. William Holden is Joe Gillis, a cynical small-time writer who becomes entangled in her deluded world. Film scholar Kristen

The Crocker Art Museum will present “Dreams,” the visually stunning film from Academy Award-winning director Akira Kurosawa, on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 6:30 p.m. Tickets include Museum admission and are $6 for museum members and $12 for nonmembers. Comprised of eight separate vignettes inspired from actual dreams of the world-renowned filmmaker, “Dreams” is a collection of fantastic and evocative stories, separate in narrative, but intertwined with themes of nature and spirituality, life and death, and peace and war. Born in early-20th-century Japan, Kurosawa made his international directorial debut in 1950 and went on to receive numerous accolades throughout Asia and the U.S., including an

The Crocker Art Museum will embrace the eerie and capture the creepy with a specially curated night of retro horror short films inspired by the humorous and sometimes grotesque creations in “Clayton Bailey’s World of Wonders.” Presented in collaboration with the Sacramento Horror Film Festival, Open Art: Monster Mashup will take place on Thursday, October 27, at 7 p.m. Horror fans will delight in unique shorts, such as “Night of the Hell Hampster,” “The Sleuth Incident,” “Cannibal Flesh Riot,” “Chainsaw Maid” and more. Festival founder and director Tim Meunier will introduce the films and lead a post-screening Q & A session. “Clayton Bailey’s World of Wonders” is the first career-spannin

If you're like a lot of people, Halloween is your favorite holiday, and what better way to get your Halloween week off to a rousing start than to see one of the goriest movies about Zombies ever made.  Lucio Fulci's 1979 classic, "Zombie," is making its way to the big screen at The Crest Theatre for two screenings, Friday and Saturday, 21 - 22 October at Midnight. When a young women travels to a remote tropical island in search of her missing father, all hell breaks loose when she and her companions find that a strange epidemic is causing the dead to walk…with an insatiable hunger for human flesh! This Undead classic features some of the most shocking scenes in horror cinema…don’t miss it

The Crocker Art Museum will host a screening of “Sickert vs. Sargent: Britain’s Masters of Modern Art,” on Thursday, Aug. 25, at 6 p.m. A documentary profiling Walter Sickert and John Singer Sargent, this film details the fierce competition that raged between the artists and the legendary work that was created as a result of the rivalry. The film is free with Museum admission. “Sickert vs. Sargent” was written and directed by renowned British art critic Waldemar Januszczak. The film takes viewers on a journey through the life and art of two of the most influential artists in Britain, highlighting inspirational locations, and featuring their working studios. “Sickert vs. Sargent” also feat

Come out, come out, wherever you are and meet the young lady, who fell from a star. The Crest, she says, is the name of the star and she brings you good news, or haven’t you heard? The Sing-Along Wizard of OZ is back at last! That’s right, the Yellow Brick Road has been polished just in time for you to join Dorothy, her three stalwarts and Toto, the Munchkins and witches of every sort as we all break into song, from “Ding Dong” to “Over the Rainbow” in celebration of one of the greatest movies of all times. The fun starts on Saturday, Aug 13 beginning with Karaoke in the Crest’s Lobby at 1 p.m., followed by an Oz Character Costume Contest and then the screening of the 1939 MGM classic fi

With the summer slowly winding down, midnight movies at the Crest Theatre are coming to a close, too. The zookeepers at the Trash Film Orgy film festival still have two Saturday night events before the end of this summer’s 11th festival season. “Werewolves on Wheels,” probably the only biker-werewolf film ever made, will see its midnight screening this Saturday. The film can best be described as the love child between “Easy Rider” and “Rosemary’s Baby,” with some early reality film thrown in for good measure. It stars “Bud” Anderson and Barry “Eve of Destruction” McGuire. If bikers who become blood-thirsty werewolves isn’t your bag, how about wrestling? Especially the luchadors in “Santo

The Crocker Art Museum will host an outdoor screening of “The Wizard of Oz” on Thursday, Aug. 4, starting at 8 p.m. The film is $6 for Museum members and $12 for nonmembers and includes admission to the Museum. The screening will take place in the Museum’s E. Kendell Davis Courtyard, and visitors are welcome to bring lawn chairs. Filmed in Technicolor, a process known for high levels of saturated color, “The Wizard of Oz” brilliantly captured the technical and imaginative qualities of color in film in the 20th century. The screening is part of the Museum’s Thursdays ‘til 9 program series, sponsored by Bank of America. The Crocker is open every Thursday until 9 p.m. for film screenings, s

Vincent Falk’s got eye issues, Freudian parent problems and a very interesting taste in suits. But how did these characteristics evolve into Falk’s passion for spinning atop Chicago bridges for passing tour boats below? “Vincent: A Life in Color,” is an award winning documentary by Jennifer Burns that intended to find out.  Falk is deemed legally blind and has had glaucoma since he was a child. He was abandoned at birth and lived in an orphanage until he was eight. Despite less than ideal circumstances, Falk refused to let his trials define him. In High School, Falk was part of the National Honor Society, the chess club, the debate team, and the diving team. He’s a college graduate, us

A mob of the living dead invaded downtown Sacramento Saturday night. The annual Zombie Walk started at Sub-Q and ended at the Crest Theatre, where the zombies mingled with K Street’s club- and restaurant-goers in between munching brains. The 2011 Trash Film Orgy season kicked off its six-week run of sleazy, gory, trashy movies with “Return of the Living Dead,” a tale of punk rockers, zombies and punk rock zombies. As zombies and Trash fans entered the Crest’s lobby, they were greeted by a variety of interesting characters and sights to see. Guests could browse movie posters, horror and sci-fi DVDs and zombie comics. There were also games in the spirit of the zombie flick, such as “Pin th

Starting July 2 and contuning Saturday evenings through August, Old Sacramento visitors will be treated to something quite novel in this day and age -- silent films in the Eagle Theatre every Saturday night!  The showings begin at 7 p.m. in the Eagle Theatre in Old Sacramento State Historic Park.    With song slides that encourage audience involvement and sing-along, movies from 1900-1929 will be showcased and presented by the Excelsior Company in association with Red Barn Productions.   In addition, talented period performers will delight and amuse the audience with engaging and entertaining songs, mini skits and comedic acts as the silent movies play. Every Saturday night will offer som

A new “boutique” Goodwill store has opened its doors on L and 16th Streets, offering area shoppers a well organized, eco-friendly retail experience and deals on merchandise like books, lamps, shoes and purses. Store manager Noelle McCrea said the L Street location is unique in that its stock is handpicked from Goodwill locations across the country. While other Goodwills accept and sell most all donations, a “boutique” Goodwill strives to feature name brands, high-quality and vintage goods. Clothing is centrally located and sectioned into garment-specific, labeled racks, like: women’s plus size tops, long sleeve knit tops, lingerie, men’s jackets and men’s dress shirts. The women’s sect

It’s not too late to come back for a second helping. If you missed the April premiere of Planet of the Vampire Women, the film is coming back to The Crest. Featuring some of the galaxy’s sexiest space pirates reminiscent of the hunks of Hollywood film of the 60's and 70's, the action packed sci/fi adventure film, has three evening shows slated for Memorial weekend, May 27 through 29. Stephanie Hyden, a Sacramento native plays a playful anime-like character named Astrid in “Planet of the Vampire Women,” which premiered at the Crest Theatre in April. In the movie, her superpowers allows her to change her outfit at the flip of her hip. She credits Amy Slockbower, one of the film producers a

The Sacramento French Film Festival will celebrate its 10th year in June 2011 and has just unveiled its exhilarating film selection and its inspired and original poster created, as were the nine previous SFFF posters, by talented Sacramento photographer Kent Lacin. See the complete poster collection here. To be held June 17-26, 2011 at the Crest Theatre in Downtown Sacramento, the 10th Sacramento French Film Festival will present nine new premieres, two Saturday Midnight Movies, three classics, and one Short Film Program. This year the SFFF is also introducing a new category, entitled "The One That Almost Got Away" and aimed to highlight recent films that the SFFF team wished to show in p

Calling all Disney lovers! Stage Nine’s “The Vault” and the California State Railroad Museum are hosting the worldwide debut of The Pixar Collection at the museum Sunday. The collection will include artwork inspired by the first 11 films created by Pixar Animation Studios. Stage Nine, located at 102 K St., is an entertainment store that carries unique collectibles and pop culture memorabilia. Stage Nine owner Troy Carlson said that he is honored to have the collection’s debut in Sacramento. “I definitely expect collectors, and there are people traveling from Los Angeles and San Francisco.” Carlson said that they voiced their interest in hosting the event in Sacramento. Stage Nine gall

2011 marks the 20th anniversary of the passing of French icon Serge Gainsbourg, who died of a heart attack on March 2, 1991. Born in 1928, Gainsbourg would have turned 82 this year. To honor his memory, the Sacramento French Film Festival, Record Club and The Verge Center for the Arts are hosting a tribute party. It all starts at 8pm on Saturday April 2nd at the Verge Gallery and will feature music videos, film clips, live tribute bands and music by DJ’s Christophe and Roger. Twenty years after his death Serge Gainsbourg is still considered one of the world's most influential popular musicians. If you are not already familiar with his music, it’s not too late to get to know him. He is bes

The motion picture industry may be centered in Hollywood, but if screenwriter Gary Weinberg has anything to say about it, Sacramento’s burgeoning collective of aspiring screenwriters will soon draw plenty of attention northward. On February 22nd, from 7 to 9pm, the fourth installment of Weinberg’s popular course, Write Your Screenplay, An Eight Week Intensive, will begin at the Tangent Art Gallery, adjacent to the Coffee Garden at 2900 Franklin Blvd in Curtis Park. Since May of last year Weinberg has been facilitating the development of nearly fifty fledgling screenwriters, all with aspirations of seeing their ideas manifest on film. His three-class program has been developed to cater to

For the Sacramento French Film Festival, 2011 is a milestone year: one of the most acclaimed film festivals in town will celebrate its 10th year. This special anniversary will be held at the Crest Theatre on June 17-26 but the team of the SFFF has planned other events to make 2011 the year of French cinema in Sacramento and it all starts this month with a prestigious and one-of-a-kind “Cinema-Concert”, featuring a silent comedy with live orchestra. On January 29th and 30th, The SFFF will bring to Sacramento the North-American Premiere of Un Chapeau de Paille d'Italie (An Italian Straw Hat), directed by renowned French filmmaker René Clair, with a new musical score. For this first-time eve