Posts Tagged ‘movies’

Dear God, it’s been hot. So very hot. And it seems like no one in the Bay Area has air conditioning, not me, not you, not the grocery store where the lettuce is as limp as the streamers tied to the fans blowing the hot air around. You know where it’s nice and cool? At the movies! Cinemark Theatres sweetens the deal with the Summer Movie Clubhouse, 10am screenings every Monday and Tuesday for just a buck a show (or $5 for the whole 10 movie series).

This week’s movie is Space Chimps; I hear it’s pretty meh but: air-conditioning! Two whole hours where you won’t have to get anyone milk! The cavalcade of films continue until August 17-18, when things wind up with Open Season. Save a seat for me at CineArts at the Empire, 85 West Portal Avenue in San Francisco. Call 415-661-2539 or visit cinemark.com.

The Oakland Parkway dropped its venerable Baby Brigade nights in summer of 2008, leaving Oakland parents without a public space in which they could watch a movie, eat a pizza, and parent all at the same time. But see! The Baby Brigade didn’t die, it just moved. It’s now at the Cerrito Speakeasy, which, if you haven’t been there before, is housed in the beautiful vintage Cerrito Theater that was restored by the same couple that owns the Parkway.

Each Tuesday during the early-evening shows, you go into the wedding cake of a neon-fronted theater, you order a sandwich, you watch a movie, and you don’t worry so much if your infant emits a squawk or two. You can even order a beer; which we all know is great for nursing. It’s so much fun that you’ll be sad when your baby ages out.

Tomorrow night’s fare is Revolutionary Road at 6:30, upstairs is Waltz With Bashir at 7. Both are excellent, well-reviewed films, one about abortion and the dissolution of a marriage, the other an animated tour through the horrors of war. Maybe you’d better turn Junior’s eyes away from the screen while the show’s on; you don’t want him writing to Kindertrauma in 17 years.

Cerrito Speakeasy Theater is located at 10070 San Pablo Avenue (at Fairmount Avenue) in El Cerrito, call 510-814-2400 or visit cerritospeakeasy.com.

Is it raining? Yes? No? We have you covered either way.

Animal Grossology

Kids like gross stuff. And “Animal Grossology,” a new exhibit at the Lawrence Hall of Science, has it for them, with exhibits on cows and their prodigious output of methane, dung beetles, owl pellets (bones and other offal vomited up by owls), and other icky, yet educational, items.

When: Through 9/6/09, Daily 10am-5pm; Age 3+; Free with museum admission (Free-$11).

Where: Lawrence Hall of Science, Centennial Drive (at Stadium Rimway) on the University of California, Berkeley campus, 510-642-5132, lawrencehallofscience.org.

Cine/Club

Two Fridays a month, the Randall Museum invites teens age 13-18 for a screening of a classic film, a cartoon, a famous short or scenes from related films, and a group discussion analyzing what they’ve seen. Adult friends can accompany teens, and parents may wish to ensure their children are mature enough for each week’s showing, as films can cover sophisticated, controversial themes. This week: 1979 German film The Tin Drum.

When: Ongoing two Fridays each month, including 2/20; 6:30pm; Age 13-18; Free.

Where: Randall Museum, 199 Museum Way, San Francisco, 415-554-9600; randallmuseum.org.

Living Ship Day

Drag the vehicle nuts in your family to this special event at which military aircraft are lifted to launch position on the flight deck, and visitors can sit in the cockpit of a fighter plane.

When: Sun., 2/21, 10am-5pm; Age 3+; Free with paid admission.

Where: USS Hornet Museum, 707 West Hornet Way, Pier 3, Alameda Point (Alameda), 510-521-8448 Extension 282, uss-hornet.org.

Healing Herbs

Teens take a hike through the Hidden Villa grounds, identifying and collecting common herbs with medicinal properties. Naturalists will then teach participants how to use these healthful herbs.

When: Sat., 2/21, 10am-1pm; Age 15-18; $15.

Where: Hidden Villa, 26870 Moody Road (at Moody Court), Los Altos, 650-949-8653, hiddenvilla.org.

Children’s movies this year have been absolute crap! Wall-E? Hated it. Daughter hated it. Beverly Hills Chihuahua? An embarrassment. Igor? Please, we didn’t get past the previews.

Spend a few Saturday afternoons basking in classic children’s cinema instead, with the Vogue Theatre’s Free Family Movie Matinees. Starting at 11am the next four Saturdays, the Laurel Heights neighborhood theater screens four time-tested favorites: The Wizard of Oz (10/18), Shrek (10/25), The Muppet Movie (11/1) and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (11/8). Admission is free, and babes in arms are allowed, maybe even ecouraged.

The whole shebang is sponsored by UB favorite Commonsense Media, who knows a thing or two about good family movies. See you at the show–beware the flying monkeys!

The Vogue Theatre is located at 3290 Sacramento Street (at Presidio Avenue), San Francisco. Call 415-346-2288 or visit peerlessentertainment.com.

Along with meals in white-tablecloth restaurants and morning sex, you can wave goodbye to going to grownup movies once you spawn. Bringing a tot, even a quiet and tiny one, into a film guarantees almost as many glares as breastfeeding a three-year-old on a Muni bus.

So why not frequent one of the many baby-friendly movie showings in San Francisco? Great! Except, there aren’t any. The Red Vic discontinued its Bring Your Own Baby monthly showings (lack of attendance) and the Metreon shut down its weekly Reel Moms screenings. Things got so bad I personally resorted to attending preschool film events at the public libraries.

But I won’t need to watch those wavery filmstrips anymore, now that the Vogue Theatre has launched its Tuesday Baby Matinee series, a film fiesta for parents/caregivers and their young monkeys. Thankfully, they have avoided the Metreon’s mistake and are programming gentle adult fare instead of kids’ movies (which you can go to anyway, am I right?). The lights are raised, the sound is lowered, and no one’s going to give you the stink eye if your baby bursts into hysterics just as Patrick Dempsey lays one on Michelle Monaghan (oh, is that a spoiler? My bad). There’s not much room for strollers inside the theater so leave them at home if you can; or use the hourly parking at the JCC around the corner at California and Presidio and leave the stroller in the trunk. You bring the Junior Mints and I’ll share my Boudreaux’s Butt Paste.

When: Tue., 5/13, 11am; All Ages; Adults $7.50, Kids under 2 free.

Where: Vogue Theatre, 3290 Sacramento (at Presidio), San Francisco, 415-346-2274, Voguesf.com.

Yeah, I thought it was a great idea to rent The Secret of Nimh for my sensitive two-year-old daughter. Talking animals! What could go wrong? Cue dark-and-creepy scenes of lab rats being experimented on…and she watched the rest of the movie from my lap.

Why oh why didn’t I consult Commonsense Media before I rented? The San Francisco-based organization runs a sort of Consumer Reports for kid media, and would have told me that The Secret of Nimh contains animal-torture scenes. I will never again rent my kid a video, buy a game, or watch a TV show without checking Commonsense Media’s highly specific, darned high-quality reviews. In fact, I may stick to their lists of recommended media picks. Let’s see, I’ll start with Smart Movie Girls and then move on to Best Movie Moms…