Brolin's coming but Madsen's a no show at SLO film fest

This just in:

Michael Madsen can't make it to the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival this weekend.

Due to "personal issues," the actor best known for his roles in "Reservoir Dogs" and "Kill Bill" will have to skip his scheduled appearances on Saturday and Sunday, Executive Director Wendy Eidson announced this morning.

However, organizers will screen two of Madsen's films: the boxing drama "Strength and Honor" (noon, Saturday, Downtown Centre Cinemas) and "Through Your Eyes," a documentary about deaf-blind triplets (4 p.m., Sunday, Palm Theatre).

"No Country for Old Men" star Josh Brolin is still scheduled to appear this afternoon at a screening of his short film "X."

The movie, Brolin's directorial debut, co-stars his daughter, Eden Brolin, and features music by his son, Trevor.

Vincent Riverside stars as a guilt-ridden, escaped inmate searching for his murdered wife's body.

Meet Brolin and get insights from SLO County's former native son this afternoon at 4 p.m. at Downtown Centre Cinemas, 888 Marsh St., San Luis Obispo.

-- Sarah L.

"Highway to the danger zone"

First, a prologue:

"On March 3, 1969 the United States Navy established an elite school for the top one percent of its pilots. Its purpose was to teach the lost art of aerial combat and to insure that the handful of men who graduated were the best fighter pilots in the world. They succeeded. Today, the Navy calls it Fighter Weapons School. The flyers call it: TOP GUN."

Cue Kenny Loggins' "Danger Zone." It's time for "Top Gun."

Inspired by Ehud Yonay's 1983 article on elite fighter pilots in California, "Top Gun" follows the adventures of Maverick (Tom Cruise), an up-and-coming pilot whose ego often gets in the way of his common sense.

With wingman Goose (Anthony Edwards) by his side and rival Iceman (Val Kilmer) watching his every move, Maverick aims to proves he's the hottest Navy flyer in the air.

Oh yeah, and there's a cute civilian instructor (Kelly McGillis) to woo.

Some moviegoers may not care for "Top Gun's" politics, or its less-than-subtle undertones of homoeroticism. (Quentin Tarantino discusses the subject brilliantly in "Sleep With Me.")

But let's face it, people.

This is a classic flick -- a high-flying action movie with a killer soundtrack, made when Tom Cruise was still sane and Kelly McGillis was the hottest chick in a flight jacket.

There's also a Central Coast connection: McGillis got her start at the Great American Melodrama in Oceano.

To paraphrase a quote from the film: "Top Gun," you can be my wingman any time.

"Top Gun" screens tonight at the Fremont theater, 1025 Monterey St. in San Luis Obispo.

The movie starts at 7:30 p.m., following a half-hour of trivia and prizes. Tickets are $7.50.

-- Sarah L.

("Top Gun" DVD cover courtesy of Movieweb.com)

Your patriotic duty: Watch "Princess Bride"

Today, as you hit the polls to pick America's new president, consider this:

Who would make a better commander-in-chief, Prince Humperdinck or the Dread Pirate Roberts?

Granted, Humperdinck's kind of a meanie. And Wesley's -- oops, we mean Roberts' -- extensive criminal record probably bars him from public service.

No matter. You can still do your patriotic duty by attending tonight's screening of "The Princess Bride."

Beloved by families and college students everywhere, Rob Reiner's "The Princess Bride" is an undisputed classic. It's sweet and funny, an action-packed fairytale with scores of memorable cameos (Billy Crystal, anyone?) and bizarre beasties (Rodents of Unusual Size, Screaming Eels).

Plus, it's one of filmdom's most quotable movies. Who hasn't picked up a pretend sword and recited, in a heavy Spanish accent, "My name is Inigo Montoya"?

"The Princess Bride" will be screened tonight at the Fremont theater, 1025 Monterey St. in San Luis Obispo.

The movie starts at 7:30 p.m., following a half-hour of trivia and prizes. Tickets are $7.50.

Swordplay? A beautiful princess? Andre the Giant? No wonder they call this "Super Tuesday."

***

HAVE YOU VOTED TODAY? Get off your tush and go to the polls!


-- Sarah L.

Groooovy! "Evil Dead 2" at the Fremont

As far as cult classics go, "Evil Dead 2" was a watershed.

Following 1981's "The Evil Dead," Sam Raimi's gruesome and frequently hilarious flick made mammoth-chinned Bruce Campbell a B-movie icon.

It wedded shotgun and chainsaw as the deadliest pair to ever hit the big screen.

It gave hope to poverty-stricken film students everywhere with lint in their pockets and gore on their minds.

Most importantly, Raimi's mixture of Stooges-style stunts, oddball dialogue and gross, low-budget special effects cemented the comedy-horror genre.

Without Raimi and George Romero, there'd be no "Shaun of the Dead." And that, dear readers, would be a sad, sad day for humanity.

Lucky for us, "Evil Dead 2" is playing tonight at The Fremont theater, 1025 Monterey St. in San Luis Obispo.

The screening starts at 7:30 p.m., following a half-hour trivia contest with prizes.
Tickets are $7.50.

If you don't make the screening, rent this one. You'll remember how great it really is.

For moviegoers who like their entertainment zombie-free, however, the Fremont will screen Leonard Bernstein's classic musical, "West Side Story," on Jan. 15.

-- Sarah L.

("Evil Dead 2" image courtesy of MovieWeb.com.)

"I can see clearly now ..."

The future of film is coming to the Fremont.
This week, San Luis Obispo’s historic movie house becomes one of the first theaters in the area to screen films using a state-of-the-art digital projector.
“It’s the way of the future,” said Sanborn Theatres Inc. spokesman Harold Taylor, whose company runs the Fremont Theatre and SLO’s Downtown Centre Cinemas. “Once the public hears about it and the word goes around, they’re going to go nuts over it.”
According to Taylor, the Barco projector will mean a “brighter, clearer, crisper picture” for new releases.
The new projector also opens the Fremont to digital 3-D movies such as Disney’s “Meet the Robinsons,” which opens Friday.
“It’s not like those green and red glasses you used to wear … It doesn’t tire your eyes out,” Taylor said, adding that the digital format “brings a new depth to the picture.”
As Taylor explains it, digital films are downloaded from the studios onto a Kodak computer server, then projected onto the Fremont’s massive screen. Plans for a digital projector have been in the works for about six months, he said.
Based on their experiences in San Luis Obispo, Sanborn Theatres hopes to implement the technology at its other movie theaters.
“After a while, you just have to admit that it’s an improvement,” Taylor said.

So, is it better? Check it out for yourself at The Fremont Theatre, 1025 Monterey St., in San Luis Obispo.

-- Sarah L.