Pete's Popcorn Picks

09/05/08

Creedence Clearwater Revival at Berkeley's Fantasy Studios

Back in March, I wrote a story for Diablo that's one of my all-time favorites: the East Bay's Greatest Hits. This look at the biggest rock acts was a blast to put together and I spent a lot of time listening to Green Day, Counting Crows and Creedence Clearwater Revival while writing it. To this day, many rock fans assume Creedence really was "born on the bayou" and not in El Cerrito, East Bay. Well, those fans should know better—and they should also know that Creedence's first six albums have just been re-mastered and re-released on CD, with bonus live tracks. Here's a clip of "Lookin' Out My Back Door"...

Posted at 08:02 PM in Pete's Popcorn Picks | Permalink | Comments (0)

09/04/08

Willie Nelson Wows Wente

This has been amazing summer for country music in the East Bay. A few weeks ago, Dolly Parton put on an amazing show at Berkeley's Greek Theatre. Her vocal performance was stunning, and she charmed, entertained, and moved the audience with her heartfelt stories between songs, prompting me to blog, "I know who I want to vote for for President...Dolly Parton." Last night, I found her running mate out at Wente Vineyards...Willie Nelson. Backed by a terrific seven-piece band, Nelson captivated a sold-out Wente crowd with a 90-minute set of his country classics, including, "Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys," "Always on my Mind," "Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground," "Whiskey River," and "On the Road Again." The...

Posted at 05:36 PM in Pete's Popcorn Picks | Permalink | Comments (0)

09/02/08

Try as I did, I had a hard time sitting through the new STAR WARS cartoon

I was seven-years-old the summer Star Wars came out, and its no exaggeration to say that the film was the pop culture event of my childhood. That glorious experience of seeing the film for the first time on a Saturday afternoon at Walnut Creek's Festival Cinemas is still fresh in my mind, as was the anticipation of seeing th subsequent chapter, and greatest film of the Star Wars franchise, The Empire Strikes Back. So, I thought it was kind of funny that, 31 summers after Star Wars, the seventh feature film in the franchise is in movie theaters, and I don't know a single person who has seen it.

Except me. I caught a 10:50 p.m. screening on Sunday night at the Concord Solano Drive-in.

Because of the Clone Wars's atrocious...

Posted at 01:28 PM in Pete's Popcorn Picks | Permalink | Comments (0)

08/29/08

Last three days of Pinky's Pizza in Walnut Creek

I'm really sorry to be posting this one, but it's an essential Pete's Popcorn....er, pizza, Pick for this weekend. One of my all-time favorite spots in Walnut Creek, Pinky's Pizza, is closing after 46 years in the same location. Or, nearly the same location...I believe the original spot was a little closer to California Blvd., but raised and moved back 20 feet or so, way back in the 1960s. I remember Pinky's colorful owner Tom Beisham telling me that one time. Tom would know, he's worked there since he was 16 and has owned the place for 30+ years. Tom and his staff have always been super friendly and efficient, which is why Pinky's has had a legion of regulars. It's also kind of the last corner of the small town Walnut Creek I grew up in. So its really sad to say good bye to a...

Posted at 12:36 PM in Pete's Popcorn Picks | Permalink | Comments (1)

08/26/08

Midnight movies this weekend at the Clay and the Chabot

I love midnight movies and there's a whole bunch of good ones this weekend at the Clay Theatre in San Francisco and the Chabot Cinema in Castro Valley. Check it out:

At the Clay: Friday, August 29 at midnight: HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH
Adapted from John Cameron Mitchell's critically acclaimed off-Broadway rock theatre hit, this dazzling film tells the story of Hedwig, an "internationally ignored" rock and roll songstress hailing from Communist East Germany. Born a boy named Hansel, whose life dream is to find his other half, he...

Posted at 06:27 PM in Pete's Popcorn Picks | Permalink | Comments (0)

08/20/08

THE ROCKER offers laughs and good vibes

August has featured an onslaught of broad comedy, and today's new release, THE ROCKER offers enough laughs and good natured spirit to recommmend. The movie has a fun premise—back in the big-hair metal days of the 1980s, drummer Robert Fishman (well played by Rainn Wilson, aka Dwight on NBC's The Office) gets kicked out of his bar band, Vesuvius, when the rest of the band gets a big deal from a record label.

Fast forward 20 years and Vesuvius is a huge Motley Crue meets Metallica band, and Fishman is working at a dead end job and hating his life. When his girlfriend kicks him out of the house, Fishman moves in with his sister, and, due to complications of the comdy screenplay varity, joins his nephew's band for a one-time gig at the prom. Fishman realizes that...

Posted at 12:02 PM in Pete's Popcorn Picks | Permalink | Comments (0)

08/15/08

Funniest film of 2008: TROPIC THUNDER

I haven't laughed as hard at a film as I did at Ben Stiller's killer new comedy TROPIC THUNGER in a long, long time. I caught a matinee at the gorgeous Orinda Theater the other day and laughed for two hours straight. That's great, of course, for a comedy, but Tropic Thunder surprised me as something more than just plain funny. The film, a satire of war epic movies and Hollywood egos, feels fresh the way the disaster spoof Airplane! did when it came out in 1980—a new kind comedy subgenre that unfolds right in front of you.

The gist of the film is that a cast of pretentious actors and filmmakers are on loation in Asia (actually Kauai) filming an Apocalypse Now/Platoon type for Vietnam war film. Anyone who has seen the brilliant...

Posted at 02:32 PM in Pete's Popcorn Picks | Permalink | Comments (0)

08/13/08

Elvis D-Day shindig in El Cerrito

I recently visited Graceland, that fascinating tourist trap in Memphis, TN, where Elvis Presley enjoyed many a peanut-butter-prescription pill-and-banana sandwich. As gaudy as it was, the visit really made me fall in love with the Elvis phenomenon again. The guy wasn't just a rock star, he was the pop culture icon of the 20th century. So I'm getting all shook up when I think about the annual Elvis D-Day Luau this Thursday at the Cerrito Speakeasy in El Cerrito, where my pals will Viharo and his partner, Monica the Tiki Goddess are throwing the ultimate shindig to appreciate the King. They'll be showing a beautiful print of Blue Hawaii, and the Wigglin' Wahinis hula troupe will perform on stage. Info

Posted at 11:41 AM in Pete's Popcorn Picks | Permalink | Comments (0)

08/11/08

The buzzkill that is the Pineapple Express

I'm the last guy I expected to be down on the new stoner-buddy-action comedy, Pineapple Express. After all, I've thus far been wowed by (almost) all things producer Judd Apatow touches, from the Larry Sanders Show to Freaks and Geeks to the 40 Year Old Virgin-Knocked-Up-Superbad trifecta. And this year's best comedy, by far, Forgetting Sarah Marshall. I harbor no ill-will toward stoner-slackers—Jeffs Lebowski and Spicoli rank among my favorite all time film characters. So it's with a harsh cough and a logy head that I have to admit—Pineapple Express just didn't make me laugh very much.

I checked out a weekend matinee at the Rheem Theater the other day, entering this neighborhood gem of a cinema with high hopes...

Posted at 07:27 PM in Pete's Popcorn Picks | Permalink | Comments (0)

08/08/08

Brand new print of PLANET OF THE APES at the Cerrito

One of the real treats for East Bay film geeks is the ongoing Cerrito Classics series at the wonderful Cerrito Speakeasy theater in El Cerrito. This weekend they have a brand spankin' new print of Planet of the Apes, for that classic film's 40th anniversary. Tickets are only $7, more information here.

Posted at 12:25 PM in Pete's Popcorn Picks | Permalink | Comments (0)