This Weekend Only: Oscar Documentary Shorts Nominees Two weeks ago, in my regular column, I described the process through which the Oscar-nominated short films are selected. At that time, I reviewed the five animated narrative shorts and the five live action narrative shorts. Those two programs continue in regular release at Sacramento’s historic Crest Theatre. Additionally, this weekend, for two days only, the Crest will screen the five documentary shorts nominees. Shorts, in Academy terms, are shorter than feature films but can still reach 40 minutes in length. This year’s nominees are collectively long enough that the Crest will screen them in two programs this weekend, on Saturday an

Oscar Shorts Even for most dedicated film goers, the shorts categories at the Academy Awards are often some of the most obscure, with short films that have primarily been seen in various Academy sanctioned film festivals (with one or two exceptions, typically among big name animated films that sometimes play in support of a mainstream feature film). However, despite their relative obscurity, the shorts are subject to some of the fairest final voting in the entire competition. (And I make that distinction between final voting and nominations, because there are always wonderful short films out there that weren’t seen in regular theaters and which might have won in festival competitions, b

More January-esque Film Openings The January pattern of film openings I was discussing last week continues this week with an award season drama, a straightforward action film that feels at home at this time of year, and a flashier popcorn actioner that feels like a refugee from the summer. There’s also the opening of “Movie 43” which wasn’t made available for press review – and you can draw your own conclusions on that.   “Sister” and “Parker” Interestingly, while very different, two of the new films share a Robin Hood-like sentiment towards stealing. In “Sister,” Switzerland’s official entry in the foreign language category for the Academy Awards, a young boy lives in the town at the

Taken 2 Directed by Olivier Megaton When “Taken” opened, it came as a surprise for assorted reasons. The basic plot about a man who fights to free his kidnapped daughter was extremely simple, as simple as, for example, the original “Die Hard” about a cop in the wrong place at the wrong time. Both movies featured a favorite theme of mine – the reluctant hero, the person who finds themself in an unexpected and undesirable situation that requires their action. But “Taken” was also quite different from many other films of that nature in that while the hero is an ex government operative with prodigious skills, he’s also a father worried only about his daughter’s safety. Most heroes in most fi

With just two weeks before the opening of the always excellent Sacramento French Film Festival (SFFF), francophiles and quality film fans have two opportunities to warm up their love of French language cinema. Plus more pretty crap at the multiplex. Opening today at the Crest Theatre, “Monsieur Lazhar” (which is co-presented by the SFFF) is a French-Canadian film that was Canada’s entry and nominee in the Best Foreign Language category at this year’s Academy Awards. With a quick glance at the poster, it’s easy to think it’s another one of those “inspiring teacher” movies but it’s actually quite different. The film opens as Martine, a troubled schoolteacher to a class of 11 and 12 year old

All the glitz and glamour of Tinsel Town’s Academy Awards night once again came to the annual Capital City AIDS Fund benefit gala, Oscar Night Sacramento. Chosen by the Academy of Motion Picture and Arts and Sciences, Oscar Night Sacramento is one of only 49 sanctioned events in the country. Oscar Night America is a "grassroots program that enables local charities to host glamorous Oscar viewing parties and raise money for their organizations," according to an AMPAS press release. To set these parties apart from the thousands of unsanctioned events on Oscar Night, each ONA party receives copies of the official commemorative poster and show program among other items. The downtown Hyatt

A couple of weeks ago I reviewed the five live action and five animated Academy Award nominated narrative shorts playing at the Crest Theatre.  Those two programs are continuing for another week and the original article can be found here. But on Thursday (Feb 23), for the first time in Sacramento, there's a chance to see the nominated documentary shorts.  Well, four of the five films - as one is missing.  This isn't that unusual, in fact it's more remarkable that the distributors of the shorts programs could corral the other 14 films into 3 programs, than it is that they couldn't get the 15th.  It's conjecture on my part, but I'd guess that there was a problem securing distribution right

Oscar Shorts 2012 This week, the Crest Theatre continues its tradition of bringing the Academy Award nominated short films to Sacramento in time for eager Oscar-watchers to fill out their ballots. And watching them in these special screenings puts you on an even footing with Academy members who are required to watch them in the same manner in order to be qualified to vote in these categories. In order to qualify for Oscar contention, short films (under 40 minutes) have to have had a run in theaters or to have won a top award in at least one Academy sanctioned film festival. The nominated films are packaged together by Magnolia Pictures and Shorts International to form theatrical packages

A veteran of the Vietnam War, writer, director and producer, Oliver Stone began his movie career as a screenwriter in the late 1970s with credits that included “Midnight Express,” “Conan the Barbarian” and “Scarface.” He won an Oscar for best director for “Platoon,” his semi-autobiographical film about the ground war in Vietnam. He went on to make a string of successful and controversial films like “Salvador,” “Born on the Fourth of July,” both Wall Street sagas, and “The Doors.” His historical dramas “JFK” and “Nixon” earned Stone a reputation as a historical pragmatic and paranoid conspiracy theorist. Stone is currently producing a movie to be released this summer, “Savages.” The stor

After two long years of tilling, sowing and watering the fields, Documentary Foundation, a local film organization, will finally be able to reap the rewards of its labor, making its debut at the prestigious Silverdocs Film Festival in Washington, D.C., on June 19. Producer of the film and Managing Director for Documentary Foundation Keith Ochwat said he and Creative Director Christopher Rufo grew up in Sacramento.  When they got into film after college, they realized that the city had a lot to offer and they wanted to contribute to that as much as possible, especially with the next generation. As a result, the nonprofit Documentary Foundation was born in 2007.   Based in Midtown, its mis

The Volunteer Center of Sacramento will hold its first-ever Academy Awards Night fundraiser on Sunday, February 27, 2011, from 4:30-8:30pm at the new Tex Mex Bar & Grill at 2326 J Street in midtown Sacramento. Proceeds from the event will benefit Center programs, such as BirthdayMAGIC — a program that coordinates personalized birthday parties for Sacramento area children living in homeless shelters, transitional living facilities, or residential treatment centers.  In addition to watching the Academy Awards on televisions around the restaurant, attendees will be able to test their movie trivia knowledge, guess who will win Hollywood's biggest night, win fabulous prizes in our raffle draw

Hal Holbrook has over 120 film and television credits stretching back to 1954.  In addition to his Tony Award for portraying Mark Twain and four Emmy Awards (with six additional nominations), he became the oldest male actor nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in 2007's "into the Wild." His new film "That Evening Sun," a co-presentation of the Crest Theatre and the Sacramento Film & Music Festival, opens at the Crest on Friday, March 5th.  Holbrook plays an aging farmer who escapes a nursing home only to have to fight to regain his family farm. "That Evening Sun" has won at least 15 film festival honors, including two Special Jury Awards from South by Southwest.  Joe Leydo

Academy Award season is here. On March 7, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present the winners with an Oscar, one of the world's most famous and coveted statues. Categories include Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. A lesser known category is for short films, animated and live action. The Crest Theatre, 1013 K St., is showing the Oscar-nominated shorts through Feb. 25. Each program, animated and live action, lasts about one and a half hours. The animated program contains five Oscar-nominated shorts and three bonus shorts. They aren't just pen and pencil animation; claymation and computer animation also are included. "This is great," said attendee Maggie