Air with a bite, light
with a waxing crispness, and
sweaters without holes.

• • •

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Eyelids remain at
attention, desperately
in need of at ease.

• • •

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The rolling chairs sped
down the hallway, while folding
chairs ambled along.

• • •

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They waited in line,
they waited in seats. Start the
movie already!

• • •

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The rattling of the
tough popped kernels goes well with
the warm flat soda.

• • •

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Taylor Hicks performs all over Birmingham
this weekend, in “Grease” (shown above)
and at WorkPlay. Photo by Joan Marcus.

This final weekend of September in Birmingham is especially jam packed with events …

Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival

You’ve been reading all week about downtown’s annual film festival. We’ve posted 11 reviews, several features and more will be coming throughout the weekend. But here’s what you need to know:

• Opening night film, “Best Worst Movie” [review]: 8 tonight, Alabama Theatre, tickets $15, $13 for members and students
• Two-day pass for Saturday and Sunday: various venues downtown, tickets $35, $30 for members and students
• Film tickets: $8 for one, $20 for three
• Lineup

Also, assorted coverage:

• Wade on Birmingham
• Birmingham Weekly: The Best of the Fest
• Black and White: Sidewalk Picks
• Birmingham News: George Hardy of “Best Worst Movie” | panel on movie music
• Zoom Out: “Made in China” | “The Tiger Next Door”
• Tuscaloosa News: Sidewalk guide | “Old Bryce”
• Salty ‘Ham Jam: Bill Plympton class
• ILoveUAB: festival highlights
• Urbanham: “Number One With a Bullet”

Taste of 4th Avenue Jazz Festival

Performances by Cleve Eaton, Eric Essix and Tracy Hamlin, Bobbi Humphrey, Desire and the Birmingham Heritage Band.

• Noon-midnight Saturday
• Fourth Avenue North and 16th Street downtown [map]
• free
• official site

Holy Trinity-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral Greek Food Festival

Music and shopping, plus drive-through and takeout orders available. And look at this menu.

• 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. today and Saturday
• free, but charge for food/drink (no credit cards or debit cards)
• 307 19th St. S. [map]
• official site

Music galore

Looking for a concert?

• Vulcan AfterTunes starts Sunday with George Porter Jr. and His Running Pardners, $10, 3 p.m.
• Hoover native and American Idol Taylor Hicks performs Saturday at WorkPlay (Friday show is sold out), $25, 9 p.m.
• Opera Birmingham kicks off its season with “From Broadway to La Boheme,” 7:30 tonight and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Samford University, $15-$35

And performances

Shows this weekend include …

• “Grease” at the BJCC Concert Hall with Taylor Hicks, tonight-Sunday, $20-$55
• Alabama Ballet‘s “@ Home at the Barre” series at the company’s studios in Lakeview, tonight-Oct. 4, $20

And events

Two spring to mind …

• Southern Women’s Show, BJCC Exhibition Hall, today-Sunday, $9, $5 for age 6-12, free for age 5 and younger
• Irondale Whistle Stop Festival, music and children’s activities, Saturday, free

So what will you be doing this weekend?

Movie review: ‘Best Worst Movie’

sidewalk.wadeonbirmingham.com
By Kenn McCracken

Review at a glance: The documentary “Best Worst Movie” provides a good look at how an unintentionally bad movie gets made.

A scene from “Best Worst Movie.”

We’ve all seen bad movies. Once in a while, though, you’ll find a movie that takes bad to its logical conclusion, passes it, loops back on itself and becomes entertaining in its awfulness, like the horror flick “Troll 2.”

A documentary goes one step further. “Best Worst Movie” looks at the making of “Troll 2” and the camp celebrations and fandom that have sprung up around the unapologetically bad movie.

“Best Worst Movie” opens the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival tonight.

Director Michael Paul Stephenson, who played the lead role in “Troll 2,” focuses on the major players of the cast and crew, including director Claudio Fragasso, writer Rossella Drudi and Alexander City native George Hardy.

“Troll 2” — which, coincidentally, isn’t a sequel to “Troll” and doesn’t even feature any trolls — has spawned conventions, viewing parties and fan gatherings.

What emerges is a group of people best known for one of the worst movies ever made and their reactions to the growing fandom. (Novice filmmakers: Rejoice in the fact that you’ve probably made better movies for less money. There’s hope yet.)

Some of them have continued making movies or acting, while others have disappeared from the public eye altogether.

Most interesting, perhaps, is Hardy, the small-town dentist. Watching his earnest excitement grow and fall at being involved with “Troll 2” is somewhat charming, especially if you’ve ever known anyone who had a brief brush with fame.

Will he continue acting, or stick with his dental practice? Will fame go to his head, or can he remain an humble Alabama boy?

Watching “Best Worst Movie” is kind of meta. (I’m fairly certain that with some “Troll 2” cast and crew in attendance to watch themselves watching themselves, we will all fall through the rabbit hole that becomes an actual rip in the space-time continuum.)

Still, it’s a good look at what is becoming a cult classic, from the inside out, looking back.

Kenn McCracken (@insomniactive) is a director and an award-winning screenwriter (2005 Sidewalk Sidewrite grand prize, “Muckfuppet”).

He’s also a writer (Birmingham Weekly, Spin.com, mental_floss), a bassist for the Exhibit(s), an eight-time cat juggling champion for Malta and an ongoing experiment in sleep deprivation. He occasionally steals your best ideas to claim at his blog, Dairy of a Madman.

“Best Worst Movie” will screen at 8 tonight at the Alabama Theatre.

Video: Trailer for “Best Worst Movie”

Video: “Troll 2” director Claudio Fragasso
discusses the audience’s reaction.

Also:

• Official site
• Sidewalk summary
• Reviews from Blogcritics | CHUD | Cinematical | EFilmCritic | Eric D. Snider | SlashFilm | Variety

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.

This dude swooped in and
knocked out the villain, then made
out with, like, three chicks.

• • •

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Movie review: ‘That Evening Sun’

sidewalk.wadeonbirmingham.com
By Jennifer West

Review at a glance: The slow-paced but remarkable “That Evening Sun” portrays a love story in the guise of an old farmer’s battle for his house.

Hal Holbrook stars in “That Evening Sun.”

Old Abner Meecham fights an all too familiar battle at the end of his days, one for dignity.

A tragedy dealing with loss, aging and anger, “That Evening Sun” is a love story between a man and his house. It’s also a love story between a man and his wife, and a man and his life.

The movie screens Saturday at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival.

Lonzo Choat (Ray McKinnon), a violent unemployed drunk, lives in the beloved old home of Abner (Hal Holbrook), a farmer in Tennessee. Lonzo, who shares the house with a wife and a daughter, collects disability pay, even though his injury has healed.

Meanwhile, Abner has set up in a shack on his property, refusing to leave until they move out.

This slow-paced film by writer-director Scott Teems features long beautiful shots and an eclectic old-school soundtrack. The remarkable “That Evening Sun” is worth the wait.

Jennifer West (@juniperlou) won the Sidewalk Audience Choice award for her romantic comedy “Piece of Cake” in 2006, which she wrote and directed. She’s working on a feature-length screenplay and blogging about it on JuniperLou.

“That Evening Sun” will screen at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Alabama Theatre.

Video: Trailer for “That Evening Sun”

Also:

• Official site
• Sidewalk summary
• Reviews from Ain’t It Cool News | Austin Chronicle | Creative Loafing | Examiner | Film School Rejects | Film Threat | Variety

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.

Movie review: ‘You Might as Well Live’

sidewalk.wadeonbirmingham.com
By Jennifer West

Review at a glance: The quirky comedy “You Might as Well Live,” about a suicidal nobody out to prove he’s somebody, is one of the best in Sidewalk’s lineup this year.

Greg Bryk, left, and Joshua Peace
star in “You Might as Well Live.”

Robert Mutt is a real somebody! Robert Mutt likes to talk about himself, or I should say, to himself, in the third person.

“You Might as Well Live” is a brilliantly wacky comedy that follows Mutt after time in a mental institution for repeated suicide attempts.

The film, directed and co-written by Simon Ennis, screens Saturday at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival.

Upon his return home, he is accused of possession of child pornography. It’s up to Mutt to prove that he’s a “real somebody” and not a “douche bag.”

Trying to raise the $25 needed for an air hockey table, he dabbles in drugs, organ smuggling and Judaism.

“You Might as Well Live” will be one of the best films you will see at Sidewalk this year.

Jennifer West (@juniperlou) won the Sidewalk Audience Choice award for her romantic comedy “Piece of Cake” in 2006, which she wrote and directed. She’s working on a feature-length screenplay and blogging about it on JuniperLou.

“You Might as Well Live” will screen at 9 p.m. Saturday at the Carver Theatre. Opening shorts are “Fuckin’ Old Bitch,” “Receive Bacon” and “Feeder.”

Video: Trailer for “You Might as Well Live”

Video: You need only three things to prove you’re somebody.

Also:

• Official site
• Sidewalk summary
• Reviews from Canoe | EFilmCritic | (Montreal) Gazette | Variety

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.

The municipal
halls were choked with false leaders
lining their pockets.

• • •

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Movie review: ‘Dead Snow’

sidewalk.wadeonbirmingham.com
By Kenn McCracken

Review at a glance: “Dead Snow” bills itself as “Nazi zombies!” but actually delivers on the right mix of laughs and scares in a frozen horror show.

A scene from “Dead Snow.”

Any horror/comedy fan knows that it’s a tough existence: For every success — “Evil Dead II,” “Shaun of the Dead” — a hundred clones fail to deliver on one or both genres.

You’re in for a treat with “Dead Snow” (“Død snø”), a Norwegian import with English subtitles that successfully combines the jumps and gore of zombie movies with a dead-on wry wit.

The movie screens Saturday at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival.

As with many horror/comedies, the laughs are provided by the human victims, while the scares are doled out at the hands and teeth of zombies. Director Tommy Wirkola’s film is closer in tone to the Sam Raimi films than “Shaun of the Dead.”

And yet it’s a near-perfect mix of tones for the story approach: a very linear recipe of all the tropes you’d expect from a zombie film, but less slick and predictable (in some ways) than your average Hollywood pic.

It’s surprising that there aren’t too many horror films shot against snowy locales. Not only does the blood show up much more spectacularly against the bleak white, but also a haunting beauty to the endless fields of snow and leafless trees emerges.

And seriously, why did it take someone so long to use the idea of Nazi zombies?

The most noticeable problems will jump out, so to speak, to non-horror fans: a lack of character development in some spots, and a total disregard for the realities of human biology. The squeamish should probably avoid this film, as the effects are convincing enough, and the fake blood is used quite liberally.

We zombie-movie buffs are OK with bodies as fodder. When it occasionally lends to the humor, as it does in some scenes, all the better.

Make 2 hours in your schedule available for “Dead Snow,” an excellent example of a slightly left-of-center indie film made with talent and skill. It’s a damned good cross between laughs and scares, in a niche I wrongly thought would have run its course by now.

Kenn McCracken (@insomniactive) is a director and an award-winning screenwriter (2005 Sidewalk Sidewrite grand prize, “Muckfuppet”).

He’s also a writer (Birmingham Weekly, Spin.com, mental_floss), a bassist for the Exhibit(s), an eight-time cat juggling champion for Malta and an ongoing experiment in sleep deprivation. He occasionally steals your best ideas to claim at his blog, Dairy of a Madman.

“Dead Snow” will screen at 9:30 p.m. Saturday at the Alabama Theatre. Opening shorts are “Karaoke Show” and “A Healthy Smile.”

Video: Trailer for “Dead Snow”

Video: A scene from “Dead Snow”

Also:

• Official site
• Sidewalk summary
• Reviews from Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert) | Entertainment Weekly | New York Post | New York Times

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.

Movie review: ‘Official Rejection’

sidewalk.wadeonbirmingham.com
By Jennifer West

Review at a glance: The documentary “Official Rejection” tells the funny meta-tale of getting a movie into a festival.

A publicity still for “Official Rejection.”

You made your first film. And it is pretty amazing, if you say so yourself. Now you’re ready for the big time, Sundance, where your film will obviously be accepted.

Big fat rejection! What?!

You then move on to a slew of smaller festivals, and you get into a handful … if you are lucky.

Does this officially mean your movie is bad?

The documentary “Official Rejection,” directed by Paul Osborne, is an intimate look at another film’s journey (“Ten ’Til Noon”) through the complicated and expensive film festival circuit.

The film screens Saturday at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival.

Not all good films are created equal, and not all good films get the attention they deserve in the film festival circuit. However, lots of bad movies circulate out there (and lots of filmmakers in serious denial of that fact).

If learning the ins and outs of the film festival circuit is interesting to you, then you will find “Official Rejection” very educational, funny and entertaining.

Jennifer West (@juniperlou) won the Sidewalk Audience Choice award for her romantic comedy “Piece of Cake” in 2006, which she wrote and directed. She’s working on a feature-length screenplay and blogging about it on JuniperLou.

“Official Rejection” will screen at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at the Carver Theatre.

Video: Trailer for “Official Rejection”

Also:

• Official site
• Sidewalk summary
• Reviews from The 213 | FilmJerk | IndyFilmFest

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.

The presses rolled one
last time, and the very last
newspaperman left.

• • •

Read more haiku.

Movie review: ‘45365’

sidewalk.wadeonbirmingham.com
By Jennifer West

Review at a glance: The documentary “45365” shows small town Ohio life, warts and all, in entertaining and provocative fashion.

A scene from the documentary, “45365.”

Sidney, Ohio, gives us a fascinating glimpse into rural American life. Can’t visit? Try “45365,” a documentary that on first glance doesn’t seem to have much of a plot. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

The film screens Saturday at the Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival.

The focus is on several people and storylines in Sidney. Like most small towns, it boasts a wide array of interesting characters all living within one community. Smoky bars, high school football, police officers, trailer parks, teenage drama, county fair … it’s all there in director Bill Ross’ vision.

True to life, “45365” doesn’t sugarcoat anything. This must-see documentary is raw, sometimes hard to swallow, real small town USA living. But it’s guaranteed to make you laugh, and think.

Jennifer West (@juniperlou) won the Sidewalk Audience Choice award for her romantic comedy “Piece of Cake” in 2006, which she wrote and directed. She’s working on a feature-length screenplay and blogging about it on JuniperLou.

“45365” will screen at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Carver Theatre.

Video: Trailer for “45365”

Video: Bickering in the car.

Also:

• Official site
• Sidewalk summary
• Reviews from All These Wonderful Things | The Documentary Blog | Flavorwire | GreenCine Daily | Hammer to Nail | Paste Magazine | Variety

• • •

Action! Complete Sidewalk Festival coverage.