WED 9/22: Film (w/ & w/o Monsters), Talk, Rock

Autumn begins tonight, so you might as well enjoy the nominal end of Summer.

Good news: The weather forecast looks good for the weekend, and Fall is beautiful in our part of the world.

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WED 9/22 (and THUR 9/23)

Various Times
Annual Boston Film Festival
at Stuart Street Playhouse, 200 Stuart Street, Boston (Theatre District)
Most $8

Of the various film festivals throughout the year, the BFF selections probably have the greatest likelihood of ending up in wider distribution. So this is a chance to see a film before most Bostonians, and some screenings will have the director and/or star in attendance.

4pm

"Norman Mailer: The American" (Documentary / World Premiere)
Director and Producer Joseph Mantegna will be in attendance.

[rob: If you can go to a 4pm movie, this seems to be the one to see!]

6:30pm

"Black, White and Blues" (Narrative / East Coast Premiere)
Luke Perry, Morgan Simpson and Director Mario Van Peebles will be in attendance.

8:45pm

"The 5th Quarter" (Narrative / Northeast Premiere)
Andie Macdowell, Ryan Merriman and Director/Producer Rick Bieber will be in attendance.

The Globe gives a rather straightforward summary of the lineup, and The Phoenix offers more opinion to help you decide what might interest you this week.

WED 9/22

6pm to 8pm
Vince Neil, "Tattoos & Tequila": Booksigning
at Barnes and Noble, 2nd Fl, 660 Beacon St, Boston (Kenmore Sq)
FREE

Isn't it cute that Vince Neil is pretending he could write a book? If you're a Motley Crue fan and read books, congratulations!

Vince may meeting fans in general, but I assume it's mainly a book (and CD) signing.

WED 9/22

7pm
Eliza Griswold, "The Tenth Parallel: Dispatches from the Fault Line Between Christianity and Islam": Discussion
at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
FREE

Journalist Eliza Griswold has traveled broadly through the 700-mile band around the globe to investigate the interconnection of Christianity and Islam. In a time when extreme positions eclipse any serious and sober discussion about ideology and basic issues of survival.

You might actually walk away with a slightly better understanding of someone with different beliefs. Awesome!

WED 9/22

7pm to 9pm
Science in the News: "Evidence-based Medicine: A Case Study of Vaccines and Autism"
at Armenise Ampitheatre, 200 Longwood Ave, Boston (Harvard Medical School / Longwood)
FREE

Science in the News is an annual series of lectures/discussions on many issues near and dear to all of us and are changing rapidly in many ways on topics like robotics, genetics, our food, our brains, our guts, solar energy and more.

Tonight is the first of 9 weekly science lectures for the layperson that includes an introduction, recent developments, and a discussion of the ethical or social ramifications.

You don't need to know anything about vaccines and autism to learn more about it tonight.

WED 9/22

8pm
"Urban Forest / Human Jungle": Experimental Short Films from Germany
at Film Dept, Screening Room 1, East Bldg, about 635 Huntington Ave, Boston (MassArt)
$4 Suggested Donation

When I think experimental film, Deutschland comes to mind... About a dozen shorts from the German avant-garde from the '80s to the present with a total running time of about 80 minutes.

My Occasional Note: Every building at MassArt is listed as "621 Huntington", but doesn't help people who don't know their way around. If you look at the campus map [PDF], you get a better idea of where you want to go.

WED 9/22

9pm
"King Kong vs Godzilla" w/ Improvised Live Soundtrack
at Parish of St Paul Episcopal Church, 1135 Walnut St, Newton Highlands (near the Green Line stop)
$5

I don't know why, but this sounds really cool to me. It may be that when musicians provide a live soundtrack to an old movie, it brings a fresh perspective that elevates something like a sci-fi/action film with lame dialogue into something far more evocative.

A handful of New England Conservatory grads will improvise along to the 1962 clash between 2 classic movie monsters. I watched a clip of them give "Predator" a similar treatment, and the free-jazz/Bernard Hermann synthesis kicked the energy up a notch.

Homemade tacos for sale., and food donations (for a local food bank) are welcome.

There's not much available on the web, but they emailed me plenty of info, and there are more performances to come.

WED 9/22

9:30pm
The Boxer Rebellion, Amusement Parks On Fire, The Augustines
at Middle East - Upstairs, 472 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$10 / 18+

Those interested in big, anthemic rock but want to hear something new should think about this show. These bands are probably all on the cusp of stardom or anonymity. It's true, but it does detract that each are playing some cool songs that may touch you in a special way.

The multi-national Boxer Rebellion are based in London, and they've been accumulating accolades from publications like NME, Q, etc, etc. It's full-on arena stuff that might barely fit in this room, but I was more interested in Amusement Parks On Fire who have a bit more texture and depth to their sound.

I wish I could give you a better link for The Augustines. The are supposedly one of the current projects from the ashes of Pela, who I saw a few years ago in the same room. Without hearing a single note beforehand, they were the best performers of the night. It was indie-rock with the Springsteen-like energy but less bombast than The Hold Steady.