Sonicsgate @SIFF Cinema {12/11 to 12/17}: True, I’m not a big sports fan – but I did go to many a Sonics game when I was wee with my dad, so Seattle Basketball is wrapped in a big ball of fun nostalgia for me, and of course I was sad when our team left us. This documentary investigates the truth behind the heated 2008 legal battle for our SuperSonics, including interviews with NBA stars, media, attorneys, and Save Our Sonics co-founders Brian Robinson & Steven Pyeatt.

Bonus: Slick Watts is scheduled to attend the Saturday screening, and the film’s producers are giving out FREE DVD copies to each person who attends a screening – all week long!

Hedwig & the Angry Inch @Central Cinema {12/11 to 12/16}: If you’ve never seen this film, it’s a MUST. John Cameron Mitchell created a stunning rock musical with a heartbreaking story and one of the most complex, interesting leads I’ve ever seen. It’s the kind of film you can watch over and over and never get tired of – plus it’s got a fantastic soundtrack. Head over to CC and check it out this weekend.

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Hitchcock Weekend @ SIFF Cinema: ohmanohman. Six films from one of my favorite directors? SIX! FILMS! And not just any six (although I might argue that every single Hitchcock film ever made is amazing and you should see them all), six really extra-amazing ones: Rear Window, Vertigo, Dial M for Murder, Strangers on a Train, The 39 Steps, and Shadow of a Doubt.

And now that I think about it – who’s creepier: Joseph Cotton as Uncle Charlie in SoaT, or Jimmy Stewart’s love-obsessed "Scottie" in Vertigo? You decide. The Master of Suspense rules SIFF Cinema Saturday through Monday – click here for the schedule.

A Serious Man @ The Harvard Exit: Although it appears that this was released last week – it either didn’t open in Seattle or I just completely missed it. Not surprising, since I haven’t been seeing a lot of PR about this one. It could be the lack of recognizable actors, but I’m kinda amazed – this is a Coen brothers film, PEOPLE. Where’s the love?  While I admit that I wasn’t a fan of Burn After Reading, this looks bleak and hilarious – and right up my alley. I’ll definitely check it out.

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Whip It at Pacific Place and the Metro:  I’ve no doubt that this is going to be cheesy, sentimental, and packed full of emotional girly moments – but I’ll also admit: that’s exactly what I’m hoping for. I love Drew Barrymore & Ellen Page to death, and I also love me some tough girl skatin’! Can’t wait to see them as their roller girl alter egos (Drew's is Smashley Simpson, Ellen's is Babe Ruthless):

The Invention of Lying at the Meridian, the Metro and Oak Tree Cinemas: Ricky Gervais directs his first feature film about a world where EVERYONE is brutally honest, all the time – until he decides to start lying for his own personal gain. I didn’t get a chance to see the press screening, but I actually thought Gervais was a capable (and kind of sweet) leading man in Ghost Town, and I definitely know he’s a kick-ass writer, so I’m game for this one - plus, Tina Fey!:

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Jennifer’s Body @ the Meridian 16 and the Metro: A hot chick becomes possessed and starts slaughtering and eating people? That sounds cheesy, stupid AND fun – as IF there was any question I would recommend this! My only sorrow is that I missed the press screening and I can’t see it this weekend due to visiting family. AUGGGH. But, I’m confident just from the preview that I’ll love it. “K…you can barely finish gym class”. Keep it up, Diablo.

The Informant @ Majestic Bay and Pacific Place: I almost feel like more has been made out of Damon gaining weight than anything else about this movie—but it looks pretty good. As good as a story of this type can be (hello, film based on a real life tale of someone working for the FBI to bring down a big, bad Corporation) – the differentiating factor being, this is Soderbergh, and he decided to turn it into a comedy.

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The 1 Reel Film Festival is showing a free sneak preview of Bumbershoot shorts tonight at SIFF Cinema. Just click here to RSVP, then show up and to see some shorts goodness! 1 Reel Sneak Preview Opening Night 2009 includes:

Instead of Abracadabra - Sort of a short, Swedish Napoleon Dynamite (except, in my opinion, funnier), involving the most awkward magician ever and his quest to impress a pretty new neighbor. Chimay!

Short Term 12: Winner of the 2009 SIFF Narrative Grand Jury Prize, this emotionally brutal short explores the lives of both workers and teens in a detention center. Brad William Hanke uses his serious acting skills to show us that adults don't neccesarily always know what's right.

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Just when you thought SIFF '09 was over and done, SIFF Cinema is presenting a three-day, 13-program selection of award winners and audience favorites this weekend. SIFFed out as I still am, I'm actually kinda glad, especially having missed Grand Jury Prize winners talhotblond and The Other Bank.

Anything you missed at this year's local cinema-bration but wish you hadn't? Or did SIFF not make it onto your calendar at all this year? (If the latter, you might consider the full weekend pass for admission to all programs. Because you have lameness to account for.)

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My latest SIFF adventure was extra special for me because it was my son’s very first movie in a movie theater. We went to see the Family Picture Show, which is a series of 10 short films all made (ostensibly) for children, culminating with the newest Wallace & Gromit short, A Matter of Loaf and Death.

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SIFF announced that In the Loop and OSS 117: Lost in Rio will be the opening and closing night films, respectively.

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It’s now less than three weeks away and for the thirty-fifth time in thirty five years, the Seattle International Film Festival will once again be upon us. Even in a recession, SIFF has just unveiled a very strong program and one of the biggest and most ambitious lineups.

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This screening, Thursday night at SIFF Cinema of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, has two things going for it that previous screenings didn't: 1) it's being screened in high-definition for the first time and 2) it's a double-feature with Hitchcock's second best film, Rear Window.

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