Mazel tov

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Mazel tov: There are many reasons to like the San Diego Jewish Film Festival, even if you’re not a member of the Tribe. For one, it’s the city’s longest-running fest, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year with more than 50 films from 14 countries. Second, it’s spread out this year, playing theaters all over the county. And if you’re me, you get a stack of movies to watch in the weeks leading up the festival itself. Take a closer look at these:

A Matter of Size: It should come as no surprise that there are already plans to make a U.S. version of the festival’s opening-night selection. Itzik Cohen is Herzl, an overweight Israeli man who discovers sumo via his job at a Japanese restaurant. Ditching his diet, he recruits his friends and an instructor—all of whom are trying to come to terms with who they are, rather than how huge they are. Is it edgy? Not particularly. Is it sweet? As a slice of lekach.

Mary and Max: It’s tragic that Adam Elliot’s animated feature never got a run here in town. Mary is a little girl in Australia, and Max is the obese 44-year-old New Yorker whose address she tears randomly out of a phone book. They have plenty in common—both are lonely outsiders, desperately needing a friend. She writes to him, and their correspondence builds each other up and sometimes tears them down. Although he uses crude models and a childlike look-and-feel, Elliot has created a film that packs an emotional punch that’s decidedly not for kids.

The Clown and the Fuhrer: A Spanish clown was hired to perform for Hitler on his birthday in 1944. That’s chilling enough, right?

The Wave: In 1967, high-school teacher Ron Jones put together a school group called The Wave, telling the students involved that they were better than everyone else. They promptly became happy little fascists. You might remember watching the TV version of The Wave in middle school—ironically, this sharply made new version is a German film. Fact: If it hadn’t closed down, I would have attended the school where Jones’ experiment took place. Another fact: Jones will be in attendance at the screening.

Chicks in White Satin: Sure, it seems kinda retro to screen a film that was nominated for a Short Documentary Oscar way back in 1994. But Elaine Holliman’s look at a wedding couldn’t be more timely. Chicks was shot in San Diego, by the way, and it’s all about a Jewish wedding, or, more appropriately, a commitment ceremony, because the two Jews trying to get hitched are both women.

The San Diego Jewish Film Festival runs Wednesday, Feb. 10, through Sunday, Feb. 21. Swing by www.lfjcc.org for a list of films, showtimes, locations and ticket information.

Opening

A New Generation of Spike and Mike Animation: These short films aren’t so sick and twisted, but they’re still pretty awesome. Opens Friday, Feb. 12, and plays weekends at the La Jolla branch of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego through March. Check spikeandmike.com for listings and showtimes.

District 13: The Ultimatum: This sequel to the ass-kicking, parkour-saturated 2004 film is probably unnecessary, but it’s still pretty fun, as the Luke Besson action factory goes from taking on well-armed drug dealers to battling corrupt government officials. See our review in this week's issue.

My Name is Khan: Bollywood film about an Indian couple in the U.S. whose relationship is profoundly changed after 9/11.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief: It’s tough times for young Percy. His dad is Poseidon, his mom has gone missing and he’s the prime suspect in the case of Zeus’ missing lightning bolt. Also, it’s tough times for anyone who believed in a deity that isn’t Greek.

Police, Adjective: Terrific Romanian film about a cop asked by his superiors to do the wrong thing.  

Saint John of Las Vegas: Steve Buscemi is John, an addicted gambler doing his best to stay away from Vegas. But just when he thought he was out, the city drags him back in.

Valentine’s Day: One of those movies with a lot of different people tangentially connected dealing with the same thing. In this case, that thing is Valentine’s Day, and those people include Jessicas Alba and Biel, Jamie Foxx, Taylor Swift, Julia Roberts, Taylor Lautner, Queen Latifah, Jennifer Garner and Topher Grace.

The Wolfman: This re-imagining, starring a shaggy Benicio del Toro, was supposed to come out, like, 18 full moons ago.

One time only

Can’t Buy Me Love: Before Patrick Dempsey jumped the shark (the first time, anyway) he made this John Hughes knockoff, which is a sweet guilty pleasure. Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma. Free.

La Perla: Based on John Steinbeck’s novel The Pearl, this 1945 film is part of the Museum of Photographic Arts’ classic Mexican film series. Screens at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11, at MoPA in Balboa Park.

ET: The Extra Terrestrial: ET text home. Screens at midnight, Saturday, Feb. 13, at the Ken Cinema.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: Terry Gilliam’s take on Hunter S. Thompson’s definitive gonzo journalism is a long, strange trip. Screens at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 15, at the Birch North Park Theatre.

Bump and Any Genre You Like: Quickie showcase of two short films by SDSU students. It’s free, but your donation will go to the SDSU Film Department student scholarship fund. They screen at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16, at Lestat’s West in Normal Heights.

Steel Magnolias: FilmOut’s latest monthly entry is about different generations of Southern ladies who patronize the same beauty parlor. Screens at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, at the Birch North Park Theatre.    

Blades of Glory: Quite possibly the movie we’ll look back on while reminiscing about when Will Ferrell jumped the shark. Screens at 8 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 17, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma. Free.

Now playing

A Town Called Panic: The stop-action-animated story of Cowboy, Indian and Horse, who find themselves in a strange underwater world during one of their adventures. One week only at the Ken Cinema. Ends Feb. 11.

Dear John: Lasse Hallestrom can be a pretty great director, but he may be jumping the shark by adapting a Nicholas Sparks novel.

From Paris with Love: Jonathan Rhys Meyers teams up with a wisecracking John Travolta to stop a terrorist attack. Sounds terrible, but director Pierre Morel’s last film, Taken, was awesome.

Journey Into Amazing Caves: Is it stalactites or stalagmites that go up? And why? Find out in this classic IMAX film. Screens at 8 p.m. Fridays through Feb. 19 at the Ruben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.

La Danse: Le ballet de l’Opera de Paris: Frederick Wiseman is one of the greatest documentarians ever, and his new film looks at seven productions of the Paris Opera Ballet.

The Last Station: Michael Hoffman’s film about Tolstoy’s final days manages to avoid being a stuffy, standard period piece and features some terrific acting from Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer.

Paano Na Kaya: The latest entry in the ongoing Filipino series at Horton Plaza.

Edge of Darkness: After his daughter’s murder, homicide detective Mel Gibson shoots a bunch of guys.

The Greatest Places: This IMAX adventure features seven locales, which range from Greenland’s icebergs to the enormous waterfall at Iguazu. Through February at the Ruben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.

When in Rome: When Kristen Bell steals coins from a Roman fountain of love, she’s suddenly besieged by dopey suitors like Jon Heder and Dax Shepard.

Legion: The apocalypse is now, and the only thing that can save humanity from the hordes from Hell is a small group of people, including Dennis Quaid and Tyrese, holed up in a small Southwestern diner. Good thing they have Paul Bettany, aka the Archangel Michael, on their side.

The Tooth Fairy: No, it’s not a horror film. This family comedy stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as a small-time hockey player forced to become the titular Fairy. Actually, that’s pretty horrifying.  

The White Ribbon: Michael Haneke’s black-and-white examination of acts of brutality in a small German town just before WWII is a self-assured look at the roots of violence in society. Hard to watch, which means it should be watched.

The Book of Eli: Denzel Washington stars in the new film from the Hughes brothers, fighting his way across  scorched earth to save a fancy book.

The Lovely Bones: Peter Jackson films Alice Sebold’s novel about young Susie Salmon (Saorsie Raorsin), who narrates the picture after being raped and murdered by her creepy neighbor. Jackson works hard, but books are referred to as “unfilmable” for a reason.

Crazy Heart: Sure, it’s a clean-and-sober story, but Jeff Bridges is guaranteed an Oscar nomination for playing faded country singer and legendary drunk Bad Blake.

Leap Year: Apparently, here’s an Irish tradition that says a guy must accept if he’s proposed to on Feb. 29. So Amy Adams goes to Dublin to try to snag Matthew Goode in the year’s first stupid romantic comedy.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus: Terry Gilliam’s latest is also Heath Ledger’s last. It’s a strange, fascinating and flawed piece, an examination of good (Christopher Plummer) versus evil (that’d be Tom Waits) with Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law filling in for Ledger, who died midway through shooting.

Sherlock Holmes: Robert Downey Jr. is great, as usual, even if his Sherlock Holmes is more brawn than brains.

A Single Man: Colin Firth delivers on the role of a lifetime in fashion designer Tom Ford’s directorial debut.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel: Another sign of the pending apocalypse.

Broken Embraces: The new one from Pedro Almodovar stars Penelope Cruz as the former mistress of a blind film director musing on his past. Ends Feb. 11.

It’s Complicated: A romantic comedy starring Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin. Yet another sign of said pending apocalypse.

Nine: Rob Marshall, the guy who brought you Chicago, goes back to the Broadway trough for Nine. And even though this film adaptation of a stage adaptation of Fellini’s 8 1/2 stars Daniel Day-Lewis as a film director dealing with all the women in his life, it feels long, boring and lifeless.

The Young Victoria: The Devil Wears Prada’s Emily Blunt stars as, well, a young Queen Victoria.

Avatar: James Cameron’s sci-fi magnum opus is too long and has an inevitable love story. But, for once, when they say you’ve never seen anything like it, they’re right. This is a film and a truly rendered alien planet that must be seen on the big screen and in 3D.

Invictus: You might think Morgan Freeman would be the perfect guy to play Nelson Mandela in a film directed by Clint Eastwood about how the South African rugby team, led by Matt Damon, united the country shortly after the end of Apartheid. You’d be wrong.

Up in the Air: George Clooney is at his charmiest (charm + smarmy) as Ryan Bingham, flown in to fire employees at companies he has nothing to do with and aspiring to little more than more frequent flier miles. He’s a lock for a Best Actor nomination.

Fantastic Mr. Fox: Wes Anderson’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic story, which features stop-motion animation and performances from George Clooney and Meryl Streep, really is fantastic.

The Blind Side: The book this is based upon is about the economics of football and an enormous, poverty-stricken young black man—adopted by a white family—who has the potential to be a highly paid professional athlete. So, of course, they turned it into a Sandra Bullock movie.

Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire: Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry helped produce this film about an obese Harlem teen in the 1980s, which is being talked up as a Best Picture possibility.

An Education: Nick Hornby of High Fidelity fame wrote the script and does a 180 by writing about a girl who desperately wants to grow up and thinks she may have found a shortcut in a good-looking charmer twice her age.

Amazon: Tour the storied river from the high Andes, through the rainforest, and into the Amazon basin—in IMAX. Through Feb. 28 at the Ruben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.

Under the Sea: This IMAX film takes you to such underwater locations as South Australia, the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Triangle islands of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Through Jan. 31 at the Ruben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.

The Hurt Locker: Kathryn Bigelow’s tense new film focuses on an Iraq unit that specializes in defusing bombs. Well-made, well-written and well-acted.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show: The camp classic continues its ongoing run, Fridays at midnight at La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas.