Too cool for school

Yeah, school’s just around the corner. But there are still some weekend film events awesome enough to make the end of summer bearable.

On Friday, you should swing by The Che Café (checafe.ucsd.edu) for 2 Everything 2 Terrible 2: Tokyo Drift. The good news is, this has nothing to do with The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. The better news is that it has everything to do with EverythingIsTerrible.com, a website dedicated to ripping and posting what can be described only as weird-ass VHS footage. They’ll be putting it all up on a biggish screen, and since it’s at the Che, the funky anarchist cooperative, you’ll also get to dine on vegan fare and enjoy DJs and uncomfortable chairs. The doors open at 7:30 p.m., film rolls an hour later. It’s $6 to get in and $5 more to eat. It will be funny. It will be awkward. You should be there.

The next day, the Blacklist Art & Film Festival (theblacklistfestival.com) is coming to the Birch North Park Theatre. Essentially, you’re looking at a bunch of seriously funky art, followed by a collection of insane-in-the-membrane short films at 7:45 p.m.

These are movies from all over the planet, collected and curated by the Blacklist team, that are far outside what passes for horror in Hollywood these days. There will be some selections you might have heard about or seen, including Spider, the squeam-inducing short from the Aussie Edgerton brothers, and Alive in Joburg, the short that District 9 came from. And there’s plenty you’ll likely be unfamiliar with, as well. If you’re a horror fan, this is a no-brainer—or perhaps it’s more of a splattered brainer. The films will run you $10, and tickets are available the day of the event. There’s an after-party at 10:30 p.m. at Queen Bee’s (3925 Ohio St.), featuring the band Nihilist, and if you hit the films, it’s only another $5 to get in. Either way, there will be blood.

OPENING

The American: George Clooney is a sensitive hit man who has to pull One Last Job.

Avatar: Special Edition: It’s back, and it’s bigger than before—meaning there’s an additional nine minutes of footage. If you’re going to see it again (because who hasn’t seen it?), make sure you see it in 3D.

The Last Exorcism: Eli Roth produced this seriously creepy-looking redo.

Lebanon: The entire film takes place inside a tank that four young Israeli soldiers are piloting through the early days of the 1982 Lebanon war, and everything you see outside the armored shell is from their point of view. See our review on Page 22.

Maya Indie Film Series: Six films play for a solid week down at the Gaslamp 15. See Page 13 for details.

Mao’s Last Dancer: Bruce Beresford directs this biopic of Li Cunxin, who was chosen by the Chinese government to become a world-class ballet dancer.

Mesrine: Killer Instinct: The first of a two-part biopic about Jacques Mesrine, the infamous French criminal who operated in his homeland and Canada during the ’60s and ’70s. Vincent Cassell is terrific as the main man.

Takers: A crew of bad guys, including Paul Walker, Idris Elba and T.I., double cross each other over a big payday.

ONE TIME ONLY

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman: The San Diego Public Library inaugurates its monthly Schlockfest with the ’58 classic about an uppity woman who gets too big for her britches. Literally. Screens at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 25, at the Central Library, Downtown. Free.

World Film Night: A Collection of International Short Films: The San Diego Asian Film Festival curates another event that requires no explanation! Starts at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 25, at Piazza Carmel Shopping Plaza in Carmel Valley. Free.

Water Boy: One of those movies where Adam Sandler plays a really dumb guy. Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 25, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma. Free.

Twilight: New Moon with Riff- Trax: The Artists Formerly Known as Mystery Science Theater 3000 suck the blood from one of those stupid vampire movies. Screens at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 25, at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens in Escondido. Free.

Flushed Away: The animated film about rats that isn’t Ratatouille or Mrs. Frisbee and the Rats of Nimh. Screens at 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 26, poolside at the Handlery Hotel in Mission Valley. Free.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes: Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell are a pair of lounge singers trying to make their way to Paris. Naturally, every guy on the cruise ship taking them there is hoping they’ll make their way to his room. Screens at 8:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Aug. 26 and 27, at Cinema Under the Stars in Mission Hills.

Adventures in Wild California: The IMAX crew turns its massive camera on us at 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.

Race: The Power of Illusion: A documentary that peels away the socalled science that has been used to legalize racial discrimination in the past. Screens outdoors at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, at 4370 Van Dyke Ave. in City Heights.

Big: The first time you took Tom Hanks seriously, and he’s dancing around on a giant keyboard in FAO Schwartz. Screens at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 27, poolside at the Handlery Hotel in Mission Valley. Free.

Up: Ed Asner voices an old man who flies his house to South America using helium balloons in Pixar’s terrific Best Animated Film Oscar winner. Screens at dusk, Friday, Aug. 27, at Market Creek Plaza in Lincoln Park. Free.

The Color of Fear: A look at race relations in America through the viewpoints of men of different ethnic backgrounds. Screens at 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28, at the Joyce Beers Community Center in Hillcrest. Free.

Second Hand Lions: Robert Duvall and Michael Caine are the cranky uncles whom Haley Joel Osment is sent to live with. Screens at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28, poolside at the Handlery Hotel in Mission Valley. Free.

Sunset Boulevard: Just one of Billy Wilder’s masterpieces. William Holden is a down-on-his-luck writer who lives with a former silent movie star (Gloria Swanson) whose sanity has crumbled as much as her career and her home. Screens at 8:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 28 and 29, at Cinema Under the Stars in Mission Hills.

Repo! The Genetic Opera: Can a musical about organ repossession with Paris Hilton be all bad? Features a performance from local shadowcasters Elective Surgery. Screens at midnight, Saturday, Aug. 28, at the Ken Cinema.

The City of Your Final Destination: The latest Merchant-Ivory joint is about a young academic desperate to write a biography of a recently deceased Uruguayan novelist. Anthony Hopkins is in it, of course. Screens at 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 29, at the Central Library, Downtown. Free.

Article of Hope: The San Diego Jewish Film Festival presents this documentary about Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut. Dr. Garrett Reisman, another space traveler, will participate in a post-screening Q&A. Screens at 7:15 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 29, in Garfield Theatre at the La Jolla Jewish Community Center.

The Square: Aussie bros Joel and Nash Edgerton craft a dark thriller that’s reasonably compared to the Coen brothers’ Blood Simple, but with fewer laughs and more mullets. Screens at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 30, at the Central Library, Downtown. Free.

Casi Divas: Musical comedy from Mexico about four women setting out to become big stars. Screens at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1, at Otay Ranch. Free.

Juno: Even if you think it’s overrated, it’s hard not to love Ellen Page as a knocked-up teen with a big vocabulary. Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma. Free.

The Princess Bride: Conceivable. Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1, at Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens in Escondido. Free.

NOW PLAYING

Piranha 3-D: Finally, someone is putting this technology to good use.

Animal Kingdom: This look at the last days of a small-time Australian family of criminals is low on violence and high on tension and drama.

Cairo Time: Patricia Clarkson is a reserved magazine editor who chums around Cairo with her husband’s former U.N. security guard (Alexander Siddig) when events in Gaza prevent her hubby from meeting her there.

Lottery Ticket: Bow Wow buys a lottery ticket worth more than $300 million. But it’s a three-day weekend, and everyone in his neighborhood wants to separate him from it.

Nanny McPhee Returns: Just waiting for the pay-per-view Super Nanny / Nanny McPhee steel-cage match.

Patrik, Age 1.5: A gay Swedish couple are thrilled to learn they’re finally going to adopt an 18-month old boy. Due to a clerical error, they end up with a 15-year-old juvenile delinquent. Ends Aug. 26 at the Ken Cinema.

The Switch: Seven years after Jennifer Aniston turkey-basted herself pregnant, her BFF Jason Bateman tells her that it was full of his man juice.

Vampires Suck: So tired of vampire movies.

Wildest Dream: Conquest of Everest: The man who discovered George Mallory’s frozen corpse returns to Everest to replicate the climb that killed the famed adventurer.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: Edgar Wright’s adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s beloved graphic novel is like nothing you’ve seen before. Michael Cera is the titular hero, who must fight Ramona Flowers’ (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) seven evil exes to the death in order to date her. It’s all done with quick cuts and awesome edits and is full of videogame references.

Eat Pray Love: Julia Roberts does all of the above. Women swoon.

The Expendables: Stallone, Willis, Schwarzenegger, Lundgren and some wrestlers kill people.

The Extra Man: Kevin Kline is a male escort for wealthy society ladies, and Paul Dano is his protégé.

Farewell: Loosely based on events that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union, this spy movie focuses on people rather than action. It’s intricate and well-made and features top-notch performances. Ends Aug. 26 at La Jolla Villages Cinemas.

Peepli Live: This satire about the suicides of Indian farmers and the government’s lackluster attempt to respond was the first film from that country to compete at Sundance.

Get Low: Robert Duvall does crotchety old man better than anyone, and this crotchety old man wants to throw himself a funeral party while he’s still alive.

The Other Guys: Mark Ferrell and Will Wahlberg team up as cops. Or is it the other way around?

Step Up 3-D: These street dancers will kick you in the face. At least it’ll feel that way.

Agora: Rachel Weisz stars in this historical epic as Hypatia, a philosopher in ancient Alexandria who’s stuck between the Pagans and that other rapidly growing religion, Christianity.

Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore: Yes, they really made a movie with this title.

Dinner for Schmucks: In order for Paul Rudd to succeed in business, he must invite a serious loser to his boss' house for dinner. That loser is Steve Carell.

Salt: Angelina Jolie is a CIA agent who beats down a ton of people after she’s accused of being a Russian spy.

Ramona and Beezus: There’s a perfectly good chance this adaptation of Beverly Cleary’s book will be charming. Or it might destroy your childhood memories.

Restrepo: This documentary keeps the cameras on a U.S. platoon in one of the most dangerous parts of Afghanistan for a solid year. Harrowing.

Inception: Christopher Nolan’s follow-up to The Dark Knight is epic, complex and beautiful. In short, it’s the stuff that dreams are made of. 

The Kids Are All Right: Decent family drama about a lesbian couple played by Annette Bening and Julianne Moore whose family is altered when their children seek out the sperm donor (Mark Ruffalo) who made it all possible.

Predators: Sure, Arnold Schwarzenegger is no Adrien Brody, but when it comes to action movies, Brody is no Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Despicable Me: Steve Carrell voices Gru, an animated master criminal trying to steal the moon—until he meets three little girls who think he might make a better dad than a crook.

The Girl Who Played with Fire: The second film in the massively successful Millennium trilogy gives us more of Lisbeth Salander, the ass-kicking female hacker heroine, and less originality.

The Living Sea: The latest IMAX film at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center looks at all the creepy crawlies that live down in the deep blue. 

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse: Blah blah blah Robert Pattinson. Blah blah blah Taylor Lautner.

The Ultimate Wave Tahiti: The latest IMAX entry at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park follows super surfer Kelly Slater as he does his thing on some massive waves.

Winter’s Bone: Debra Granik’s noir thriller, set in a closed meth-cooking community in the Ozarks, is as intense and grim as its name. It’s well-written and well-made and features an amazing performance from Jennifer Lawrence, a 17-year-old who has to find her deadbeat father or she and her young brother and sister will lose their home.

Toy Story 3: Any idea where the toys you loved as a kid ended up? When Andy goes off to college, Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang end up at a day-care center.

Exit Through the Gift Shop: Legendary prankster street artist Banksy’s first film is a brilliant take on art and its nature. It may sound stuffy, but it’s engaging, insightful, funny and subversive—and smarter than anything else you’ll see this summer. Run, do not walk, to see this one. Playing at La Paloma Theatre in Encinitas.

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo: Thriller about a male journalist and a female hacker hired to solve the 40-year-old disappearance of a member of a Swedish crime family.

Hubble: Leonardo DiCaprio lends his pipes to this IMAX film, which uses CGI and real footage to take a close look at Saturn’s rings. Just stay away from Uranus. At the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park.

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