Unmitigated crapfest that was Green Lantern got you down? Worry not, because we've got plenty to tide you over until Cars 2. That
includes fantasy films, classics, and free TV preview screenings right
here in Boston, plus a great film festival in Nantucket. For the more
esoteric, there is also a film about a rubber tire that comes to life
and kills people. You know. Because it's French.
For
those of the theatrical persuasion, there's a cabaret (a nerd cabaret!)
and a comedy show (based on Jane Austen tropes!). And for you odd creatures
who dare to spend the summer outside -- in this heat? When there's this
much to watch on TV? Don't you sunburn? -- there's a top-notch outdoor
food festival, too.
TUESDAY 6.21
[film] LotR: The Two Towers Extended Edition @ AMC Boston Common
As
we mentioned last week, AMC Theaters nationwide are screenings of
extended editions Peter Jackson's paeans to Tolkien. This second
installation to the three-part epic features talking trees, the battle
of Helm's Deep, and one very creepy CGI Andy Serkis.
WEDNESDAY 6.22
[art/film] "Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us?" @ Museum of Fine Art 7:30pm
Bees. Nicolas Cage is not too fond
of them, and many of us are terrified of them. But, as Taggart Seigel's
film shows, these fuzzy little guys are critical to our ecosystem and
disappearing at an alarming rate. He examines the reasons behind Colony
Collapse Disorder, and its potential consequences -- it would spell
disaster for the organic-free-range-bee-beard scene, for starters ...
[glasses + lingerie] The Nerdy Cabaret @ The Middle East 8pm
A
night of sexy geekery? You've got our attention. The Nerdy Cabaret,
hosted by the Middle East Upstairs, will feature singing, dancing, nerd
humor -- all that jazz. So button those business-casual polos all the
way to the top and come prepared for an evening of kinky intellect.
(Kinktellect?)
[TV!] IFC Fall Preview @ Olde Magoun's Saloon 8pm
The laughs never seemed to cacao on the first season of IFC's Portlandia,
so it's easy to get super-excited about what's coming next. Olde
Magoun's Saloon in Somerville is hosting a preview of season 2, as well
as two other new shows IFC's got up its sleeve: Commercial Kings, from YouTube sensations Rhett and Link; and Young, Broke & Beautiful, a series about Broke-Ass Stuart, who wanders the country celebrating the quirky and unique.
[don't worry, be happy] Tali Sharot PhD presents The Optimism Bias @ Brookline Booksmith 7pm
There
is a reason that all those overly chipper friends/family-members remind
you to keep your sunny side up when you're feeling blue: they are hard-wired to be that way.
We are programmed for hopefulness, often irrationally so, but that very
fact might be critical for our survival. In her new book, Tali Sharot
explored why this might be, examining in the process the neurological
basis of mankind's tendency towards obnoxiousness optimism.
[road trip] Nantucket Film Festival through June 26
It's
officially summer now, which to many Bostonians will mean many a trip
to the Cape. But now you heliophobes can get in on the action, too:
enjoy the wonders of Nantucket AND hide from the fiery sky orb at events
such as the Paul Haggis Screenwriting Tribute or Ben Stiller's All-Star Comedy Roundtable at the16th annual Nantucket Film Festival. Check out the full line-up here.
THURSDAY 6.23
[ride + read] Matt Finkle and Brittain Sullivan present I Love My Bike @ Brookline Booksmith 7pm
Cyclophilia
is all around us, people -- but don't worry, it's only natural. Local
bike geeks Matt Finkle and Brittain Sullivan love bike culture enough to travel the country and make a book about it
-- a colorful expression of passion on wheels told through pictures of
riders of all types, old and young, gorilla-suit-clad and mustachioed.
Tonight's Brookline Booksmith also features a bicycle beauty contest:
the best photo wins.
FRIDAY 6.24
[victorian madcap] LAST NIGHT for "Wheel of Austen" @ ImprovBoston 8pm
This
Friday is the last night for Wheel of Austen, a comedy patchwork of
Austen tropes stitched together into a hypothetical tale. This is your
last chance to see period costumes plus love stories plus possibly
dinosaurs coming alive on the stage.
[film] The Adjustment Bureau @ MIT Fri + Sat 8pm
The MIT Lecture series is screening loads of recent movies for cheap this summer. This week it's The Adjustment Bureau.
Based on a short story by the late great scifi mastermind Philip K.
Dick, it tells the story of a star-crossed romance threatened by a pack
of shadowy men in fedoras.
[film] Rubber @ Somerville Theatre Fri + Sat 11:59pm
This bizarre French horror-comedy spoof tells the story of a violent and homicidal rubber tire. Though it has been both lauded and criticized,
it's worth a go, just so you can one day tell your grandkids that in
your day, people watched foreign films about rubber tires that came to
life and killed people. What's next? "Deathbed: The Bed That Eats
People"? (Oh.)
[hobo film] Hobo With a Shotgun @ Coolidge Corner Fri 11:59pm
Call it high-concept -- Hobo With a Shotgun is about exactly what it says it is about. It was originally an awesome fake-trailer in the movie Grindhouse, but was eventually adapted into an awesome real movie.
It both pokes (bludgeons?) fun at violence-exploitation genre
stereotypes and revels in them with unironic glee. Rutger Hauer -- who's already seen things you people wouldn't believe -- stars as the titular hobo with the titular shotgun. Time to die!
SATURDAY 6.25
[nom] Let's Talk About Food Festival @ Cambridge Parkway 10am
For
a platter that matters: this Museum of Science-hosted event brings
together such star chefs as Rialto's Jody Adams and Erbaluce's Charles
Draghi), food trucks galore, and a horde of intrepid gastronauts (that
means you, bub) to talk about food --- and also maybe eat it. And for those of you who missed out on the Infinite Buffet way back when, don't worry; you get a crack at their 600-foot-long "Endless Table."
[neigh] Winslowshire Renaissance Festival For The Animals in Norton, MA Sat + Sun 11pm
Contrary
to its name, you do not have to be an animal to attend -- actually,
pets are not allowed, not even if they're wearing neck ruffs and
corsets. See, Winslowshire is a ren fair whose proceeds go to benefit
the Winslow Farm animal sanctuary. There will be music, farms, and a
(historically accurate?) petting zoo.
[you can't take the sky from me] Serenity @ Coolidge Corner Theatre 11:59pm
Cowboys. In space. Boston's Browncoats are invited to this screening of the Joss Whedon's cult-classic Serenity, a sequel to his cult-classic TV series Firefly. It's the cheekiest, ass-kickingest space western in the ‘verse, and proceeds for the event go to Equality Now.
[art] "Between Straight Lines: LGBT creators and themes in comics"- LAST DAY @ Brickbottom Artists Association
It was a pretty big deal last year when Archie, the squeaky-clean American comic series, introduced the openly gay Kevin Keller
to the series -- which just goes to show that the times are a-changing
even in the weirdly slow-moving continuities of long-running comics.
This exhibit in Somerville hosts the works of many cartoonists and
artists who are bending the lines all over the world, from manga to
American comics.
SUNDAY 6.26
[classic] Double Indemnity @ Somerville Theatre Sun 11am Mon 5pm 8pm
Double Indemnity
has been called the grandaddy of all noire, and was selected for the
National Film Registry in 1992 for its influence. So it's well-suited
for Somerville Theatre's Classics series. A housewife and an insurance
salesman plot to get rich quick by tricking the system, and angst,
blood, and shadowy decisions ensue -- all the best trappings of an
old-school noir film.
For more events, check out our geekified listings portal. If you've got any geek-related events you'd like us to post, contact us! Follow us on Twitter @LaserOrgy! Follow our RSS feed! Tell your friends!
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