MIDDLETOWN – Lake County's independent film festival – EcoArts' Coyote Film Festival – has arranged to bring “Sherman's Way,” a full-length feature film, to Lake County for three screenings so Lake County residents can see the beauty of Lake County on the big screen in this comedy/drama.

During the summer of 2006, this feature-length film, “Sherman's Way,” was filmed in Lake County.

The film premiered at the San Jose Cinequest Film Festival in February and has been on the film festival circuit. While shooting in Lake County, the producers filmed at several local businesses, including shops along Main Street in Kelseyville (including Studebakers Coffee House, Kelseyville Drug, and Affordable Travel); Library Park; Lampson Field; and the Ford dealership in Lakeport; as
well as on site at Langtry Estate and Vineyards in Middletown.

Following each screening of the film, director Craig Saavedra will answer questions from the audience. The lead character, Sherman, played by Michael Shulman, also may be in attendance.

The Coyote Film Festival is a fundraising program for EcoArts of Lake County, which produces the annual Sculpture Walk at the Middletown Trailside Nature Preserve Park in Middletown. The Sculpture Walk is free and open to the public June through October of each year.

Seating is limited to 75 people maximum per screening, so preordering tickets is recommended. The first showing will be Friday, Sept. 19, at 8 p.m. with two shows on Saturday, Sept. 20, at 4 p.m. and
8 p.m.

The film will be screened at Calpine Geothermal Visitors Center, 15500 Central Park Road, Middletown. The cost is $10 for adults; $5 for youth 16 and under with an adult. The film has not been rated.

To preorder tickets, call 928-0323 and leave a message detailing the show date, time, and number of tickets. Tickets will be held for payment and pickup at the door.

For more information, visit www.coyotefilmfestival.org.

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Before we even get to the next summer Olympic Games in London, the post-apocalyptic world is upon us in “Death Race,” where senseless, mortal violence is a pay-per-view bonanza for a prison run by a private corporation.

The premise of extreme racing competition is inspired by Roger Corman’s classic B-movie “Death Race 2000.” Given false hope for early release, prisoners are fodder for reality TV bloodlust if they are willing to risk their lives to become road kill splashed across TV screens and the Internet.

Laconic action star Jason Statham, having established his bona fides wheeling fast cars in the “Transporter” series, is a natural candidate to race tricked-out cars. He could give Vin Diesel a run for his money.

At the opening of “Death Race,” Statham’s Jensen Ames is a steel worker getting laid off from his job, which is unfortunate because his prison days are behind him now that he has a supportive wife and baby daughter.

The fact that he was an excellent race car driver is not lost on the folks running the Terminal Island prison, where fatal car races are staged for the amusement of a bloodthirsty public hungry for increasingly violent TV programming.

On the same day he loses his job, Jensen is set up by masked men invading his home who intend to frame him for murder. Flash forward six months, and Jensen arrives at the bleak Terminal Island, an Alcatraz-like prison where escape is practically impossible.

The evil Warden Hennessey (Joan Allen) runs the prison as if it were a caged ultimate fighting championship death match. Indeed, convict teams race customized vehicles that look like they were used in “Mad Max.” These cars are outfitted with more gadgets and weapons than James Bond’s Astin Martin.

Hennessey is raking in big bucks with her televised Death Race matches, where the winner is the only convict left standing. But she recently lost the most popular racer, the masked Frankenstein who racked up a series of wins with a souped-up Ford Mustang GT Fastback.

Jensen is picked as his replacement, only needing to don the rubber mask and stay alive by winning. Of course, the incentive for Jensen is that, by taking over Frankenstein’s place, if he wins the next race, he will be set free from prison and reunited with his daughter.

The proposition is fraught with peril, because Hennessey is untrustworthy and the race itself guarantees the death of all participants except the lone winner. Frankenstein’s nemesis is Machine Gun Joe (Tyrese Gibson), a sneering, brooding con who doesn’t know that Jensen is being substituted for Frankenstein. All that matters to Machine Gun Joe is that he permanently eliminates whoever is driving Frankenstein’s car.

In case you can’t see it coming, “Death Race” is all about high-speed violent chases where competitors meet gruesome death, by impalement, explosions, and highly dramatized crashes.

Clocking in at under two hours, “Death Race” spends most of its time running cars at full-throttle around gritty industrial areas, where booby traps await the unsuspecting. During the down times without racing, the action shifts primarily to the usual prison yard conflicts.

Some time is also spent with Frankenstein’s dedicated pit crew, including Coach (Ian McShane), the seasoned con who figures out the ultimate game, and Lists (Fred Koehler), the bookish crew member who delivers helpful intelligence reports.

Because a movie of this type demands an attractive distaff presence, Terminal Island allows female prisoners to become navigators. Naturally, Jensen gets the best looker in Natalie Martinez’s Case, a tough cookie who likely gets the assignment because she has the best cleavage and wears tight jeans. Keep in mind that we are dealing with a B-movie heritage that must be upheld at all costs.

Yet, the toughest female role belongs to Warden Hennessey, who borders on the comedic only because she’s called upon to spew profane threats to those impeding her path, while remaining rigid and uptight in crisp business suits.

“Death Race” is pure mindless entertainment that requires you to check your brain at the door. I enjoy slam-bang car chases and spectacular crashes as much as the next guy, but after awhile it becomes all too repetitive, losing its edge and impulsiveness.

As the crashes and explosions pile up, “Death Race” looks increasingly like a violent video game. Meanwhile, much of the dialogue is laughable and lame, while the acting is purely pedestrian. “Death Race” could have been a better action picture.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

Morgan Spurlock, best known for exposing the perils of fast food consumption with “Super Size Me,” turns his investigate powers into a search for the world’s most dangerous terrorist, Osama bin Laden.

Now comes the DVD release of “Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?”, which is billed as a tongue-in-cheek yet thought-provoking documentary.

Amazed by bin Laden’s continued success at evading capture, Spurlock set out to locate the terrorist by traveling through various international hotspots. I have not had the time to review this DVD, but I do know one thing: Spurlock does not answer the title of his documentary.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

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Sugar Pie DeSanto. Photo courtesy of Jasman Records.

PHILADELPHIA – At its 20 year reunion celebration this Tuesday, the Rhythm and Blues Foundation has chosen to present the San Francisco Bay Area’s own Queen of the West Coast Blues, Sugar Pie DeSanto, a distinguished Pioneer Award.

The grand gala will bring together the royalty of rhythm and blues, including past Pioneer Award Honorees along with a veritable “who’s who” of the entertainment industry. More importantly, the event provides an opportunity to support a compelling cause, as its proceeds will ensure the continuation of the doundation’s community outreach, education programs and emergency grants to rhythm and blues artists during their time of need.

Ms. DeSanto, who has performed in Lake County, joins a stellar group of awardees at this year’s ceremony including Chaka Khan, Teena Marie, Bill Withers, Kool and The Gang, The Whispers, The Funk Brothers, Donny Hathaway and Al Bell.

Hosts for the evening include Dionne Warwick, Bonnie Raitt and Jerry Butler.

Born Umpeylia Marsema Balinton of Filipino and African-American parentage, DeSanto was dubbed Little Miss Sugar Pie by the legendary Johnny Otis who signed her to her first professional contract in 1954.

In 1959 her first hit record, “I Want To Know,” was recorded on the Veltone label and produced by the Godfather of Oakland Blues, Bob Geddins Sr. The record rose to No. 3 on the Billboard charts springboarding Sugar Pie into a lucrative contract with Chess Records.

During her tenure at Chess she became the most prolific and highest-paid writer in their employ. Her songbook contains well over 100 compositions which have been recorded by the likes of Minnie Riperton, Billy Stewart, Fontella Bass, The Whispers, Little Milton, The Dells and Jesse James.

Also while at Chess, Ms. DeSanto recorded two historic duets with Etta James, “In The Basement” and “Do I Make myself Clear.”

For a two-year stretch, Sugar Pie opened for James Brown, pushing him to higher heights with her white hot, daring, dazzling, saucy stage presence. James Brown earned the moniker “the hardest working man in show business” legitimately. Anybody who follows Sugar Pie to this day has to work harder.

DeSanto’s career spans six decades. She is still a vibrant, multi-faceted performer. In the summer of 2008 she has performed to capacity crowds at Yoshi’s Jazz and Supper Club, The Chicago Blues Festival and the Poretta Soul Festival in Poretta, Italy.

For more information on The Rhythm & Blues Foundation’s activities and events visit www.rhythmblues.org.

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“On my 78th birthday, I found about 60 rough drawings I had started to make as a teenager,” Schopplein said. “I originally planned to use them someday as a basis for more finished art to illustrate a book about my experiences of growing up in Nazi Germany. Instead, I decided to use them just as they are, and simply wrap some text around each drawing. To make sure my memories would not be adapted to anyone else’s ideas.”

In 2003 Schopplein retired to Lake County. He is now a member of the Konocti Plein Air Painters.

Wild About Books is located at 14290 Olympic Drive in Clearlake, next door to Lisa's clothing store.

For an updated list of times and dates for upcoming events, stop by the store, call 994-WILD (9453) or visit the store's Web site at www.wildaboutbooks.net.

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In a full-blown assault on the narcissistic world of Hollywood filmmaking, it’s fitting that “Tropic Thunder” takes no prisoners. Possessed of a fertile comic mind and talent, Ben Stiller, the director, co-star and co-writer, is the kind of guy who can get away with pricking the outsize ego of the industry. He’s joined in this effort by some of the biggest names in the business, a few of them content to deliver fantastic cameos despite their superstar status. “Tropic Thunder” unites a diverse pool of talent into arguably the best, and probably most daring, comedy of the summer.

The film opens brilliantly with a series of fake trailers that precede the main event of an epic action picture set during the Vietnam War era, something in the vein of “Apocalypse Now.” Considering that “Tropic Thunder” is a movie-within-a-movie, the trailers offer a glimpse at the stars of the main event.

Ben Stiller’s preening Tugg Speedman is a pampered action superstar on the wane. His “Scorcher” series of post-apocalyptic action epics have played out. Jack Black’s Jeff Portnoy needs a new outlet beyond his gross-out comedy franchise “The Fatties,” where comedy is derived from nonstop flatulence.

An intense method actor, Australian Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.) seeks for new challenges and ways to transform his artistic endeavors. Platinum hip-hop star Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) wants to be a serious actor, but he’s consumed by merchandising products like the “Booty Sweat” energy drink.

The self-absorbed prima donnas come together to film an epic war movie in Southeast Asia and unwittingly wind up in a real battle. Things are going so badly on the set that frazzled British director Damien Cockburn (Steve Coogan) faces being shut down by his studio bosses.

In one of several hilarious cameo scenes, a nearly unrecognizable Tom Cruise appears as the fat, balding, foul-mouthed producer Les Grossman, who manages to terrorize everyone within reach of his cell phone. Several scenes have Grossman exploding in hilarious rage, spewing venomous profanity at anyone crossing his path. We’ve never seen Tom Cruise this funny before, even when he was jumping on sofas.

Threatened with the loss of his picture, director Cockburn leads his unsuspecting cast deep into the jungle, where cameras are hidden in the trees, and turns them loose for guerilla-style filmmaking. With no entourage of fawning assistants to shield them, the cast soon encounters a very real and dangerous band of drug runners who mistake the actors for American DEA agents.

Tugg Speedman’s role of John “Four Leaf” Tayback is based on the memoirs of a courageous real-life war hero whose memoirs form the basis for this Vietnam picture. When faced with real danger, Tugg doesn’t know what to do, and he can’t get any creature comforts delivered by his agent (Matthew McConaughey, delivering a funny cameo) back in Los Angeles.

Meanwhile, Kirk Lazarus is going so deep in his character that he had his skin surgically altered so that he could become African American sergeant Lincoln Osiris. This, of course, offends his fellow cast member Alpa Chino who is increasingly annoyed by Lazarus’ refusal to drop out of character even when the cameras aren’t rolling. Being stuck out in the middle of the jungle is also a bad time to find out that Jeff Portnoy has a serious substance abuse problem, particularly when the enemy is manufacturing heroin in its hidden camp.

Rounding out the cast of main characters is Jay Baruchel’s Kevin Sandusky, an earnest young actor getting his first big break playing newbie soldier Brooklyn. As the rookie actor, Kevin is really eager and psyched to be working with an elite group of thespians. Yet he’s the only one who bothered to read the book written by John “Four Leaf” Tayback (Nick Nolte, serving as the film’s technical advisor). When things start to go bad for the cast, Kevin, who also attended a military boot camp, becomes the group’s main hope to extricate itself from a harrowing situation.

Another interesting character is the pint-sized leader of the Flaming Dragons drug ring, 12-year-old Tran (Brandon Soo Hoo), a brutal, cigar-chomping thug who captures Tugg Speedman. For some strange reason, the rebels recognize the actor for his biggest flop, “Simple Jack,” in which he played a mentally retarded farmhand, and they insist that he recreate his character for their amusement. This particular characterization has generated some heat, but there are plenty of politically incorrect moments in this over-the-top film.

Flawed at times in its execution, “Tropic Thunder” is still a high energy film with some comic brilliance. A film that pokes fun at pampered, self-absorbed actors who are out of control is obviously good for generating plenty of laughs.

DVD RELEASE UPDATE

With the summer Olympics in full swing, this is probably good timing for the release of “Her Best Move,” a family entertainment about a teenage star athlete overcoming life’s challenges.

The press notes have a quote from Brandi Chastain, Olympic and Women’s National Soccer Team star, calling it the “most realistic soccer film ever made.”

Soccer prodigy Sara Davis (Leah Pipes) is on her way to becoming the youngest player selected for the U.S. National Team, but her biggest challenge is balancing the demands of high school, a new boyfriend and her overbearing, sports-obsessed father (Scott Patterson).

“Her Best Move” became a major hit on the film festival circuit, scoring plenty of awards.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.

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