Theatrical Releases April 27, 2007 We’ve already told you to catch The Wind that Shakes the Barley, and Vacancy and Hot Fuzz, and the rest of this “week in movies” will be all about local wisdom, but before we disband with the national releases, we need to tell you to see Domestic Import at the Balboa. Domestic is a comedy of errors about a Russian nanny in a well-to-do family. The indie tackles immigration issues with biting but not terribly painful satire. Definitely worth the time and the Balboa is always a great place to see a flick-- free admission on your Birthday! And, hey, we're also giving tickets away to the movie. Just enter below and we'll announce the winner tomorrow afternoon ...

The Sunday Styles section of the Chronicle does it again! Not content to rest on its laurels after watching poor Jennifer Bumblebee Siebel decimate herself, Styles next turns its gimlet eye on two other prominent members of the Swells set: Denise Hale and the inimitable bicycle-intimidator Dede Wilsey. Sunday Styles RULES. Turns out Pat Montandon, mother of Sean Wilsey and ex-wife of Dede's late husband Al Wilsey, has decided to pen a book of her......

You already know about The Reaping, and Firehouse Dog and you’d have to live under a rock not to know about Grindhouse but there are two film events starting this week that you MUST NOT MISS. The first is part of PFA’s “Closely Watched Film” series. This week they’ve brought Thai legend Apichatpong Weerasethakul for Q&A after screenings of his films Tropical Malady (Friday) and Blissfully Yours (Saturday). He’s coming from Thailand! You can’t miss that! ...

Saturday: Head to the The Exploratorium (3601 Lyon Street) for the Physics of Toys: Ride Like The Wind! At 11 a.m. ­or 3 p.m, you'll have the chance to make your own kites, sail-carts, and pinwheels. Shut up, it sounds fun. That night, at 7:30, we're hitting Project ARTAUD (450 Florida Street between 17th and Mariposa) for Every Little Movement: a benefit for Remy Charlip. Charlip, an acclaimed dancer, recently suffered a stroke, and......

There's something vaguely weird in reviewing a movie that came out in 1936 (Who is this young rising star Clark Gable? He's going to go far!), but we had a great time at the kickoff screening for the Balboa Theater's ever-popular Reel SF series, where the theater presents classic movies set in San Francisco. San Francisco is the famous disaster movie about the 1906 earthquake, and tells the story of a local hothead (Clark Gable) running for the Board of Supervisors. (Really! We're not making that up! Our favorite part of the movie, next to the earthquake, was the excellent election rally they held in what would have been District 3 if they'd had district elections back in 1906, where the candidate gives a boring speech about land use, announces, "free beer for everyone!", and then gets in a fight. We see a remake for District 6 with Chris Daly in the lead!) The hothead's in love with a showgirl (Jeannette MacDonald), who sings that famous "San Francisco/Open your Golden Gate" song they use now to kick off screenings at the Castro, over and over and over. Spencer Tracy is in the movie too, playing a priest. The Anita Loos (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) screenplay translates remarkably well into the modern day (what? Conflict between downtown corporate interests and the supervisor looking out for the little guy?) and everyone in the audience had a thoroughly good time. The Balboa is screening San Francisco tonight and tomorrow in tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Big Quake, and the Tuesday the 18th screening will be preceded by vintage fillms (some in 3-D) from 1906, live performances, and a "special surprise guest." Go check out San Francisco's Gone With The Wind yourself, and like us, spend the next day vainly trying to get "San Francisco, Open Your Golden Gate" out of your head. San Francisco, showing 12:45, 4:45, 7:00 p.m. tonight Special Tuesday earthquake centennial screening: 7:00 p.m. Balboa Theater 3630 Balboa (between 37th and 38th Avenues)....

Well, we just don't know. We're sure Ocean's Twelve is a fine movie, but we're so sick of having the whole "we had so much fun making this movie that we're all Best Friends Forever and we all hang out on George's boat every weekend" PR bulls**t shoved down our throats the we have ceased to care. But that's really the only hot new thing at the box office, which causes us to suggest that......