Weekend Cultural Guide (Movies and Dining)

Liberty Hall's "midnight movie" series returns tonight with a screening of Donnie Darko. We're not sure the demographic for this, but we assume it will mostly consist of late-night stoners who get baked before the film and head to Java Break's cereal-bar afterwards for a post-film discussion of the nature of time and giant mechanical bunnies. Are we fans of Darko? Sure. Richard often brags about how he was one of the eleven or so people who saw the film during its first theatrical run, long before it garnered its cult following and before Richard Kelly tainted our memories with his "Director's Cut" which tried to make the film make sense.

On Sunday, Liberty offers another special film event, Luna Fest, a series of films "by, for, and about women."

Chip: "At first I assumed this would be a series of lesbian films. I looked at the titles and saw one called 'Top Spin,' which I imagined would be about one lesbian spinning around on top of another. But then I saw this summary, and my boner subsided: 'With hard work and family sacrifice, a young table tennis champion works towards becoming one of the top players in the world.'"

And one other film option in KC has caught our attention. As scenesters, our favorite genre right now is "mumblecore," so we're thinking of heading over to see what's being called the first "mumble-noir" film, Cold Weather, which is set, unsurprisingly, in Portland. J. Hoberman writes that the film "steadily build[s] in intensity from sluggish interest to mild excitement."

Larryville Westsiders are looking beyond the weekend to Monday's opening of Famous Dave's barbecue way out on West 6th.

Westsiders: "It's no Olive Garden or Red Lobster, but it will satisfy our corporate cravings for now."

Our friends at Biemer's (no doubt a little nervous) are cleverly greeting their competitors with a new billboard:

"Not Famous but damn good."

A chorus of townies and scenesters: "No barbecue shall touch our lips until Vermont Street BBQ returns."