Er, not quite. There is an actual, physical monster in Cloverfield, and unlike the no-see-em trailer, the film eventually shows it in all its gruesome glory (and no, it ain't Stay Puft). Opening Friday, J.J. Abrams' camcorder monster movie (which some describe as "Godzilla meets the Blair Witch") covers a terrible day for all of Manhattan and, in particular, for a group of New Yorkers throwing a bon voyage party for one of their......

It's SIFF's last bleary-eyed, numb-assed, popcorn-butter-fingered weekend, so if you haven't stopped in for some film-festy fun, you gotta act fast. We held Audrey upside-down and shook her until she gave us some selections -- no, no, you deserve the best. There's no telling how far we'd go to make you happy. Before we get to that, here's some film-related goings-on that you might like: Friday night there's Kinski performs Berlin: Symphony of a......

Sniff sniff, single tear. It's the last full week of SIFF, so you're well approaching your last chance till next year to take in some of that sweet filmy goodness. SIFF's not just movies; this week offers both the Opticlash 2 VJ battle at the CHAC and the Face the Music party at Neumo's, the latter of which includes performances by Viva Voce, Jesse Sykes, and Siberian. Tickets for both are going fast! Seattlest......

We are, in fact, over half-way there, and yet we continue to live on a prayer--a prayer that the latter half of SIFF contains nearly as many fine films as what's been shown thus far. Seattlest applies our well-honed knowledge of all things cinema to the SIFF catalogue in order to point out some notable films playing this weekend: · Children of the War We've heard good things about this powerful documentary on the......

This week the weather's cooperating a bit more. Nothing like escaping rainy days with a film festival (except if you get stuck in a downpour while waiting in line, so pack that umbrella). Once inside you'll be golden thanks to your perusal of Seattlest picks. Trust us. Golden! But first, we want to highlight some special events: · A Conversation with Julien Temple, with musician/critic Sean Nelson, will no doubt cover Temple's three music......

This weekend the National Weather service is calling for mid-70s to 80 degrees. You may want to recover from heatstroke by rehydrating in an air-conditioned theater with other bepinkenned Seattleites, and their melanin-endowed friends savoring their little moment of schadenfreude. (Here's the Seattle Times cheat sheet on the various venues.) · We caught the press screening for the not entirely laugh-free Death at a Funeral with a friend who said, summing up Frank Oz's......

Memorial Day weekend is finally behind us, so it's time to settle into SIFF. Yes, it's absolutely lovely outside, but Seattleites can only handle so much sun. Get away from all that UVA/UVB exposure and spend your time in the theaters' comfortable darkness. This week brings the opening of SIFF on the Eastside, starting Thursday at the Lincoln Square Cinemas in Bellevue. And tomorrow night, Anthony Hopkins is in town to pick up his......

There's not many reviews for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie just yet, but the ones we've seen thus far are decidedly mixed. That's to be expected, since some people love the randomness of the Adult Swim cartoon, and some people just don't get it. A sampling of the reviews run the gamut, from this guy saying that it's "the most unbearable and unwatchable movie experience I've had this year" to the Village Voice......

SIFF enters its second full week with a slew of great documentaries, including the final screening of fair trade coffee doc Black Gold (Tuesday, 9:30pm @ the Egyptian). The directors, Marc and Nick Francis, will be in attendance, as will Tadesse Meskela, an Ethiopian Farm Cooperative Organizer featured in the film. The SIFF screenings mark the first time the directors and subject have been together since the making of the film---and the first time......

One week of SIFF down, only three more to go. Starting yesterday, the fest moved on up, to the Eastside. Now through next Wednesday, films will be shown in Bellevue at the Lincoln Square Cinemas. From the looks of it, they've got a strong Friday lined up, with the final screenings of The Giant Buddhas, Prairie Home Companion, and Conversations with Other Women. As a SIFF-related resource, it's worth your time to head over......

Now that Memorial Day weekend is past us, and Folklife and Sasquatch have played their last rain-soaked notes, it's time to focus on the things that really matter: SIFF films. Just for fun, go check out the SIFF 2006 profile on Flickr. It's got a lot of great pics, including a bunch of Jessica Biel looking vacuous and a dozen photos of Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn. Dudes, we understand that you really like......

This has been a busy week, at least in terms of announcements as to who's involved in things taking place sometime in the future. Seattlest breaks it down: Rock Lottery: This KEXP benefit/rock talent free-for-all involves a whole buncha local musicians divided into randomly-determined groups of five, who are then given twelve hours to write new material together before performing it that night (last year at Con Works, this year at Neumo's April 29th).......

Has anyone been to the Bellevue Arts Museum? It's understandable if you haven't, considering they just recently reopened (and it's in Bellevue). If you find yourself on the Eaststide tonight, possibly catching a movie at the new Lincoln Square Cinemas (if you're there be sure get a cocktail the Cypress Lounge at the Westin Hotel with it's great Northwest decor), be sure to stop by Free First Friday at Bellevue Arts Museum when the......

In a recent attempt to burn off a venti peppermint mocha, Seattlest ran over the I-90 bridge and through the woods to the corner of Northeast Eighth and Bellevue Way, and damned if it wasn’t snowing on a 45-degree evening. Crazymicroclimates up in here. Snowflake Lane, a nightly display complete with live drummer boys and girls, is part of developer Kemper Freeman Jr.’s efforts to boost Bellevue Square and its nouveau neighbor Lincoln Square. (Yeah,......