Since SIFF is kicking off its Global Lens series this weekend, we stopped in to catch South Africa's Bunny Chow, the film debut from John Barker. We were told it wasn't "about" race and apartheid, but it does begin with some homespun moralizing about bunny chow and how Johannesburg is a melting pot, before it gets going: three comics at various stages in their careers take a road trip to a big music festival. (The......

With the lights dimmed enough to put you at ease, Twisted Cork in downtown Bellevue is the perfect after-work wine bar. Once inside, you are greeted by some of the friendliest hosts in town. If a table is not open, you may relax at the cobblestone fountain bench and peruse a wine menu of more than 100 wines by bottle and glass. Our original intent was to test our knowledge of port wines during......

-Of course there's no such thing as a Mac or iPod virus, but if there were you know who would be responsible for it? Microsoft! -Speaking of, there's a fancy new Microsoft.com homepage today. Tomorrow we'll tell you how it's responsible for one or all of the world's evils. -Apparently PETA tried to get Sunday's Seahawks game cancelled because of a feared Ram slaughter associated with the contest. Completely fake of course. -Some people......

Wednesday, September 27 >>>Town Hall, 7:30pm. Science and medical writer Thomas Hager tells you all about the drug that you won't hear about on House, M.D.: "The Nazis discovered it. The Allies won the war with it. It conquered disease, changed laws, and single-handedly launched the era of antibiotics." But does it make you feel like hugging strangers? $5 at the door. >>>Bella Cosa Foods, 4:00-6:00pm: Federico Bibi lets you taste two organic olive......

Italy vs. France The victor wins the World Cup. The losing country’s male population will be crying into their capri pants for the next four years. Seattlests’s favorite part of the World Cup is watching the games on the home turf of ex-patriots. Therefore, we spent yesterday at the French restaurant Maximilien In The Market, which is tucked behind the fish throwers and home to spectacular views of Elliot Bay. Maximilien, which according to the......

As a wise man once said: "Ohhhh, we're half-way there / Ohhh-oh, living on a prayer." On Wednesday, SIFF officially reached the half-way mark. But it's by no means all downhill from here. There's still tons more great films to see before the fest is through. 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: · Maxed Out Got......

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 we're well into the new year, movies can go back to sucking. Sure, there's a few Oscar-worthy films that have yet to open in Seattle (see: The New World, Transamerica, Match Point). But for the most part, films released in January blow big-time (don't see: Grandma's Boy, Tristan and Isolde, Last Holiday, Annapolis). Thankfully, there's an alternative to the schlock, in the form of two primo film series opening this week. Starting tonight......

Twenty-five days and 348 films later, the 31st Annual Seattle International Film Festival came to a close yesterday. This was a big SIFF---over 150 actors/filmmakers were brought to town for the fest (we do so love the Q&A), and organizers are reporting an approximate 5% increase in ticket sales from 2004's record year. Additionally, Sunday's live movie poster auction raised nearly $7000 for the SIFF Group. In terms of festival honors, over 67,000 ballots were......