The State Theatre was alive in all of the MTV spender Friday night March 9. Martha Davis and the Motels returned to Modesto. It was her first show back in Modesto since 1982 at the Vintage in downtown Modesto on 11th St next to the old Covell Hotel. 10th St Place now stands in that same spot.

Strangebrew is nothing short of amazing. They delivered a super tight, super fun, medley complete with the MTV spaceman guitar lick and snippets of all of your 1980s fave. Strangebrew blows me away every time they play. It is the set list I dream I could do. They play regularly at the Boardroom and P Wex so go see them. They will be headlining the P Wex St Paddy’s Day Party.

OK the Motels rule. Leading off with the super strong Take the L (out of Lover) was a power start. Kix, Total Control, No Mercy sounded amazing. Only the Lonely was the perfect end to the show and the crowd was on its feet pressing the front of the stage. Martha was great with the crowd, telling stories, and she was relaxed and the band was flawless.

Martha stayed late and signed mercy, sold her CD of Masters and hung out with her loyal Modesto fans.

Great show at the State. Chris Murphy

Opens Sat. Jan. 14, 2012 at 7 p.m.

(R) 2 Hrs. 5 Min. (Digital) In French with English subtitles

For his fifth film, Bertrand Bonello (Tiresea) depicts a highly cinematic and atmospheric look at the final days of a turn of the century brothel when much of the Parisian sex trade was confined to grand maisons, populated by elegant madams and vetted clientele. Within L’Apollonide’s walls, Bonello tracks the lives of the Madam and close to a dozen girls. Despite the fact that desire often mixes with danger and disease rears its ugly head, the film is filled with moments of intimacy and camaraderie amongst the girls. Using a bag of cinematic techniques which include split screen, time shifts and a modern soundtrack, Bonello has made a provocative and beautiful film on not only the world’s oldest profession but also a commentary on history as remembered by art and literature. An official selection of the 2011 Cannes and Toronto International film festivals. “Visually ravishing, troublingly seductive.” – Karina Longworth, LA Weekly “Hypnotic. The heavy candlelit chiaroscuro paints the women as mobile Renoirs, Degases and Manets. The soundtrack, punctuated with raw soul songs, also uses “Nights in White Satin” by the Moody Blues and excerpts from “La Bohème” for maximum contrast and dramatic effect.” – New York Times “A gorgeously filmed portrait of a bygone era, with painstaking attention to period detail.” – New York Post

Sun. Jan. 15, 2012 at 3 p.m.

A presentation of the Modesto Film Society (Unrated) 1 Hr. 42 Min.

Director Alfred Hitchcock’s visually stunning tale of suspense and romance features Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant who infiltrate a ring of Nazi spies, led by Claude Rains, in post-war Rio. Roger Ebert writes that taken together with the earlier Casablanca, “Notorious assures Ingrid Bergman’s immortality.”

Fly Fishing Film Tour

Modesto Fly Fishing Film Tour March 10, 2011 Doors Open 5:30 pm- Introduction andFilm at 6:15 pm The 2011 Fly Fishing Film Tour (www.thef3t.com) is returning to The State, courtesy of Stanislaus Fly Fishers (www.stanislausflyfishers.org) and Rivers of Recovery (www.riversofrecovery.org). Proceeds will again benefit “Rivers of Recovery” (also on Facebook) to provide scholarships for local combat disabled veterans to enjoy two days of guided fly fishing on the Green River in Utah.

Last year’s proceeds funded the Green River experience for 37 local combat disabled veterans! The trip costs an estimated $1600 per veteran. Those donating at the $1600 level will receive 8 movie tickets and 8 raffle tickets, a Rivers of Recovery fly fishing shirt and on-screen sponsor recognition. Of course any other donations will be thankfully accepted! Donations may be mailed to Rivers of Recovery, c/o Law Offices of Mayol & Barringer P.O. Box 3049, Modesto, CA 95353, or brought to the theatre the night of the show.

A silent auction and raffle will be held. Items presently include a Dinner and Wine for 6 at Galletto Ristorante, a 4 wt. Sage Z-Axis fly roddonated by Sierra Angler’s Fly Shop, a guided fly fishing trip for two donated by The Fly Shop, a box of hand-tied flies by “master” Bud Heintz, a hand-constructed fly tying board by Roger Ringsted, guided fly fishing for 2 on the Green River ala Rivers of Recovery and, Dinner for 6 at Jim and Birgitt Mayol’s home with casting instruction by FFF Certified Casting Instructor Derald Lahti and fishing in “Amerine Pond.”

Tickets for the film are $15 in advance or $20 at the door and may be purchased at www.thestate.org, the State Theatre box office, Sierra Anglers Fly Shop, or at www.thef3t.com. Raffle tickets are $20 and available at Sierra Anglers or at the show

Please support our local veterans! We hope to see you there!

Derald Lahti James D. Mayol
President Board of Directors Stanislaus Fly Fishers Rivers of Recovery

The Modesto Film Society launched its seventh season in January with a showing of a newly restored 35mm print of From Here To Eternity, made from the original negative from 1953. Other films on this year’s program are Breakfast At Tiffany’s, On The Waterfront, The 39 Steps, Road To Morocco, South Pacific, Shane, The Caine Mutiny And Lawrence of Arabia. The Film Society makes an effort to show the best 35mm prints when available, just as the film makers intended. All features are scheduled for the third Sunday of the month (we skip June, August and December), and showings are usually accompanied by a pre-film organ concert by Kyle Barker of Barkers Music, a period newsreel or cartoon, a trivia competition and other surprises. All film goers are encouraged to attend dressed as a character from the film or as they would have in the year the film was released. More information about the Film Society and the benefits of membership can be found at the Film Society’s web site, www.modestofilm.org, by calling (209) 521-8772 or modestofilm@aol.com.

The State Theatre’s Cinema Club, which meets on the first Tuesday of each month, specializes in screening the best foreign, independent and American films, along with thought-provoking discussions led by film scholars, critics filmmakers and industry insiders. Films screened by the Cinema Club have included Seven Samurai, The Conversation, Touch of Evil, Vertigo, Cinema Paridiso, Wild Strawberries and 8 1/2. More information about the Cinema Club and the benefits of membership can be found at The State Theatre’s web site, www.thestate.org.

The State Theatre is sponsoring a weekend of Oscar®-related activities on February 26 & 27, including a media and poster sale and a free live broadcast of The Academy Awards® ceremony on The State’s big screen. Those of you who remember last year’s event which served as a pep rally for local favorite Jeremy Renner and The Hurt Locker, will agree that it was a highlight of the local film scene. Find out more by calling The State at (209) 527-4697 or picking up a flyer at the box office, weekdays from noon to 3 P.M.

As part of my continuing film education, I’ll be attending the Annual Art House Convergence Conference near Park City, Utah, the location of the Annual Sundance Film Festival (Alas, returning before it begins). The convergence brings together more than one hundred independent art house associates to hear from inspirational speakers and participate in workshops to improve the quality and effectiveness of theatres like The State. I’ll have more to report in next month’s column. Also attending will be the State Theatre’s General Manager Sue Richardson. A recent study in the Wall Street Journal says that ten percent of movie goers bought half of all the movie tickets sold in 2009.

And finally, from Nora Ephrom’s latest book I Remember Nothing, this comment about the current state of cinema presentation: “… it used to be so romantic to go to a movie – to sit in a big theater that had a balcony … and fabulous gilt trim on the walls. Now we go to horrible unadorned gray rectangles where the sound bleeds in from the gray rectangle right next door.”

By Randy Siefkin

Randy Siefkin Is A Retired Professor Of Political Science. He is active in local community activities and is currently the President Of The State Theatre of Modesto Board Of Directors, serves as Secretary Of The North Modesto Rotary Club and is the Director of the Modesto Film Society.