FILM
Paranoid Park
The title of Gus Van Sant’s Paranoid Park refers to a rough skateboard park underneath a bridge in Portland, Ore. â€" a place where, they say, “dead bodies” are buried beneath the contoured cement.  It also describes the confused conscience of Alex (Gabe Nevins), the emotionally isolated teenager who narrates the movie and who actually sounds like a teenager while doing it.  In voice-over, Alex reads aloud from his journal as if he were delivering a book report in class, but he’s trying to confess the darkest secret of his young life. 

Many films make use of scrambled chronology just to make the story seem more interesting than it really is.  That’s not what happens in Paranoid Park.  The story, told as Alex pencils entries into a lined notebook, is an elliptical record of how he processes the terrible thing that happened one night in the neighborhood of Paranoid Park.  The narrative moves in arcs and curves, like the skateboarders who float and glide around in dreamy 8mm slow-motion, as Alex circles the truth in his writing, promising himself, “I’ll get it all on paper eventually.” Rated R for some disturbing images, language and sexual content. Three-and-a-half stars â€" Jim Emerson
[The Grand Cinema, 4:50 and 9 p.m., $4.50-$8, 606 Fawcett Ave., Tacoma, 253.593.4474]

SHOW
Elvis’ Tribute
There are two Elvis Presleys: Jailhouse Elvis and Vegas Elvis. Don't confuse them.

Jailhouse Elvis sang purdy gospels for his mama. His unassuming legend binds up our hopes and dreams and repackages them in songs with innocuous titles like "Teddy Bear" and "Blue Suede Shoes." When he moves, he incites the '50s congressman to reproach him and his music as "violative of all that I know to be good in taste."

Vegas Elvis ate 14 cheeseburgers, washed them down with half a bottle of pain killers, and shot the crap out of a 21-inch Panasonic color TV with a .45 caliber pistol because he thought he saw Ringo waiting in the wings on the set of Merv Griffin.

Tonight, Danny Vernon, this best Elvis we have in this state, will tackle both Elvis eras. Randy Linder will join Vernon as the John Fogerty. â€" Brad Allen
[Red Wind Casino, 7 p.m., no cover, 12819 Yelm Hwy. S.E., Olympia, 360.412.5000]

OPEN MIC
Billy Farmer
A gifted guitar player, Farmer plays acoustic with a folk style, electric in a Chicago blues stomp style and knows his way around the Delta, too.  His arsenal of strings includes a reliable 12 string, Dobro, mandolin and banjo. When he needs a little oomph, Farmer plugs in his Les Paul or Stratocaster. Farmer is a master of mimicry and can imitate everyone from Jagger to Cash.  Farmer leads the open mic tonight. â€" Tony Engelhart
[O’Callahan’s, 7:30 p.m., no cover, 15610 92nd St., KPN Key Center, 253.884.9766]

LINK: Dustin Lafferty and the others in the clubs tonight.
LINK: Let’s eat Italian tonight.