WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Twenty-One Years Later: Pierce County prosecutors file charges in hilltop slaying case. (News Tribune)

He Must Have Really Needed To Do Some Shopping: Lakewood man goes berserk on Lakewood police officer at Lakewood Town Center. (News Tribune)

Occupied: The Wall Street protests spread. (CNN)

How That Bump Made Us Jump!: Johnny Depp has plans to play Dr. Seuss. (Slashfilm)

Once Upon A Midnight Dreary: John Cusack is Edgar Allan Poe. (Collider)

How Do You Move A 340-Ton Rock: Very carefully. (New York Times)

Video: Fake Batman gets beat up. (Tru TV)

ARTS COVERAGE TO END ALL ARTS COVERAGE >>>

At this point it goes without saying. If you're looking for coverage of local arts in Tacoma, Olympia, and all points in between, the Weekly Volcano is THE place to find it. Our goal is to consistently provide the best local arts coverage possible to our fantastic readers -- always be on the lookout for ways to shine a light on all the awesome creativity we see around us.

Here's a look at the Volcano arts coverage waiting for you this week in print and online.

MOVIE BIZ BUZZ: The Sea Is All I Know

If you think TFF lacks any celeb cred, think again. Tucked away in Saturday's Drama Shorts package (4:15 p.m., Grand Cinema) lies The Sea Is All I Know, which boasts not one but two of those Hollywood folks you may know. Melissa Leo most notably won the Best Actress Oscar earlier this year for her work in The Fighter, and character actor Peter Gerety has, over three decades, appeared in numerous TV shows and movies. (I personally relished his world-weary police captain in Inside Man.)

Known for his supporting roles, Gerety finds himself front and center in The Sea, playing Sonny, a New England fisherman married to Sara (Leo). They have a terminally-ill daughter, Angelina (Kelly Hutchinson), who asks Mom and Dad to help her in performing euthanasia. Together and in private these parents agonize over their final decision, wavering unsteadily between mercy and what Sonny calls "natural law." ... -- Christopher Wood

FEATURE: OLYMPIA FALL ARTS WALK

Olympia's Arts Walk happens twice a year, but the fall edition has always been the little sister, bundled up and toting her umbrella, not as glamorous as spring's costumed, sandaled walk.

This time around, though, the autumn walk has grown to two days. Waterproof gear is still a good precaution, but there's twice as much time to see the art. There are also more businesses participating (106 compared to last fall's 101) and performances happening both days.

Besides visual art, music, dance and street performance, Arts Walk offers the chance to see and be seen. And many participating businesses offer snacks, desserts and even wine. ... -- Molly Gilmore

FEATURE: TACOMA FILM FESTIVAL

How about a magic trick? Most films perform one; they conceal as much as they reveal. They have us so mesmerized by the world flashing onscreen that we barely tune in to that other world just beyond the frame, that of the film's creators. They cover up their own tracks so nicely, sacrificing their real stories to serve the fictions spun for an audience's enjoyment.

Well, the curtain comes down at this year's Tacoma Film Festival. From Oct. 6-13, The Grand Cinema will blanket this town in over one hundred shorts and features. All of us will find something worth seeing, I'm sure. But beyond keeping movie lovers happy, TFF exists for producers, actors, writers and directors. Many will come from near and far to mingle with viewers and share their works, as well as a part of themselves - the stories behind the stories. ... -- Christopher Wood

THEATER REVIEW: THE LOVE LIST

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Olympia theater companies aren't competing with each other (even last weekend, when three different shows opened downtown), they're competing with television. If you're a producer who plans to charge money for tickets to a musical, then it needs to be better than Glee - a task which, let's face it, hasn't been difficult for over a year. But if you stage a sitcom, by golly, you've bitten off a challenging task indeed, because your competition is Modern Family, Parks and Rec, and Up All Night. Situation comedy has always been hit or miss, but cable subscribers have plenty of yuk-worthy material to enjoy on their DVRs. If your production can't be as polished and funny as what's on the boob tube, then you'll find yourself playing to barren houses.

The Love List at Harlequin has been playing to standing ovations, and that's because it's better than TV. ... -- Christian Carvajal

THEATER REVIEW: ALWAYS ... PATSY CLINE

I suppose one of the defining traits of legendary talent is that it cannot be reproduced. Thousands of doughy Elvis impersonators later, there's still just one King, and Beatlemania remains a mere echo of the Fab Four. Likewise, there has only ever been, and can only ever be, one Virgina "Patsy" Cline. We don't need to be fans of early Sixties country to know that. To this day, "I Fall to Pieces" remains one of the great karaoke destroyers of all time. You can't sing it; I can't, either, though it seems to have been written for my deep baritone range.

So give it up for Kittra Coomer, who dares not one, not two, but 27 Cline numbers in a little over two hours for Capital Playhouse's production of Always...Patsy Cline. ... -- Christian Carvajal

THEATER REVIEW: LITTLE WOMEN

Unfortunately, for all the talent on display, they were still doing a musical adaptation of Little Women, and there is only so much you can do to rescue a show from such a fate. A book about four women growing toward adulthood, and the changes that gradually affect their lives, is distilled into a play in which some things happen, people change suddenly and, for no apparent reason, there are some weddings ... the end. ... -- Joseph Izenman

THEATER REVIEW: BUNNICULA

Last I checked Dictionary.com, a vampire was defined as a preternatural being who sucks the blood of humans or animals, and that's a scary concept for youngsters. Luckily, James and Deborah Howe's kid-lit Bunnicula is nothing of the kind. Rather, he's a nocturnal rabbit with teleportation powers who prefers to drain the carotene from carrots and other produce. In Olympia Family Theater's version, those powers are accompanied by brief strobe effects, which I'll warn you about as I'm pretty sure house management didn't. (It's a common oversight in local theater, but I've seen the worst-case neurological repercussions so I'm sensitive to it.) That glitch aside, Bunnicula is a wittily staged, charismatically acted comedy that'll entertain rather than traumatize patrons of all ages. ... -- Christian Carvajal

PLUS: Comprehensive Arts & Entertainment Calendar

PLUS: Even More Freakin' Events

PLUS: Just Plain Goofy Stuff

YOUR DAILY GUIDE TO THE 2011 TACOMA FILM FESTIVAL >>>

The Tacoma Film Festival is shaping up to be everything a good film fest should be. There are movies from around the world, flicks in a variety of languages, screenings exploring the margins of different societies, and films from the comedy, drama, and short film categories and local ditties. Yes, this festival hosted by The Grand Cinema packs quite the cinematic wallop.

An opening night party with a screening of Natural Selection kicks off the festival tonight. Film enthusiasts will first gather in Annie Wright's Great Hall to scarf down Jonz Catering's finger foods and tip a Stella or two. Then TFF Executive Director Philip Cowan will hold our hands down to Kemper Theater for the screening of said film that tells the story of a dutiful, albeit barren Christian housewife (SNL’s Rachael Harris) who discovers her devout husband has suffered a stroke at a sperm bank where he’s been secretly donating his seed for the past 25 years. She decides to leave her sheltered world and start off on a journey to find his eldest biological son. The film won SEVEN awards at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival including: Audience and Grand Jury Awards for Best Narrative Feature, Best Screenplay, Best Score/Music, Best Editing and Breakthrough Performance (Rachael Harris & Matt O’Leary).

Bonus: Natural Selection star Matt O'Leary will attend the screening.

Stuff to know about tonight: 6:30 p.m., film at 7:30 p.m., Annie Wright Kemper Theater, 827 N. Tacoma Ave., $15 Grand Cinema members, $20 non-members, $11 movie only, buy tickets here.

LINK: Three stories behind the stories

LINK: Big stars at the Tacoma Film Festival 2011

LINK: Our Tacoma Film Festival preview

LINK: TFF Director Emily Alm's picks

LINK: TFF on twitter 

LINK: TFF website

MELISSA LEO & PETER GERETY IN THE SEA IS ALL I KNOW >>>

I feel your fear. The Tacoma Film Festival starts Thursday, Oct. 6, and it scares you. You think, "So many movies, and not one recognizable face in any of them." The star is our buoy, our anchor in a confusing sea of anonymity. An A-Lister's presence, just their reassuring smile, can sometimes carry us through even the most excruciating picture.

But if you think TFF lacks any celeb cred, think again. Tucked away in Saturday's Drama Shorts package (4:15 p.m., Grand Cinema) lies The Sea Is All I Know, which boasts not one but two of those Hollywood folks you may know. Melissa Leo most notably won the Best Actress Oscar earlier this year for her work in The Fighter, and character actor Peter Gerety has, over three decades, appeared in numerous TV shows and movies. (I personally relished his world-weary police captain in Inside Man.)

Known for his supporting roles, Gerety finds himself front and center in The Sea, playing Sonny, a New England fisherman married to Sara (Leo). They have a terminally-ill daughter, Angelina (Kelly Hutchinson), who asks Mom and Dad to help her in performing euthanasia. Together and in private these parents agonize over their final decision, wavering unsteadily between mercy and what Sonny calls "natural law."

Right away the script calls out to Gerety's roots. Says the Providence native, "I grew up near the ocean, and I just loved the idea of being in that kind of fishing environment."

Of The Sea's many tender moments, one has Sonny crooning an old-fashioned ditty to his daughter. Carried by Gerety's beautiful voice, the tune feels ancient, so it surprised me to learn writer-director Jordan Bayne also wrote the lyrics, and Gerety's nephew, Timothy Hill, composed its music.

Gerety also connected to his character's Catholicism and the religious iconography that abounds in the film. Raised in the faith, Gerety says, "It was not hard for me to tap into Sonny's feeling of fear (towards assisted suicide)." While mainstream cinema typically depicts the devout as dolts or demons in disguise, Bayne just shows us two confused people grappling with their beliefs while trying to ease a child's suffering.

Bayne's work has graced our community before; her earlier short, Argo, screened at the 2006 Tacoma Film Festival. Bayne seems to like placing weak and emotionally frail humans inside an epic, primal landscape, with The Sea replacing Argo's endless deserts with mysterious waters.Bayne says the idea for The Sea came partly from observing relatives' various reactions to her grandmother's passing. She recalls their behavior as "very selfish, loving ... it was all over the spectrum."

With Bayne's subtle, assured direction and powerful performances from Leo and Gerety, you won't want to turn your back on The Sea.

LINK: Buy TFF tickets

LINK: TFF Director Emily Alm's picks

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Awesome View: Point Defiance Park named one of the 10 "great public spaces." (American Planning Association)

Tacoma Tells Adults: Give the kids an hour to catch up. (KPLU)

GOP Source: Gov. Christie won't run for president. (CNN)

Distracted Drinking: A tour of the comedy club of Tacoma. (Post Defiance)

No!: Money dispute may end The Simpsons. (The Daily Beast)

Watch: The entire 100-minute Arrested Development reunion. (Slash Film)

William Shatner: He answers 20 questions. (Pop Matters)

GORY FUN AT THE GRAND CINEMA >>>

We're giving away five pairs of tickets to the opening weekend of Tucker & Dale vs. Evil at The Grand Cinema in Tacoma.

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is one of those gory, good-spirited horror comedies, similar to Shaun of the Dead, only with more killer rednecks. Tucker and Dale are two best friends on vacation at their dilapidated mountain house, who are mistaken for murderous backwoods hillbillies by a group of moronic, preppy college kids. When one of the students gets separated from her friends, the boys try to lend a hand, but as the misunderstanding grows, so does the body count.

This film captured the Midnight Audience Award at SXSW, the Jury Prize for First Feature at Fantasia, the Best Director award at Fantaspoa and the Best Motion Picture Award at Sitges.

Anyhoo, like we said, we're giving away five pairs of tickets to its screening at The Grand Cinema. And even a moronic, preppy college kid could win them. Simply "LIKE" our new Weekly Volcano Blast Zone Facebook page and you'll be included in our random drawing 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10, which the accounting firm of Tucker & Dale will oversee. We'll draw five names that night, pass your Facebook page to The Grand Cinema and they'll contact you.

Good luck.

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Pissed He Was Shot Five Times: Prisoner has sued City of Tacoma. (News Tribune)

Good Ol' Fashioned American Capitalism: Koch Industries flout law with secret Iran sales. (Bloomberg)

Thank You Steinman: Rockefeller University biologist Ralph Steinman won the Nobel Prize, but died just days before the announcement, and Nobel rules prohibit awarding posthumously. Steinman developed a therapy to "harness the power" of the immune system and died from pancreatic cancer after extending his own life through his therapy. (CNN)

Awesome: Arrested Development is returning as a limited series on TV AND as a movie. (Deadline)

Who Wore It Better?: These Iranian soldiers or David Bowie in Labrynth?

Love Gun: Gene Simmons married Shannon Tweed.(US Weekly)

Seems Appropriate To Discuss: What's the best baseball movie? (Salon)

Fifty Years Of Famous Non-Words

ARTS COVERAGE TO END ALL ARTS COVERAGE >>>

At this point it goes without saying. If you're looking for coverage of local arts in Tacoma, Olympia, and all points in between, the Weekly Volcano is THE place to find it. Our goal is to consistently provide the best local arts coverage possible to our fantastic readers -- always be on the lookout for ways to shine a light on all the awesome creativity we see around us.

Here's a look at the Volcano arts coverage waiting for you this week in print and online.

MOVIE BIZ BUZZ: Pete Anderson's Break

I consider myself only a part-time filmmaker, so I can't say I belong in the same league as someone like Pete Anderson. When he told me Break marks not only his seventh time in the director's chair of a feature film, but also his seventeenth screenplay, my jaw dropped just a bit. I had to ask him to repeat himself. You have to admire persistence like this.

The 43-year-old Anderson seems to tear into every project like a tornado of talent, a battalion of one oftentimes taking on multiple duties with boundless energy. Anderson also produced, edited, and did some acting in Break, a dramedy about strangers whose only connection is a single gun. ... -- Christopher Woods

VISUAL EDGE: Art Chantry's Parkland Is Burning

(Fulcrum Gallery is packed with Art Chantry posters. Courtesy Fulcrum Gallery)

Inside Fulcrum there are three rooms loaded with Chantry's posters, representing 40 years of his art. You've probably seen many of these posters before, but probably not all at the same time, and never grouped together like this. Unless you are a fanatical collector I can almost guarantee you'll see many of Chantry's posters in this show that you've never seen before. ... -- Alec Clayton

THEATER REVIEW: Something Wicked This Way Comes

(Mr. Dark: Damian Gennette in character. Photo courtesy Dean Lapin)

Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes is awfully hard to stage. The novel relies much more on introspection and narrative than dialogue and action, and is thus in many ways the antithesis of a medium that eliminates the internal monologue.

Bradbury's adaptation, and the Lakewood Playhouse production, rely much more on recreating the dark tone and vivid imagery of the novel than its thematic depth.

As such, Something Wicked must be very technically ambitious, and in this director David Domkoski and his design crew succeed quite thoroughly. ... -- Joe Izenman

PLUS: More local theater coverage than you can handle

PLUS: Arts and Entertainment Calendar

PLUS: Stupid Crap We Found on YouTube

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Three-Year Deal: Tacoma School Board ratified a teacher contract in a unanimous vote. (News Tribune)

Free Coffee: Oh Thank Heaven until 11 a.m. (SPEW)

They're No Michael Scott: Coverage of the action at the 14th Annual Forklift Rodeo in downtown Tacoma. (News Tribune)

It's About Time: FDA increases cantaloupe checks. (CNN)

Hipsters On TV: A retrospective from Fonzie to "Portlandia." (Flavorwire)

Oh Good Lord: First social TV network debuts. (Koldcast)

The Office: What's the future of Dunder Mifflin. (TV Guide)

Riveting: Watch Ad-Rock from the Beastie Boys make a PB&J. (Grub Street)

Great pick-up lines in science

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Look At This Beauty: Hi, I'm Joe Michael with Save-A-Lot right here in beautiful Hilltop Tacoma. Boy do I have a deal for you. For instance, check out this stunning shopping cart, new wheels, look at the shine - it's yours for only $19.99. Come on down and see me. (News Tribune)

Joyce McDonald Had A Motion: E-I-E-I-Overturns veto. (News Tribune)

I Am The God Of Kindle And I Bring You... Fire: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos unveils $199 Kindle Fire tablet. (CNN)

TV Will Now Have Less Inapproraite Hair: Any Rooney's final appearanc eon ^0 Minutes will be Sunday. (USA Today)

Truth?: Demi Moore is officially ending her six-year marriage to Ashton Kutcher after he allegedly had sex with a 23-year-old woman in his room at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego last week. (New York Post)

Good Luck To The Cure: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees have been announced. (Prefix)

Last Night: Roger Waters and the Foo Fighters rock out on Late Night With Jikmmy Fallon. (stereogum)

William Shatner is Iron Man.