Film •  ByDesign This short annual film festival most appeals to architects,

April 11, 2015 12:32 am

Film

• 

ByDesign This short annual film festival most appeals to architects, graphic designers, urban planners, and plain old font freaks. And yet it’s not without topical, practical interest in our increasingly congested and expensive city. Case in point: the hour-long doc Microtopia (7 p.m. Sat.), which presents nine examples-or at least hypothetical design studies-of tiny domiciles with minimal carbon footprints. Not all are cheap or practical; one Greek architect envisions open-walled studios raised on cherry-pickers, angling this way and that to catch the best view or sun exposure. But those who are encouraged by Olympia’s “Quixote Village,” a micro-housing answer to our own Nickelsville homeless encampments, will find inspiration here. There are ways of getting around restrictive building codes-chiefly by putting shacks on wheels, without water or electricity, then clustering them around shared facilities. Some solutions are more whimsical, like a rolling barrel house in Denmark; another in Montreal amounts to a wearable tent. The missing 10th segment I wish Swedish director Jesper Wachtmeister had filmed would be on “apodments” in dense urban areas like SLU and Capitol Hill. Not all of us are homeless, or can move off the grid to northern California. Microtopia Part II ought to focus on the needs of single young professional urbanites who care more about broadband than a parking space. (Running through Tuesday, ByDesign opens tonight with a 7 p.m. party and 9 p.m. screening of Fresh Dressed, a documentary history of hip-hop apparel. BRIAN MILLER Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $6-$11 individual, $30-$60 series. Ongoing through Tuesday, April 14, 2015

• 

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Shot-for-salivating-shot, this boasts the highest “wow” quotient of anything in the formidably ecstatic Marilyn Monroe oeuvre. The 1953 movie, directed by Howard Hawks, opens with an edible MM and full-figured gal pal Jane Russell bursting onto the screen in skin-tight, feather-hatted, red-sequined regalia like a couple of carnivorous cake toppings. It eventually ogles its way through not only the now legendary “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Friend” routine but an audacious “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love” number, where Russell offers to take on the entire U.S. Men’s Olympic Team. Yet they ignore her in favor of choreographed calisthenics in nude-colored shorts-again, wow. (G) STEVE WIECKING

7 p.m. Fri. & Sun.-Tues. plus 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. matinees Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $7-$9 Saturday, April 11, 2015

• 

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Shot-for-salivating-shot, this boasts the highest “wow” quotient of anything in the formidably ecstatic Marilyn Monroe oeuvre. The 1953 movie, directed by Howard Hawks, opens with an edible MM and full-figured gal pal Jane Russell bursting onto the screen in skin-tight, feather-hatted, red-sequined regalia like a couple of carnivorous cake toppings. It eventually ogles its way through not only the now legendary “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Friend” routine but an audacious “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love” number, where Russell offers to take on the entire U.S. Men’s Olympic Team. Yet they ignore her in favor of choreographed calisthenics in nude-colored shorts-again, wow. (G) STEVE WIECKING

7 p.m. Fri. & Sun.-Tues. plus 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. matinees Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $7-$9 Sunday, April 12, 2015

• 

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Shot-for-salivating-shot, this boasts the highest “wow” quotient of anything in the formidably ecstatic Marilyn Monroe oeuvre. The 1953 movie, directed by Howard Hawks, opens with an edible MM and full-figured gal pal Jane Russell bursting onto the screen in skin-tight, feather-hatted, red-sequined regalia like a couple of carnivorous cake toppings. It eventually ogles its way through not only the now legendary “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Friend” routine but an audacious “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love” number, where Russell offers to take on the entire U.S. Men’s Olympic Team. Yet they ignore her in favor of choreographed calisthenics in nude-colored shorts-again, wow. (G) STEVE WIECKING

7 p.m. Fri. & Sun.-Tues. plus 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. matinees Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $7-$9 Monday, April 13, 2015

• 

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Shot-for-salivating-shot, this boasts the highest “wow” quotient of anything in the formidably ecstatic Marilyn Monroe oeuvre. The 1953 movie, directed by Howard Hawks, opens with an edible MM and full-figured gal pal Jane Russell bursting onto the screen in skin-tight, feather-hatted, red-sequined regalia like a couple of carnivorous cake toppings. It eventually ogles its way through not only the now legendary “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Friend” routine but an audacious “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love” number, where Russell offers to take on the entire U.S. Men’s Olympic Team. Yet they ignore her in favor of choreographed calisthenics in nude-colored shorts-again, wow. (G) STEVE WIECKING

7 p.m. Fri. & Sun.-Tues. plus 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. matinees Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $7-$9 Tuesday, April 14, 2015

• 

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Shot-for-salivating-shot, this boasts the highest “wow” quotient of anything in the formidably ecstatic Marilyn Monroe oeuvre. The 1953 movie, directed by Howard Hawks, opens with an edible MM and full-figured gal pal Jane Russell bursting onto the screen in skin-tight, feather-hatted, red-sequined regalia like a couple of carnivorous cake toppings. It eventually ogles its way through not only the now legendary “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Friend” routine but an audacious “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love” number, where Russell offers to take on the entire U.S. Men’s Olympic Team. Yet they ignore her in favor of choreographed calisthenics in nude-colored shorts-again, wow. (G) STEVE WIECKING

7 p.m. Fri. & Sun.-Tues. plus 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. matinees Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $7-$9 Wednesday, April 15, 2015

• 

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Shot-for-salivating-shot, this boasts the highest “wow” quotient of anything in the formidably ecstatic Marilyn Monroe oeuvre. The 1953 movie, directed by Howard Hawks, opens with an edible MM and full-figured gal pal Jane Russell bursting onto the screen in skin-tight, feather-hatted, red-sequined regalia like a couple of carnivorous cake toppings. It eventually ogles its way through not only the now legendary “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Friend” routine but an audacious “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love” number, where Russell offers to take on the entire U.S. Men’s Olympic Team. Yet they ignore her in favor of choreographed calisthenics in nude-colored shorts-again, wow. (G) STEVE WIECKING

7 p.m. Fri. & Sun.-Tues. plus 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. matinees Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $7-$9 Thursday, April 16, 2015

Child 44 A military garb-clad Tom Hardy investigates a series of child murders in the Stalin-era Soviet Union. Opens wide. $12 and up Friday, April 17, 2015

• 

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Shot-for-salivating-shot, this boasts the highest “wow” quotient of anything in the formidably ecstatic Marilyn Monroe oeuvre. The 1953 movie, directed by Howard Hawks, opens with an edible MM and full-figured gal pal Jane Russell bursting onto the screen in skin-tight, feather-hatted, red-sequined regalia like a couple of carnivorous cake toppings. It eventually ogles its way through not only the now legendary “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Friend” routine but an audacious “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love” number, where Russell offers to take on the entire U.S. Men’s Olympic Team. Yet they ignore her in favor of choreographed calisthenics in nude-colored shorts-again, wow. (G) STEVE WIECKING

7 p.m. Fri. & Sun.-Tues. plus 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. matinees Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $7-$9 Friday, April 17, 2015

Monkey Kingdom Disney presents a nature documentary about a newborn monkey and its mother trying to survive in a competitive social group. Opens wide. $12 and up Friday, April 17, 2015

Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 At a security-guard expo in Las Vegas, Kevin James discovers a heist. Opens wide. $12 and up Friday, April 17, 2015

Selfless A dying wealthy man has his consciousness transferred to the body of a young healthy dude (Ryan Reynolds), who begins to uncover the mystery of the body’s original owner. Opens wide. $12 and up Friday, April 17, 2015

• 

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Shot-for-salivating-shot, this boasts the highest “wow” quotient of anything in the formidably ecstatic Marilyn Monroe oeuvre. The 1953 movie, directed by Howard Hawks, opens with an edible MM and full-figured gal pal Jane Russell bursting onto the screen in skin-tight, feather-hatted, red-sequined regalia like a couple of carnivorous cake toppings. It eventually ogles its way through not only the now legendary “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Friend” routine but an audacious “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love” number, where Russell offers to take on the entire U.S. Men’s Olympic Team. Yet they ignore her in favor of choreographed calisthenics in nude-colored shorts-again, wow. (G) STEVE WIECKING

7 p.m. Fri. & Sun.-Tues. plus 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. matinees Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $7-$9 Saturday, April 18, 2015

• 

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Shot-for-salivating-shot, this boasts the highest “wow” quotient of anything in the formidably ecstatic Marilyn Monroe oeuvre. The 1953 movie, directed by Howard Hawks, opens with an edible MM and full-figured gal pal Jane Russell bursting onto the screen in skin-tight, feather-hatted, red-sequined regalia like a couple of carnivorous cake toppings. It eventually ogles its way through not only the now legendary “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Friend” routine but an audacious “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love” number, where Russell offers to take on the entire U.S. Men’s Olympic Team. Yet they ignore her in favor of choreographed calisthenics in nude-colored shorts-again, wow. (G) STEVE WIECKING

7 p.m. Fri. & Sun.-Tues. plus 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. matinees Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $7-$9 Sunday, April 19, 2015

• 

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Shot-for-salivating-shot, this boasts the highest “wow” quotient of anything in the formidably ecstatic Marilyn Monroe oeuvre. The 1953 movie, directed by Howard Hawks, opens with an edible MM and full-figured gal pal Jane Russell bursting onto the screen in skin-tight, feather-hatted, red-sequined regalia like a couple of carnivorous cake toppings. It eventually ogles its way through not only the now legendary “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Friend” routine but an audacious “Ain’t There Anyone Here for Love” number, where Russell offers to take on the entire U.S. Men’s Olympic Team. Yet they ignore her in favor of choreographed calisthenics in nude-colored shorts-again, wow. (G) STEVE WIECKING

7 p.m. Fri. & Sun.-Tues. plus 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. matinees Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., Seattle, WA 98122 $7-$9 Monday, April 20, 2015

NFFTY The largest film festival for young, emerging filmmakers is in its ninth year. nffty.org SIFF Cinema Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109 $22 Thursday, April 23 – Sunday, April 26, 2015

Rock the Kasbah

Almost Famous co-stars Kate Hudson and Zooey Deschanel are back in this comedy about music. Opens wide $12 and up Friday, April 24, 2015

The Age of Adaline A woman is left immortal after an accident. Is a man worth her mortality? Theaters TBD $12 and up Friday, April 24, 2015