Theatrical goings-on for the April 8th weekend

Our weekly roundup of things in theaters begins at Northwest Film Forum with the must be seen to be believed and enjoyed RUBBER. We've recommended it a few times over on our Facebook page but if you don't believe us,  take Paul Constant at The Stranger's word for it, "If your a fan of any of the following--Hal Hartley, horror films, Samuel Beckett, old Warner Bros. Road Runner cartoons, or Kurt Vonnegut--then you must see this movie." You'll never dare make a tire angry again. NWFF also has EMPTY QUARTER, a documentary portrait of  the landscape, history, and people in three counties in rural Oregon.  Directors Alain LeTourneau and Pam Minty will be in attendance on Saturday. Trader Joe's SILENT MOVIE MONDAYS continues at the Paramount with SPEEDY, which was Harold Lloyd's last silent film. As always, the film has live accompaniment by Jim Riggs on the Mighty Wurlitzer organ.  SIFF Cinema celebrates the work of director Danny Boyle with a weekend of solid double features--TRAINSPOTTING and 28 DAYS LATER on Friday, MILLIONS and SHALLOW GRAVE on Saturday, and STRUMPET/VACCUMING COMPLETELY NUDE IN PARADISE with SUNSHINE on Sunday. The Boylemania is centered around screenings of National Theatre Live Boyle's recent production of FRANKENSTEIN starring Jonny Lee "Sick Boy" Miller and Benedict "Sherlock" Cumberbatch.  They'll trade playing the roles of Victor and The Creature for Saturday and Monday's shows.  Central Cinema's week begins with two of my favorite films--Alexander Mackendrick's THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS and Wes Anderson's RUSHMORE. BadMovieArt returns on Monday with Michelle Pfieffer in GREASE 2 (it's like GREASE but with more Adrian Zmed). Tuesday has IFC Midnight's CHOOSE; there's another installment of FAVORITES on Wednesday when Sylvia O'Stayformore presents THE STEPFORD WIVES (original not remake, duh); and Thursday brings an encore of the popular 90's SING-A-LONG. Lastly, our good friends at Grand Illusion Cinema present  HERSCHELL GORDON LEWIS: THE GODFATHER OF GORE, (TRAILER NSFW) a documentary on exploitation film pioneer by Jimmy Malson and friend-of-the-store Frank Henenlotter. If you're unfamiliar with Lewis' body of work, be warned his films are NOT for the squeamish. We  recommend you visit Lewis' shelf in our Director's section and see how your stomach reacts to the cover art before you watch any of them. But it's required viewing for fans of modern day bloody horror films.  Herschell Gordon Lewis' 1963 BLOOD FEAST (again, TRAILER NSFW or POST-LUNCH viewing), considered the first real splatter film, is in the Late Night viewing spot. Happy viewing to all.