There's a lot going on over the next few days, but that doesn't mean you have to partake. I, for one, will be sitting at home trying to convince a 5-month-old kitten that he should nap instead of running around in circles. A movie marathon just might make that bearable. 

Here's your weekly list of what's popular at Casa Video:


1. Captain America: Civil War

Miss Saigon’s downtown location (47 N. Sixth Ave.) closed for a while when it underwent renovation last spring, but it’s back and better than ever with late-night hours on weekend nights—and it’s now the only Miss Saigon offering delivery service.

Just a few weeks ago, the yummy Vietnamese café decided to stay open till 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, so you more options for food while you’re hitting the downtown bars and clubs.
Call 320-9511 for more information, or visit misssaigon-tucson.com. (It’s the Campbell location’s website—but don’t worry; the folks there can also answer your questions about the downtown restaurant). 

Tucson’s own human siren song was already an itchy-palmed dream for boys (and girls) by this ’78 single—a household name really, no doubt helped by a fetching Time Magazine cover story that featured a shot of a scantly-clothed Ronstadt sipping steaming sauce over a stove, sexualized for the American mass consciousness.

This version of “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me” didn’t top songwriter Warren Zevon’s godhead version, but damn if it ain’t peerless in a ’70s radio-rock, sterile production, hit-single sorta way. Golden-eared producer (and Ronstadt manager) Peter Asher kept the spirits alive in a way that transcended said sterility because the man understood songs. Hear that.

A sweet acoustic drone and cowbell opens to Ronstadt’s hip-swinging sexuality and Waddy Wachtel's anthemic four-on-floor riff, and you can visualize coke-gacked grins on faces of the post-Laurel Canyon mellow mafia all over this—a weirdly beautiful thing in hindsight. And god love fright-haired Wachtel and his bong-smoke-clearing power chords that bestow the tune with indelible weight and oomph.

Zevon’s version, with all the suicide and domination in the lyrics etc., was ironic self-mockery passed off jokingly as narcissism yet still narcissistic as hell, on purpose. But Zevon knew that—that’s how fucking smart he was, and his had the requisite weatherbeaten vocal tone to match the literate and deceptively simple sentiment. But Ronstadt’s slightly cleaned up version had real sexual verve, and her unstoppable voice, which gave the song staying power.

Still, it’s really too bad Ronstadt switched the song’s gender here because that changes the male/female power dynamic in the worst way (a woman-pummeling dude ain’t no “credit to his gender”). Had she kept the gender as written, the tune would’ve been wickedly subversive in its time, but no Top 40 hit. Also dropped “West” from “West Hollywood.” Another meaning-changer. Shame.

This #Blonde is for you, #Tucson! #BarrioIsTucson #SabinoCanyon #AdventuresOfTheTucsonBlonde #BarrioExplorer #hiking #packitinpackitout #beer #craftbeer

A photo posted by Barrio Brewing Co. (@barriobrewing) on Sep 28, 2016 at 4:43pm PDT

It’s time for the 25th birthday of the longest continuously brewed craft beer in the state of Arizona: the iconic Barrio Blonde. 

Ah, 25—a great age. If the Barrio Blonde were, say, a young, craft-beer-loving University of Arizona co-ed (a blonde, of course), she’d probably celebrate this birthday by gathering friends for a few rounds at her favorite local brewery.

But the Barrio Blonde is a beer, not a person … and in fact, the brewery that brews the Blonde is the very entity that’s celebrating the beer’s birthday. Oh, and the brewery—housed at both Barrio Brewing Company and Gentle Ben’s, both owned by brewmaster Dennis Arnold—is basically celebrating its birthday, too.

Gentle Ben’s—which Arnold purchased in 1991—has long been located in the heart of UA territory, on North Tyndall Avenue, in a building once serving as the Pi Beta Phi sorority house and Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house (not to mention, previously, as the official residence of the university’s presidents. In 1994 Gentle Ben’s moved to its current location on University Boulevard in Main Gate Square—still smack in the middle of UA stomping grounds—with Barrio Brewing Company launching 15 years later (at a not-too-far-away separate location) to increase Arnold’s brewing capacity.

Actually, the birthday party planned for the brewery (and the birthday beer, the Barrio Blonde) isn’t too different from a bar-party gathering ... but it will run for seven straight days.

Starting Sunday, Oct. 2, and continuing through Friday, Oct. 7, Barrio Brewing Company and Gentle Ben’s are both hosting anniversary dinners at the bars. Anyone who shows up to celebrate at either venue will get a special appetizer, a choice of entrée (and beer!) and a gelato dessert, plus a commemorative T-shirt and pint glass, all for $25.

There’s no special seating situation or mandatory times of arrival—just come when you feel like it. (You can still go to the bars between Oct. 2 and Oct. 7 and order anything off their menus, of course—but to officially participate in the party, just pay the 25 bucks and get the special course and souvenirs, OK?)

This is the second sequel to The Blair Witch Project, the original “found footage” horror film. Would Lionsgate take this opportunity to reintroduce a once promising premise into a new style of film, perhaps a traditional narrative about the Blair Witch set in the forest without the gimmick of people running around with cameras filming themselves, even when they are in great peril?

Nope—opportunity wasted.

This movie is essentially the original with louder noises, a few more gizmos—drones, walkie talkies, better tents—and, yes, lots more sticks tied together with twine and piles of rocks. For those of you who are scared shitless by stick men made out of twigs and twine (and piles of rocks in front of tents), this movie will fuck your shit up. I’m thinking that accounts for perhaps .00009832 percent of the movie-going population. The rest of you will be bored out of your minds.

James (James Allen McCune), long suffering brother of the original film’s Heather, who vanished all those years ago, has found … a tape. That tape contains shaky footage made by somebody moronic enough to try to keep the action on camera rather than focus on their much needed getaway. In said footage, a messed-up looking woman is glimpsed for a second, so James instantly thinks it’s Heather. James assembles a crew of idiots to go into the forest, the cursed forest where people disappear and strange tapes are found, in search of the house where the footage was filmed by some moron who didn’t just drop the stupid camera in favor of weaponry and get the hell to safety.

The results: not scary and not entertaining.

Your Weekly guide to keeping busy in the Old Pueblo. 

Pick of the Week

Tucson Modernism Week: Dive into our town’s mid-century modernist architecture with Tucson Modernism Week, an extravaganza of tours, lectures, exhibitions, movies and parties. Festivities include a Vintage Trailer show, an unusual architectural bus trip to Nogales, Ariz, a lecture on American Modern Architecture in Alfred Hitchcock's Cinematic Space, a tour of the diner most recently known as Chaffins, self guided tours of six Tucson homes—and so much more. Grab your calendar and read more about the events in this week's Weekly. 

Food & Booze

World Margarita Championship: This 10th Annual Margarita Championship is back again! Join the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance and Tucson Originals as they partner to bring serve up an unforgettable evening of tequila and southwest cuisine. Tickets are $55, and are expected to sell out. Friday, Sept. 30 6 p.m. The Westin La Paloma Resort & Spa, 3800 E. Sunrise Dr. $55 each. 21+.

Booze, Blues and BBQ: Enjoy some whiskey while you learn about the making of your favorite spirit from Charlie Garrison of the Garrison Brothers distillery from Hye, Texas and Stephan Paul of Hamilton Distillery. The two whiskey connoisseurs will be at the bar to chat about their booze at this whiskey seminar. Guests can enjoy some custom tasting flights that highlight the spirits of the two distilleries. There will be blues, snacks and (of course) whiskey all night long. Thursday, Sept. 29 3-4 p.m. The Good Oak Bar, 316 E. Congress St.  

Whiskey lovers, Good Oak Bar (316 E. Congress St.) is calling your name this Thursday, Sept. 29.

If you want an education experience all about whiskey, get excited because Charlie Garrison of Garrison Brothers Distillery in Texas is hosting a seminar at the bar from 3-4 p.m. You'll want to RSVP for the event and it'll cost you $10.

The party really begins at the 6 p.m. with Garrison and Tucson's Stephen Paul from Hamilton Distillery, both of whom will be hanging out during the event to talk about their original whiskeys.

What more can you ask for? Good Oak promises bourbon-friendly food (including barbecue burgers!) on the menu, plus country and blues vinyl all night long.

"Never be the ground/It could end your story," Lenguas Largas singer Isaac Reyes intones at the outset of “Yardsale Heart,” from the Tucson-based garage/psych band’s self-titled 2011 debut album. He then issues a series of commands, extolling the virtues of emotional honesty (“lead a sentimental life”) but warning not to give everything away (“think about your tongue”). The ensuing verses and choruses shroud these contradictory impulses in the language of pop music classicism: “I can’t afford the sweetest girl in town … yardsale heart/just like mine.”

The song’s music is far less mixed-up. Trading Lenguas Largas’ usual inscrutability for a compositional straight line of build, explode and repeat; second verse, same as the first. “Yardsale Heart” fuses a cyclical two-chord frame to an arrangement of near-orchestral grandeur, recalling nothing as much as the early-’60s productions of Phil Spector. The band seemed to not be unaware of the song's anthemic overtones; both Reyes’ lead vocal and the tracks of percussion are significantly louder than those of other songs on the album, bringing the accessibility of “Yardsale Heart” to the forefront and rendering its melodies timeless and indelible. Again, Spector’s influence looms large—if the sweeping introduction of Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” bypassed subsequent verses and skipped directly to its climactic conclusion, the result would be quite similar in tune and spirit to “Yardsale Heart.”

But despite its lyrical clarity of confusion, the track is essentially a blank slate. It's a rallying of ecstasy and a breached dam of romantic anguish. A song of unbridled connection and one of broken convictions. But in its unending waves of sighs, it's unquestionably a triumph of the human comedy.

A research paper from the Learning Policy Institute concludes that there's a nationwide shortage of teachers, and the number of students in teacher education programs has dropped dramatically over the past five years, meaning the shortage is likely to continue.

A recent report from the Arizona School Personnel Administrators Association says Arizona is currently about 2000 teachers short (I haven't been able to locate the report online, so I don't know the details).

The Learning Policy Institute study gave each state a "teacher attractiveness rating." Arizona ranked dead last.

Now there's another study from WalletHub, 2016’s Best & Worst States for Teachers. In this one, Arizona climbs all the way to 49th, ahead of West Virginia and Hawaii. Here are the Arizona rankings by category. Annual salaries: Number 47. Projected teachers per student by the year 2022: Number 50. Pupil-teacher ratio: Number 49. Lowest spending per student: Number 50. School systems ranking: Number 48.

Put them all together, they spell SHORTAGE. (S is for the Sorry school funding. H is for Horrendous teacher pay . . .)

Actor John Krasinski’s second directorial effort is a decent one with a first rate cast.

Krasinski stars as John Hollar, working a dead end job for a publishing company when his girlfriend (the always great Anna Kendrick) informs him his mom (a terrific Margo Martindale) is sick and he’s flying home to see her. Once there, John has to deal with his weird brother Ron (Sharlto Copley), the oddball nurse that is also his old girlfriend’s new husband (Charlie Day) and his weepy dad (Richard Jenkins).

The script goes to some familiar territories, but the performers put new spins on the situations, especially Martindale, who takes the part and really runs with it. Krasinski does a good job handling the script’s many mood swings, and the relationships in the film feel real; that strange kind of real.

The film manages to get laughs, even when the subject matter goes to dark places. It deals with the lousier side of life without getting totally depressing, something that could’ve happened easily. Krasinski makes it all work.

The supporting cast also includes Randall Park, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Josh Groban in small but memorable roles. The soundtrack is stellar, featuring Josh Ritter, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes and Wilco.