Elizabeth Weintraub • Sacramento Short Sale Agent • Land Park

If you haven't yet had the chance to see Slumdog Millionaire, don't let this opportunity pass you by. It's showing at the Tower Theatre in Land Park, Sacramento. Slumdog Millionaire is my top choice for the best movie of 2008. It's warm yet evil, fascinating yet simple, inspiring yet sad, and it kept me glued to my seat despite its two-hour run time. It's a Hollywood movie at its finest.

My girlfriend, Lisa, will tell you I'm not always the best judge of movies, but that's because I dragged her to see Phantom of the Paradise starring Paul Williams in 1974. It was my second time, her first, and the movie theater was empty. We were the only patrons. I was rattling on about this fabulous movie and great soundtrack while Lisa looked around the theater and said, "If it's so great, how come nobody is here?"

Slumdog Millionaire is about an 18-year-old kid, Jamal, from the slums of Mumbai, India, who appears on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, trying to win the big prize of twenty-million rupees. The night before the last show, Jamal is arrested for cheating. To get out of jail, he has to explain how an orphaned, uneducated kid like him from the slums could know the answers he gave.

It's always in the questions. I once tried out for the Joker's Wild, and I didn't make it because the sample test questions just happened to be about subjects I knew little about. But when I watched the show on TV, I almost always knew all the answers. If Jokers Wild had asked me the right questions, I would have given them the right answers.

One of my favorite parts about Slumdog Millionaire was when the arrogant TV show host fed Jamal an answer. His street smarts helped him decide what to do -- and the looks exchanged between the TV show host and Jamal were priceless.

I'm not going to tell you the rest of the plot because I don't want to spoil the movie for you. But go, you'll walk out of the Land Park Tower Theatre this holiday season feeling a renewed sense of self worth, appreciation for mankind and hope for humanity. After all, Slumdog Millionaire is a love story that expresses love not only between lovers, but between family, friends, strangers and the world.

The Short Sale, by Elizabeth Weintraub, coming from publisher Archer Ellison in January 2009.

Photo: Big Stock Photo

The Land Park Community Association is urging all members to attend the Planning Commission hearing on Thursday, August 14 and support a limitation of new movie screens downtown. The Westfield Corporation has not agreed to limit its expansion of screens for the Downtown Plaza Expansion Project. An increase above four new screens will severely affect our historic Tower Theatre's ability to remain competitive.

If you want to see the Tower Theatre stay in business, please support limiting the new movie screens at the Downtown Plaza. The city is recommending a limit of four new movie screens, bringing the total to 11 for Downtown Plaza, but Westfield is opposing this recommendation. Cinemark Theatre wants to control the single print of art films and show those films downtown on its new screens, which would prevent those movies from being shown at the Tower Theatre. Without single print art films, the Tower Theatre will most likely fold.

Please help the Tower Theatre to stay in business in Land Park.

• What: The Planning Commission Hearing
• When: Thursday, August 14 at 5:30.
• Where: The new City Hall at 915 I Street, first floor, Council Chambers.

I had the pleasure of watching a personal interview between Rebecca Murray from About.com and Brendan Fraser. Rebecca writes the Movie site for About.com, and every woman I know has a crush on Brendan Fraser. Here is her video clip from the Los Angeles Film Festival in which Brendan says he loves About.com and talks about the movie far longer than his PR person suggested he yak. Watching Brendan so enthusiastically describe the movie made me want to go see it. Well, that and I think those glasses are a trip. Besides, Brendan Fraser could read the phone book, and I'd still watch it.

However, I have news for movie goers in Sacramento. Not every movie shows Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3D. First, we went to the United Artists theater at Arden Fair. My husband wanted to catch the early matinee. He says movie theaters really love 3D movies because they can charge an extra $5 per couple -- supposedly to rent the glasses.

United Artists Arden Fair 6 Did Not Show 3D

As we were standing at the ticket counter about to buy our tickets, I noticed a sign that said the movie was not in 3D. How can the movie be shown in 2D when 3D is sort of the purpose of the movie? I was there for the experience, the excitement, the blood rushing adrenaline, and that wasn't going to be possible if the movie wasn't shown in 3D.

Sort of bummed, I sat in the lobby and pecked away on my BlackBerry. Aha. The Regal Natomas movie theater was showing Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3D, and we could still catch the matinee if we hustled. We settled into our $10-a-piece seats just as the movie started.

Regal Natomas Stadium 16 Shows Journey 3D

It's the kind of movie you go to see because you want to experience the thrills and be entertained. You don't necessarily believe the dialog, storyline or characters, but you don't have to. The roller-coaster ride on the mine coal cars kept me on the edge of my seat, but so did those flying fish with the enormous choppers and the thundering dinosaurs.

There's also plenty of humor in the movie. At one point, Trevor (Brendan Fraser), Hannah (Anita Briem), the mountain guide, and Trevor's 13-year-old nephew Sean came upon a cave filled with jewels. Hannah spied a pile of gleaming red stones and sighed, "Oh, rubies." Sean, being the kid that he is and thinking about buying a Maserati, is climbing up the wall and plucking off giant diamonds. Trevor cocks his sideways looking at a cave wall and gushes, "feldspar." Which would have been funnier if the producers knew anything about geology. Feldspar is a very common mineral. And it wouldn't have been found in that part of the world, says my husband. Perhaps Pica would be funnier. But I digress, and it's not really important to the overall movie that it be believable any more than saying the illuminated bluebirds had to be real.

Although, I did learn that magnesium is flammable. The movie may disregard the law of physics and gravity, but as C Tann-Starr says, "Hello! It's a movie about going to the center of the earth."

For pure entertainment value, I give it two thumbs up! Just make sure the movie theater you choose shows it in 3D.

Photos: Elizabeth Weintraub

We arrived at the theater at the mall downtown Sacramento about 15 minutes before showtime on Sunday. The line snaked almost all the way to Macy's. My husband observed, "Everybody in this line is here to see Sex and the City."

How do you know that, I asked? There were at least five other movies playing.

"Because all the men look sad and the women are happy," he responded.

For those of you who haven't yet seen this film -- or maybe for those of you who would rather poke your eyes with a stick than go to this movie -- let me tell you the best parts. The best part was when Mr. Big built a Neiman-Marcus-worthy walk-in shoe closet for Carrie. It had an eretheal feel to it, like maybe a scene out of the Narnia movies. No, wait, the best part was when Carrie beat up Mr. Big with her bouquet -- rose petals flying everywhere. No, maybe the best part was how Samantha told the heckler at the rehearsal dinner to shut up -- I've always wanted to use her exact words myself.

Oh, maybe the best part was the whole movie. It wasn't a great movie as far as movies go, but for Sex and the City fans, it was decent. Now, if you ask my husband, he will disagree. He will say that diarrhea in your pants is no laughing matter, but then he's never been to any wild parties in Mexico in his younger days, if you know what I mean.

I don't know yet what I have to do to make up for dragging him to see Sex and the City. It will be something. I'm in the minus-points zone now, and those of you who are married know what I am talking about. Most relationships are give and take. Now that my husband has given, he gets to take something. I hope he doesn't make me go on a nine-mile hike hoisting a backpack up a steep mountain. Or force me to watch a a Jackie Chan movie or, horrors, insist that I make my own dinner some night or do laundry.

Photo: Big Stock Photo