First it was a mine that exploded in the middle of the Moroccan desert. Years later, it was a stray bullet that lodged in his brain... Bazil doesn't have much luck with weapons. The first made him an orphan, the second holds him on the brink of sudden, instant death. Released from the hospital after his accident, Bazil is homeless. Luckily, our inspired and gentle-natured dreamer is quickly taken in by a motley crew of junkyard dealers living in a veritable Ali Baba's cave. The group’s talents and aspirations are as surprising as they are diverse. Then one day, walking by two huge buildings, Bazil recognizes the logos of the weapons manufacturers that caused all of his misfortune. He sets out to take revenge, with the help of his faithful gang of wacky friends. Underdogs battling heartless industrial giants, our gang relives the battle of David and Goliath, with all the imagination and fantasy of Buster Keaton...  From the imagination ofJean-Pierre Jeunet, the director of Amelie and The City of Lost Children. A masterpiece! Visually enthralling! Boundlessly inventive!

Tickets are $10 or $8 for matinees.

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work takes the audience on a year-long ride with legendary comedian Joan Rivers in her 76th year of life. 

The documentary, starring Rivers, her daughter Melissa, Don Rickles and Kathy Griffin, peels away the mask of the iconic comedian and exposes the struggles, sacrifices and joy of living life as a ground-breaking female performer. The film is an emotionally surprising and revealing portrait of one the most hilarious and long-standing career women to ever break into the business. Roger Ebert calls the film, “One of the most truthful documentaries about show business,” he’s seen, also the funniest. Leonard Maltin says it’s “an absolutely riveting portrait of a woman who is a creature of show business: tireless, ageless, unforgiving – and always, always funny.”  Peter Travers of the Rolling Stone calls A Piece of Work “profanely hilarious,” and cautions readers to, “fasten your seat belts, this doc will be a revelation.”  No matter what you think of Rivers, you’ll come away with a new appreciation for one of the most transgressive and fearless comedians, and one of the quickest, fastest and most merciless in show business today.

Tickets are $10 or $8 for matinees.

It's 1937 Los Angeles. Specializing in cases of cheating spouses, private investigator Jake 'J.J.' Gittes is tailing Hollis Mulwray, whose wife suspects him of marital infidelity. Mulwray is the high profile chief engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. Him being high profile is because of the chronic drought in the Los Angeles area and the importance of fresh water to the growing community. Most of what Gittes witnesses in following Mulwray are some usual and some not so usual business dealings, among the former being a public meeting for construction of a new dam to create an additional water supply for Los Angeles, the dam which Mulwray opposes. But Gittes eventually witnesses Mulwray meeting with a young unknown woman who is not his wife. Once news of the supposed tryst between Mulwray and this woman hits the media, additional information comes to light that makes Gittes believe that Mulwray is being framed for something and that he himself is being set-up. Gittes is assisted in his investigation of the issue behind Mulwray's framing and his own set-up by Mulwray's wife, Evelyn Mulwray. Despite Evelyn's help, Gittes also believes that she isn't being totally forthright with him. The further he gets into the investigation, the more secrets he uncovers about the professional and personal dealings of the Mulwrays, which includes Mulwray's former business partnership with Evelyn's father, Noah Cross. The identity of the unknown woman may be the key to uncovering the whole story. -IMBD

Presented by The State Theatre Cinema Club.

This latest offering from writer/director Todd Solondz finds friends, family and lovers struggling to find love, forgiveness and meaning in an unpredictable and volatile world riddled with comedy and pathos. Life During Wartime glances backward at the 1998 Happiness, the director’s postmodern look at a dysfunctional family. Solondz updates the characters and their stories in this heady mix of deadpan humor that boldly uses such topics as pedophilia, race and terrorism to plead the need for forgiveness at a personal and national level. The setting again is Miami’s Jewish community, with a mar mitzvahs, neuroses and fixation on Israel, which becomes an instant microcosm for all America. Profound in its funny hipness, it shows Solondz as the true heir to Woody Allen, albeit on a far kinkier and politically/socially engaged level. This could be the film that enlarges Solondz's list of loyal fans, who at the moment are clustered around film festivals. The cast includes Shirley Henderson, Allison Janney, Charlotte Rampling, Paul Ruebens and Ally Sheedy.

Tickets are $10 or $8 for matinees.

Chhevan Dariya is the expression commonly associated with the abundance of drugs and alcohol that permeates the land of five rivers. Punjabis have always thought of themselves as being the proud natives of the land of five rivers, but question where the destructive sixth river emerged from. The film Chhevan Dariya (The Sixth River) is a loud and clear clarion call to the positivity, fortitude and the spirit of Chardhikala of those born in the land of five rivers to take up cudgels against the destructive forces rampant in their dear land. The film depicts how drug abuse can destroy friends and how a hapless old man is left alone without a family. The film also highlights the malady of poor leadership and stresses the need for quality leaders. Starring Gulshan Grover, Neena Gupta, Lakhvinder Wadali, Manpreet Singh and Navneet Kaur  www.sixthriverfilm.com

Sunday, Sept. 12 at 4 p.m.; Doors open at 3 p.m.

Admission: $10 adults and $8 for children 8 years of age and under

Bear Country is a comedy written and created by Josh Carlson and Jon Gianelli, two filmmakers from Modesto.  It was filmed in the Yosemite and Stanislaus County areas with a budget of under $4,000.The story follows the adventure three young men who have been best friends since childhood. Phil is moving to New York to follow a career he feels obligated to take. His carefree friend Randy decides he and their other friend Jacob need to get away for a week to have one last adventure together. Randy drags his buddies to push past their comfort level and get back to nature whether they like it or not.  On their way, they encounter a strange cast of characters and obstacles and it soon becomes a survival trip and a race to get Phil back in time to make his flight. They must learn to work together to find food, water and shelter, and to make it back home.

Featuring music from Oakdale band The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit and other bluegrass and old-time bands.

This film contains adult content and adult language.

Doors at 6:30; film at 7 p.m.

Admission: $10

Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman star in this adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s novel of romance and action during the Spanish Civil War.  “I don’t know how to kiss, or I would kiss you.  Where do the noses go?”  Print courtesy of UCLA Film and Television Archive.

Presented by the Modesto Film Society.

What’s the highest-grossing musical of all time? Grease! Could it get any better than the 1978 original? The answer is a resounding “yes!” The State just obtained the newly restored and remastered 35mm print being released to select theaters throughout the U.S., so be sure and join hundreds of other Grease fans when they sing along to the best high school musical – ever! Dress up as your favorite character from the film, compete for prizes, and dance in the aisles while Rydell High’s most famous graduating class – including greaser Danny Zuko (John Travolta), good girl Sandy Olsen (Olivia Newton-John) , the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies – romp their way through a summer of love. If you’re longing for the a return to the good old days of the ‘50s, come to The State and sing away your cares to favorites from “You’re The One (That I’m With),” “Summer Nights,” “Beauty School Dropout,” and the now-famous “Greased Lightning.” As always, there will be fun giveaways and drink specials so mark your calendar now for Fri. Sept. 24 at The State.

Doors at 6; film at 7 p.m.

Ruba Nadda’s gorgeous Cairo Time – which won Best Canadian Feature Film at the Toronto Film Festival – will no doubt be compared to Lost in Translation and Before Sunset, delicate tales of dislocated souls who find solace in other, equally dislocated souls, usually in a foreign land. Usually these people are already married, or a least come with complicated baggage, but it’s this wistful yearning, this sense of tragedy and lost time that makes these kinds of movies special. Cairo Time is definitely the least of the three movies, mainly because it never trusts itself enough to get truly lost. Yet, even in its careful hesitation, it finds a kind of grace. Cairo Time has three stars: the luminous Academy Award nominee Patricia Clarkson, the lanky, gentle Alexander Siddig (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Syriana), and the city of Cairo itself.  A quiet and disarming love story! Lovingly made; exquisitely photographed! (By Jeffrey M. Anderson, San Francisco International Film Festival.)

Tickets are $10 or $8 for matinees.

Save Mart Cares and the Stanislaus Literacy Center present Wine, Jazz and a Movie, an evening that opens with live jazz and an hour-long reception in which guests will sample a sumptuous array of wines and cheeses, have an opportunity to bid on select silent auction items, and concludes with the 2010 Oscar-nominee for Best Motion Picture of the Year Precious: Based on the novel “Push” by Sapphire*.  Two of the film’s actors, Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’Nique, were nominated for Oscars for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role and Best Actress in a Supporting Role, respectively. Mo’Nique took home the Academy Award, along with BAFTA and Black Reel awards for her turn as Mary, a verbally and physically abusive mother to Clareece “Precious” Jones, an overweight, illiterate Harlem teen who is pregnant with her second child. When Precious is invited to enroll in an alternative school, her life undergoes dramatic changes in this drama whose tagline is: Life is hard. Life is short. Life is painful. Life is rich. Life is…Precious.

One hundred percent of the proceeds from the evening go to benefit the Stanislaus Literacy Center, a non-profit corporation in partnership with the community – business, education and government – whose mission is to teach adults and their families basic education skills, help parents become their child’s first and best teacher, and to prepare a more productive workforce. Read + Write + Work = Success

*This film is rated (R) due to its adult content and is not suitable for children.

Admission is $30