Deal or no deal

Moon  isn’t the only low-budget sci-fi movie opening in town this week. At the Reading Gaslamp there’s Sleep Dealer, an impressive, much smaller film from Alex Rivera. This one is set right in our backyard, just south of the border, but in the freakish corporate dystopia of Sleep Dealer, the border has long since been closed and robots do the world’s heavy labor. Those robots need to be controlled by someone, and that’s where the cheap Mexican labor comes in.

After his dad dies, Memo (Luis Fernando Peña) is a poor analog migrant headed to Tijuana, where he hopes to get a node job. By implanting little devices in his body, he’ll be able to work in the node factories, literally connecting his body to a mainframe, which will enable him to control a robot via a virtual-reality interface. For example, a robot nanny in Iowa is being manipulated by a digital sweatshop worker in Tijuana—in Memo’s case, he’s controlling a robot doing construction in Downtown San Diego and desperately trying to send money home to his mother and brother.

Sleep Dealer is both smart and clever, and even if some of the effects looks like it could be at home in a Sci-Fi Original Movie, more often than not the results are surprisingly sharp. Sure, there’s social commentary, and it’s on point, simply using technology to draw attention to the current state of the border

Nodes are illegally installed by “coyoteks.” To take a break, exhausted node workers visit bars, where they experience live node girls. You get the idea. There are shades of The Matrix, eXistenZ, Total Recall and Brazil, and though Sleep Dealer may not be the equal of those films, it certainly puts Alex Rivera on the list of up-and-coming directors to watch.

Opening

Food, Inc.: A documentary about how fucked-up the food system is in this country. Pass the buttered popcorn.

Moon: Director Duncan Jones delivers an impressive debut, and Sam Rockwell gives one of his best performances to date as a lonely miner on the far side of the moon whose entire worldview changes after he finds a body out on the surface. See our review on Page 22.

The Proposal: Ryan Reynolds is Sandra Bullock’s assistant. She pushes him into a marriage of convenience (at least for her), but we’re guessing it sticks.

Revanche: The lives of a crook and a cop intertwine in this Austrian thriller that was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Oscar.

The Year One: Jack Black and Michael Cera star in what could be subtitled History of the World, Part 2.

One Time Only

Foxy Brown: Pam Grier is foxy, and she gets around. She’s foxy, and she’s always down. A blaxploitation classic. Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 17, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma. Free.

Office Space: Work sucks. Mike Judge knows. There’s a reason this has become a pop-culture touchstone. Screens at 9 p.m. Wednesday, June 17, at Stone Brewery and Bistro in Escondido. Free.

Women Without Men: Noted Iranian artist Shirin Neshat will screen her work-in-progress film adaptation of Shahrnush Parsipur’s novel, followed by a Q&A moderated by curator Neil Kendricks. Screens at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 18, at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego’s La Jolla location.

A Film of Love and Anarchy: The San Diego Italian Film Festival presents Lina Wertmuller’s 1973 picture. Set in the 1930s, Giancarlo Giannini is a farmer caught up in the anti-fascist movement whose first assignment is to assassinate Mussolini. Screens at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 18, at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park. Donation suggested.

Roman Holiday: Audrey Hepburn won the Best Actress Oscar for Roman Holiday in 1953. This is one of the greatest date films ever, and the chemistry between her and newsman Gregory Peck is what makes it all work. Screens at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, June 18, through Sunday, June 21, kicking off the summer series at Cinema Under the Stars in Mission Hills.

Race is the Place: A documentary to a hip-hop beat that explores what the color of your skin might mean. Screens at 7 p.m. Friday, June 19, at Centro Cultural de la Raza in Balboa Park. Donation suggested.

The Muppet Movie: Everyone needs an origin story, including the Muppets. Find out how Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie and the rest got the standard rich-and-famous contract. Screens at midnight Saturday, June 20, at the Ken Cinema.

Happy-Go-Lucky: Mike Leigh’s latest is a change in direction. Instead of exploring the nasty side of the human condition, he looks at Poppy (Sally Hawkins), an effervescent schoolteacher who won’t grow up. Screens at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 21, at the Central Library, Downtown. Free.

The Red Violin: Gorgeous French film about a red instrument that inspires different individuals over three centuries. Screens at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, June 21, at Café Libertalia in Hillcrest. Free.

A Thousand Years of Good Prayers: This lovely little movie from Wayne Wang finds Mr. Shi traveling from Beijing to the U.S. after his daughter’s divorce. He’s got a plan to get her back on track and save her marriage, but she couldn’t be less interested. Screens at 6:30 p.m. Monday, June 22, at the Central Library, Downtown. Free.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: Sometimes, with distance, a crappy movie looks better. Not this one. Screens at dusk on Tuesday, June 23, at Viejas Outlet Center. Free.

Dazed and Confused: Richard Linklater’s epic look at the lives of middle-school and high-school kids on the last day of school in 1976 is one of the best movies about the 1970s—ever. Even if it unleashed Matthew McConaughey’s career. Screens at 8 p.m. Wednesday, June 24, at The Pearl Hotel in Point Loma. Free.

Iron Man: Yes, the Robert Downey Jr. superhero movie was one of the most entertaining of 2008. But that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be mocked. Catch the movie with running commentary from the fine folks at Rifftrax at 9 p.m. Wednesday, June 24, at Stone Brewery and Bistro in Escondido. Free.

Now playing

Away We Go: Director Sam Mendes continues his examination of the American psyche with this road-trip comedy about a young pregnant couple (John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph) looking for parenting role models.

Emilio: Landmark Theatres founder Kim Jorgensen sits in the director’s chair for this picture, about a young Mexican man making his way to L.A. to find his missing sister.

Harvard Beats Yale, 29-29: Documentary about an epic football game between a bunch of snotty rich kids.

Imagine That: The latest Eddie Murphy family flick finds financier Eddie solving his problems via his daughter’s imaginary world.

Street Dreams: A talented young skateboarder is in trouble in school and with the law. The story you’ve seen before, but the skating looks awesome.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3: Whenever this remake, which stars Denzel Washington as a subway dispatcher and John Travolta as the guy who takes a subway car hostage, slows down, it’s easy to see how ridiculous it is.

Departures: This Japanese film about a cellist who becomes a mortician of sorts earned the Best Foreign Film Oscar in February.

Outrage: Kirby Dick’s documentary takes on closeted conservative politicians. And, yes, he names names.

The Hangover: They cut a good trailer for Todd Phillips’ new film, about three buddies—Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis—who wake up the morning after a brutal bachelor party with no memory of what happened or where the groom is.

Little Ashes: Yes, another film about Salvador Dali. In this one, however, the surrealist is played by Twilight vampire hunk Robert Pattinson.

Land of the Lost: Will Ferrell turns a totally cheesy TV show into a big-screen movie whose trailer can’t even make it look good.

My Life in Ruins: It’s hard to believe how much money My Big Fat Greek Wedding made. Well, the star and writer of that movie, Nia Vardalas, is back, and this time she’s going to Greece.

Drag Me to Hell: Sam Raimi returns to his roots with a small horror film that stars Alison Lohman as a sweet girl going to hell.

Easy Virtue: Period comedy starring Jessica Biel as a goofy American who marries into an uptight British family.

Up: The trailer for Pixar’s first 3D film doesn’t sell it, but this story of an old man who flies his house to South America via helium balloons is just as good as what you’ve come to expect from those guys.

Valentino, the Last Emperor: Documentary about the legendary designer Valentino Garavani.

The Girlfriend Experience: Porn star Sasha Grey stars in Steven Soderbergh’s new film, examining the life of a top-shelf call girl.

The Brothers Bloom: Dirty-rotten-scoundrel brothers Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo target wealthy heiress Rachel Weisz as their final mark before leaving the business.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: CGI history-revision lesson with Ben Stiller and Robin Williams.

Summer Hours: Three adult siblings are forced to revisit their childhood when their mother dies and they need to go through her things.

Terminator Salvation: The franchise reboot, which stars Christian Bale as humanity savior John Connor, has some mind-blowing action sequences, but they’re not enough to make you ignore the timeline issues the movie doesn’t address.

Angels and Demons: More fun than The Da Vinci Code, but just as stupid.

Rudo y Cursi: Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna reunite for the first time since they made Y Tu Mama Tambien, playing small-town brothers who find success playing soccer on the national level and also find themselves succumbing to all the temptations that come with fame.

Star Trek: The JJ Abrams-directed franchise reboot boldly goes to the heart of the original show and makes it fun again. It’s fun, fresh and exciting, the first badass Trek movie since The Wrath of Khan. Good for Trekkies, good for non-Trekkies and great for Trek.

Every Little Step: Meta documentary about Broadway hopefuls auditioning for a revival of A Chorus Line, a musical about Broadway hopefuls auditioning for a Broadway musical.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine: Critic-proof summer blockbuster that kicks off the entire season. Decent action sequences, sure, but we prefer our Wolverine to be a short, squat badass, not a brooding sex symbol.

Obsessed: Idris Elbra, aka The Wire’s Stringer Bell, has a gorgeous wife in Beyonce and a gorgeous stalker in Ali Larter. Things could be worse.

The Soloist: Adaptation of Los Angeles Times writer Steve Lopez’s book, about the talented homeless musician (Jamie Foxx) he befriended. Robert Downey Jr. plays Lopez.

17 Again: Teen heartthrob Zac Ephron is an old dude who suddenly gets young again. You know, like Benjamin Button.

Sin Nombre: Cary Fukunaga’s first feature earned him this year’s Best Director award at Sundance. It’s a harrowing tale of two immigrants—one a Mexican gang member, the other a young Honduran girl—who find themselves connected through violence as they head north.

Fast and Furious: Vin Diesel and Paul Walker re-team for the fourth entry in the fast-car franchise.

Sunshine Cleaning: Almost a sequel to Little Miss Sunshine. Some of the same producers are on board, the film is also shot in New Mexico and Alan Arkin plays pretty much the same part. Still, it has that vibe that made LMS so appealing, as Amy Adams and Emily Blunt play sisters who start a business cleaning up violent crime scenes.

Ongoing

Reuben H. Fleet Science Center Space Theater: After undergoing significant renovations, the Fleet is re-opening its dome Imax theater, complete with a kick-ass new screen. Films vary week-to-week. Showtimes and prices can be found at www.rhfleet.org.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show: No, it’s not a time warp—the love-it-or-hate-it camp classic continues its midnight run in its 37th year of release. When the lead character of the film is a transvestite scientist named Dr. Frank-N-Furter, you know you’re in for some seriously trashy viewing. And, of course, this is the one movie where you want the audience shouting at the screen. Screens Fridays at midnight at La Paloma Theater in Encinitas.