Film, flapjacks, fall beers, and more events this weekend

By: Jim Martinho - Thursday, Nov 13, 2014 - 4:21pm

(Photo credit: Janine/Creative Commons)

Attention movie buffs: This weekend in Boston you can see a free screening of a new film produced by locals, meet a film and television legend, or eat some pancakes at an indie theater. Or, fine, just drop $20 to see “Interstellar” in IMAX because the Internet has already spoiled half the movie for you anyways and that Matthew McConaughey sure is dreamy.

* Struggling to make ends meet, Philip Waters decides to turn to old habits and sell an exclusive strain of marijuana known as “The Grim Reefer.” Sounds pretty awesome so far, but if  “A Sea of Green” — filmed around Lowell with a cast of underground rappers — is anything like most drug movies, things probably aren’t going to end well. Writer, director, and co-star Myster DL hosts a screening and party with many of the film’s stars tonight at Good Life. 11.13. 8:30p. FREE

* Provided that you’ve heated your griddle to the proper temperature, got your flipping technique down, and always reach for real-deal Vermont maple syrup — not that Vermont Maid brand from the supermarket — pancakes are pretty much the perfect food. But does their deliciousness translate to the visual medium of film? Find out at The International Pancake Film Festival, celebrating animation, puppets, and pancakes tonight at the Brattle Theatre. Admission includes complimentary pancakes. 11.13. 8:30p. $7

* Look, whenever Angela Lansbury comes to Boston, I’m going to let you know about it. Whether it’s for a Q&A after a Harvard Film Archive screening of John Frankenheimer’s “All Fall Down” (1962) or just a brief layover at Logan, I’m going to find out where she’ll be and put it in this column, because Dame Angela Lansbury is a national treasure. Not only was “Murder, She Wrote” a cultural touchstone for a generation, it warned all of us that old people can actually be pretty sneaky and should never be trusted. That show premiered in 1984 and she was already old. Could you imagine being old, and then living for another 30 years? That’s another whole lifetime of old. 11.14. 7p. $12

* It’s OK to admit you’re excited to transition into your fall/winter wardrobe (you have so many nice sweaters!) but it’s also time to transition into a fall/winter beer, which means putting down the Bud Light Straw-ber-ita and walking away slowly until you’re drinking a nice dark imperial stout at the Drink Craft Beer Fall to Winter Fest. Three sessions at the Revere Hotel will feature 25 New England brewers, all bringing along at least one beer made with a fall or winter seasonal ingredient — and not just pumpkin. We’re talking stuff like sweet potatoes, roasted pecans, and foraged sumac. 11.14 and 11.15. 6p and 1p. $50

* These days you expect to find artists working in cool lofts converted from old factories that once housed real factories where men came to work carrying metal lunch boxes instead of hip Jack Spade messenger bags they bought on Gilt. No so with the Fenway Studios, built in 1905 and considered the oldest structure in the country designed solely as artist studios. Check out the building and meet the artists working there at this weekend’s Open Studios, which doubles as a food drive for the Greater Boston Food Bank. 11.15 and 11.16. 11a. FREE 

* Back when San Diego Comic-Con first got started, pretty much no one cared because comics were generally considered to function only as fantasy lands where high school losers could imagine they had superpowers including but not limited to X-ray vision. Then Iron Man started cracking jokes and geek culture became cool and now all the Cons have been taken over by Hollywood studios. What’s a true geek to do? Well, Alternicon is here to remember the media that others forgot: web comics, flash animation, and podcasts. Stop by the Midtown Hotel to check out author panels, workshops, a cosplay contest and more. 11.15 and 11.16. 10a. $30-35

* Every November, the Nave Gallery in Teele Square hosts a Wrap Around Sale of homemade knitted, crocheted, and sewn goods to benefit the Somerville Homeless Coalition. (Hey if you’re going to Alternicon, you should stop by and look for a nice Cosby sweater. You know, for the “Cos”-play contest. You’re so clever!) The sale kicks off Sunday with a dessert reception — FYI, knit hats prevent brainfreeze — and runs through December 14. 11.16. 1p. FREE