The Friends of Eddie Coyle Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St., Brookline 7:00pm; $9 (Free for members) Paul Sherman wrote the book on movies in Boston. Big Screen Boston, a comprehensive guide to Boston movies and movies set in Boston (there is a difference), provides a narrative for understanding the history of Boston film and a yardstick for judging any future efforts to capture the city on celluloid. Tonight, to celebrate the book's release, the......

Comedy Just when you're sick of all the caucusing and candidate crap, Jimmy Tingle makes a triumphant local return with his show "Jimmy Tingle for President." Bostonist interviewed the candidate, and he's going to have plenty to say. Regent Theatre, Arlington, 8:00 pm. $30 orchestra / $25 balcony. PS--Mr. Tingle himself told Bostonist another show has been added for next Saturday, February 23. Dirty Movies Be careful who sits behind you tonight as sex......

Manchildren Founder of K Records and former member of Beat Happening, Calvin Johnson mastered precious naivete decades before it became the default indie mode. His off-kilter baritone is what sold it, and he's bringing his voice and an acoustic guitar to Cambridge tonight. Teenbeat Records founder Mark Robinson also performs as Cotton Candy. Lily Pad, 1353 Cambridge St., Inman Square, 7:00pm, $10. Men With Children Gibby Haynes of the Butthole Surfers is returning to......

Super Tuesday Obama? Clinton? Romney? Huckabee? Are you getting them all mixed up right about now? Try to get untangled because today is Super Tuesday and the Massachusetts Presidential Primary. Vote so you can at least weed a few of these candidates out. Find out where your polling station is. Girl Scout Cookies Warning: Expensive event ahead. For $45, you can find out what local chefs can do with Girl Scout Cookies, and proceeds will......

Art Although the weather is bone-chilling, the MFA wants to lure you out of the house with free admission until 4:45 this afternoon. Kendrick Oliver and the New Life Jazz Orchestra will also perform in Remis Auditorium between 11:00 am and 3:30 pm. More info from the MFA. Movies One of Woody Allen's best will screen at the Coolidge Corner Theatre as part of the "Science on Screen" series. In Sleeper, Woody Allen is transported......

Movies John Sayles will read from the story behind his latest movie, The Honeydripper. Coolidge Corner Theatre, 6:00 pm. The Sayles reading is followed up by a special screening of Night of the Hunter, which is cosponsored by the New England Institute of Art. Coolidge Corner Theatre, 7:00 pm. Books Bostonist dug Charles Burns before we even knew who he was thanks to his covers for The Believer magazine. Burns will be reading from and......

Birthdays The King's birthday is today! All hail Elvis! Dick's Last Resort, where they tend to celebrate everything Elvis, will be hosting a birthday bash including an Elvis Impersonator contest and a jelly-donut eating contest. Faneuil Hall. 6:00 pm. And keep looking for a post on what to eat tonight in honor of the king … Politics If you see some lost-looking drunk people in suits, it's either campaign workers or reporters who have gotten......

Movies Indie Short Film Night, featuring movies by local filmmakers, including the premiere of "Absent Meaning," which vows that "Nothing is as hopeful as a suicidal Belarusian waitress turned punk rocker!" Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St., Brookline, 9:30 pm, $5. Politics The Iowa caucuses are today. Why should Bostonist worry about what's up in Iowa? Many reasons. First, this is former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney's first big test. Second, the New Hampshire primaries are......

How did The Golden Compass, Juno, and Atonement do critically and commercially? Of Compass and its controversy, the Dig's David Wildman said, "So screw the religious nuts, there's no reason not to see this fun little flick." James Verniere at the Herald disagreed, finding it a "long and often tedious slog." Unless you're a sci-fi fan or want to stick it to The Man, you might want to stay away. The movie opened at Number......

Authorial Intent is Bostonist's wrap-up of local readings. All events are free unless otherwise noted. Wednesday, November 28 Helen Vendler, Our Secret Discipline: Yeats and the Lyric Form, Sacker Museum (via Harvard Book Store), 6:00 pm. More info. Vendler, the closest reader of all close readers, so says the New York Times, shines her spotlight on William Butler Yeats. Thursday, November 29 David Hosp, Innocence, 7:30 pm, Charlestown Branch Library Hosp will be reading from......

The 19th Annual Boston Jewish Film Festival Now through November 11 At almost every theater in town Official site Sometimes film festivals aim to achieve a specific tone each year, or they provide selections that fit neatly into certain genres. This year's Boston Jewish Film Festival selections are unruly. They won't be boxed in. Even when it comes to their screenings, specific movies might be hard to find because they are popping up all over......

"Authorial Intent" is Bostonist's roundup of reading events in the area. All events are free unless otherwise noted. Thursday, November 1 Alice Medrich, 7:00 pm, Brookline Booksmith Not in the mood for candy corn but still craving something sweet? Alice Medrich, aka the "Queen of Chocolate," will inspire your palate in a discussion of her book Pure Dessert: True Flavors, Inspiring Ingredients, and Simple Recipes. Friday, November 2 Paula Kamen, 3:00 pm, Harvard Book Store.......

Science on Screen: Pulse (Kairo) & Alan Lightman Monday, October 29, 7:00pm Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline, $9 (Tickets and more information) Bostonist isn't sure what MIT physicist and novelist Alan Lightman has to do with Pulse, the 2001 Japanese horror masterpiece he will introduce tonight at the Coolidge Corner, but we are also not sure that it matters. We'll take any excuse to see this film. Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa (no relation to Akira), Pulse......

Halloween Horror Movie Marathon Midnight, Saturday October 27-noon, Sunday, October 28 Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline, $20 Bostonist has never understood how The Monster Squad (1987) gained its cult following, but we know better than to argue with its partisans, who will likely be out in force Saturday night. The film kicks off The Coolidge Corner Theatre's 5th Annual 12 Hour Halloween Movie Marathon, which begins at midnight, Saturday and lasts until noon, Sunday. The Monster......

Authorial Intent is Bostonist's wrap-up of readings around the city. Thursday, October 18 Joan Blades, 6:30 pm, Rabb Auditorium, Boston Public Library, Ford Hall Forum Series. Blades is the cofounder of moveon.org, and she's got a lot on her mind besides "General Betray-Us," which Congress gnawed on like they had nothing better to do. She'll be talking about momsrising.org, her organization that pushes for more rights for moms and families. Saturday, October 20 Frank, Mark,......

Chris Marstall, the founder of Tourfilter, decided he wasn't satisfied with helping people track their favorite bands. He realized something was missing when it came to local movie schedules. As Boston movie connoisseurs are aware, Greater Boston is always on top of the film scene. The Brattle Theatre, Coolidge Corner Theatre, the Harvard Film Archive, and the Museum of Fine Arts could keep you in a theatre seat every single night with current arthouse hits,......

Introduction to the Current State of Film Criticism Wednesday, October 17, 7:00pm Traditional and Evolving Models of Film Criticism Thursday, October 18, 10:30am Outlook for U.S. Film Criticism Thursday, October 18, 2:00pm All events are $9.75 and are at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. When it's good, movie criticism is as much of an art as filmmaking itself. Read the works of the late, great Pauline Kael to discover that. Beyond art, movie critics can help......

The Wet Spots With the Boston Babydolls Coolidge Corner Theatre Saturday, October 13, midnight, $16.50 Official site The Wet Spots are a self-proclaimed "kinky" musical duo that claims to be the "product of a foursome between Cole Porter, Annie Sprinkle, Ira Gershwin, and Dr. Ruth." Frankly, that offspring sounds scary as hell, and the Wet Spots are actually a duo--Cass King and John Woods. The pair specializes in bawdy songs with titles such as "Labia......

Adaptations II: Novels into Film Thursday, October 11, 7:30pm, Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline Co-Sponsored by Grub Street Tickets: $15/$12 (for Grub Street or Coolidge Corner members) More information here. As if there weren't enough literary events happening in Boston today, the Coolidge Corner and Grub Street are bringing you their second Adaptations event. As the name implies, the focus is on novels that have been adapted for the screen. Four novelists, Arthur Golden, Russell Banks,......

Authorial Intent spotlights readings throughout the area. All events are free unless otherwise noted. Michelle Wildgen, You're Not You, Wednesday, October 3, 7:00 pm, Brookline Booksmith. In Wildgen's debut novel, which is enjoying glowing reviews, Bec, a drifting college student, takes care of Kate, an older, sophisticated woman dying from ALS. The two grow close, and soon Bec is taking care of business for Kate - such as carrying out a clever little way to......

New England Film and Video Festival Thursday, October 4, through Monday, October 8 Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline All tickets $10 Official Site Full Schedule What with the Red Sox savoring victory and rallies raging at City Hall Plaza, the New England Film and Video Festival planned the opening night for its 32nd year perfectly. On Thursday, the NEFVF will kick off with the documentary Play-by-Play Men and the Art of the Perfect Call, which begins......

J. Cannibal's Feast of Flesh With a screening of The Evil Dead, Black Cat Burlesque, and music by Bad Ash Saturday, September 29, midnight, $10 Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline It's never too early to start thinking about Halloween. This weekend, undertaker and impresario J. Cannibal - also known as local poet Janaka Stucky - is presiding over some midnight macabre mayhem at the Coolidge Corner Theatre with his "Feast of Flesh." Feast of Flesh has......

Yo La Tengo Presents "The Sounds of Science" Tuesday, September 25, 8:00 pm Coolidge Corner Theatre $25 Introduction by Fabien Cousteau The third-annual Muddy River Environmental Film Series is running at Coolidge Corner Theatre. The series covers wine, global warming, and Tuvalu. Closing night features a screening of several works by Jean Painlevé, a nature filmmaker who sounds like a real-life Steve Zissou, only without the silly outfits. Painlevé's images shocked the scientist crowd, not......

A benefit screening of Roller Boogie for the Boston Derby Dames will be Friday, September 14, at midnight, at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. The Boston Derby Dames don't mess around. When the Boston Derby Dames want to kick off their second season, they really don't mess around. They break out the big guns - Linda Blair. Linda Blair, the headspinning projectile vomiter and child star sweetheart of The Exorcist, did a rollerskating romance flick in......

William Gibson will be reading at the Brattle Theatre on Sunday, August 19, at 6:00 pm. Tickets are available through Harvard Book Store. You might want to call them at 617-661-1515 if any are left. He will also read at Coolidge Corner Theatre on Monday, August 20 at 6:00 pm. Tickets are available through Brookline Booksmith. If you were hoping to see the godfather of cybereverything, William Gibson, read from his new book Spook Country......

The Big Lebowski Third Annual Bowling Party Extravaganza will be at Coolidge Corner Monday, August 6, at 7:30 pm. Aspiring "dudes" and nihilists will gather at the Coolidge Corner Theatre to celebrate the Coen Brothers cult classic, The Big Lebowski. While we wouldn't dare to compare a work from the Coen Brothers to Road House, both movies have enduring appeal for their philosophical takes on life. If you've never seen it and you decide to......

Michael Beschloss will read from Presidential Courage: Brave Leaders and How They Changed America, 1789-1989 tomorrow, Tuesday, June 19, at 6:00 pm at Coolidge Corner Theatre. Tickets are $5 and available at Brookline Booksmith. When a president dies, who are the networks gonna call? Historian and brainy talking head Michael Beschloss. Beschloss' latest book evaluates the moments when a president made a lonely, unpopular, and ultimately correct choice. Many of the leaders we admire were......

A Mighty Heart will screen at the Coolidge Corner Theatre tonight, Wednesday, June 13, at 7:30. The sneak preview is free and first-come, first-serve. In A Mighty Heart, Angelina Jolie takes on the meaty role of Marianne Pearl, whose husband, Daniel Pearl, was kidnapped and killed by terrorists while working for the Wall Street Journal in Pakistan. Not only did Marianne Pearl have to cope with the loss of her husband, but she also had......

No one has a more distinctive documentary style than Ken Burns. You know you're watching Burns when the screen goes sepia, when you hear period music, when you see long, slow pans of the camera over still photographs, and when you listen to famous actors squeeze every last emotion out of old letters. Burns, who already covered the Civil War, is back with "The War," a 14-hour documentary on how World War II affected the......

Sister Aimee will screen for free at the Coolidge Corner Theatre tomorrow night, Thursday, March 29, at 7:00 pm. Afterward, author Matthew Avery Sutton will sign copies of Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America at the Coolidge Corner Barnes & Noble. America has a longstanding evangelical tradition. America also has a longstanding tradition of evangelicals falling off their high perches, a la Jim Bakker and, more recently, Ted Haggard. Aimee Semple McPherson......