SANTA CRUZ — Soupy fog and drizzle are rarely considered pleasantries for a July 4 celebration — unless the party includes pancakes and a sweaty six-mile sprint up Pogonip.
For Sunday’s 20th annual Firecracker 10K, held at Harvey West Park, the cool weather was welcomed by the 400-plus fun runners.
"The conditions are perfect, but our numbers are a little down this year," said race organizer Celeste Farola, who expected 700 entries.
For the first time, the race was organized by the local Sunrise Rotary Club, which took the race’s reins after budget cuts forced the city’s parks and recreation department to cut the event loose. According to Farola, who has organized the race for a decade, the Rotarians did a bang-up job.
"I think the race is in good hands," she said.
Jeff Kirk, a race director and club member, said the group’s primary goal is to grow the event.
"The city provided us with a lot of cooperation this year," he said. "Next year we hope to get more people here."
Kirk’s plans for pulling a bigger crowd include advertising the event to other California chapters and at venues over the hill.
| "We’d like to get a jump on it a little earlier," he said. Because of the takeover, Rotary has a limited amount of time to organize the event. Still, the race pulled in close to $70,000 for local charities. |
Zieman’s time of 33.16 bested his winning time from last year by over a minute.
0 minutes. Verdict: B+ (Wallace Baine, Sentinel film writer).
‘OPEN WATER’
Santa Cruz Cinema 9, (11:50 a.m.), (1:45), (4), 6:05, 8:10, 10:15 p.m. 460-2599; Scotts Valley Cinemas, (12:45), (2:45), 5, 7, 9 p.m. 438-3260; 41st Ave. Cinemas, (1:10), (3:10), (5:10), 7:20, 9:20 p.m. 479-3504; Green Valley Cinemas, (11:30 a.m.), (1:30), (3:30), 5:30, 7:30, 9:30 p.m. 761-8200 ... (R: Profanity, some nudity.) This indie drama, which caused a buzz at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, features no stars or special effects, only a single scary concept. But it’s still able to frighten even those used to scary movies, essentially because it’s grounded in reality, rather than sick fantasy. A high-stressed couple on a scuba-diving trip in the Bahamas are accidentally left behind in the open ocean. The genius of the film is in its script and the surprises of how the couple react to their appalling predicament. It’s an ideal horror flick for the post-9/11 world, turning something unimaginable into a harsh reality. 1 hour, 19 minutes. Verdict: A. (Joe Baltake, The Sacramento Bee)
‘PRINCESS DIARIES 2: THE ROYAL ENGAGEMENT’
Santa Cruz Cinema 9, (11 a.m.), (1:35), (4:15), 7, 9:30 p.m. 460-2599; Scotts Valley Cinemas, (1), (3:30), 6, 8:30 p.m. 438-3260; Green Valley Cinemas, (11:15 a.m.), (1:45), 4:15, 6:45, 9:15 p.m. 761-8200 ... (G: Fine for family audiences.) This sequel to Disney’s surprise 2001 hit starts out dubiously with a stitched-together plot and a really distasteful, consumerist message aimed at young girls. But the charm of stars Ann Hathaway and Julie Andrews eventually transforms the film into an enjoyable, even touching family film. Hathaway is the San Francisco girl caught by surprise when she learns she is heir to the crown of a tiny European principality. This time, she’s forced to find someone suitable to marry so she can assume the throne from her retiring grandmother (Andrews). Hathaway is a joy to behold but older audiences will find a sense of poignancy when the fabulous Andrews breaks out in song. 1 hour, 55 minutes. Verdict: B (Joe Baltake, The Sacramento Bee).
‘RIDING GIANTS’
Del Mar, (12:10), (2:20), (4:40), 7, 9:10 p.m. 426-7500 ... (PG: Some profanity.) Stacy Peralta (‘Dogtown and Z Boys’) returns with this warm, breezy salute to the pioneers of big-wave surfing, turning his eye most acutely to Waimea Bay icon Greg Noll, Maverick’s pioneer Jeff Clark and Hawaiian demigod Laird Hamilton. Much of the footage of big-wave riding is thrilling, though ‘Giants’ is more about documenting surf culture than providing chills. Surf-film connoisseurs will find a lot of familiar stuff here, but the film makes a point that surf outsiders need to hear: The heyday of the sport wasn’t the Gidget 1960s, but the 1990s. 1 hour, 45 minutes. Verdict: B+ (Wallace Baine, Sentinel film writer).
‘SUSPECT ZERO’
Riverfront Twin, (12:15), (2:40), (5), 7:25, 9:45 p.m. 460-2599; Aptos Cinemas, (1:45), (4:15), 7, 9:30 p.m. 688-6541; Green Valley Cinemas, (12:15), (2:30), (4:45), 7:15, 9:30 p.m. 761-8200 ... (R: Violence, nudity, sex, profanity.) This serial-killer thriller is built around a technological gimmick called ‘remote-viewing,’ sort of ESP powered by GPS. But the suggestion of something supernatural throws this sloppy story into disarray from which it never recovers. Aaron Eckhart is an FBI agent beleaguered with headaches and horrific visions on the hunt for a mad killer (Ben Kingsley) who kills to no discernible pattern. Derivative, thin, not even remotely suspenseful. 1 hour, 37 minutes. Verdict: D (Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News).
‘UNCOVERED: THE WAR ON IRAQ’
41st Ave. Cinemas, (1:20), (3:20), (5:20), 7:30, 9:30 p.m. 479-3504... (Not rated: Could be PG-13 for adult themes.) Robert Greenwald’s documentary lays out in meticulous detail the case again
