If you were a latecomer to the cinematic charms of the Coen brothers, Pittsburgh Filmmakers will provide a primer for the next four weeks.

Its Sunday night series at the Regent Square Theater will open with "Fargo," starring onetime Monessen resident Frances McDormand as a pregnant police chief in Brainerd, Minn., who finds herself investigating three homicides.

Her instincts and hunches, as healthy as her appetite, lead her to a Minneapolis car salesman (William H. Macy) who masterminded a kidnapping scheme gone awry. The 1996 movie won Academy Awards for leading actress McDormand and screenwriters Joel and Ethan Coen.

The April 13 movie will be "Barton Fink," starring John Turturro as a serious New York playwright who goes to Hollywood to write a screenplay in 1941 and descends into, well, hell. Also starring John Goodman, Michael Lerner and John Mahoney, "Barton Fink" has enough images of peeling wallpaper, writer's block and flames to last a lifetime.

"Blood Simple," the brothers' debut feature, will screen April 20. An ingenious thriller from 1984 starring McDormand as a temptress, it cost just $1.5 million and burned the Coens' names into filmgoers' minds with its twisty, twisted tale of adultery and murderous intentions.

The series will close April 27 with "The Big Lebowski," featuring Jeff Bridges as a paunchy aging hippie who likes to bowl, drink White Russians and be called The Dude. When he's mistaken for the Big Lebowski, a millionaire in a wheelchair whose wife goes missing, he enters a Coenian world of mistaken identity, kidnapping, bowling battles and wonderfully photographed fantasies.

All movies start at 8 p.m. at the theater, 1035 S. Braddock Ave.

"She's Out of My League" is looking for more extras, this time to play airline travelers and passengers Monday through Wednesday. You do not have to be available all three days but you should expect to work 10 to 12 hours a day.

Extras earn $7.15 an hour, plus overtime. Men and women of all races, 18 and over, can call 412-434-6416 any time between now and Sunday at 9 p.m. if interested.

The movie stars Jay Baruchel as an average Joe who meets a woman described as a perfect 10. Much to his surprise, she takes an interest in him. The cast also includes Alice Eve as the dream girl and T.J. Miller and Nate Torrence as Baruchel's friends.

The party will be in California wine country, but the menu will have a distinctively Pittsburgh flavor: Iron City Beer, Isaly's chipped ham, Jenny Lee Bakery rolls, Heinz condiments, Betsy Ann Chocolates and gourmet popcorn from Popcorn-N-That. A few Terrible Towels will be in evidence, too.

The occasion will be the premiere of Carl Kurlander's "My Tale of Two Cities" at the Sonoma Valley Film Festival April 11 and 12. The party, casual as the menu might indicate, will follow the screening April 11.

It's scheduled from 5 to 8 p.m. at Steiner's Tavern, 465 1st Street West on the Sonoma Plaza. To RSVP, contact Cait Murray or Kris Veenis at 412-622-1325 or e-mail mytaleoftwocities@gmail.com by Tuesday.

They are also the contact for buying a limited number of reserved $10 tickets for the screenings, both at 3 p.m. Deadline is today. Individual movie tickets also will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at the box-office door.

The movie tells twin stories: One is about Kurlander, the screenwriter-TV producer who moves his wife and their young daughter to Pittsburgh, while the other is about a once-great city trying to reinvent itself.

It's filled with lots of familiar faces, from late Mayor Bob O'Connor and David Newell to Teresa Heinz Kerry and Franco Harris. As reported Feb. 29, the festival also will honor Pittsburgh native, actor and now director Michael Keaton. For information on the festival, visit www.sonomafilmfest.org.

And if you won't be jetting to California, rest assured that plans are under way to show the movie Nov. 28 at the Byham Theater.

"Smart People," filmed in Pittsburgh in late fall 2006, is scheduled to open April 11. It stars Dennis Quaid, Sarah Jessica Parker, Thomas Haden Church and Ellen Page, in her pre-Juno days.

And although dates are always subject to change, Kevin Smith's "Zack & Miri Make a Porno" is slated to arrive in theaters Oct. 31 and "The Road," an adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy novel starring Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron and still shooting here, Nov. 26.

The movie "Graduation," shot in Southwestern Pennsylvania in late summer 2005, will land on DVD May 13.

It stars Adam Arkin as a small-town bank president, cheating husband and father of a member of a high school graduating class who schemes to rob the bank during the graduation ceremony.

The DVD box and advertising campaign, however, will emphasize its young cast, including Shannon Lucio, Riley Smith and Chris Marquette. The disc will include an alternate opening, deleted scenes, bloopers, storyboards and commentary.

The April edition of Film Kitchen will present 13 whimsical shorts by Pittsburgh filmmaker Matthew R. Day.

His films often star his family, friends, animals, puppets, cartoon characters or Day himself. A Pittsburgh native, Day has had his work shown in film and video festivals around the country and online.

In addition to Day, the program will showcase "Oathbreaker," capturing skateboarders in all their grace, glory and wipeouts, by Andrew Nelson.

Film Kitchen, held the second Tuesday of each month at Pittsburgh Filmmakers' Melwood Screening Room, starts at 8 p.m., with a reception at 7. Admission is $4.

Go to www.filmkitchenpgh.org for more information, including how to submit work for possible use.

My colleague Barry Paris and I have been podcasting for a couple of months. We sit down in the PG studio every Wednesday afternoon and talk about that week's new movies and related news. Our podcast is called "Rated PG" for Post-Gazette, but we keep the language PG clean, too.

If you go to the Web page www.post-gazette.com/multimedia/ and look to the left, you will find a link to all podcasts and archives, if you want to play catch-up.

The movie "The Ruins" was not screened in time for reviews. Its first showing was last night at 10.

Based on the Scott Smith novel, the R-rated movie follows vacationing friends who visit a remote archaeological dig in the Mexican jungle and struggle to survive against lurking evils. Cast includes Jena Malone, Laura Ramsey, Jonathan Tucker and Shawn Ashmore.