Paths of Glory

Opening

GHOST RIDER: SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE—Everyone hated the 2007 original starring Nicolas Cage as a biker who sells his soul to the devil (MetaCritic scored it 35 out of 100, imdb 5.2 out of 10), but hey, that’s no reason not to make a sequel. With Ciarán Hinds, Idris Elba, and Christopher Lambert. Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor (Crank). Flix, Maple Ridge, Market Arcade, McKinley, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY—Japanese animated feature about a four-inch tall family that lives hidden beneath the floorboards of a house. With the voices of Saoirse Ronan, Mark Strong, and Will Arnett. Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi. Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

THIS MEANS WAR—Action comedy with Chris Pine and Tom Hardy as CIA operatives battling for the love of Reese Witherspoon. Reviewing it for Variety, Todd McCarthy says “A month and a half into the new year and already a candidate for the worst of 2012.” Directed by McG (Terminator Salvation). Flix, Maple Ridge, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

ETC:

CASABLANCA (1941)—Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in what is by general consensus Hollywood’s greatest romance. Call it a miracle of studio craftsmanship, a whole that exceeds the sum of its parts, and an almost mythological example of why we love movies so much. Directed by Michael Curtiz. With Paul Heinreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, S. Z. Sakall, and Dooley Wilson. Screening Room

IN A YEAR OF THIRTEEN MOONS (Germany, 1978)—Was Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s film an inspiration for Hedwig and the Angry Inch? Volker Spengler stars as a drifter trying to come to grips with his life after undergoing a sex-change operation to impress an indifferent lover. Part of the Midnight Beacon midnight film series. Market Arcade

PATHS OF GLORY (1957) Stanley Kubrick focuses on the insanity of war in this true story from World War I. Kirk Douglas gives one of his best performances as an army lawyer charged with defending three innocent soldiers in a kangaroo trial designed to cover up the incompetence of generals who sent their men on a suicidal mission. With Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou, George Macready, and Timothy Carey. Presented as part of the Buffalo Film Seminar. Market Arcade.

PINK RIBBONS, INC.—Documentary that asks whether all those pink-themed charity events do more harm than good by obscuring the real issues in breast cancer, specifically why incidence of the disease have increased geometrically in recent decades. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion with breast cancer researchers, survivors, patient advocates, and public health professionals. Part of the International Women’s Film Festival. Thu Feb 23, 7pm. Market Arcade

SLEEP FURIOUSLY—Film portrait of life in a Welsh farming community where filmmaker Gideon Koppel’s parents settled after escaping Nazi Germany. Hallwalls

THE TESTED—Three characters cope in the aftermath of a shooting that has taken the life of an African-American teenager. Co-star Aunjanue Ellis will be present for this screening that opens the tenth anniversary edition of the WNY Black Film Festival. Sat 5:30pm. Market Arcade.

WITHIN THE WHIRLWIND—True story based on the memoirs of Evgenia Ginzburg, a Russian teacher who spent ten years in Stalin’s Siberian gulag. Starring Emily Watson, Ian Hart and Ulrich Tukur. Directed by Marlene Gorris (Antonia’s Line). With the short film “I Was the Child of Holocaust Survivors.” Opening this year’s International Women’s Film Festival. Thu Feb 16, 7pm. Market Arcade