Panic in Needle Park

Opening

THE LORAX—Animated adaptation of the 1971 ecological parable by Dr. Seuss. With the voices of Danny DeVito, Ed Helms, Zac Efron, and Taylor Swift. Directed by Kyle Balda and Chris Renaud (Despicable Me). Aurora, Flix, Maple Ridge, Market Arcade, New Angola, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

PROJECT X—Three high school seniors throw a wicked party. Starring Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper, and Jonathan Daniel Brown. Directed by Nima Nourizadeh. Reviewed this issue. Flix, Maple Ridge, Market Arcade, McKinley, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

A SEPARATION—Winner of this year’s Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, a drama from Iran detailing the complications that ensue when a couple decide to divorce because the mother wants to take their adolescent daughter to another country. Starring Peyman Maadi, Leila Hatami, and Sareh Bayat. Directed by Asghar Farhadi (About Elly). Reviewed this issue. Amherst, Eastern Hills

ETC:

APACHE 8—Documentary about Apache women who work as professional forest fire fighters. Part of the International Women’s Film Festival. Market Arcade

THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998)—Jeff Bridges as the ultimate slacker in this oddball tribute to the Philip Marlow genre concocted by the Coen Brothers. Co-starring John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, David Huddleston, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Tara Reid, David Thewlis, and John Turturro. Screens

DEMENTIA 13 (1963)—Francis Ford Coppola’s first full feature film low-budget but effective Psycho-inspired shocker about a women scheming to get a cut of her late husband’s ancestral estate. Starring William Campbell, Luana Anders, and Patrick Magee. Screening Room

GRAVITY WAS EVERYWHERE BACK THEN—Hallwalls artist in residence Brent Green screens his first feature film (with live musical accompaniment), based on the true story of a Kentucky man who tried to build a house that would heal his wife’s cancer. Hallwalls

THE LADY IS WILLING (1942)—Marlene Dietrich is a bit out of her comfort zone in this screwball comedy as a Broadway star who “adopts” a baby by stealing it from the scene of an accident and then pressures staid pediatrician Fred MacMurray to help her keep it. Directed by Mitchell Leisen (Remember the Night). Fri 7:30pm. The Old Chestnut Film Society, Philip Sheridan School, 3200 Elmwood (836-4757)

MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA (USSR, 1929)—Dziga Vertov’s documentary about a day in the life of Moscow and its citizens may well be the single most influential film ever made, for its exhilarating range of stylistic techniques. With A Trip to the Moon (1902), by Georges Méliès, the subject of Martin Scorsese’s Hugo. Screening Room

PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK (1971)—Prior to The Godfather, Al Pacino had his first starring role in this grim drama about heroin addicts in New York City. Working from a script by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, director Jerry Schatzberg works to make the details of lives spent chasing the next fix as accurate as possible, and the result is not always pleasant but generally compelling. With Kitty Winn, Raul Julia, and Paul Sorvino. Part of the Midnight Beacon midnight film series. Market Arcade

THE MUSIC ROOM (JALSAGHAR, 1958)— Satyajit Ray’s early masterpiece, filmed prior to the conclusion of his Apu trilogy, about an aristocrat determined to keep up appearances despite his failing finances. Presented as part of the Buffalo Film Seminar. Market Arcade

NIGHT TRAIN TO MUNICH (1940)—Fast-paced cloak and dagger thriller pitting British agent Rex Harrison against Nazis in an effort to get a Czech scientist and his daughter out of Germany. Co-starring Margaret Lockwood, Paul Henreid, and Basil Radford. Directed By Carol Reed (The Third Man). Screening Room

TREELESS MOUNTAIN—Two young Korean children struggle to adapt to life after their mother leaves them with an aunt while she searches for their father. Directed by So Yong Kim. Part of the International Women’s Film Festival. Market Arcade