Gremlins

Opening:

BALLIN’ AT THE GRAVEYARD—Documentary about the culture of pick-up basketball as seen in an ongoing game held at Albany’s Washington Park. Directed by Basil Anastassiou and Paul Kentoffi. Reviewed this issue. Amherst

GENERATION IRON—Documentary about bodybuilders preparing to compete in the Mr. Olympia competition. Directed by Vlad Yudin. Regal Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria

GRAVITY—Sandra Bullock and George Clooney as astronauts lost in space after their ship is destroyed. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men). Reviewed this issue. Flix, Maple Ridge, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Sunset Drive-In, Transit Drive-In

PARKLAND—The events following the assassination of JFK as they occured at the hospital where he was taken after the shooting. Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Paul Giamatti, Zac Effron, Jacki Weaver, Ron Livingston, and Marcia Gay Hardin. Directed by Peter Landesman. Reviewed this issue. Eastern Hills

RUNNER RUNNER—Justin Timberlake as a grad student who gets in over his head with the off-shore entrepreneur (Ben Affleck) running an online poker empire. Directed by Brad Furman (The Take). Flix, Maple Ridge, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

ETC:

BUFFALO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL— See the feature preview this issue. Screening Room

GREMLINS (1984) and BEETLEJUICE (1989)—Monsters who are as fun as they are destructive in this weekend’s retro 80s drive-in double feature. Transit Drive-In

THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971)—Former film critic Peter Bogdanovich made his name as a director with this adaptation of Larry McMurtry’s novel about a teenager growing up in a small Texas town in the 1950s. Beautifully photographed in black and white and featuring uniformly strong performances by Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, and Oscar winners Cloris Leachman and Ben Johnson. Presented as part of the Buffalo Film Seminar. Market Arcade

RIGOLETTO—Verdi’s opera from the Teatro Antico, Taormina. Starring Carlos Almaguer, Gianluca Terranova, Rocio Ignacio, Gianfranco Montreso. Directed by Enrico Castiglione. Amherst

SHADOWS (1959)—Hallwalls is showing this as part of its series on Jazz Noir, but John Cassavetes’ directorial debut, set in Beat Era New York City, is a arguably the beginning point of the American independent cinema. Starring Ben Carruthers, Lelia Goldoni and Hugh Hurd. Hallwalls