Opening:

OUT OF THE FURNACE—Rust Belt badasses out for revenge. They didn’t preview it, so pardon me for being vague. Starring Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard, Woody Harrelson, Forest Whitaker, and Willem Dafoe. Directed by Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart). Flix, Maple Ridge, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

ETC:

A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983) and ELF (2003)—Anyone can sit at home and watch Ralphie’s quest to get a Red Ryder air rifle from Santa Clauson TV; it takes a Buffalonian to see it at the drive-in, which you can do this weekend. Transit Drive-In

MADOKA MAGICA 3: REBELLION—Film adaptation of the anime series, also known as Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie Part III: The Rebellion Story. Screening Room

NATIONAL THEATRE: 50 YEARS ON STAGE—Previewed in “See You There”. Amherst

PETER GABRIEL: NEW BLOOD—Concert documentary of Peter Gabriel’s 2011 concert at the Hammersmith Apollo theater in London, performing 22 of his classic songs accompanied by a 45 piece orchestra. Amherst

SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS (1964)—If Ed Wood had made a holiday movie, it would have looked like this gloriously godawful no-budget Chrisploitation turkey. A camp classic even before we realized that the 9-year-old actress playing Martian child Girmar was the one and only Pia Zadora. Best seen at a venue that sells beer and wine. Screening Room

LA TRAVIATA—From the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Verdii’s opera starring Diana Damrau, Giuseppina Piunti, and Mara Zampieri. Conducted by Daniele Gatti and directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov. Amherst

WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954)—It’s hasn’t aged terribly well, the mawkishness of the plot is mitigated only by the film’s failure to pay much attention to it, and the title song (which first appeared over a decade earlier in Holiday Inn) is framed with the reverence of a visit from the Pope. But I can never let December go by without watching it. Starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, and Dean Jagger. Directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca). Screening Room