Red Beard

Opening:

ADDICTED—A gallery owner risks her life and career when she has an affair with a painter in what sounds like a Tyler Perry knock-off. Starring Boris Kodjoe and Sharon Leal. Directed by Bille Woodruff (Beauty Shop). Regal Elmwood, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY—Adaptation of the popular children’s book. Starring Ed Oxenbould, Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner. Directed by Miguel Arteta (Cedar Rapids). Flix, Hamburg Palace, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

DRACULA UNTOLD—Nothing about the title makes me want to learn anything more about this one. Starring Luke Evans, Sarah Gadon and Dominic Cooper. Directed by Gary Shore. Flix, Maple Ridge, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

HECTOR AND THE SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS—Simon Pegg as a psychiatrist on the titular quest. The distributor didn’t bother previewing it, but it was directed by the underrated Peter Chelsom (Hear My Song, Funny Bones, Serendipity), who could use a career revival after being reduced to Hannah Montana The Movie. With Rosamund Pike, Jean Reno and Veronica Ferres. Eastern Hills, North Park

THE JUDGE—Sleazy Manhattan lawyer Robert Downey Jr. returns to his Midwestern home town to defend his father (Robert Duvall) on a murder charge in a movie apparently designed for award nominations. With Vera Farmiga, Vincent D’Onofrio, Billy Bob Thornton, and Dax Shepard. Directed by David Dobkin (Fred Claus). Reviewed this issue. Flix, Maple Ridge, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

KILL THE MESSENGER—Jeremy Renner as Gary Webb, the journalist who in 1996 broke the story that the CIA helped fuel the crack cocaine epidemic as part of the Reagan administration’s illegal plan to fund Nicaragua’s Contra War. With Rosemarie DeWitt, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Oliver Platt, and Paz Vega. Directed by Michael Cuesta (TV’s Homeland). Reviewed this issue. Amherst

ETC:

BIPOLARIZED—Documentary about a young man seeking alternative treatments for his mental illness. Part of the Beyond Boundaries film series. Thurs Oct. 16 6:30 pm. Burchfield Penney Art Center, 1300 Elmwood Ave.

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

EDEN AND AFTER (France, 1970)—Concluding Hallwalls’ Alain Robbe-Grillet series is this youth culture film that is appropriately psychedelic (it was his first color film) and exceedingly cryptic. A student (Catherine Jourdan) introduced to a drug called “fear powder” hallucinates a journey to Africa. A mystery involving a stolen painting is of less interest to the filmmaker than a series of tableaux vivantes depicting the sexual activities of the students a la Christian paintings and frescos. Thurs 16 7 pm. Hallwalls

THE EXORCIST (R) and THE SHINING (R)—Better lock those car doors for this drive-in double feature with two of the 1970s most memorable horror movies. Fri-Sun dusk. Transit Drive-In

FRUITVALE STATION (2013)—Acclaimed drama recounting the last day of Oscar Grant, who was shot to death on an Oakland subway station in 1999. Starring Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz and Octavia Spencer. Directed by Ryan Coogler. The screening will be followed by a discussion about police violence and race in America. Free and open to the public. Weds 2:15 pm. 411 Academic Center, D’Youville College, 320 Porter Ave

KATE BORNSTEIN IS A QUEER AND PLEASANT DANGER—Documentary following a tour by the performance artist and writer who has made a career of “exploding binaries and deconstructing gender.” Directed by Sam Feder. Weds 7 pm. Hallwalls

RED BEARD (AKAHIGE, Japan, 1965)—Akira Kurosawa’s atypical but still engrossing drama about a 19th century doctor training with a gruff older physician (Toshiro Mifune) at a clinic for the impoverished. NB: Running time is 185 minutes. Presented by the Buffalo Film Seminars. Tue 7. Amherst

SPIRITED AWAY (Japan, 2001)—Animator Hayao Miyazaki’s masterpiece; children who are lucky enough to see it now may well remember it the way their parents (and grandparents) think of The Wizard of Oz. The adventures of a girl trying to rescue her parents in a land of spirits is rendered in ways that only the animators art can accomplish—you could watch it with no sound and still be captivated by it. Sat & Sun 11:30am. North Park

THE STRANGE COLOR OF YOUR BODY’S TEARS (2013)—A man searches for his missing wife in this tribute to the giallo films of directors like Dario Argento and Mario Bava. Directed by Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani. Thurs Oct. 9 7 pm. Squeaky Wheel

A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE—Gilian Anderson stars as Blanche Dubois in London’s National Theatre revival of the Tennessee Williams’ play. Co-starring Ben Foster and Vanessa Kirby. Directed by Benedict Andrews. Sun 11am; Mon 7. Amherst

THREE ON A MATCH (1932)—Enjoyably tawdry melodrama from Hollywood’s pre-Code era about a housewife who leaves her husband for the high life with a sleazy gangster. The stars are Ann Dvorak and Warren William, but check out the support: Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, and Joan Blondell. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy (I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang). Opening the 32nd season of the Old Chestnut Film Society. Fri 7:30 pm. Philip Sheridan School, 3200 Elmwood (836-4757)