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OPENING THIS WEEK:

AWAKE—Here’s everything I was able to find out about this movie: It stars Hayden Christensen as a man who, due to faulty anesthesia, is awake but paralyzed throughout his heart surgery, and Jessica Alba as his wife, “must wrestle with her own demons as a drama unfolds around them.” It co-stars Terence Howard, apparently as a doctor (I’m going by a photo here) and Lena Olin, and was directed by some guy I’ve never heard of. Caveat emptor. Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

ETC:

CHANNELS—STORIES FROM THE NIAGARA FRONTIER—Premiere of four short documentaries by local filmmakers about issues of interest to the Buffalo community, produced through the auspices of Squeaky Wheel. The program includes Seth Wochensky’s “A Deck of Cards,” “Prisoners Are People Too!” by East Side historian Douglas Ruffin, “Five Corners,” spearheaded by the Preservation Coalition of Erie County and directed by Jam Vafai, and “Growing Green,” a project of the Massachusetts Avenue Project, directed by Meg Knowles. Free and open to the public. Sat noon. Market Arcade Film and Arts Center, 639 Main St. (855-3022).

CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON—This tribute by director Ang Lee (Eat Drink Man Woman, Sense and Sensibility) to the martial arts movies he loved as a child brought a much-derided genre to the attention of film buffs who would never previously have been caught dead watching a “chop-socky” movie. The story is richly emotional (though occasionally slow-moving). What will dazzle viewers are the set pieces in which fighters fly through the air with the greatest of ease.. It’s not all that different from what audiences have been enjoying for years in China (where this was a substantial flop), but strong production values and a top-flight cast (including Chow Yun Fat and Michelle Yeoh) make it palatable for art house snobs. Presented as part of the Buffalo Film Seminar. Tues. 7 pm, Market Arcade Film and Arts Center, 639 Main St. (855-3022).

ELF—Will Ferrell as a foundling raised as an elf who goes in search of his real father (James Caan) after he gets too big for Santa’s Workshop. Any film that has Edward Asner as Santa Claus and Bob Newhart as his head elf can’t be all bad. But while Ferrell seems finally to have learned how to tone down his “Saturday Night Live” schtick for films, this is too much a vehicle for him: when it gets around to delivering the expected Christmas Message, it’s so half-hearted that you wonder if it’s supposed to be a parody. Zooey Deschanel brightens up the project considerably as the requisite love interest. Directed by Jon Favreau (Made). Fri 8 pm; Fredonia Opera House, 9 Church St. Fredonia (716-679-0891) www.fredopera.org

GASLIGHT (1944)—Classic psychological thriller starring Ingrid Bergman as an innocent heiress whose husband tries to drive her into insanity. With Charles Boyer, Joseph Cotton, Dame May Whitty and Angela Lansbury. Directed by George Cukor (My Fair Lady). Fri 9 pm. The Screening Room, Northtown Plaza in the Century Mall, 3131 Sheridan Drive, Amherst 837-0376

ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)—A huge hit in its day, this drama about union corruption at a New Jersey dock is widely seen as an act of expiation by director Elia Kazan and writer Budd Schulberg for having named names to Communist witchhunters a few years earlier. That doesn’t take away from its effectiveness as a drama or the power of its performances, particularly by Marlon Brando at his peak. With Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint, Martin Balsam and Fred Gwynne. Free and open to the public. Mon, 7:30 pm. Alumni Lounge, Wick Center. Daemen College, 4380 Main (839-8253)

QUICKSAND (Irving Pichel, 1950)—Peter Lorre easily steals the show from star Mickey Rooney in this B noir about an auto mechanic who commits petty theft to impress a trashy woman (Jeanne Cagney). Directed by Irving Pichel. Fri 7:15 pm. The Screening Room, Northtown Plaza in the Century Mall, 3131 Sheridan Drive, Amherst 837-0376

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 (though more than it would have had either Fred Astaire or Donald O’Connor, the first two choices, played opposite Bing Crosby instead of Danny Kaye), 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 who am I to argue with nostalgia at Christmas time? Co-staring Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, and Dean Jagger; look for George Chakiris as a dancer. Directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca). Sat 8 pm; Fredonia Opera House, 9 Church St. Fredonia (716-679-0891) www.fredopera.org