OPENING THIS WEEK:

SEVEN POUNDS—Will Smith reunites with The Pursuit of Happyness director Gabriele Muccino in this story of a man mysteriously investigating the lives of seven strangers for the purpose of seeing if they are worthy of his help. Co-starring Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Michael Ealy, and Barry Pepper. Reviewed this issue. Flix, Maple Ridge, Market Arcade, McKinley, Regal Elmwood, Regal Hollywood, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE—Fantasy drama about the adventures of an impoverished teenager in Mumbai, recalled as he becomes a contestant on the Indian version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.” Starring Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor and Saurabh Shukla. Directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting). Reviewed this issue. Amherst, Eastern Hills

YES MAN—Comedy starring Jim Carrey as a loser who tries to get out of his rut by agreeing to say “Yes” to every opportunity that comes his way. With Zooey Deschanel and Terrence Stamp. Directed by Payton Reed (Bring It On). Reviewed this issue. Flix, Maple Ridge, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Hollywood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

ETC:

A CHRISTMAS CAROL (England, 1951)—Generally considered the best film version of the classic Charles Dickens story, with Alistair Sim as Ebenezer Scrooge. Look for Patrick Macnee, “The Avengers’” John Steed, as the young Jacob Marley. Also starring Kathleen Harrison, Mervyn Johns, Hermione Baddeley, Michael Hordern, Miles Malleson, Ernest Thesiger, and Hattie Jacques. Fri-Sat 6:30 pm. The Screening Room, 3131 Sheridan Drive, Amherst (837-0376) www.screeningroom.net

A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983)—Admit it: this is the Christmas movie you’ve seen more than any other, and the only you’re most likely to watch again. Humorist Jean Shepherd’s stories form this basis for this portrait of Christmas in a blue collar midwestern city in the 1930s. Starring Darren McGavin, Melinda Dillon and Peter Billingsley. Directed by Bob Clark (Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things). Tues 7 pm, Hamburg Palace Theatre, 31 Buffalo St, Hamburg (649-2295) www.hamburgpalace.com

GULLIVER’S TRAVELS (1939)—The Fleischer Brothers produced some of the greatest animated shorts of the 1920s and 30s, with characters like Betty Boop and Popeye inhabiting surreally zany backdrops of far greater wit than their rival Walt Disney. Their features, of which this is the best remembered, were tamer, but still worth a look for animation buffs. Weds 1 pm, Hamburg Palace Theatre, 31 Buffalo St, Hamburg (649-2295) www.hamburgpalace.com

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)—Jimmy Stewart gets to see what life for his friends and community would have been like had he never lived in Frank Capra’s holiday classic. Co-starring Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Frank Faylen, Ward Bond, Gloria Grahame, H.B. Warner, Frank Albertson, Sheldon Leonard, and Charles Lane. Fri-Sat 8:30 pm; Sun 7 pm. The Screening Room, 3131 Sheridan Drive, Amherst (837-0376) www.screeningroom.net; Sun 1 pm, Hamburg Palace Theatre, 31 Buffalo St, Hamburg (649-2295) www.hamburgpalace.com