Opening This Week

THE BOONDOCK SAINTS II: ALL SAINTS DAY—In this sequel to the 1999 cult hit, the trigger-happy McManus brothers are called back to Boston from Ireland by a killer trying to imitate their style. Starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, Billy Connolly, Clifton Collins Jr., Julie Benz, Peter Fonda, and Judd Nelson. Directed by Troy Duffy. Regal Quaker

FANTASTIC MR. FOX—Wes Anderson’s first animated film is this adaptation of a Roald Dahl book about a fox (voice of George Clooney) who battles a trio of farmers who want to exterminate him. Other voices by Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Michael Gambon, Willem Dafoe, and Jarvis Cocker. Reviewed this issue. Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria

NINJA ASSASSIN—Isn’t that title redundant? Are there ninja accountants and ninja newspaper carriers? Starring Rain, Naomie Harris, Ben Miles, Rick Yune, and Sho Kosugi. Directed by James McTeigue (V for Vendetta). Reviewed this issue. Flix, Maple Ridge, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

OLD DOGS—John Travolta and Robin Williams as business partners forced to care for a pair of six-year-old twins. You know, there are worse things to do after Thanksgiving dinner than hanging around and talking to your family. Directed by Walt Becker (Van Wilder). Angola, Aurora, Flix, Maple Ridge, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria

ETC:

THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (1948)—Complicated but engrossing film noir, supposedly directed by Orson Welles only to get money for another project but showing such a command of the medium that even his indulgences can be thrilling. As an Irish sailor who gets tricked into a murder rap by lawyer Everett Sloane and his vixenish wife Rita Hayworth, Welles’ impenetrable accent serves as early warning that this is a movie where you need to pay attention. Free and open to the public. Mon 7:30pm. Wick Center, Daemen College, 4380 Main Street, Amherst

NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)—Alfred Hitchcock’s thriller starring Cary Grant as an innocent man on the run from he’s not sure who. Eva Marie Sainte is on hand to help, with James Mason and Martin Landau hovering about. Mount Rushmore, crop duster—you know all this already. Fri, Sat, Sun 8pm. The Screening Room, Northtown Plaza in Century Mall, 3131 Sheridan Drive, Amherst (837-0376) www.screeningroom.net

THE ROOM (2004)—Already a midnight hit in Los Angeles, this berserk melodrama by the multi-untalented Tommy Wiseau is the best so-bad-it’s-good film since the heyday of Edward D. Wood Jr. It has its dull patches, but by no means should you leave before the ending. Sat. midnight. Hamburg Palace Theatre, 31 Buffalo St, Hamburg (649-2295) www.hamburgpalace.com

THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)—Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer in the 1965 Academy Award winner for Best Picture. It beat out Darling, Doctor Zhivago, Ship of Fools and A Thousand Clowns. Go figure. Sun 1pm. Hamburg Palace Theatre, 31 Buffalo St, Hamburg (649-2295) www.hamburgpalace.com

WERCKMEISTER HARMONIES (Hungary, 2000)—Recently named one of the ten most important films of the last decade in a poll taken by the Toronto Cinematheque, this film by Bela Tarr (Satantango) is set in a bleak Hungarian village that serves as a microcosm of Europe as it falls under the spell of a demagogue. Presented as part of the Buffalo Film Seminar. Tues 7 pm, Market Arcade Film and Arts Center, 639 Main St. (855-3022).