Opening This Week

AVATAR—James Cameron’s new movie, and if you don’t already know what it’s about you probably couldn’t care less. Starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, and Giovanni Ribisi. Flix, Maple Ridge, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

THE BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS—Nicolas Cage as the drug-addicted cop in a Werner Herzog movie that is not a remake of an Abel Ferrara movie, and why would you even think that? With Val Kilmer, Eva Mendes, Fairuza Balk, Jennifer Coolidge, Brad Dourif, Michael Shannon, and Xzibit. Reviewed this issue. Eastern Hills

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS?—Comedy starring Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker as an estranged Manhattan couple who have to hide out in Wyoming after they witness a murder. With Sam Elliott and Mary Steenburgen. Directed by Marc Lawrence (Words and Music). Reviewed this issue. Flix, Maple Ridge, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara Falls, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

THE MESSENGER—Acclaimed drama starring Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson as soldiers assigned to notify the next of kin of soldiers who have been killed. With Jena Malone, Eamonn Walker, Steve Buscemi, and Samantha Morton. Directed by Oren Moverman. Reviewed this issue. Eastern Hills

THE ROAD—Adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel about a man and his young son struggling to survive after an unknown event renders the world a barren wasteland. Starring Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Directed by John Hillcoat (The Proposition). Reviewed this issue. Amherst, McKinley

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. 6:30pm, Tues. 8pm. The Screening Room, Northtown Plaza in Century Mall, 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 one 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, whose other heartwarming family films include Porky’s and Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things; go figure. Sun 7pm. 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, Gloria Grahame, Sheldon Leonard, and Charles Lane. Fri-Sat. 8:30pm, Weds. 8pm. The Screening Room, Northtown Plaza in Century Mall, 3131 Sheridan Drive, Amherst (837-0376) www.screeningroom.net; also Sun 1 pm Hamburg Palace Theatre, 31 Buffalo St, Hamburg (649-2295) www.hamburgpalace.com