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Previous story: Movie Times (Friday, August 20 - Thursday, August 26)
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Film Now Playing

Opening This Week:

LOTTERY TICKET—The no-longer li’l Bow Wow stars as a guy in the projects who has to deal with his neighbors after he wins $370 million in the lottery. With Brandon T. Jackson, Naturi Naughton, Ice Cube, Keith David and Terry Crews. Directed by Erik White. Maple Ridge, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

MADEMOISELLE CHAMBON—Gallic take on Brief Encounter, with Vincent Lindon as a married bricklayer struggling with his attraction to his young son’s teacher (Sandrine Kiberlain). Co-starring Aure Atika and Jean-Marc Thibault. Directed by Stéphane Brizé. Reviewed this issue. Eastern Hills

NANNY McPHEE RETURNS—Or Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, as this sequel was known when it was released in England. Starring Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Rhys Ifans, Ralph Fiennes, Maggie Smith, and Ewan McGregor. Directed by Susanna White. Reviewed this issue. Flix, Maple Ridge, Regal Niagara, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

PIRANHA—3D remake, with a cast that at least indicates an awareness of genre history: Richard Dreyfuss, Ving Rhames, Elisabeth Shue, Christopher Lloyd, and Adam Scott. Directed by Alexandre Aja (High Tension). Maple Ridge, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

RESTREPO— Journalists Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger shot this documentary while embedded with American troops in the Korengal Valley, a Taliban outpost near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan. Winner of the Grand Jury Documentary Prize at Sundance. Reviewed this issue. Amherst

THE SWITCH—Jennifer Aniston discovers that the sperm donor for her pregnancy was actually her best friend (Jason Bateman), who purposely substituted his own, um, specimen. It’s a comedy. Jeff Goldblum, Juliette Lewis, and Todd Louiso. Directed by Josh Gordon and Will Speck (Blades of Glory). Flix, McKinley, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

VAMPIRES SUCK—The inevitable no-star parody movie from the creators of Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans, and that’s all the ink we will waste on this one. Delevan Drive In, Flix, Maple Ridge, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Niagara, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Sunset Drive-In, Transit Drive-In

ETC:

ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (1976)—This adaptation of the best-selling book about Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s investigation of the Watergate cover-up leaves you with the inaccurate impression that the duo were solely responsible for outing Nixon’s crimes. But it’s still one of the great newspaper films, with uniformly strong performances by a cast that features Robert Redford, Dustin Hoffman, Jason Robards, and Jane Alexander. Directed by Alan J. Pakula (Sophie’s Choice). The film will be preceded by a performance on the theater’s Wurlitzer organ. Thurs Aug. 19. 7pm. Riviera Theater, 67 Webster St., North Tonawanda (692-2413)

MARATHON MAN (1977)— Laurence Olivier’s role as cinema’s most terrifying dentist is a highlight of this classic suspense thriller starring Dustin Hoffman as a Manhattan graduate student who runs afoul of a Nazi jewel smuggling operation. Co-starring Roy Scheider, William Devane and Marthe Keller. Directed by John Schlesinger (Midnight Cowboy). The film will be preceded by a performance on the theater’s Wurlitzer organ. 7pm. Riviera Theater, 67 Webster St., North Tonawanda (692-2413)

MY NAME IS KHAN (2010)—Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol as an autistic man and the single mother he falls in love with and has to track across America. Directed by Karan Johar. 1, 4, 7 pm. HD Video Café, 5445 Transit Rd, Williamsville (688-4933 / www.hdvideocafe.com)

ORGASM, INC.: THE STRANGE SCIENCE OF FEMALE PLEASURE—Documentary about the pharmaceutical industry’s frantic efforts to develop a Viagra equivalent for women, regardless of potential health risks. Director Liz Canner will be “present” via Skype for the screening. Thurs Aug. 26, 8 pm. Squeaky Wheel, 712 Main St (884-7172 / www.squeaky.org)

THE PEOPLE SPEAK (2009)—Howard Zinn narrates this adaptation of A People’s History Of The United States, his classic examination of bottom-up efforts for social change in the United States. The film features dramatic readings and music from Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Matt Damon, Sean Penn, Don Cheadle, Eddie Vedder, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, and many others. 8 pm. Thurs Aug 19. Squeaky Wheel, 712 Main St (884-7172 / www.squeaky.org)

ROAD HOUSE (1948)—In his first film after Kiss of Death, Richard Widmark plays another kind of psycho, a bar owner who flips out when the singer he hired (Ida Lupino) falls n love with his best friend (Cornel Wilde). Directed by Jean Negulesco (Johnny Belinda). Fri 8 pm. The Screening Room, Northtown Plaza in Century Mall, 3131 Sheridan Drive, Amherst (837-0376 / www.screeningroom.net)