I could do a lot of research and try to come up with a list of the most-anticipated films of 2010. Sure I could. But why go to the effort when all I really have to do is link to a site that’s already done it. Not sure I agree with all of the selections - a remake of “The A-Team”? - but there are some pretty good reasons to think that cinema will last at least another year.

Below: Promotion for “Iron Man 2.”

While I sit here watching “Law & Order,” I’m thinking about the movie that we saw earlier this evening - the curiously named “The Men Who Stare at Goats.” Based on the trailer, i was expecting a comedy. And a comedy is what I got.

What I needed, though, was an ending.

The conceit of the film, which is based on a nonfiction book by British writer Jon Ronson, is that an American journalist named Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) stumbles onto the story of his life.  He meets Lyn Cassidy (George Clooney), a retired “psychic spy” who prefers the title of Jedi warrior. Seems Cassidy was once part of a U.S. Army team that tried to harness powers of the human brain to create a new kind of soldier.

They meet in Iraq, where Bob - a journalist for a Michigan newspaper - is trying to find a way into the action. That’s when he connects with Cassidy who, ultimately, tells Bob that he’s been reactivated and is on a mission. Before long the two have a car accident, are kidnapped by Iraqi criminals, escape (thanks to Cassidy’s quick thinking), save an Iraqi civilian, are saved by a team of clueless “contractors,” escape an absurd firefight, end up back in the desert, hit an IED, almost die in the desert, are picked up by the U.S. military - and end up back where Cassidy began … with some of his New Earth warriors.

We know about these guys because, as Bob and Cassidy have been making their way across the desert, director Grant Heslov has been giving us the backdrop on Cassidy’s Army career - his transfer to the New Earth group, his mentoring by a New Age soldier (Jeff Bridges), his development as a Jedi, the intrusion into the group by a bad egg (Kevin Spacey) and the ultimate breakup of everything.

By the time the reunion takes place, there’s not much left of the film. Or the story either. Which is the problem. “The Men Who Stare at Goats” is one of those films that follows a real story but adds the absurdity for entertainment value. And there’s a fair amount of entertainment in the film, especially as it’s played by Clooney - who has real comic talent - McGregor and Bridges.

But once the story comes to an end, there’s the old Peggy Lee question: Is that all there is?

Below: The trailer for “The Men Who Stare at Goats.”

There was a nice crowd at the Magic Lantern tonight to watch the German Oscar winner “The Lives of Others” and to listen to Gonzaga University professors Richard McClelland and Brian Clayton comment about the film’s characters. The event was part of the Professor Series, sponsored by the Spokane International Film Festival.

One thing that’s always bothered me about the movie is the transition of the main character (Ulrich Muhe) from a true-believing member of the Stasi, the German secret police, to a man willing to put his career on the line for a writer (Sebastian Koch) and the actress (Martina Gedeck) whom he loves.

My experience with true believers is that they don’t change their colors that easily. But listening to McClelland and Clayton, plus some of the comments in the audience, gave me another perspective.

A week from now, when I introduce “Shane,” I hope something similar happens.

This hasn’t been a great week of moviegoing. Not only have I still been fighting the effects of a bad cold, but the movies I’ve seen haven’t exactly put me in the greatest mood.

I wrote below of the Coen brothers’ “A Serious Man,” which I’m still scratching my head over. Then there was “Amelia,” a lame attempt by filmmaker Mira Nair to do for Amelia Earhart what Martin Scorsese did for Howard Hughes with “The Aviator.” Only she used a script that might have been written in 1940, edited it – and that’s being charitable – with no sense of continuity and cast Richard Gere (enough said).

Last night I went to AMC’s River Park Square Theatres to see “Lorna’s Silence,” the Belgian-made film about an Albanian woman who … well, she seems to lose her mind. That’s about all I could figure out about the film, other than the fact that she was in league with some low-level Albanian criminals, was in a marriage of convenience with a heroin addict and ends up having a phantom pregnancy.

“Lorna’s Silence” was a blend of hand-held-camera ultra realism and the worst kind of unexplained sudden plot twists outside of science fiction.

But maybe the problem wasn’t the film. I guess anything is possible in this era of mystery flus and artsy cinema.

Below: The trailer for “Amelia.”

In all the years that I have been watching Coen brothers movies, I have mostly enjoyed myself. And only seldom have I ever felt left out on the jokes. Until now.

Monday night I did a two-fer, beginning with “Amelia” – which the less said of the better – and ending with “A Serious Man.” And even after sleeping on it, I don’t know what to say about “A Serious Man.”

Watching this movie was like watching a foreign-language film with the subtitles turned off. From the beginning, with the curious little intro short about a Polish/Ukranian Jewish couple meeting what they think is a ghost, to the ending with a coming tornado and a suspect x-ray, I could never quite catch what the Coens were up to.

Maybe it’s because the film is so intrinsically Jewish. Maybe it’s because the Coen humor, in this case at least, is so determinedly obtuse. Maybe it’s because, in the end, the film was so darkly theological that I disassociated with everything but the most obvious humor.

I don’t know. And, a rare case with Coen films, I don’t really care.

Below: The trailer for “A Serious Man.”

Halloween is good to Michael Jackson. It was good during the “Thriller” days, and it’s good during this past weekend when the Jackson documentary “This Is It” captured the top spot in the box-office ratings.

I haven’t seen the film yet, having been down for the past several days with some aspect of the flu (no, not H1N1). Don’t know if I ever will see it either. I never was that big a Jackson fan.

And to tell the truth, the curiosity surrounding this film seems a slight bit morbid.

But then that’s fitting the Halloween theme of it all.

Below: Trailer for “This Is It.”

So, I’m sitting here watching the World Series – Derek Jeter just struck out on three Cliff Lee pitches – but I’m still reeling from the bit of channel surfing that I just did during the commercial break.

I hit TLCHD, which on my television is channel 669, and I saw the following title: “Obese and Pregnant.” Curious to fault, I had to search out more information. And here is the program description that I found:

“Examining the health issues facing three expectant mothers who are morbidly obese”

Did I mention that it was in HD?

Not saying that a show such as this wouldn’t have some educational value. I’m just pretty sure that the programers weren’t thinking of that when they scheduled it for broadcast. TLC, after all, is the channel that features the shows “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant” and “18 Kids and Counting.”

Just when I think TV can sink no lower in its attempt to lure a viewing audience, I get surprised. Every time.  What’s next? “My Kid Stuck a Pencil in His Eye” or “I Eat My Own Vomit”?

Sound like sure hits to me

Today is Julia Roberts’ birthday. Hard to believe, but the woman is 42. Seems like just yesterday she was the tough young Daisy Arujo, of “Mystic Pizza,” who poured a catch of fish in Adam Storke’s sports car.

Now she’s a middle-age mom, no longer the A-list queen she used to be. And even though she’s never been given credit by some for either her looks or her acting ability, Roberts has starred in several decent films over the years.

Here, then, is a list of my favorite Julia Roberts movies:

“Charlie Wilson’s War” (2007): It’s not easy playing an over-the-top diva with a blond wig and vague Texas accent. But Roberts, paired with Tom Hanks as the real-life Texas Congressman Wilson, pulls it off.

“Closer” (2004): Straight drama this, with Robert having to confront Clive Owen’s intimidating gravity. She proves more than capable, though the movie, ultimately, is a total downer.

“Ocean’s Eleven” (2001): Another turn with Soderbergh, this one making Roberts a minor – if important – part of the ensemble. But she brings the right amount of grace to counteract George Clooney’s wackiness.

“Erin Brockovich” (2000): Finally, Roberts gets a role she can play with all her tools – the offbeat beauty, the hard edge, the vulnerability, the street smarts. Used well by Steven Soderbergh, Roberts walked off with the Oscar.

“Notting Hill” (1999): And speaking of pairing, matching Roberts with Hugh Grant is perfect. Roberts brings the right sense of gravity – she’s tough, hard, mistrusting, a lot like an adult Daisy Arujo – to counter Grant’s lightness. And his friends help out, too.

“My Best Friend’s Wedding” (1997): Without the charm of Rupert Everett, this little bit of comic fluff might have wafted away without much trace. But Roberts and Everett together make a comic, if unlikely, romantic duo.

“The Pelican Brief” (1993): Even a John Grisham novel proved to be a perfect vehicle for Roberts, who was still caught in the action-oriented phase of her career. Here she connects, almost, with Denzel Washington.

“Sleeping with the Enemy” (1991): Nothing like a woman-in-danger flick to arouse compassion. Married to the seemingly perfect Martin (Patrick Bergin), who is really a possessive abuser, Roberts’ Laura escapes by faking her death. But forging a new life isn’t easy, and Martin won’t give up.

“Pretty Woman” (1990): I’m still amazed that this film, about a prostitute and a jerk of a rich businessman (played pitch perfect by Richard Gere), became such a popular love story. I credit Roberts’ charm, which even then the camera loved.

“Mystic Pizza” (1988): Exotic and tough is how I would describe Roberts’ portrayal of Daisy Arujo, the working-class young woman who falls for the rich guy (Adam Storke) and shows him that charm and money won’t get you everything.

Below: Scenes fron “Pretty Woman.”

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Chan-wook Park’s film “Thirst,” which I saw last night at the Magic Lantern. But after seeing his 2003 film “Old Boy,” which the Korean filmmaker wrote and directed, I should have expected something … strange.

And something strange is what Park gives us with this new film, which is a cross between “Twilight,” “The Thorn Birds” and “The Postman Always Rings Twice.”

Yeah, it’s that bizarre.

“Thirst” follows the trek of Catholic priest Sang-Hyeon (Kang-ho Song) who, after volunteering for a risky medical experiment, seems to die. Only when he returns home, while attempting to pick up his ordinary life, discovers that he has become a … vampire.

Yeah, the man who dispenses wine and wafers with the notion that they are the blood and body of Christ has now become a blood-sucker. Along with that strange evolution, he is now questioning his faith.

Which is when he becomes involved with Tae-joo (Ok-bin Kim), a troubled girl living slave-like with her half-wit husband and his controlling mother. Pretty soon the two of them are doing the nasty, he has left the church, she is convincing him to kill her husband, she has become a vampire, too, and the killing spree has begun in earnest.

All of this should be enough. But Park specializes in giving us images that are as absurd as they are memorable. The priest sucking blood from the body of a comatose man, for example. Or the priest and his lover jumping high over the roofs of Seoul. Or the two of them making love – “Thirst” is graphically sexy – with the now-dead, thoroughly drowned husband stuck between them.

“Pay no attention,” the now-ex-priest says, “It’s just psychological”

Really? Ultimately, “Thirst” is just too weird for its own good. The mix of troubled romance, religious questioning, vampire flick and classic noir feels too disjointed for the slim story line that Park sets behind it.

But if you want to see something new, which gets harder and harder to do in this era of making the same films over and over, this movie is it.

Treat it like, hmm, communion?

Below: The trailer for “Thirst.”

Is it possible that the horror-film audience is finally finding a bit of discretion? Are horror junkies turning away from Hollywood’s version of fright-night thrills and discovering new ways of experiencing those backbone shivers?

Not likely. We’re all suckers for things that go clump in the night, especially when they involve the chance of gore and maybe a bit of skin. And Hollywood isn’t going to give up its use/overuse of special effects anytime soon – good news to anyone who likes the occasional exploding auto.

Still, it was good news to hear that the latest “Saw” offering, “Saw XXVIII” – just kidding, it’s actually “Saw XXVII” – fared poorly at the box office this past weekend while the new film on the block, “Paranormal Activity,” did appreciably better.

According to Boxofficemojo.com, playing on some 2,500 screens at 1,945 sites, grossed $22 million – “Paranormal Activity” upped its 31-day total to about $62.5 million. “Saw,” in its sixth variation, did just $14.8 million at some 4,000 screens at 3,036 sites.

Time for Hollywood to begin the franchise all over again, the way it has with “Halloween” and, soon, “Friday the 13th.”

Not that “Paranormal Activity” is the “Citizen Kane” of neo-horror. It’s not even particularly new. It uses the same mock-documentary conceit that “The Blair Witch Project” exploited in 1999, which allows director Oren Peli to appeal to a viewing audience already trained to accept reality-TV fare.

But, hey, I was scared. If only Peli had included an exploding car or two, his film would be perfect.

Below: The trailer for “Saw VI.”

I listed some of my favorite French films yesterday. And, you know, I didn’t toss my bouillabaisse. Amazing.

It even got a bit of reaction. Pete Porter, director of the Spokane International Film Festival, asked – in honor of SpIFF’s ongoing Professor’s Series – that I do the same thing for German films.

That’s because the next film in the series is “The Lives of Others,” directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and winner of the 2007 Oscar for Best Foreign Language film. It will be presented by Brian Clayton and Richard McClelland, professors in Gonzaga University’s philosophy department.

Anyway, here are some German films that I would watch more than once. In some cases, I definitely have.

“Das Boot” (1981, Wolfgang Petersen): I remember when I first read Lothar Buchheim’s 1973 novel, from which Petersen adapted his movie. After all these years, I thought, what new could anyone say about World War II submarines? The book, as well as the movie, surprised me. Both are antidotes to the us-versus-them mood of most WWI movies. The characters aren’t Nazis, not purveyors of evil, but mere sailors fighting for their country against impossible odds. And Petersen’s camera, moving from scenes of off-duty celebration to white-knuckle action, never lets us forget that, but for the whims of fate, they could be us.

“Run Lola Run” (1998, dir. by Tom Tykwer): One of the most adrenaline-charged films ever made, Tykwer’s movie is a look at how even the most innocent decision can affect our future. Not once, not twice but three times Tykwer takes us through what should be nothing more than a simple drug deal. But because – well, stuff happens, you know? – his film becomes literally a question of life and death. Franka Potente (“The Bourne Identity”) plays the title character, a charming loser who, ultimately, finds what she needs to set her life on the right track.

“Downfall” (2004, dir. by Oliver Hirschbiegel): You might not want to spend time in Hitler’s bunker as the final hours of the Third Reich count down. Before watching “Downfall,” I didn’t either. If WWII submarine duty offers little chance for surprises, then what new can be said about Hitler (who is the subject of seemingly every other History Channel program)? Told through the eyes of Hitler’s secretary, Traudi Junge (from her book), we see it all take place – the inexorable fall, Hitler’s tantrums, the preparation for death by the Goebbels family, etc. Bruno Ganz brings something new to his interpretation of Hitler, no mean thing, and Hirschbiegel proves something else: There are no old stories that can’t be seen in a new and interesting way.

“M” (1931, Fritz Lang): “M” stands for murderer, and it’s the brand that Hans Beckett (Peter Lorre) wears, if only symbolically. He’s a child murderer, and as portrayed by the young Lorre (26 at the time) a particularly pathetic one. Long before he gained fame in Hollywood as a director of film noir (“The Big Heat,” “While the City Sleeps”), Lang had been one of Germany’s top filmmakers. Roger Ebert sees “M” as Lang’s indictment of a country that was even then being overrun by Nazis. Whatever the truth of that, “M” stands as a haunting study all its own.

“Wings of Desire” (1987, dir. by Wim Wenders): Wenders and Werner Herzog are two of the names most associated with contemporary German cinema – and have been for more than three decades. Both have had international careers, from Wenders’ “Paris, Texas” to Herzog’s documentary “Grizzly Man,” but nothing either of them has done has been any better than this haunting tale of angels. Bruno Ganz stars as one angel who wants to forsake everything just to experience life as a human. He gives up a lot, but he gains … everything.

“Europa, Europa” (1990, dir. by Agnieszka Holland): Irony has many faces. But the real-life story of Solomon Perel gives irony a whole new meaning. The son of a Jewish shopkeeper, Perel (Marco Hofschneider) survived WWII by posing as a Nazi. Through his indoctrination of a Communist youth to his training as a Nazi youth and beyond, Perel survived from 1938 to 1945 by masking his Jewishness. His most obvious physical weakness: his circumcised penis, which he disguised courtesy of a rubber band. In Holland’s hands, Perel’s story might have been pulled out of a Jerzy Kozinski novel. Only difference: Perel’s story was real.

“Metropolis” (1927, dir. by Fritz Lang): Has there ever been a more influential, and caricatured, movie than Lang’s “Metropolis”? Whether seen in its original back and white or in the various colorized versions, the film’s imagery usually overpowers its silent-film narrative. In fact, I’ve seen the film at least three times and yet I had to check IMDB.com to remember the plot. It has something to do with a separated society, the rich and those who support them, but the film’s importance involve those visuals, which have influenced virtually every sci-fi filmmaker over the past 82 years.

“Triumph of the Will” (1935, dir. by Leni Riefenstahl): Speaking of the battle between imagery and story line, that pretty much sums up the career of Leni Reifenshahl. Usually portrayed as Hitler’s pet filmmaker, Reifenstahl made the might of Nazism look glorious. But no matter how much the meaning of that might seems grotesque, the images were – and remain – magnificent. If ever there was art that served evil, this was it. But art it is.

“Nosferatu” (1922, dir. by F.W. Murnau): Another mightily influential film, this vampire flick – based on, if not credited to, Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula” – is the granddaddy of all blood-sucker movies. It avoids most of the easy scares of today’s films (even those in such low-budget productions as “Paranormal Activity”), but its images retain their haunting edge. That’s partly because of the zombie-like presence of actor Max Schreck, partly because of how Murnau uses him. Either way, “Nosferatu” showed Hollywood just what a golden egg the vampire film could be.

“Aguirre, Wrath of God” (1972, dir. by Werner Herzog): Last but not least, the one and only Herzog. On the basis of such films as “The Mystery of Kasper Hauser” and “Fitzcarraldo,” his remake of “Nosferatu” and the inexplicable “Even Dwarfs Started Small,” through his more contemporary English-language efforts such as “Grizzly Man” and “Rescue Dawn,” Herzog’s works are strange, bizarre, often confounding but never anything but watchable. That’s especially true for this look at the Spanish explorer Aguirre (Klaus Kinski) and his search for the fabled gold city of El Dorado. Herzog’s film is nothing less than a descent into madness, a trek that Herzog seems obsessed with. No one, though, captures such a descent better.

Volksmarsch, lebensraum und zeitgeist!

Below: The trailer for “Run Lola Run.”

It was interesting to see as many as, oh, 50 people show up at the Magic Lantern Wednesday night to see Leonard Oakland introduce one of his favorite films, Francois Truffaut’s 1962 exploration of romance, “Jules et JIm.”

It’s always great to hear Oakland talk about cinema, particularly when that cinema is French. I’ve never been especially moved by “Jules et Jim” (I prefer Truffaut’s first feature film, “400 Blows”). But Oakland’s knowledge and passion could get me interested in, say, hedge fund derivatives.

And his post-screening talk got me to thinking. Though I often pretend otherwise, I do love French film. The best of French film, that is (if I even begin to consider the worst, I start to burp up my morning croissant).

Here, then, are 10 of my favorite French films, presented in no special order:

“Les enfants du Paradis” (1945, dir. by Marcel Carné): Shot while World War II was still raging, it’s a wonder that Carné’s film got made at all. That it is such a masterpiece is even more of a miracle. Set in 1828, it involves a set of characters, especially the theater mime Baptiste and the actress/kept woman Garance, whose love — while perhaps enduring — is complicated by connivers, their own weaknesses and the whim of fate itself. As a friend of mine once said, “This is great art.”

“Jean de Florette”/”Manon of the Spring” (1986, dir. by Claude Berri): Taken together, and that’s how they have to be seen, these two films amount to a nearly four-hour-long adaptation of Marcel Pagnol’s novel. All the great passions are here, from greed and ambition to love and betrayal, imbued by the talents of Gerard Depardieu, Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil and Emmanuelle Béart.

“La belle et la bȇte” (1946, dir. by Jean Cocteau): Cocteau, who also directed the 1950 film “Orphée,” has given us a couple of fantasy films, based on myth, that are as atmospheric as anything ever made. Shot in black and white, and utilizing effects that were at the time groundbreaking, both films are virtual visual treasures.

“La vie en rose” (2007, dir by Olivier Dahan): Marion Cotillard won a Best Actress Oscar for portraying French songbird Edith Piaf. Told in a way that is both realistic and expressionistic, Dahan’s film becomes more than a mere biopic. And that, largely, is due to Cotillard’s terrific lip-sync performance.

“Trois Couleurs: Bleu” (1993, dir. by Krzysztof Kieslowski): The late Polish filmmaker Kieslowski directed a trio of film that took their names from the French tricolor flag (blue, white, red). Taken together, they show a view of contemporary French life. My favorite, though, is the first, “Bleu,” in which Juliette Binoche plays a woman recovering from the kind of loss that would bring anyone to his knees.

“Cyrano de Bergerac” (1990, dir. by Jean-Paul Rappeneau): I never connected with Edmond Rostand’s play, which has been told so many times and in so many different ways (Steve Martin in “Roxanne”?) that it’s hard to keep count. But there’s always something about Gerard Depardieu worth watching, and here he provides the emotion that turns his portrayal of Cyrano into actual art.

“La Haine” (1995, dir. by Mathieu Kassovitz): Back in 1995, many of us were ignorant of the effects that immigration was having on France, particularly on Paris. Since then, many films have depicted the violence that has caused the French as many problems as it has anywhere else. The story here involves a street kid hospitalized after being beaten, a French’s cop’s lost pistol and another street kid who vows revenge.

“Irréversible” (2002, dir. by Gasper Noé): Told more or less in reverse, this nasty story of a woman’s brutal rape and its violent aftermath is like nothing else you’ve seen. And Noé’s conceit begins with a horrible murder and ends with the soft glow of a woman in love. The film is savage and subversive all at once, which means that if nothing else it’s bound to get audiences talking.

“Queen Margot” (1994, dir. by Patrice Chéreau): Not many of us know much about French history. And it would help to know that on the night of Aug. 24, 1572, raging Catholics mobs murdered Protestants in what would become knows as the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. Estimates of Protestant deaths range from 2,000 to as many as 30,000. More than a historical drama, though, “Queen Margot” is a romance — though my favorite character is Henri de Navarre (late King Henry IV), played by the always great Daniel Auteuil.

“The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” (1972, dir. by Luis Bunuel): I was at a screening of this Bunuel film in Los Angeles, and the Spanish master attended. Bunuel, who spent many years as an exile working in Mexico and France, was then 72 and had already enjoyed a long and fruitful career. But his talent was still there, evidenced by this nasty indictment of middle-class preoccupations — in this case the ongoing attempts of six people to have dinner. Not sure how well the film holds up, and it’s hardly my favorite Bunuel film (I prefer “Los Olvidados,” 1950), but it felt just right for the political era in which it was released.

Cherchez la femme, cordon bleu et cul-de-sac!

Below: The trailer for “Children of Paradise.

Looks as if the coming week should work a bit better for lovers of all things cinema, from the gore freaks to the Francophiles … not to mention vampire fans.

Here’s what’s on the schedule:

“Amelia”: Still unsure of what exactly to do with Hilary Swank, even with her two Best Actress Oscars, Hollywood has dyed her hair, given her a Katharine Hepburn clipped accent and cast her as the doomed aviatrix Amelia Earhart. The good news: The film was directed by India-born filmmaker Mira Nair (“Monsoon Wedding”) and cowritten by Ronald Bass (“Snow Falling on Cedars”) and Anna Hamilton Phelan (“Girl, Interrupted”).

“Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant”: Based on the novels of Irish writer Darren Shan, this Paul Weitz (“American Pie”) film was written by Brian Helgeland (“Mystic River”). It’s all about a kid who agrees to become a vampire, a good-natured one that is, who goes on the road with a circus troupe and ends up battling a band of rogue blood-suckers.

“Saw VI”: At this late date, do you really need a plot synopsis?

“The Boys Are Back”: Clive Owen plays an Australian sportswriter who, following the death of his wife, finds himself raising two boys. Scott Hicks (“Shine”) adapted Simon Carr’s novel.

“Astro Boy”: Based on the old television series, this animated film uses CG effects to enliven the adventures of a robot who, whatever he does, can’t replace the real boy his creator lost.

“Lorna’s Silence”: The Belgian-brother filmmaking duo, Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (“La promesse,” “L’enfant”), return with this story about Albanian immigrants who use a drug dealer to achieve their dream of owning their own business.

And over at the Magic Lantern:

“Thirst”: Chan-wook Park, the Korean director of such films as “Old Boy” and “Lady Vengeance,” gives us this film about a man who, following a failed medical experiment, becomes – you guessed it! – a vampire!

Also:

“This Is It”: Beginning at 9 p.m. Tuesday, this cobbled-together collection of videos will feature the late Michael Jackson as he prepared for his London series of shows. Jackson fans should love it, at least.

Happy viewing.

Below: The trailer for “Thirst.

Other than the two major releases, both of which played in Spokane theaters, the week’s top DVDs may be documentaries. Other than the vampire flick, of course.

These are all out on Tuesday.

“Cheri”: Michelle Pfeiffer stars as an aging courtesan who, against her better judgment and the wishes of her friends, falls in love with her friend’s son (Rupert Friend).

“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”: Michael Bay, thinking he is making “Citizen Kane” instead of following up a movie based on children’s toys, makes about every mistake an arrogant A-list director can. This just about makes you forget how good the 2007 original.

“Blood: The Last Vampire”: Based on the popular anime series, this live-action film is a kind of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”-type story about a centuries-old woman warrior who targets vampires. Available in Blu-ray.

“Capturing Reality: The Art of the Documentary”: A blend of interviews with 38 filmmakers and clips from 163 different documentary films, this nonfiction film is a study of what goes into the documentary form.

“The Elephant King”: Clutchy mama (Ellen Burstyn) sends young son off to Thailand to retrieve older bro, but the boy succumbs to obvious tropical charms.

“I Am Because We Are”: Madonna produced, wrote and narrates this documentary about African children suffering from the AIDS epidemic.

“Moon in the Gutter”: If the fact that this 1983 re-release is French doesn’t turn you off, the fact that it was directed by the same guy responsible for “Betty Blue” might. Or the fact that it stars Gerard Depardieu as a guy looking for the rapist of his girlfriend, dead from suicide.

“That Was the GDR”: History-minded film fans might get into this four-part look at the history of the German Democratic Republic, 1949-90.

“They Killed Sister Dorothy”: Another documentary, this one tells the story of the murder of Dorothy Stang, a 73-year-old nun from Ohio, who was shot to death near the mouth of the Amazon River.

“Wings of Desire”: German filmmaker Wim Wenders’ atmospheric 1983 film, about an angel (Bruno Ganz) who wants to become human, is being re-released in a new high-def edition. Also available in Blu-ray.

“You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story”: Film fans tuned into Hollywood history might enjoy this documentary about the studio that earned early success by riding aboard the tail of a dog named Rin Tin Tin.

Happy viewing.

Maurice Sendak is one of those names that is synonymous with children’s literature. Along with books that he has written and illustrated, such as “Where the Wild Things Are” (1963) and “In the Night Kitchen” (1970), he has illustrated dozens of others.

“Where the Wild Things Are,” a book that has been credited with changing the rules for contemporary children’s literature, is in the news because of the new movie adaptation directed by Spike Jonze (cowritten with Dave Eggers).

And the first thing you might ask is, how does Jonze make a 48-page, 10-sentence children’s book into a 94-minute feature film?

The answer: He does it by keying on Sendak’s main message, which is that life for most children is tough, full of emotional ups and downs and hard to make sense of, and that escape to an inner landscape can provide a necessary solace – if only a temporary one.

In the case of the movie’s protagonist, a boy named Max (Max Records), lives with his mother (Catherine Keener) and big sister (Pepita Emmerichs). He’s a child of divorce, which means that emotional sustenance is rare for everyone – not for mom, who is having professional problems; not for sis, who resents having to visit dad and who has no time for baby brother; and not for Max, who spends time alone making igloos, chastising imaginary foes and making life hell for his poor mother.

So after throwing a tantrum, and causing mom to react in anger, Max runs off into the night. And the next thing you know he’s sailing away in a boat, to an island filled with wild animals (thanks to the Henson Company puppet makers) who, after debating whether to eat him, make him their king.

And life in the paradise (filmed in a picturesque part of Australia) is good, everything Max wants. His new friends accept him, they give him the attention he craves, they accept him as their leader and his presence makes a difference. At first.

Because the monsters, all being creations of Max’s mind, have the emotional makeup of children. They’re a mixed lot, looking for Max to provide them the direction that children need from adults.

Some of them are negative (especially Judith, voiced by Catherine O’Hara), some are indecisive (especially Douglas, voiced by Chris Cooper), some want to seek out new friends (especially KW, voiced by Lauren Ambrose), and some of them have anger issues (especially Carol, voiced by James Gandolfini).

So, ultimately, it comes as no surprise when things go wrong. And Max ends up being blamed. What then? Where does “Where the Wild Things Are” go next?

Those who have read Sendak’s book won’t be surprised. They might be surprised, though, at how well Jonze handles getting there.

In any event, anyone who can remember what it was like being a child, and can still recognize the same emotions when they come bubbling up, will connect with Jonze’s film. Jonze may not reveal any secrets, nor tell us where to go next.

But like Sendak before him, he knows how to show us where we’ve been.

OK, we’re back home. I’ve walked through the entire house with a flashlight, checking for … anything unnatural.

And other than our stuffed cat Pooky, who loves dressing up in MP’s underwear, I can find nothing particularly strange. So I guess we’re safe.

For the moment anyway.

What put me in this paranoid mood? “Paranormal Activity,” of course. We attended the 6:50 p.m. showing of the neo-horror movie, along with several dozen other film fans, and we’re still feeling the full level of the film’s creepiness.

Never heard of the movie? Well, it’s a Slamdance special, directed by a virtually unknown filmmaker named Oren Peli, that uses the same methods created by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez for the 1999 shocker “The Blair Witch Project.”

Myrick and Sanchez used a mock-documentary style to tell the purported story of a film crew that gets lost in the woods, only to disappear. The footage, found later, tells some of the story … but not all. And it’s what the footage doesn’t tell, what the shots don’t show, that creates the horror.

Same with “Paranormal Activity.” This time the protagonists are Katie (Katie Featherston) and Micah (Micah Sloat), a loving couple in what appears to be their mid-to-late-20s. They live together in a San Diego suburban house, he working as a day trader, she studying to be a schoolteacher.

Everything about their life is ordinary – except for the nagging fact that, since she was 8 years old, Katie has been bothered by some sort of entity. That same entitiy, she believes, burned her parents’ house down when she was 13. And it continues to follow her now that she’s living with Micah.

Micah, though, is both a guy and a man. As a guy, he’s a natural joker, before and behind his video camera. As a man, he’s protective of his girlfriend and dismissive of her fears. As both, he’s massively over his head.

Because as he continues to film their day-to-day existence, both challenging and confronting an unseen entity, his camera begins to pick up weird happenings. Noises in the night, shadows on the wall, doors that move on their own, sheets that blow in a windless room all precide Katie’s slow disintegration and Micah’s slow realization that something is terribly wrong. And that he’s powerless to do anything about it.

All the “Blair Witch Project” stylisms are there: mock-documentary style, low-tech special effects, unknown actors (even the third actor, Mark Fredrichs, who plays a psychic), off-camera villainous creatures, the gradual rise in tension and a shocker of an ending.

But “Paranormal Activity” isn’t merely a ripoff of “Blair Witch.” It’s complementary, sure, and it mines the same cinematic style. But Peli’s film boasts a chilling sense that is all its own, one that is an enduring mote in Hollywood’s EFX-loving eye.

Made for a reported $11,000, “Paranormal Activity” shows just how good a film can be when imagination trumps technology. I’m so glad that we decided to …

Excuse me. I just heard something go bump in the bedroom. Now, where the hell did I leave that flashlight?

Looking forward to seeing “Paranormal Activity” tonight. One local reviewer said the movie wasn’t scary so much as “creepy.” I’m not sure that’ll make it any easier to sleep tonight, though.

IMDB reports that Angela Lansbury turns 84 today. Most of us know her as Jessica Fletcher, the sleuth protagonist of the television show “Murder, She Wrote,” which ran for 12 years (1984-96).

That was only one aspect of Lansbury’s immense talent, though. The actress was, like the late Jerry Orbach, an ultra-successful stage performer. Yes, she was nominated for three Oscars (none of which she won), and 15 Emmys (again zilch), but she won six Golden Globe Awards (out of 15 nominations).

And in terms of Tonys, Lansbury won five of the six times she was nominated. Her Tony awards list:

Best Actress in a Musical, “Mame,” 1966

Best Actress in a Musical, “Dear World,” 1969

Best Actress in a Musical, “Gypsy,” 1975

Best Actress in a Musical, “Sweeny Todd,” 1979

Best Featured Actress in a Play, “Blithe Spirit,” 2009

When it comes to Lansbury and the stage – talent, she showed.

I had just bought my morning Americano at Jacob’s Java (the one near Lewis and Clark High School). And, as usual while waiting in line, I amused myself by checking out the car in front of me.

It was a dark-colored sedan bearing a license-plate holder that said, “Warning: In case of rapture, this car will be unmanned.” I smiled, noticing the cross hanging from the rear-view mirror and the decal for a Christian radio station.

Then my smile grew as I noticed, once again, how the vagaries of bumper-sticker philosophy so often conflict with the English language. And any sense of unease I might have had disappeared.

In case of rapture, I was pretty sure that particular car wasn’t going to veer driverless into some other vehicle – even mine.

And that was because a woman was sitting behind the steering wheel.

Well, kind of. Because Lantern owner Joe Davis had already rented out the larger screen to a private group, we dozen or so movie freaks had to move to the smaller screen. But that was fine, even if the sounds of the revelers kept bleeding into our space, sometimes interfering with Kubrick’s carefully considered sound scheme.

Pete Porter, a professor of film at Eastern Washington University (and director of the Spokane International Film Festival), introduced the film. This was the premiere of a series that Davis and SpIFF are cosponsoring that is being called the “Professor Series.” It’s an attempt to show classic films, each introduced by a film professor, professional or critic.

You can access the whole series by clicking here.

As you can see, the range of films is wide. It includes even “Shane,” George Stevens’ 1953 Western that won an Oscar for cinematography. I will have the honor of introducing it on Nov. 11.

For now, though, those of you who missed “2001: A Space Odyssey” will have another chance tonight. Porter will again introduce the film at 7 at the Magic Lantern. This time it will show on the bigger screen.

Davis promised.

The first is Spike Jonze’s adaptation of Maurice Sendak’s children’s book “Where the Wild Things Are.” Not only are kids and their parents excited (the movie is rated PG for “mild thematic elements, some adventure action and brief language”) but so are fans of Jonze’s previous films, which include “Being John Malkovich” and “Adaptation,” not to mention a number of intriguing shorts and music videos.

The second is “Paranormal Activity,” the “Blair Witch”-type horror film that has many lovers of chiller-thrillers drooling over the prospect of wetting their pants in public. In this part of the Inland Northwest, “Paranormal Activity” — which averaged a whopping $77,873 per screen during its opening Sept. 25-27 weekend — is playing exclusively at AMC’s River Park Square Theatres.

Oh, and for fans of independent cinema, “Big Fan,” which stars comic Patton Oswalt in a rare dramatic role, continues at the Magic Lantern. “Thirst,” a Korean film directed by Park Chan-wook (“Old Boy”), is scheduled to open Oct. 23.

Looks as if the weekend’s big movie was “Couples Retreat,” which should come as no surprise considering it stars “Swingers” writer-directors Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau. More surprising is the performance of the little horror film “Paranormal Activity,” which is getting so much word of mouth even though it’s playing in only 160 theaters across the country.

“Couples Retreat” earned a 14 percent Tomatometer rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Here’s what Chris Vognar of the Dallas Morning News thought of it: “You know those comedies that hit a little dry spell and have a hard time recovering? ‘Couples Retreat’ has one that lasts about, oh, 90 minutes.”

By contrast, “Paranormal Activity” boasts an 85 percent Tomatometer rating (93 percent among “top critics”). Here is what Colin Covert of the Minneapolis Star Tribune said: “Without financing, stars or more than a couple of special effects, first-time writer/director Oren Peli has made a diabolically effective essay in irrational horror.”

No word on when Peli’s film will come to Spokane, if ever. But let’s hope it arrives before people start dumping on it, as they inevitably will do.

For one reason or another, I never got around to seeing the horror film “Quarantine.” So tonight I did the next best thing: I watched the Spanish film “[REC]” from which “Quarantine” was adapted.

I’m glad I waited. While the film owes a lot to “The Blair Witch Project,” which famously made a video camera one of the film’s main characters, it has a few genuinely frightening moments.

Filmed in Barcelona, Spain, “[REC]” has a simple story line: A television crew for a show titled “While you Sleep” decides to do a segment on firefighters. When they go on a call, they find themselves in an apartment building that boasts strange happenings.

Before long, the bad stuff starts. And as Jeff Goldblum says in “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” “Oh, yeah. Oooh, ahhh, that’s how it always starts. Then later there’s running and screaming.”

I could even understand some of the Spanish. Oooooooh, muchachos, que miedo.

If you look hard enough … check that, if you look at all, you’re bound to find some weird stuff on the Internet. As I’ve made a lifestyle practice, though, weird doesn’t necessarily mean bad. In fact, it can mean the polar opposite − as long as you imbue the weirdness with a bit of wit.

Take, for example, this Web site. It’s an intentional blending of two films at a time to make a unique poster for a new movie. And I don’t know about you, but I’d love to see a blending of “Pi” and “American Pie” (“American ∏”) or a melding of “Memento” and “Dude, Where’s My Car?”

Suggestions for new amalgamations:

HBO’s “Hung” and “The Magnificent 7” (“Hugely Magnificent 7”).

“Bolt” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (“Raiders of the Lost Bark”).

“Sssssss” and “Up”(“Sssssssup!”)

Anyway, you get the picture.

Thanks to IMDB.com for letting me know that Sigourney Weaver turns 60 today. There aren’t too many actors who can earn top spots on my favorite films list in genres as different as sci-fi/horror and sci-fi/comedy, but Weaver is one.

The latter is composed of the “Alien” quartet, of which only the first two are really worth wasting time on, being directed, respectively, by Ridley Scott (the 1979 original) and James Cameron (1986’s “Aliens”). David Fincher’s 1992 “Alien3” and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s 1997 “Alien: Resurrection” are pale copies.

In all those films, Weaver plays Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley, one of the most kick-ass woman characters in film history. We watch as she starts out as a somewhat officious, if ultimately correct, member of the Nostromo’s crew whose diffidence allows her to be manipulated, a fact that lead to disaster.

But Ripley grows, so much so that she survives and ends up accompanying the members of the second mission. And ends up that mission’s leader. Her battle with the queen alien, hydraulic loader vs. the alien’s massive bulk, is one of the great fight scenes ever filmed.

The sci/fi comedy is “Galaxy Quest,” which is one of those rare entities: a funny Tim Allen movie. Allen, Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Daryl Mitchell and Sam Rockwell play the main cast members of a “Star Trek” type show who now make their livings doing dinner theater, commercials and making the rounds of “Trek” festivals.

Then they get spirited off by a band of aliens who take them for the real thing. Weaver, as Gwen DeMarco, plays the Uhura equivalent, appropriately named Lt. Tawny Madison, the sexy computer officer whose breasts threaten always to burst forth but whose blond head hides a competent, brave soul.

The roles are complementary, two sides of the same fictional soul. But each is an essential part of its respective movie. And the movies themselves – at least those directed by Scott and Cameron, plus Dean Parisot’s “Galaxy Quest” – are some of the best movie watches ever.

And remember: “Never give up. Never surrender.”

If you’re not a fan of Jack Black or cheap horror thrills, you’re not likely to find this a great week of home viewing. The week’s top releases include:

“Year One”: Michael Cera (“Juno,” “Superbad”) and Jack Black (“School of Rock,” “Tropic Thunder”) star as members of a primitive tribe who end up witnessing some of the world’s most pivotal historical moments. This debuted in theaters when I was out of the country and is one of the films that do want to see.

“My Life in Ruins”: I did see this Nia Vardalos film, though I can’t remember where, and to say I was disappointed is giving the film too much credit. Vardalos gaimed fame as the star of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” and this film lamely tries to cast her, again, as the attractive loser who ends up finding the keys to happiness. Among others, Richard Dreyfuss should be ashamed – and be forced to return his Academy Award.

“Imagine That”: It’s hard now to remember that Eddie Murphy once was a comic genius. Remember “Trading Places”? “48 Hrs”? “Beverly Hils Cop”? All the skits he did for “Saturday Night Live”? Here is another of his recent efforts that teams him up with either animals or some cute kid.

“Audition”: It was 10 years ago that I first saw this creepy little modern horror film at the Seattle International Film Festival. Director Takashi Miike tells the story of a mild-mannered Japanese businessman who uses his connections to conduct fake job auditions in search of a woman he can date. The woman he ends up with comes equipped with some fairly big and frightening emotional baggage. Don’t watch this one alone.

“From the East”: Characterized as a “cinematograhic elegy,” this documentary film by Belgian filmmaked Chantal Akerman is told by Akerman’s cameras as she voyages from East Germany to Moscow. The film boasts no dialogue or commentary, just Akerman’s experience of recording “everything that touched me.”

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: Diamond Edition”: Disney’s animated classic is now available in Blu-ray.

And, finally, a couple of obligatory horror offerings:

“Staunton Hill”: A group of hikers chance upon the Staunton family, “a depraved, diabolical brood that will stop at nothing to rid their property of ‘trespassers.’ ”

“Trick ’r Treat”: Four interwoven stories tell little tales of horror revolving around Halloween. Ooooooh, kids, scary!

Happy viewing.

It’s been barely two hours since we recorded this week’s edition of “Movies 101,” and I’m now enjoying the post-recording glow.

Not that the show is any great shakes, but one of the movies that we review is “It Might Get Loud,” which throws us into the music of Jimmy Page (of Led Zeppelin), Jack White (of the White Stripes) and The Edge (of my second-favorite rock group of all time, Dublin’s U2).

And so, after arguing with Bob Glatzer over the worth of “It Might Get Loud” – given his Public Radio sensibilities, he would have preferred to listen to three classical musicians ramble on about their creative impulses – I had to rush to Hastings and then Best Buy to buy a DVD copy of “U2: Live at Red Rocks.”

That is what is blaring on my TV, with the volume pushed to 11, as I type this. It’s a film made of U2’s June 5, 1983, concert at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre. And though the band has changed much over the past 26 – can’t believe it’s been 26! – years, all the elements of what they would become are there.

Not just Bono’s wailing vocals and rock-star charisma, Adam Clayton’s driving bass, Larry Mullen Jr.’s pounding drums but The Edge’s reverb-heavy guitar lines. It’s the secret behind those guitar lines that The Edge reveals in “It Might Get Loud,” how obsessed he is, he admits, about playing aloud the music that he hears in his head.

That kind of obsession is what The Edge has in common with Page, the one-time studio musician, who even at age 65, maintains his love of the craft he plied so well for so many years. It’s there in White, too, the obstreperous one of the trio whose tendency for affectation can’t quite mask his obvious talents and love of music that is as basic as it is life-affirming.

“It Might Get Loud” suffers from two things. While it is a decent exploration of the artist at work, it doesn’t reward us with enough music. And it isn’t nearly loud enough.

As I sit here, I’m curing both of those faults. Hope the neighbors don’t mind.

On second thought, to hell with them. Rock on, U2!

I’d love nothing more than to follow the Seahawks-Colts game with a showing of “Zombieland.” But … no such luck.

Instead, because my more responsible “Movies 101” cohosts wanted us to review the AMC Select feature “Bright Star,” that’s the movie we’re going to see at 1:30 p.m.

Damn. I’ll have to check out “Ode to a Grecian Zombie” another day. When I do, let’s hope that it’s good enough to wash the remains of “Pandorum” out of my memory.

I took my brother to see that sci-fi film on Friday, and it was quite the disappointment. For the first half hour or so, I was reasonable thrilled … even, once or twice, scared (more the claustrophobia scenes than anything involving mutants).

But pretty soon things devolved. Randy and I could pick up similarities to the “Alien” trilogy, a fair amount of “Event Horizon,” the look of “I Am Legend” and references not only to “Fight Club” but to all zombie movies since “28 Days” (one of the first popular uses of the quick-moving living dead).

One thing I liked: the performance of Ben Foster, the former “Six Feet Under” costar who has definite screen presence.

Should have taken Randy to see “Surrogates” instead.

My sister-in-law, Jean Treuthart, is a hell of a writer. Here is a post she wrote for her blog that deals with loss … and love. Enjoy.