Opening This Week:

(500) DAYS OF SUMMER—Romantic comedy detailing the failure of a relationship between a guy (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who believes in true love and a girl (Zooey Deschanel) who doesn’t. Directed by Marc Webb. Reviewed this issue. Amherst, Regal Transit

ALIENS IN THE ATTIC—More summertime special effects for kids as a group of teens defend their summer home against alien invaders. Starring Carter Jenkins and Austin Butler. Directed by John Schultz (the 2005 remake of The Honeymooners). Flix, Maple Ridge, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Hollywood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Sunset Drive-In

FUNNY PEOPLE—Hollywood’s reigning giggle guru Judd Apatow (The 40 Year Old Virgin) takes a semi-serious turn with this story about a dying comedian (Adam Sandler) who takes on a protégé (Seth Rogan). With Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill, and cameos from a zillion stand-up comics. Reviewed this issue. Delevan Drive In, Maple Ridge, Market Arcade, McKinley, Regal Elmwood, Regal Hollywood, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

LEMON TREE—Drama starring Hiam Abbass as a Palestinian widow who sues when an Israeli minister builds a house abutting her lemon grove and then wants the trees removed as a security threat. Directed by Eran Riklis (The Syrian Bride). Reviewed this issue. Eastern Hills

THE COLLECTOR—Crime thriller from the guys responsible for the last few Saw movies. With Madeline Zima, Andrea Roth, Josh Stewart, and Daniella Alonso. Directed by Marcus Dunstan. Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

THE HURT LOCKER— Acclaimed film following an Army bomb squad unit in Iraq. Starring Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Brian Geraghty, Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, and David Morse. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow (Near Dark). Reviewed this issue. North Park

ETC...

ANGELS AND DEMONS—Tom Hanks returns as Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, investigating a sinister plot in the Vatican in this vastly superior follow-up to The Da Vinci Code. Co-starring Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgård, and Armin Mueller-Stahl. Directed by Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon). Sat 8pm; Tue 7:30pm. Fredonia Opera House, 9 Church St. Fredonia (716-679-0891) www.fredopera.org

BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969) Paul Newman and Robert Redford’s first on-screen teaming was in this iconic western loosely based on the real-life train robbers who fled to South America in the early years of the 20th century. Co-starring Katharine Ross, Strother Martin, Henry Jones, Jeff Corey, George Furth, Cloris Leachman and Kenneth Mars. Directed by George Roy Hill (The Sting). Fri-Sat 9pm. The Screening Room, Northtown Plaza in Century Mall, 3131 Sheridan Drive, Amherst (837-0376) www.screeningroom.net

THE GENERAL (1927)—Widely considered Buster Keaton’s crowning achievement, which is to say, one of the greatest comedies in cinema history. He stars as a Southern engineer of a train during the Civil War, and the stunt sequences involving the real, full-sized locomotive are still astonishing. Fri-Sat 7:30 pm. The Screening Room, Northtown Plaza in the Century Mall, 3131 Sheridan Drive, Amherst 837-0376

HIROSHIMA-NAGASAKI AUGUST 1945 (1970)—A rare screening of this 16-minute film edited by Erik Barnouw from two hours of footage taken by Japanese filmmakers shortly after the nuclear attacks on these two cities (the footage was for years suppressed by the US). The film will be shown as part of ceremonies observing Hiroshima-Nagasaki Memorial Day. Weds. Aug. 5, 7pm. Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society, 25 Nottingham Ct. (873-9644)

THE HUSTLER (1961, Robert Rossen)—Riveting melodrama set in a vivid, seedy world of pool halls, flophouses, cons and losers. Paul Newman is Fast Eddie Felson, a pool shark with the talent but not the character to become a champion. The excellent supporting cast includes Piper Laurie as his alcoholic girlfriend, Jackie Gleason as Minnesota Fats, and George S. Scott as a promoter. The film will be preceded by a performance on the theater’s Wurlitzer organ. Thurs July 30 7pm. Riviera Theater, 67 Webster St., North Tonawanda (692-2413)

MONTY PYTHON’S THE MEANING OF LIFE (1983)—The beloved British troupe’s last film is, like one of their television shows, a collection of sketches rather than a feature film. It hits more than it misses, especially in the brilliant musical parody “Every Sperm is Sacred.” Directed by Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam, who also wrote with fellow Pythons John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, and Michael Palin. Fri-Sat midnight. Palace Theater, 31 Buffalo St., Hamburg (649–2295)

POTTER-BELMAR LABS—Free show featuring the San Antonio live cinema and performance duo that specializes in audience-participatory, multimedia spectacles and curiosities. Sat 8pm. Squeaky Wheel, 712 Main St (884-7172) www.squeaky.org

ROAD TO PERDITION (2002)—Sam Mendes’s adaptation of a graphic novel about a mob hitman (Tom Hanks) and his young son on the road in the 1930s is a visually compelling movie, a fine—sometimes superb—orchestration of editing and cinematography. As Hanks’ surrogate father who is forced to turn on him, Paul Newman brings the film closest to the sorrowful grandeur that Mendes wants. Co-starring Jude Law, Anthony LaPaglia, Stanley Tucci, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. The film will be preceded by a performance on the theater’s Wurlitzer organ. Thurs Aug. 6 7pm Riviera Theater, 67 Webster St., North Tonawanda (692-2413)

SILENT MOVIE (1977)—Mel Brooks’ salute to slapstick comedy will be shown for this special presentation with live accompaniment on the Riviera Theater’s Wurlitzer Organ. Starring Mel Brooks, Marty Feldman, Dom DeLuise and Bernadette Peters, with guest appearances by Anne Bancroft, Paul Newman, James Caan, Burt Reynolds, and Sid Caesar. Sun 2pm. Riviera Theater, 67 Webster St., North Tonawanda (692-2413)