Opening This Week:

CONFESSIONS OF A SHOPAHOLIC—Disney movie. Starring Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy, and Krysten Ritter. Directed by P.J. Hogan (Peter Pan). Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Galleria, Regal Hollywood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

FRIDAY THE 13TH—Remake. Or sequel, or prequel, or whatever—I defy you to tell the difference. Starring no one you’ve ever heard of. Directed by Marcus Nispel (the 2003 remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Reviewed this issue. Flix, Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Galleria, Regal Hollywood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

THE INTERNATIONAL—Thriller starring Clive Owen as an Interpol agent out to bring down a Luxembourg-based bank that wants to control the world by illegally financing its wars. With Naomi Watts, Armin Mueller-Stahl and Ulrich Thomsen. Directed by Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run). Reviewed this issue. Flix, McKinley, Regal Elmwood, Regal Galleria, Regal Hollywood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

ETC:

LA BÊTE HUMAINE (France, 1938)—Adapting a novel by Emile Zola, Jean Renoir brings a greater depth of sympathy to the condition of his working class characters in this proto-noir about a railroad worker who plots to kill the husband of his lover. Starring Jean Gabin, Simone Simon and Fernand Ledoux. Introduced by Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian. Thurs Feb. 12 7:30 pm. Albright Knox Art Gallery, 1285 Elmwood Ave. (882.8700)

CASABLANCA (1941)—Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in what is by general consensus Hollywood’s greatest romance, if not the most popular Hollywood film period. Call it a miracle of studio craftsmanship, a whole that exceeds the sum of its parts, and an almost mythological example of why we love movies so much. Directed by Michael Curtiz. With Paul Heinreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, S.Z. Sakall and Dooley Wilson. Thurs 7pm, Fri-Sat 7, 9:15pm, Tues 7pm. The Screening Room, Northtown Plaza in Century Mall, 3131 Sheridan Drive, Amherst (837-0376) www.screeningroom.net

HIGH AND LOW (Japan, 1963)—Akira Kurosawa, who was fond of using Western texts for films, based this drama on a novel by “87th Precinct” author Ed McBain. Toshiro Mifune stars as a businessman who feels honor-bound to pay an exorbitant ransom when his chauffeur’s son is mistaken for his and kidnapped, Presented as part of the Buffalo Film Seminar. Tues 7 pm, Market Arcade Film and Arts Center, 639 Main St. (855-3022)

MY NAME IS ALBERT AYLER—Acclaimed documentary about the avant-garde saxophonist whose influence has far outlasted his brief life, Thurs Feb. 19, 8pm. Hallwalls, 341 Delaware Ave. (854-1694) www.hallwalls.org

THE RULES OF THE GAME (France, 1939)—In a weekend at a country house, the bourgeoisie, the aristocracy, and the servants all come under microscopic examination. Banned in France until 1956 for being “demoralizing,” Jean Renoir’s social satire hasn’t lost any of its bite. Introduced by Bruce Jackson and Diane Christian. Thurs Feb 19, 7:30 pm. Albright Knox Art Gallery, 1285 Elmwood Ave. (882.8700)

THE WEREWOLF OF WASHINGTON (1973)—Combination horror parody and political satire starring Dean Stockwell (well before his career was revived by David Lynch) as a White House aide who contracts lycanthropy, forcing his boss into a coverup. With Biff McGuire, Clifton James and Michael Dunn. Directed by Milton Moses Ginsberg (Coming Apart). Sun 7pm. New Phoenix Theater, 95 Johnson Park St. (881-9170)