2D or Not 2D

An animated films festival organized by a nonprofit dedicated to "preserving, teaching, and evolving the art of traditional animation in a digital age." All screenings at New Everett Theatre. Festival Films Program A (films in competition), Fri Nov 2 at 7 pm. Girls' Night In (animation by women, with guest speakers from Microsoft and Pixar), Fri Nov 2 at 8 pm. Late Night Surprise, Fri Nov 2 at 10:15 pm. Midnight Movies, Fri Nov 2 at 11 pm. Attila the Ham and The Great Blue Bean, Sat Nov 3 at 9:30 am. Festival Films Program B (competition and noncompetition), Sun Nov 3 at 11 am. Festival Films Program C (competition and noncompetition), Sun Nov 3 at 2 pm. Work by Michael Gagne, Sun Nov 3 at 3:40 pm. Presentation by Tony White, Sun Nov 3 at 6:15 pm. Presentation by Don Hahn, Sun Nov 3 at 7 pm. (For complete schedule and details, see www.2dornot2d.org.)

Aguirre: The Wrath of God

Landmark's Metro Classics tutorial wraps up its Herzog series with Aguirre: The Wrath of God, the 1972 epic starring Klaus Kinski as a krazy konkistador. Metro, Wed Nov 7 at 7, 9 pm.

American Psycho

Based on the much-reviled book by Bret Easton Ellis, the movie is actually pretty good. Really. Set at the height of the Reagan '80s, American Psycho deftly satirizes the deadening effect of unchecked corporate wealth and power. (ANDY SPLETZER) Egyptian, Fri-Sat midnight.

Banished: How Whites Drove Blacks Out of Town in America

An acclaimed documentary by Marco Williams (Two Towns of Jasper), Banished is about the forced expulsion of blacks from towns across the South in the early 20th century. Williams will be in attendance to introduce the Seattle premiere. Rainier Valley Cultural Center, Fri Nov 2 at 6:30 pm.

The Blue November MicroFilmFest

A free film program featuring the local production Apart From That, in addition to various musical guests. Green Bean Coffee House, Fri-Sat 7 pm.

Collecting the Museum Film Festival

Organized by the faculty and grad students in the Visual Praxis Collective at the University of Washington, this film festival is structured like an academic conference with the theme "How do museums shape collective memory?" All screenings and events at Henry Art Gallery. Histories of Display (with films by Marlon Fuentes and Aaron Glass), Fri Nov 2 at 9:30 am. Sites of Memory (films by Alain Resnais, the Brothers Quay, and Suzy Salamy), Fri Nov 2 at 12:45 pm. Artifactual Journeys (films by Susan Vogel and Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Taylor), Fri Nov 2 at 2:30 pm. Roundtable Discussion on Curatorial Practice, Fri Nov 2 at 4 pm.

A Family Affair

A short video about the history of Asian and Asian-Americans in Seattle, directed by recent UW grad Shaun Scott and produced by the university's Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project. Communications Room 120, Wed Nov 7 at 7 pm.

Get Mean

Ferdinando Baldi's 1976 medieval fantasy/spaghetti Western has never been available on video. What it lacks in material reproduction it makes up in a proliferation of alternate titles, including Vengeance of the Barbarians and Beat a Dead Horse. Grand Illusion, Fri-Sat 11.

Ghostbusters

Cinerama continues its unique 70mm series with Ghostbusters: superdetailed, supercrisp, and soaked in ectoplasmic residue. Cinerama, Sun noon, Tues 8 pm.

Ghosts of Abu Ghraib

A straightforward film that argues that the responsibility for the torture of detainees at Abu Ghraib lies farther up the chain of command than with the specialists who were prosecuted for it, Ghosts of Abu Ghraib is missing some conspicuous talking heads. The footage that made it into the film is worth seeing, though it's not always coherent. Interviews with prison guards Sabrina Harman and Megan Ambuhl—women were especially valued because of their ability to humiliate Muslim detainees—are sprinkled with so many nervous, defensive smiles that it's hard to guess whether they're being honest or canny. (The fact that their interviewer clearly wants to deflect blame upward makes their accounts even harder to parse.) The most compelling scene in the film turns out to be a stock clip from the famous Milgram obedience experiment, in which participants were told to deliver electrical shocks to an actor who screamed in pain at every zap. (ANNIE WAGNER) Keystone Church, Fri Nov 2 at 7 pm.

The Incredibles

The Incredibles is done in true Pixar style, but the action sequences are far more exhilarating than anything seen in Finding Nemo or Toy Story. (MEGAN SELING) Seattle Asian Art Museum, Sat Nov 3 at 1:30 pm.

Jeopardy

SAM's sold-out film noir series continues with this John Sturges film from 1953, starring Barbara Stanwyck as a woman who is prevented from saving her husband's life. Seattle Art Museum, Thurs Nov 8 at 7:30 pm.

Khadak

A gorgeous, stirring narrative of forced assimilation, Khadak (last seen at SIFF 2007) tells the story of a young shepherd boy on the Mongolian steppes whose epilepsy is being treated by a local shamaness. Once the metaphysical pursuit of soul by healer is communicated with a minimum of fuss, you know the filmmakers—both former documentarians—are on sure footing. Then the government, operating under the pretext of animal-borne disease, forcibly relocates the boy's family to a cramped mining town, complete with dubious labor practices and modern medicine. Naturally, he rebels, and a luscious score and stunning photography ensure he retains our sympathy. But the scene I loved best consisted of nothing more than the boy and his grandfather, peeling potatoes in a Mongolian high-rise. Realism and sorcery go great together. (ANNIE WAGNER) Grand Illusion, Weekdays 7, 9 pm, Sat-Sun 3, 5, 7, 9 pm.

A Man Vanishes: The Legacy of Shohei Imamura

Rebellion is the center and meaning of Shohei Imamura's cinema, the main body of which can be seen in this excellent retrospective. This rebellion, however, has its problems. Though Imamura exposed the explosive force of women, a force that the state and family repressed, it was never more than that: a force. The women in Imamura's films have a blind energy, a drive that has no direction. They can destroy male values but they can't make new ones. In the end, his women are not truly liberated because they are not creative. (CHARLES MUDEDE) All screenings at Northwest Film Forum unless otherwise indicated. The Pornographers, Thurs Nov 1 at 6:30, 9:15 pm. A Man Vanishes, Fri Nov 2 at 6:30, 9:15 pm. Vengeance Is Mine, Weekdays 6:30, 9:15 pm, Sat-Sun 4, 6:30, 9:15 pm. Profound Desire of the Gods, Sat Nov 3 at 6, 9:15 pm. The Making of a Prostitute, Sun Nov 4 at 6, 7:30, 9:15 pm. The Ballad of Narayama, Wed Nov 7 at 6:30, 9:15 pm. Zegen, Thurs Nov 8 at 6:30, 9:15 pm. At Seattle Art Museum: Why Not?, Tues Nov 6 at 7:30 pm.

Milarepa: Magician, Murderer, Saint

After losing the family farm to his wicked, mustache-twirling relatives, a simple 11th-century farmboy embarks on a dangerous quest to regain his honor and righteously smite his enemies, a plan that includes traveling to a remote temple to develop Super Jedi Yogi Meditation powers. Based on an enduring Tibetan legend about a revered Lama, first-time director Neten Chokling (himself a Buddhist monk) has made a well-meaning epic that drags a bit, even at 90 minutes, but is at least partially redeemed by the low-tech sight of the various superpowered wise men nonchalantly lifting boulders with their minds and running through the mountains at Mach 2. More amusing than inspiring, really, although history and theology buffs may find it worthy of inspection. If it all ends kind of abruptly, have no fear: According to an ending crawl, the next chapter, Milarepa: Path to Liberation, will hit theaters in 2009. Woot? (ANDREW WRIGHT) Varsity, Fri-Sun 12:30, 2:40, 4:50, 7, 9:10 pm, Mon-Thurs 7, 9:10 pm.

Rear Window

Hitchcock's Rear Window stands as perhaps the greatest film whose subject is film itself: sitting in the dark, watching stories play out on a screen/through a window. (BRUCE REID) Central Cinema, Wed Nov 7 at 7, 9:45 pm. (Late show 21+, continues next week).

Soldiers of Conscience

A century ago, less than 25 percent of soldiers in combat actually fired their weapons at the enemy. By Vietnam, the firing rate was up to an efficient 85-90 percent. How's that? Maybe it has something to do with this basic-training call and response: "What's the spirit of the bayonet?" "Kill. Kill. Kill without mercy." "What makes the green grass grow?" "Blood. Blood. Blood makes the green grass grow." This chilling documentary explores how we condition our children to bypass their morals and reduce other humans to wet piles of stuff. It's important. (LINDY WEST) SIFF Cinema, Weekdays 7:30, 9:20 pm, Sat 3:30, 7:30, 9:20 pm, Sun 1:30, 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, 9:30 pm.

Strait-Jacket

The camp purveyors at GLAMN! present the 1964 thriller Strait-Jacket, starring an ax-wielding Joan Crawford. Central Cinema, Fri-Sun 7, 9:30 pm. (Late shows 21+.)

Sudden Fear

Part of SAM's annual film noir series (which is, as ever, sold out), Sudden Fear is a Joan Crawford vehicle from 1952. Seattle Art Museum, Thurs Nov 1 at 7:30 pm.