LIMITED RUN

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
"Your reality, sir, is filled with lies and balderdash, and I'm delighted to say I have no grasp of it whatsoever." Egyptian, Fri-Sat midnight.

Batman
The caped crusader flies again. Central Cinema, Sat-Sun noon, 2:15, 4:30 pm.

The Blue Dahlia
This 1946 film noir, starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake, launches SAM's new series, entitled Mystery Street: The Film Noir Cycle. Seattle Art Museum, Thurs Sept 29 at 7:30 pm.

Blue Vinyl
Judith Helfand got cancer and she's making sure that everyone knows it. When her parents installed blue vinyl siding on their house, Helfand assumed that it was toxic and cancer-causing, then went on a three-year tour of PVC production plants to prove that... hey, it really is. Blue Vinyl documents her travels from Long Island to Louisiana to Venice to San Francisco, as she pesters corporate CEOs and interviews PVC workers who developed angiosarcoma from exposure. Helfand can get a little self-indulgent at times, given the topic, but she's a pretty good filmmaker, and as long as she's not talking about herself, Blue Vinyl makes for an engaging and edifying production. (MEG VAN HUYGEN) Environmental Learning Center, Camp Long, Thurs Sept 29 at 7 pm.

Crazed Fruit
A 1959 Japanese film about youthful rebellion. Guggenheim 224, UW campus, Thurs Sept 29 at 7:30 pm.

Der Golem/Metropolis
A double feature of two silent films. Rendezvous, Thurs Sept 29 at 8 pm.

Evil Dead
Before there was Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness, there was Evil Dead, a murky, homemade work of horror comedy genius by the great Sam Raimi, before he became the mezzo mezzo Sam Raimi. (SEAN NELSON) Actor Bruce Campbell will be in attendance. Neptune, Thurs Sept 29 at 11:30 pm.

Funny Shorts Made Fast!
A fly filmmaking-style Hurricane Katrina benefit, with movies from New York, D.C., Baltimore, Portland, and more. Varsity, Thurs Sept 29 at 7:30 pm.

Halabad Blues
Nordic Heritage Museum's culture clash series continues with this film about forbidden love between a Danish woman and a Turkish man. Nordic Heritage Museum, Thurs Oct 6 at 7 pm.

Iden & Tity
It may sound like an ode to female nudity in a prelapsarian wonderland, but in fact Iden & Tity is a Japanese grunge movie inspired by Bob Dylan. Guggenheim 224, Thurs Oct 6 at 7:30 pm.

King of the Corner
Sly character actor Peter Reigert's directorial debut King of the Corner displays glimmers of comic and dramatic potential that never amount to much. Adapted from Gerald Shapiro's short story collection Bad Jews and Other Stories, the film follows the hapless exploits of hang-dog test-marketer Leo Spivak, played by Reigert, as he bumbles from job woes to marital infidelity with shoulder-shrugging sighs and reflexive self-pity. Despite an excellent supporting cast, featuring Isabella Rossellini as his wife and Eli Wallach as his ailing father, the film falters constantly on its premise: that Leo's life is falling apart. Aside from middle-age concerns, he seems pretty blessed. His middle-class malaise is funny at first but eventually grates as he complains constantly about his self-perpetuated troubles. There is, however, one moment when the film seems about to take flight. After Leo strays from his marriage with an with a married woman, he foolishly shows up at her home to return her underwear and immediately confesses the afternoon fling to her husband. But Reigert seems determined to maintain such a light touch that the incident is mostly glossed over and the momentum peters out. (NATE LIPPENS) Varsity, Fri-Sun 2, 4:30, 7, 9:30 pm. (Director in attendance for all shows on Fri-Sat.)

The Last Seduction
A 1994 noir, with Linda Fiorentino as the femme fatale. Central Cinema, Fri-Sun 7, 9:30 pm (final show 21+).

A League of Ordinary Gentlemen
A special engagement of a documentary about the wild world of professional bowling. Metro, Mon-Tues 12:30 pm.

My Beautiful Girl, Mari
An animated film from South Korea about a child, a magical marble, and a mysterious girl who cannot speak. Grand Illusion, Weekdays 7, 9 pm, Sat-Sun 3, 5, 7, 9 pm.

Repo Man
"Goddamn-dipshit-Rodriguez-gypsy-dildo-punks! I'll get your ass!" Central Cinema, Wed-Thurs 7, 9:15 pm.

Scarlet Street
SAM's film noir series continues with Fritz Lang's classic, starring Edward G. Robinson as an artistic cashier named Christopher Cross. Seattle Art Museum, Thurs Oct 6 at 7:30 pm.

Shane
A drifter with a mysterious past shows up in a town where cattle ranchers and settlers just can't get along. Movie Legends, Sun Oct 2 at 1 pm.

Showgirls with David Schmader
Showgirls, the Paul Verhoeven/Joe Estzerhas (also known as Team T&A) debacle, has achieved a tremendous cult following among those who love camp 'n' catfights. In the wake of a special-edition DVD featuring his commentary and other glimmers of official approbation, our own David Schmader returns to give the flick his own special gloss. And it's a Hurricane Katrina benefit, so you can feel virtuous about getting down and dirty with strippers. Triple Door, Wed Oct 5 at 7 pm.

Super Hits, Vol. 10
A greatest-hits programming retrospective at Northwest Film Forum. If you were one of the dopes who pretended to enjoy Todd Haynes's fetishistic Far from Heaven, it's time to learn from the real king of the weepies: Douglas Sirk's 1956 melodrama Written on the Wind screens Friday. Sadly, you have to choose between Sirk and Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, whose fascinating, bizarre Close-Up plays NWFF's other cinema in the same time slot. The current vogue for staged reality has nothing on this whack experiment in reenactment as high art, in which Kiarostami convinced the victims and perpetrator of an actual movie-related identity hoax to restage the crime—with some emotional twists. Other movies worth a look include Olivier Assayas's retro coming-of-age movie Cold Water and Agnes Varda's digital self-portrait, The Gleaners and I. Everyone should also see Cremaster 2, not because it's good, but because Matthew Barney's a hack, and I want to prove it. (ANNIE WAGNER) All films screen at Northwest Film Forum. Best of Wigglyworld Studios, Thurs Sept 29 at 7 pm. Dutch Harbor: Where the Sea Breaks Its Back, Thurs Sept 29 at 9 pm. Close-Up, Fri Sept 30 at 7 pm. Written on the Wind, Fri Sept 30 at 7 pm. Visual Music (experimental films blending visual art and music), Fri Sept 30 at 9 pm. Cold Water, Fri Sept 30 at 9:15 pm. Heavy Metal Parking Lot, Fri Sept 30 at 11 pm. The Seven Year Itch, Sat Oct 1 at 7 pm. The Gleaners and I, Sat Oct 1 at 7 pm. Cremaster 2, Sat Oct 1 at 9:15 pm. Benny, Marty and Jerkbeast, Sat Oct 1 at 11 pm. Best Children's Films Ever!, Sun Oct 2 at 1 pm. First Look Shorts (including films by Mike Mills (Thumbsucker) and Miranda July (Me and You and Everyone We Know)—who are now reportedly dating each other–and an excellent Soviet-inspired short by Guy Maddin), Sun Oct 2 at 6 pm. Woman of Tokyo (with live score by Wayne Horvitz), Sun Oct 2 at 8 pm.

Twisted Flicks: The Black Scorpion
The members of Jet City Improv talk over a B-movie from 1957. Historic University Theater, Thurs-Sun 8 pm.

NOW PLAYING

The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Surprisingly smart and unashamed of a little jolt to the heartstrings, The 40-Year-Old Virgin is a sly movie, happy to shock occasionally, but happier still to bless its characters with the intelligence sorely lacking from most comedies. (BRADLEY STEINBACHER)

The Aristocrats
In The Aristocrats, a film co-directed by Paul Provenza and Penn Jillette, dozens of legendary (and sub-legendary) comedians tell variations on the dirtiest joke in the world. At least, that's what the movie pretends to be. In the end, the joke is just a vehicle for allowing these humormongers the opportunity to flex muscles their entertainment careers seldom allow them to flex. (SEAN NELSON)

Broken Flowers
Jarmusch's best films have always been built around an amicably aimless spirit, but Broken Flowers is undermined by a lack of drive comparable to that of its main character. (BRADLEY STEINBACHER)

The Constant Gardener
Heavily reworked by director Fernando Meirelles, the stripped-down screenplay retains John le Carré's basic thrust: following the disappearance of his activist wife, a middle-rung foreign ambassador goes proactive on a global scale, uncovering all sorts of corporate malfeasance before eventually zeroing in on illegal drug testing in the slums of Kenya. As in the best adaptations, there's a sense that The Constant Gardener is hijacking the source material in order to feed the filmmaker's personal obsessions. (ANDREW WRIGHT)

Corpse Bride
Victor (voiced by Johnny Depp) is about to marry a lovely young woman named Victoria (Emily Watson). Following a strange series of accidents, Victor instead finds himself hitched to Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter), a woman who died years ago on her wedding day. Victor is scared shitless, but Corpse Bride couldn't be happier. The wicked characters aren't nearly as wicked as they could've been, and the songs aren't particularly memorable, but the animation is classic Burton (and absolutely stunning at moments—his use of shadow and light has vastly improved). (MEGAN SELING)

El Crimen Perfecto
El Crimen Perfecto, a film about a ladies' man who accidentally kills his rival, certainly has its moments. As a whole, however, it is not satisfying, as its theme and story is well-worn. (CHARLES MUDEDE )

Everything Is Illuminated
Perhaps it's unfair to ask this labor of love, with its obviously meager budget and dull cinematography, to try to match the fantastical dimensions of the Jonathan Safran Foer novel it's based on. But without the shtetl narrative, which takes up at least half of the novel, the road-trip story is fatally unbalanced. (ANNIE WAGNER)

The Exorcism of Emily Rose
Loosely based on a '70s German incident, the plot details the aftermath of the disastrous exorcism of a devout college student. The Exorcism of Emily Rose lacks the utter relentlessness of The Exorcist, thank God (or whatever), but it still manages to lodge under the skin. Melding sharp court procedural and flesh-crawling flashbacks, it approaches its subject with an unusual and gratifying seriousness. Until an unfortunate late morph into downright religious propaganda, it entertains suspicions of a new classic of the form. (ANDREW WRIGHT)

Flightplan
A grieving widow wakes up at 30,000 feet to find her 6-year-old daughter missing, along with any sign that she ever stepped on board. As far as hooks go, this newfangled locked room story has a honey. The problem with fantastic premises, of course, is that they eventually have to be backed up. Despite Jodie Foster's beyond-the-call conviction in the lead role, Flightplan can't quite deliver on its promise, squandering some major paranoia with a disappointingly mundane third act. (ANDREW WRIGHT)

Grizzly Man
Werner Herzog has always had a thing for the abyss, of both the inner and outer kind. The true story of Timothy Treadwell, a self-fashioned nature expert who spent 13 seasons in close contact with wild bears in Alaska before he and his girlfriend were devoured in 2003 by a rogue grizzly, seems so far up the director's alley as to be a little daunting—the kind of career-defining summation that can easily tar-baby a filmmaker into submission. He nails it. (ANDREW WRIGHT)

A History of Violence
A History of Violence looks like a straightforward mobster flick, but what keeps the film mesmerizing is director Cronenberg's style—at once detached and tense—combined with the brutal beauty of Viggo Mortensen as the stoic central character. There's a horrible splendor in his performance as a man in whom will and instinct merge into a simultaneously humane and amoral machine. (SHANNON GEE)

Into the Blue
A John Stockwell action flick with Jessica Alba as a deep-sea diver in a teeny bikini.

Just Like Heaven
Über-pert Reese Witherspoon plays Elizabeth, a frigid, workaholic doctor who crosses paths with a careening truck and winds up in a coma. While her mortal shell lies vacant in the hospital, Elizabeth's stylish and sassy spirit heads back to her apartment, only to find studly subletter David (Mark Ruffalo) failing to use a coaster. Hijinks (and ghost sex) ensue. The dialogue surpasses cliché to achieve total nonsense, the jokes are insultingly lazy, and even the ghost-movie inconsistencies are familiar (she can't touch a phone or a person, but she can ride in a car and stand on a floor?). (LINDY WEST)

Lord of War
Lord of War, Andrew Niccol's ambitious, blacknasty take on arms dealing, certainly has its share of niceties, most noticeably a wittily subdued performance by Nicolas Cage as Yuri Orlov, but it can never quite get a fix on the delivery of its volatile subject matter. When the film deals with the nuts and bolts of the weapons business, it carries a nifty, amoral charge. Where it falters is in the larger rags-to-riches-to-rags framework, which comes off as both moldy and maddeningly condescending. (ANDREW WRIGHT)

March of the Penguins
The only animal worth making a documentary about is the human. (CHARLES MUDEDE )

Me and You and Everyone We Know
Miranda July's feature-film debut is delicate and tense, a movie with a visual language so powerful that it seems to expand out of the movie theater and onto the sidewalk. Hers is a fantastical world where the most important contours are human shapes, where intense sexual longing collides with the paradoxical wish to escape your own skin, where those who have power try to abdicate it, and those who are powerless act out in agonizing, self-deceiving ways. (ANNIE WAGNER)

Proof
Though it's not as grossly heavy-handed as A Beautiful Mind, this film suffers from a similar failure of specificity. Of course Jake Gyllenhaal isn't convincing as a math graduate student—but it's not because he's sexy. It's because his character never talks directly about math. Proof resonates emotionally, but the real achievement would have been sneaking some real math into a math movie. And no, name-dropping Sophie Germain doesn't count. (ANNIE WAGNER)

Roll Bounce
Prepubescent rapper Lil' Bow Wow has grown up a bit, dropped the "Lil'," and persists in exploring a career in acting. This time, he takes on the role of X, a young man who's dealing with the recent death of his mother via roller-skating. Since the local roller rink just closed down, X and his friends have to go to the swanky disco rink called Sweet Water if they wanna practice their moves (it's all set in the '70s, so there are a lot of cheeky moves). Sweetness (Sweet Water's skate god) and his glitter-pants wearin' crew have it out with X and his gang because, you know, some brats from the Southside just ain't gonna mesh with some dudes wearing half-buttoned disco shirts. It all works out in the end, though, but not before a barrage of life lessons, bad hair, and (of course) a skate off. (MEGAN SELING)

Thumbsucker
Thumbsucker, Mike Mills's first feature film, is a sweet coming-of-age movie with a mildly Freudian catch—no more than that, but certainly no less. Justin Cobb (Lou Pucci, perfectly cast) is a high-school senior, and he still sucks his thumb. It's a quiet habit for a quiet kid, but breaking it unleashes all kinds of static on his family and friends. The screenplay, which Mills adapted from the Walter Kirn novel, bears its three-act structure somewhat heavily. But there are enough understated moments to make you forgive the overall organization. (ANNIE WAGNER)

Wedding Crashers
Seemingly conceived, shot, and edited during a four-day weekend, Wedding Crashers, while occasionally amusing, is lazy enough to make '80s ass-gas-or-grass comedies like H.O.T.S. or Hamburger: The Motion Picture look like models of precision timing. (ANDREW WRIGHT)