Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • Page CAL12

12 THE HARTFORD OCTOBER26, 2006 The Queen Helen Mirren is winning raves for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II facing the crisis of her life: the public outpouring of grief at the death of Princess Diana. Stephen Frears directs. PG-13. Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland direct a story about a Latina coming of age. Sunday afternoon at Cinestudio, to benefit The Connecticut Gay Lesbian Film Festival.

R. Running With Scissors book is adapted by Ryan Murphy. Starring Trinity College student Joseph Cross. R. Saw III Threequel of the bone-crunching, blood-spewing hit.

Darren Lynn Bousman directs. R. Three Times Three stories set in 1991, 1966, and 2005, about a man and a woman. In Mandarin and Taiwanese with subtitles. Directed by Hisao-hsien Hou.

At Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. Opening this week 200 Cadillacs Rex Fowler of Aztec Two Step directs a documentary about Elvis generosity. Today at Oobahs Restaurant in Willimantic. Unrated. Bikini Blood Bath Connecticut premiere of locally produced horror parody, on Sunday at The Old Dublin restaurant in Wallingford.

Unrated. Catch a Fire Socially conscious actor Tim Robbins and socially conscious director Phillip Noyce take on the issue of South Africa in the PG-13. Death of a President Gabriel Range directs this mockumentary, using cobbled-together historical footage, about the fictional assassination of President Bush. At Destinta Middletown and Old Mystic Village. R.

Familia A cobbled-together dysfunctional family tries to make ago of it in Louise Canadian film. Friday afternoon at Prosser Public Library in Bloomfield. In French with subtitles. Free and open to the public. Unrated.

Forget About It Burt Reynolds, Robert Loggia and Charles Durning vie for Raquel affections in BJ film. At Holiday Cinema in Waterbury. Jestem (I Am) Diorite Kedzierzawska directs this 2005 story of a boy who escapes from an orphanage. In Polish with subtitles. Sunday at 3 p.m.

at Real Art Ways, followed by a discussion. Unrated. KISS Concert film starring the wildly made-up rockers. Today at Branford Stadium 12. Unrated.

Out of Sight Daniel Syrkin directs this story about a girl whose life is derailed when her cousin commits suicide. Monday at Goldsmith Family Cinema at Wesleyan University in Middletown. In Hebrew with subtitles. Unrated. Unrated.

Recently released American Blackout QQQ Ian Inaba directs a documentary about black voter disenfranchisement during the national elections in 2000 and 2004. interesting when it stays focused, less so when it veers off, often, on a tangent. At Real Art Ways. Unrated. The Departed QQQQ Martin Scorsese directs a taught, suspenseful tale of a Boston undercover cop threatened by a mole, with a fantastic cast: Jack Nicholson, Leonardo Di Caprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg.

R. Don (not reviewed) Farhan Akhtar directs a Bollywood story about a man called into duty to impersonate a gang leader. Showing at Plainville and, jumping on the Bollywood bandwagon, East Windsor Showcase. In Hindi with subtitles. Unrated.

Employee of the Month Jessica Simpson plays a girl who only dates guys who win Employee of the Month. Greg Coolidge directs avery lame movie. PG-13. Flags of our Fathers QQQQQ Clint Eastwood directs the story of the guys who raised the flag on Iwo Jima. one of the best movies of the year, and one last history lesson from the R.

Flicka QQQ Michael Mayer directs Tim McGraw and Alison Lohman in remake of classic horse movie, which will bring out the inner 12-year-old girl in viewers who are so inclined. PG. Flyboys Tony Bill directs a shallow, immature story about the World War I air squadron the Lafayette Escadrille. better off renting Quiet on the Western PG-13. The Grudge 2 Takashi Shimizu directs a sequel to his hit.

less about fear than it is about faint titillation. PG-13. The Guardian QQQ Andrew Davis directs Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher in a for rescue swimmers. a better movie buried in there somewhere. PG-13.

AGuide to Recognizing Your Saints QQQQ Dito Monteil directs a coming-of-age story set in Astoria, N.Y., in the Robert Downey Dianne Wiest and the rest of the wonderful cast traverse familiar territory with a fresh and intense perspective. R. Infamous QQQQ Douglas McGrath directs this biopic about Truman Capote writing Cold was a better film, but this film more engagingly contrasts the fascination with high life, and low. R. Jaan-E-Mann (not reviewed) Shirish Kunder directs this Bollywood film about a studmuffin, anerd and the beauty they both love.

Showing at Plainville Capsule reviews Film Rating System Capsule reviews are written and rated by Courant film critics: QQQQQ Classic QQQQ Excellent QQQ Good QQ Fair Poor bother MOVIES ampires! Demons! Ghosts! Pod people! Halloween is here, and local film venues are celebrating with some of the creepiest movies ever made. Starting out the fright fest is, of all places, the First Church of Christ in Middletown, which on Friday and Saturday will show The 1922 silent classic, directed by F.W. Murnau, is so legendary for its spookiness that the making of the film was also the subject of of the a 2000 film that posited that the star of Max Schreck, was himself a vampire. The film is unrated. The screenings, with live organ accompaniment by Shari Lucas, will be at 8 p.m.

each day. The church is at 190 Court St. Suggested donation is $5 a person and $10 a family. For details, call 860-346-6657. Later on Friday night, and again on Saturday, Criterion Cinemas in New Haven will show Toxic Michael Herz and Lloyd 1985 cheeseball classic about a wimp turned into a monster by toxic waste.

It will be shown at 11:30 both nights, with an On Tuesday, the big night, La Paloma Sabanera coffeehouse-bookstore, atCapitol Avenue and Babcock Street in Hartford, will show The Grudge This the English-language remake in theaters nowbut the original Japanese-language shockfest. Takashi Shimizu directs. The R-rated film will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free. That same night at 10, Cinestudio at Trinity College will show still one of the scariest movies ever.

William 1973 classic is rated R. Tickets are $7, $6 for students and seniors. Cinestudio is at 300 Summit Hartford. For details, call 860-297-2544. DUNNE additional 2 p.m.

show Saturday. It is rated R. Admission is $5, $4 for members. On Sunday at 11 a.m., that same theater will show of the Body the original, not the remake. In Don 1956 classic, humans are replaced with pod people from outer space.

It is unrated. Admission is $5 and mimosas are $2. Criterion is at Temple and George streets. In the mood for a fright? Watch these ALT SCREEN ALSO PLAYING MAX SCHRECK was the creepiest movie vampire ever, in IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT.