Win free movie tickets
Editor's note: Comment on today's "Cinema Chat" for a chance to win free movie tickets to the Michigan Theater. Some time between now and 6 a.m. Wednesday, leave a comment on this column, written by the Michigan Theater's Russ Collins. Offer your opinion on a recent movie you've seen, or on anything Russ mentions. We'll randomly select a winner and notify that person via the email address they signed up with. They will get two passes to a movie of their choice.

TAX DAY! Hope your taxes are already filed. However, taxpayers are not the only ones suffering this week. College students throughout our community are fighting through the last few days of classes! If you are taking my Film Appreciation class at Eastern Michigan University, remember that the final is on Tuesday! So if you need a break from tax anxiety or school, if you are frustrated with springtime lawn, garden or household chores or your job, know that the perfect escape is waiting for you at your favorite cinema.

Movies downtown

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” opens at the Michigan this week. Based on the Swedish novel by Stieg Larsson, the New York Post raved that this film was “finely plotted, stylishly photographed and brilliantly acted.” The plot follows a 40-year-old murder in a tightly knit but dysfunctional community. An investigator and his tattooed, ruthless female computer-hacker colleague are hired to uncover the murder mystery. When the pair link the murdered girl’s disappearance to a number of grotesque deaths, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. Roger Ebert praised the film and the lead actress Noomi Rapace, saying “‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ is a compelling thriller to begin with, but it adds the rare quality of having a heroine more fascinating than the story.”

“Greenberg,” directed by Noah Baumbach (“The Squid and The Whale”) stars Ben Stiller as a 40-year-old at the crossroads. Unemployed and not even looking for a job, he winds up in Los Angeles, where he tries to reconnect with his past and make new connections with anyone will who have him. The Wall Street Journal says, “‘Greenberg’ scintillates with intelligence, razor's-edge humor and austere empathy for its struggling lovers.” The film's soundtrack features the 1st film score by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem and DFA Records fame. Opens Friday at the State Theatre.

Roman Polanski’s “Knife In The Water” concludes the Michigan’s World Cinema Series with a single screening on Monday, April 19 at 7 p.m. This is Polanski’s 1st feature film and 2 of the 3 actors had virtually no previous professional experience. “Knife in the Water” was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1963 Academy Awards (and only lost to the film that started our series, “8 1/2”). Kim Newman at Empire Magazine said, “Polanski arrived on the scene with an almost super-human knack for tension; one of the great directorial debuts in cinema's history.”

Also continuing at the Michigan is “North Face,” a true-life tale of survival during the 1936 attempt at conquering the north face of the Eiger Mountain by 2 competing climbing pairs who band together in response to difficulties on the mountain. Also continuing is “The Runaways,” a fun film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and is based on the early musical adventures of Joan Jett and her all girl rock-n-roll band. “Runaways” continues at the State Theatre. Movies at the multiplex

“Kick-Ass,” director Matthew Vaughn’s hyper-violent love note to comic books, opens at your local multiplex Friday. The film, independently financed by Vaughn after major studios balked at the amount of violence, is based on the Marvel Comic of the same name. Aaron Johnson stars, and betwee his role as the young John Lennon in the Sundance hit “Nowhere Boy” and his featured role in “Kick-Ass,” he is poised to break out as a big star. He plays a normal teenager, and that’s the problem — he’s so normal that no one notices him. When he puts on spandex and a mask and is filmed getting the snot beaten out of him, he becomes an Internet sensation and, more importantly, a kind of hero. The buzz on this film has been red hot, with 13-year-old Chloe Grace Moretz receiving much of the praise. Her performance has been called “adorable, foul-mouthed, hilarious and unspeakably violent.” The film also stars Nicolas Cage and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

“Death at a Funeral” also opens Friday at your local multiplex. Art-house audiences are correct in thinking they have seen this film before. It is a remake of a popular British film directed by Frank Oz that we played at the Michigan in 2007. The remake is directed by Neil LaBute and stars Chris Rock, Zoe Saldana, Luke Wilson and Martin Lawrence. Peter Dinklage reprises his role as the problematic love interest. Word has it that director LaBute has crafted a loving, American spin on the original.

See you at the movies!

Russ Collins is executive director of the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. Tune in to the audio version of “Cinema Chat” on WEMU radio (89.1-FM) each Thursday at 7:40 a.m. and 5:40 p.m., or listen to it online at WEMU's web site.