Part of the Michigan Theater's Science on Screen series, the modern comedy classic “Best in Show” is a Christopher Guest mockumentary that follows five dogs and their owners (including Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Jane Lynch, Jennifer Coolidge, Michael McKean, Parker Posey, and Guest) as they compete in the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show.

The film will be followed by an entertaining presentation by Dr. Camille Ward, a University of Michigan Lecturer in Biopsychology who teaches a seminar on dog cognition, behavior, and welfare. She’ll discuss the cognition and the development of social behavior in domestic dogs, as well as human-canine communication.

“Best In Show” plays Wednesday, March 13 at 7 p.m. at the Michigan Theater. And here’s a secret: want free admission to this program? “Like” the Michigan Theater on Facebook!

Opening at the Multiplex

"Oz The Great and Powerful" imagines the origins of L. Frank Baum’s beloved character, the Wizard of Oz. When Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics, is hurled away from dusty Kansas to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he's hit the jackpot. Fame and fortune are his for the taking - until he meets three witches (Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams), who are not convinced he is the great wizard everyone's been expecting. Reluctantly drawn into the epic problems facing Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it is too late. Director Sam Raimi, a Royal Oak native, was happy to shoot the film in Michigan at a movie studio in Pontiac. Apparently the film was going to be made in Vancouver. But MLive.com reported that Raimi told the film’s producers at Disney, "If we're not going to shoot in Los Angeles and I can't be with my family, I would really rather do this for Detroit; they have an incentive program and they’re building studios. So [Disney] allowed me to send a research party… and although [the Michigan Film Office incentive] didn’t quite equal Vancouver, I told them I was adamant we had to shoot in Michigan because that’s my home, I can make a much better picture there, people are hard working." So, even though early reviews are split, go see this homemade, state-of-the-art special effects movie spectacular. Even the less than enthusiastic reviews concede that it is a fun riff on the beloved 1939 film classic. "Oz The Great and Powerful” opens Friday.

Niels Arden Oplev, the acclaimed director of the original “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” makes his American debut with the new action thriller “Dead Man Down.” Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace star as two strangers who are irresistibly drawn to one another by their mutual desire for revenge. “Dead Man Down” opens Friday.

Opening Downtown

“A Place at the Table” tells the story of the 49 million people in the U.S. - one in 4 children - who don’t know where their next meal is coming from, despite our having the means to provide nutritious, affordable food for all Americans. Directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush examine this issue through the lens of 3 people who are struggling with food insecurity: Barbie, a single Philadelphia mother who grew up in poverty and is trying to provide a better life for her two kids; Rosie, a Colorado fifth-grader who often has to depend on friends and neighbors to feed her and has trouble concentrating in school; and Tremonica, a Mississippi second-grader whose asthma and health issues are exacerbated by the largely empty calories her hardworking mother can afford. Steven Rea of the Philadelphia Inquirer says, “’A Place at the Table’ is advocacy journalism at its best, lining up its facts, illustrating the widespread problem with a few trenchant and compelling cases, and offering solutions.” “A Place at the Table” opens Friday at the Michigan Theater.

It’s time again for the Ann Arbor Film Festival

The 51st edition of Ann Arbor Film Festival, the longest-running independent and experimental film festival in North America, runs March 19-24. Internationally recognized as a premiere forum for independent filmmakers and artists, each year’s festival engages audiences with remarkable cinematic experiences. For more information or to get your passes please visit www.aafilmfest.org.

Special Screenings Downtown

The hit Korean film “Punch” plays Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Michigan Theater as part of the NAM Center for Korean Studies Korean Cinema Now series. Admission is free!

In “The Player,” Robert Altman takes a scalpel to Hollywood ethics in the 1990s (or the lack thereof) in his acidic satire of the Hollywood studio system. “The Player” plays on Monday at 7 p.m. as part of the New Line and New Hollywood Film Series.

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.