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.

"Nosferatu," a very special Dracula Don’t miss this Ann Arbor Halloween tradition! The first vampire film, “Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror,” will be presented tonight, Thursday, Oct. 29 at the Michigan Theater with live accompaniment on the theater’s famous Barton pipe organ by Dr. Stephen Ball, one of the world’s best theater organists and a renowned accompanist of silent-era motion pictures. Director F.W. Murnau based the film on Bram Stoker's novel “Dracula” but was denied the rights by Stoker’s estate, so he merely changed the film title to “Nosferatu.” The German character actor Max Schreck brought an eerie presence to the role of the vampire that has never been equaled. Bela Lugosi may be considered the definitive Dracula — his portrayal is certainly the most well known — but even he could not match the sense of evil that Schreck brought to the character.

For Halloween fans and vampire mavens, this film is a must-see. The film “Shadow of the Vampire,” which chronicles the making of “Nosferatu,” postulates that Max Schreck was not indeed an actor, but was actually a vampire in real life! Come see “Nosferatu” and decide for yourself. Tickets for this very special presentation are specially priced and will be available for sale at the door of the Michigan Theater.

“A Serious Man” is the new dramatic comedy from the Coen Brothers (“Burn After Reading,” “Fargo,” “The Big Lebowski”), opening locally on Friday at the Michigan Theater. It is the story of an ordinary man's search for clarity in a universe where Jefferson Airplane is on the radio and "F-Troop" is on TV. It is 1967, in suburban Minneapolis/St. Paul and Larry, a physics professor at a Midwestern university, has just been informed by his wife that she is leaving him for one of his more pompous colleagues. This, plus other family problems and an anonymous hostile letter-writer trying to sabotage his chances for tenure at the university, make Larry a modern-day version of the biblical character Job. Can anyone help Larry cope with his afflictions and become a righteous person — a mensch — a serious man? As usual, directors and writers Joel and Ethan Coen are the darling of the critics. This film was wildly popular at the Toronto Film Festival.

“Amreeka” opens Friday exclusively at the Michigan Theater — a film-festival favorite that the critics love. "Stands as one of the most accomplished recent films about a non-European immigrant coming to the United States." - Stephen Holden, The New York Times

It is a universal journey into the lives of a family of immigrants and first-generation teenagers caught between their heritage and the new world in which they now live and the bittersweet search for a place to call home. “New York, I Love You” opens Friday at the State Theatre. The Big Apple has long been cinema's dream city. This collection of short films was directed by an eclectic group of some of today's most imaginative filmmakers, including Mira Nair, Yvan Attal, Brett Ratner, Natalie Portman and Fatih Akin. Special screenings The U-M Center for Korean Studies presents a free screening of “Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring” at the Michigan Theater on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 2 p.m. It's about the life of a Buddhist monk as he passes through the seasons of his life, from childhood to old age.

The Michigan Theater’s Family Friendly Film Series, sponsored by Toyota, continues with “March of the Penguins” on Sunday, Nov. 1 at the Michigan Theater at 1:30 PM. The American Musical Series continues with “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” on Monday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m. at the Michigan Theater. Also opening this week The Michael Jackson documentary “This Is It” opened yesterday and is a compilation of interviews, rehearsals and backstage footage of the show he was preparing for his return to the stage. 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 AM and 5:40 PM, or listen to it online at WEMU's web site.