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 9 a.m. Monday, 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. A winner will be randomly selected, and we’ll notify that person via the email address they signed up with. They will get two passes to a movie of their choice, courtesy of The Michigan Theater. Full rules here.

Opening downtown

“Attack the Block” is from the producers of the comedies “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz,” but the best endorsement of this inner-city farce is that it was the winner of the 2011 SXSW Film Festival Audience Award. “Attack the Block” follows a gang of tough inner-city kids who try to defend their turf against an invasion of savage alien creatures. John DeFore of the Washington Post says, "’Attack the Block’ demands to be seen simply because it is a thrill—a pulse-raiser whose perfect construction and pointed wit make it one of the year's most exciting films.” “Attack the Block” opens Friday at the State Theatre.

In “The Future,” Sophie (Miranda July, who also directs and writes the film) and Jason (Hamish Linklater) are a Los Angeles couple who are both sweet and sincere, but also maddeningly passive. Though both are well into their 30s and measure the span of their relationship in years, they seem as shy and unworldly as children, passive-aggressively resisting the demands and enticements of adulthood. After deciding to adopt a stray cat, their perspective on life changes radically, literally altering the course of time and space and testing their faith in each other and themselves. Chris Vognar of the Dallas Morning News says, “Miranda July's second feature is beguiling, quietly funny and finally very sad in a way that sneaks up on you before becoming clear as the Los Angeles skies beneath which it's set.” “The Future” opens Friday at the Michigan Theater.

Opening at the multiplex

“Contagion” follows the rapid progress of a lethal airborne virus that kills within days. The film is directed by Steven Soderbergh and stars Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Winslet. David Poland of Movie City News says, “A masterpiece bound by the genre it lives in, but a masterpiece all the same." “Contagion” opens Friday.

In “Warrior,” ex-Marine Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy) returns home for the first time in 14 years to enlist the help of his father (Nick Nolte) to train for a winner-takes-all event in mixed martial arts. His brother, Brendan (Joel Edgerton), an ex-fighter-turned-teacher, also returns to the ring in a desperate bid to save his family from financial ruin. Kirk Honeycutt of the Hollywood Reporter says, “The family drama resonates strongly with a resolution that, in retrospect, seems like the only way the brothers could have rediscovered blood ties. Meanwhile their fights are downright compelling.” “Warrior” opens Friday.

“Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star” is a new comedy starring Nick Swardson, Christina Ricci, Don Johnson, and Stephen Dorff. Bucky (Swardson) is a small-town grocery bagger, going nowhere in life—until he discovers that his conservative parents were once adult film stars. Armed with the belief that he has found his destiny, Bucky packs up and heads out to LA, hoping to follow in his parents' footsteps. “Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star” opens Friday.

Special screenings

“Precious Knowledge" is a documentary film about a Mexican-American Studies program at a Tucson High School that inspires 82 percent of its students to enroll in college. “Precious Knowledge” plays on Monday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. at the Michigan Theater.

Join director Qasim Basir at the Michigan Theater for a post-show discussion of his film “Mooz-lum” before its television world premiere. “Mooz-lum” follows Tariq (played by Evan Ross) who, coming from a strict Muslim background, enters college confused. New peers, family and mentors help him find his place, but the 9/11 attacks force him to face his past and make the biggest decisions of his life. The film also stars Danny Glover and Nia Long. “Mooz-lum” plays Sunday, Sept. 11 at 2 p.m. at the Michigan Theater.

Classics playing downtown

In “Flight of the Navigator,” 12-year-old David Freeman (Joey Cramer) awakens in 1986, but that’s a problem, because he's been officially missing for 8 years. NASA officials determine that David was abducted by aliens, and hope to scan the boy's brain in order to unlock a few secrets of the universe. Answering the call of a strange, unseen force, David boards a well-hidden spaceship and takes off, guided by the jocular voice of a computer named MAX (voiced by none other than Paul Reubens, aka Pee-Wee Herman). Realizing that he can't fit in to 1986, David hopes to retrace the steps of his alien abductors and get back to his own time. Experience the 25th Anniversary of this far-out space classic with your friends and family. “Flight of the Navigator” Friday, Sept. 9 at 10 p.m. at the Michigan Theater and kids under 12 are admitted free!

In 1992, “Reservoir Dogs” transformed Quentin Tarantino practically overnight from an obscure, unproduced screenwriter and part-time actor to the most influential new filmmaker of the 1990s. “Reservoir Dogs” plays Saturday, Sept. 10 at 11:59 p.m. at the State Theatre.

Audrey Hepburn stars in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” a film adaptation of a Truman Capote novella. Directed by Blake Edwards with an original score by Henry Mancini, who won an Oscar for the hit song he wrote for the film, "Moon River,” “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” plays Sept. 11 at 1:30 p.m. and Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Michigan Theater and concludes our Summer Classics series.

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.