WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY: David O. Russell's Buddhist comedy I ♥ Huckabees (2004) 7:15, 9:30 p.m.; also Wed 2 p.m.
STARTS FRIDAY: Workers struggle to reopen an Argentine factory in The Take (Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein, 2004), screening through Feb. 27. See Opening for review. Filmmakers in person opening night 7:15, 9:15 p.m.; also Sat & Sun 2, 4 p.m.
ROXIE
3117 and 3125 16th St. (at Valencia), 863-1087 and www.roxie.com. $8 save as noted. Short-run repertory on two screens, separated by a bar, in one of the most adventurously programmed theaters in the USA.
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY: In the Realms of the Unreal (Jessica Yu, 2004) /i>5:15 p.m. Fear meets Freud in The Century of the Self (Adam Curtis, U.K., 2002). Parts 1 & 2 ($8) 7 p.m.; also Wed 2 p.m. Parts 3 & 4 ($4) 9:10 p.m.; also Wed 4:10 p.m. See Ongoing for reviews.
WEDNESDAY: No films, just talk, as professor and now political activist George Lakoff speaks on "Framing the Debate: How Progressives Can Win." RSVP recommended. $15 8 p.m.
THURSDAY: The premiere of John Roecker's stop-motion animation Live Freaky Die Freaky (2005), voiced by rockers from Green Day, the Go-Go's, etc. An unearthed copy of Helter Skelter wreaks chaos in A.D. 3069; graphic puppet sex and violence is promised. Director and at least one Go-Go in person. Advance tickets at www.juxtapoz.com 7:30, 9:45 p.m.
STARTS FRIDAY: Call theater for program.
SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
Koret Visitor Education Center, 151 Third St. (between Mission and Howard), 357-4000, www.sfmoma.org. Screenings are free with museum admission of $10.
DAILY (closed Wednesday): It's coming up to the last panel for "Roy Lichtenstein in Context," screening through Feb. 22 Thurs 2:30, 4, 7:30 p.m.; Fri 2:30, 4 p.m.; Sat & Sun 1, 3 p.m.; Mon & Tues 2:30, 4 p.m. A 15-minute film, Artist at Work: Robert Bechtle (Spark, 2005), also screens throughout the day.
SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC LIBRARY
Koret Auditorium, Lower Level, 100 Larkin (at Grove), 557-4400, http://sfpl.lib.ca.us/. Free.
THURSDAY (Feb. 17): A weekly video program on this month's theme of "Facing History" screens From Swastika to Jim Crow (Lori Cheatle, Martin D. Taub, 1999), about refugees from Hitler who wound up advising the civil rights movement noon.
SPANGENBERG THEATRE
Gunn High School Campus, 780 Arastradero (at Foothill Expressway), Palo Alto, (650) 354-8263, www.spangenbergtheatre.com. This recently refurbished Center for the Arts offers a 35mm film series on a large 30-foot screen. $5.
THURSDAY: Behind the war in Iraq lies The Oil Factor (Gerard Ungerman and Audrey Brohy, 2004), according to this new documentary 7 p.m.
STARTS FRIDAY: Call theater for program.
STANFORD
221 University (at Emerson), Palo Alto, (650) 324-3700, www.stanfordtheatre.org. $6. This handsomely restored neighborhood palace usually (but not always) screens pre-1960 Hollywood fare in the best available prints, with excellent projection. A winter series pairs Marx Brothers and Preston Sturges comedies.
FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY (Feb. 18-20): Preston Sturges' beautifully engineered anti-romance The Lady Eve (1941; 7:30 p.m.; also Sat & Sun 4:25 p.m.) purrs along like a lion, while the Marx Brothers' anti-war, anti-dictatorship comedy Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933; 6:10, 9:15 p.m.) roars along like a duck.
STUDIO Z
314 11th St. (at Folsom), 252-7666 and www.studioz.tv for more information on this program. $10.
SUNDAY (Feb. 20): Watch the L Word season premiere as part of a Season Premiere Party to benefit the Lyon Martin Women's Health Clinic. Doors open 8 p.m. Premiere 9 p.m. Dancing follows.
VICTORIA THEATRE
2961 16th St. (at Mission), 863-7576, www.victoriatheatre.org. This venerable old house frequently rents itself out for special screenings.
THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY: The 2004 edition of Spike & Mike's Sick and Twisted Festival of Animation has now been held over for a second month, through February, now for three days a week. That's really sick! $9 7:30, 9:30 p.m.
YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS
701 Mission (at Third Street, in Yerba Buena Gardens), 978-2787, www.YerbaBuenaArts.org. $7 save as noted. This venue's Screening Room is a home for film and video programs of all sorts.
WEDNESDAY (Feb. 16): Susan Stern's film about her elderly father, The Self-Made Man (2005), and his choices 7:30 p.m.
THURSDAY (Feb. 17): Arnie Siegel interrogates psychoanalysis in the quasi-fictional documentary Empathy (2003) 7:30 p.m.
FRIDAY (Feb. 18): The Human Rights International Film Festival continues here with Juvies (Leslie Neale, 2004), about a 16-year-old boy given a 35-to-life sentence. $8 7 p.m. Illinois Gov. George Ryan's decision to commute all 167 death row sentences is documented in Deadline (Katy Chevigny, Kirsten Johnson, 2003). $8 8:15 p.m.
SATURDAY (Feb. 19): A rare print of Kenji Mizoguchi's The Water Magician (1933), a silent about the tragic love of a famed female "water juggler" in a carnival act, screens with a recording of legendary benshi Shunsui Matsuda's narration. Recommended to fans of both water juggling and Mizoguchi's masterful screen compositions. $8 7:30 p.m.
FILM NOTES
Filmmakers Naomi Klein and Avi Lewis discuss "The Making of The Take" (the documentary premiering at the Red Vic this week) at the Unitarian Universalist Center, 1187 Franklin St., S.F., on Sunday at 2 p.m. Admission is $15; call 552-8760 to reserve a spot.
