Local & Repertory

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The Big Lebowski The Coen brothers’ 1998 stoner-noir is Raymond Chandler filtered through dirty bong water, where almost every line of dialogue is a hazy, hilarious non sequitur. My favorite is when accidental P.I. Jeff Bridges (forever the Dude) is ambushed in his tub by nihilists bearing a ferret. “Hey, nice marmot,” he greets them, with his usual unflustered amiability. Nothing rattles Bridges’ Dude, not a lost rug, not a leering Tara Reid, not a lisping John Turturro, and not even shrieking performance artist Julianne Moore, who joins Bridges in a Busby Berkeley-style bowling fantasy that sums up the movie’s sweet, silly spirit. (R) BRIAN MILLER Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., 686-6684, central-cinema.com, $6-$8, April 5-8, 7 & 9:30 p.m.; Wed., April 10, 9:30 p.m.

Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead This is a pajama party screening, intended for female fans of Christina Applegate, here playing a teenager suddenly promoted to head of household. (PG-13)

Central Cinema, $6-$8, Thu., April 4, 8 p.m.

Hancock, Shorter, Holland, Blade Jazz cats Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Dave Holland, and Brian Blade are captured in a 2004 concert in Germany. (NR) Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave., 829-7863, nwfilmforum.org, $6-$10, Thu., April 4, 8 p.m.

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Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut: French New Wave Masters SEE THE WIRE, PAGE 21.

Joshua Tree, 1951 A Portrait of James Dean: Director Matthew Mishory will introduce Friday and Saturday’s screenings of his celebrity fantasia (seen at SIFF last year), which takes considerable homoerotic liberties with the late screen icon (portrayed by James Preston). As a sidebar to the film, Rebel Without a Cause (Fri.-Sun.) and East of Eden (Sat.) will also be screened. See siff.net for schedule. (NR)

SIFF Film Center, 305 Harrison St. (Seattle Center), 324-9996, $6-$11, Fri., April 5, 7 p.m.; Sat., April 6, 5 & 7 p.m.; Sun., April 7, 3, 5 & 7 p.m.

Made in Seattle: Homegrown Documentaries Community organization SEED Arts is organizing this weekend fest, notably beginning (7 p.m. Fri.) with Eliaichi Kimaro’s fascinating documentary about her Tanzanian-Korean heritage, A Lot Like You. She’ll introduce the film, which was a standout at SIFF ‘11, when she told SW, “Here, I’m black. When I go back [to Tanzania], people think I’m Chinese.” See seedseattle.org for full schedule and details. (NR)

Rainier Valley Cultural Arts Center, 3515 S. Alaska St., 725-7517, $5-$15, Fri., April 5; Sat., April 6.

The Manson Family From 2003, this bloody docudrama chronicles the notorious cult leader and his band of LSD-besotted followers on their late-’60s crime spree. It’s accompanied by a new short from director Jim Van Bebber, Gator Green. (R)

Egyptian, 805 E. Pine St., 720-4560, landmarktheatres.com, $8.25, Fri., April 5, 11:59 p.m.; Sat., April 6, 11:59 p.m.

Movie Night DJs Jon Francois and Nik Gilmore set music to silent movies. Tonight they tackle the 1931 Polynesian-set romance Tabu, by F.W. Murnau and Robert J. Flaherty. (NR)

Northwest Film Forum, $5, Tue., April 9, 8 p.m.; Fri., May 24, 8 p.m.

My Amityville Horror Previously the subject of an unlikely hit suspense flick from 1979, “based on a true story,” this new documentary interviews surviving family members who resided there. (NR)

Grand Illusion, $5-$8, Fri., April 5, 11 p.m.; Sat., April 6, 11 p.m.; Fri., April 12, 11 p.m.; Sat., April 13, 11 p.m.; Mon., April 15, 9 p.m.

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The Shining SEE THE WIRE, PAGE 21.

Stuck Prospective parents trying to navigate the complicated rules for foreign adoption are followed in this new documentary, currently touring around the country. See bothendsburning.org for more info. (NR)

Varsity, 4329 University Way N.E., 632-6412, $15, Thu., April 4, 7 p.m.

Suffering of the Grasses Discussion with Syrian activist Rita Zawaideh follows this hour-long doc about the ongoing civil war in that country. (NR)

Keystone Congregational Church, 5019 Keystone Place N., 632-6021, Free, Fri., April 5, 7 p.m.

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True Romance The late Tony Scott directs this very colorful, wish-fulfillment crime caper about a comic-book store clerk (Christian Slater) who falls for a lovely hooker (Patricia Arquette) while falling even deeper into the company of drug dealers and killers. Written by Quentin Tarantino, the famously self-educated former video store clerk, the 1993 True Romance is full of long monologues, pop-culture references, and some fairly delicious acting. Look for Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken, Samuel J. Jackson, and Brad Pitt among the eccentric and highly entertaining criminal crew. The film is presented by the 20/20 Awards. (R)

Grand Illusion, $5-$8, Thu., April 4, 6:45 p.m.

Ongoing

Admission Based on a 2009 campus novel by Jean Hanff Korelitz, Admission contains a clutch of topical issues that Tina Fey might’ve expanded much further and funnier. (Unfortunately, she’s only acting here, not writing.) Fey plays Portia, an admissions officer at Princeton locked into a childless long-term relationship with a feckless academic (smug weakling Michael Sheen, too short on screen time). Seemingly bound for a thin envelope is shy, brainy senior Jeremiah (Nat Wolff), a scholarship student at an artsy-fartsy prep school. His teacher John (Paul Rudd) is pushing him toward Princeton, but with an ulterior motive. In swift succession, Portia becomes a very biased booster for Jeremiah, a flustered crush object for John, and a maternal figure to the latter’s son, a precocious 11-year-old orphan adopted by his single father. Fey could probably pen an entire sitcom season from these elements, but Portia feels like more of a paycheck role for her. (PG-13) BRIAN MILLER Lincoln Square, Majestic Bay, Cinebarre, Pacific Place, Thornton Place, Bainbridge, others