It's the second night of Hanukkah, which seems like as good a reason as any to see Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window at the Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress St., at 7:30 p.m. This is a favorite. The way it opens: It's a summer NYC heat wave and the camera pans over a neighborhood from the window of photographer Jeff's apartment. And Grace Kelly walks in, only to plant that great kiss on James Stewart, sitting in a wheelchair with his broken leg propped up.

For more event info at the Fox, go here.

A gift idea for all of the Justin Bieber fans out there:

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (in 3-D) will open as a sneak preview at 6 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011. Tickets to see the film and receive a gift pack are on sale now.

Each gift pack includes a ticket to the movie sneak preview; a pair of limited edition purple “JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER” RealD® 3D glasses; a souvenir VIP event lanyard; and an official “JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER” branded glow stick and bracelet.

Click here for tickets and info. Limit is six tickets per credit card transaction. Supplies are limited.

The Fox Tucson Theatre will be screening the 1969 film Alice's Restaurant in conjunction with a benefit for the Community Food Bank on Saturday, Nov. 27 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is canned goods or a donation to the Food Bank.

Movie Synopsis (from Fandango):

Intrigued by the counterculture tale of Arlo Guthrie's epic 1968 talking-blues record The Alice's Restaurant Massacree, director Arthur Penn, co-scripting with playwright Venable Herndon, adapted the song into the 1969 feature Alice's Restaurant. Hippie outsider Arlo (Guthrie, playing himself) encounters suspicion from the straight world; visits his dying father, renowned leftist activist/singer Woody Guthrie (Joseph Boley), in the hospital along with friend Pete Seeger; and hangs out in the title converted church/commune created by his friends Alice (Pat Quinn) and her husband Ray (James Broderick). After Alice's "Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat," Arlo is arrested for littering by rule-following Officer "Obie" Obanhein (William Obanhein, playing himself). That littering arrest helps Arlo avoid the Vietnam draft, but the commune is threatened after more personal, old-fashioned conflicts over sex and partnerships permeate Alice and Ray's alternative world.

The newest film from Warren Miller Entertainment, Wintervention, hits the Fox Tucson Theatre Saturday, Dec. 4, but if you're a skiing aficionado, you can win a stack of snow-related stuff from the makers of the film and the Tucson Weekly.

The prizes are:

One (1) Grand prize winner will receive: 4 ticket vouchers for Warren Miller's Wintervention on December 4, 2010 8:00pm at the Fox Theatre Tucson, AZ; 2 complimentary midweek adult lift passes to Snowbowl and 1 DVD of a past Warren Miller feature.

Four (4) runners up will receive: 2 ticket vouchers for Warren Miller's Wintervention at the Fox Theatre in Tucson, 2 complimentary midweek adult lift passes to Snowbowl and 1 DVD of a past Warren Miller feature

Four (4) third place winners will receive: 2 Ticket vouchers for Warren Miller's Wintervention on December 4, 2010 8:00pm at the Fox Theatre Tucson, AZ and 1 DVD of a past Warren Miller movie.

Enter at our contest page, and good luck!

Courtesy of Derek Eads, find yourself transfixed by the vortex of awesomeness:

Local theater actor Brian Taraz (The Rogue Theatre and Beowulf Alley) will be presenting the world premiere of what he calls "a horrifyingly whacky independent film starring himself" called FOOSBALL: The Movie. It screens at 7 p.m., tonight, Thursday, Nov. 17, at The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St. Tickets are $5.

• Rick Smith
• Brian Taraz with co-star Andy Feld during filming of FOOSBALL: The Movie

Summary (from Taraz):

Paul (Taraz) is a dorky math teacher whose sense of "style" is stuck in the 70's. He is an avid foosballer and believes he is God's gift to women. When he befriends a young beach stud (Andy Feld) while playing foosball at a bar - well there's no place to go but to the World Championships.

Along the way there is (possibly) incest, bad disco dancing, foosball philosophy and an escaped crazed ex-boyfriend. And of course the cameo appearances by Candy Zappa - Frank's little sister. Those who have seen it will swear that its definitely the definition of "Independent Film".

Produced by Art Utnehmer of San Diego and James Bronson of Arizona. A couple of shorts will be shown before with a guest screening of a film with Robert Anthony Peters (The Rogue Theatre).

For more information, call 431-3003.

There are only three nights left in the Loft Film Festival, and then you'll be back to your generally film-festival-less life, stuck watching Lifetime movies at home. The lesson is: Enjoy the festival while you can.

Tonight's selections:

Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno (6 p.m.):

In 1964, French filmmaker Henri-Georges Clouzot (Diabolique, The Wages of Fear) set out to direct Inferno, a tale of jealousy and madness starring Romy Schneider and Serge Reggiani. The film was envisioned as a fiercely original, audaciously experimental project with an unlimited budget and free reign for Clouzot; a film with “cinematic event” written all over it. But after only three weeks of shooting, the production ground to a halt, and the images, rumored to be “incredible,” were shelved. Unseen by anyone, Clouzot’s mad movie provocation was now destined to become a footnote in film history, a legendary “what if?” project that was never meant to be. However, the surviving test footage was recently unearthed, and it proved to be even more breathtaking than the legend had predicted. Fleshed out with rediscovered storyboards, photographs and production records, plus interviews with crew members (including Cosa-Gavras), the test footage and rushes (a riot of Op Art abstractions and psychedelic visuals, not to mention a stunningly photographed Romy Schneider, who never looked more beautiful) reveal the outlines of a lost treasure. This thrilling documentary explores what happened to Clouzot’s mysteriously aborted labor of love, tantalizing us with what might have been. Would the film have been the masterpiece Clouzot intended? It’s a question that will remain forever unanswered …

While you may have missed Griffin Dunne and the Heavy Metal Parking Lot guys, there's still a lot of film left in the canisters at the Loft this week, as their film festival runs through Thursday.

Tonight, there are two movies on the docket: The Milk of Sorrow at 6 p.m., and Daddy Longlegs at 8:30.

Milk of Sorrows:

This haunting, powerful and exquisitely original allegory details the lingering trauma from the decades-long conflict in Peru and takes its theme from the psychological belief that a mother’s sorrow is passed to her children through her milk — “la teta austada” (or “milk of sorrow”). Told through the daily life of a beautiful, enigmatically silent maid named Fausta, whose mother has suddenly and unexpectedly died, the film uses subtle magical realism and poetic imagery to explore how violence continues to affect a second generation of women. Though the war is long over, Fausta continues to battle and confront the fears that robbed her of her childhood and her sense of physical self, and she must face the sorrowful secret that is hidden inside of her. Fausta, in her simple ways, becomes the embodiment and metaphor of hope for all these women and their collective, fear-based trauma. In THE MILK OF SORROW, Peruvian director Claudia Llosa (Made in USA) has created a truly unique and moving cinematic experience, balancing grave subject matter with an elegant lyricism and unexpected bursts of comedy.

Daddy Longlegs:

Set in the New York City of today, but in a grimier, more unfriendly version than the one glimpsed in modern Hollywood films, DADDY LONGLEGS is the story of a Manhattan projectionist, Lenny (Ronald Bronstein), who has custody of his two sons (Sage and Frey Ranaldo) for two weeks a year. Though perhaps one of the worst non-horror film fathers ever featured in a movie, Lenny is also entirely compelling and at least partially empathetic, thanks to the intimate camerawork and Bronstein’s excellent performance. The comedy comes almost entirely from Lenny, who at times resembles a louder and more ornery version of Woody Allen, and when the film is funny, it’s often very funny. A real sense of danger enters the picture when Lenny’s unorthodox parenting comes to the fore. As an added bonus, DADDY LONGLEGS also features what is easily the best dream sequence in years. It’s rare to see a first film that so effortlessly hits so many notes, but Josh and Ben Safdie, working from autobiographical material, have made a film that feels true.

The Loft's film fest continues today with Baby It's You, a John Sayles flick I remember seeing at the Loft when it came out way back in ’83, back when the theatre was the ramshackle but lovable New Loft that was located on Sixth Street. (Has Peggy Johnson and her crew done an amazing job with the Loft, or what?) Griffin Dunne and Rosanna Arquette will tonight be back to talk about the film. Details here.

Dog lovers will want to get there early for My Dog Tulip at 5 p.m.

The new series starts Sunday, Nov. 14 and continues on Sundays through Nov. 28. All shows take place at the Fox Theatre, 17 W. Congress St., at 2 p.m. Tickets are $8 ($6 for students) at the door. For more on the series, call the Fox at 547-3040, or visit www.foxtucsontheatre.org.

The Spanish-language theater went away as part of Tucson's last version of urban renewal in the 1960s, along with an entire neighborhood. All continue to be missed today. That nostalgia from the series only grew with the screening of a short film produced by Ralph Gonzalez, Julie Gallego and Daniel Buckley on the Cine Plaza and downtown Tucson before urban renewal. I saw people weep around me while watching the documentary, including a few tears from my mother, who saw old friends almost every Sunday at the theater.

The Nov. 14 show will feature a re-screening of that documentary. According to a press release from Buckley, two other short documentries on Barrio Anita and urban renewal were produced at the same time and were put on a DVD with the first documentary. The DVD will be sold at the Fox for $20.

Buckely said to expect a new trio of historic documentaries, including one on Barrio Hollywood, that will be screened at the spring and summer Cine Plaza series.

Read more about each movie in the comedy series after jump.