Ed Yerke-Robins

Spike Lee returns with a swinging "Red Hook," while Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Dax Shepard hit the road hard. In limited release, dark indie drama "Compliance" shows how far we'll go to please authority.

It's a monster week for new releases, with stop-motion ghosts, British ghouls & a boatload of docs with political horrors. Has Halloween come early?

Jeremy Renner's a fine actor who keeps getting stuck on the B-team. This weekend, he transitions to the Bourne-team. Elsewhere, it's Carolina Congressional combat for Will Ferrell & Zach Galifianakis in The Campaign.

How to get schooled...this week at the movies.

Dance flick fourquel Step Up Revolution & android assemblage documentary Convento bring visual energy to the screen. Meanwhile, Todd Solondz' Dark Horse is on standby to bring you down with pitch-black, uncomfortable comedy.

The Egyptian saddles up "Spaghetti Westerns Unchained", spotlighting the morally murky, bloody world of Italian gunslingers. But if you can't take desert duels, the New Beverly has a double dose of doggies!

The Dark Knight Rises, while in limited release, The Queen of Versailles falls & ridiculously prolific, unpredictably eclectic filmmaker Takashi Miike commits Hara-Kiri.

The Aero Theatre christens their new 4K projector with marvelous restorations, while the Egyptian celebrates Damon Packard's nightmarish nostalgia & parallel universes with our world's premiere of his latest, Foxfur.

We come from the land of the ice & snow, with previews of Ice Age: Continental Drift & Swedish crime thriller Easy Money.

Peter Parker picked a peck of pickled previews for The Amazing Spider-Man, sticky icky Savages & romantic counter-programming courtesy of Take This Waltz & The Magic of Belle Isle.

Who says the fireworks have to stop tonight? Doug Benson sets off a big bomb at the Cinefamily, while the Viscera Film Festival celebrates the red-white-and-blue-blooded ladies of horror!

The Goethe-Institut Los Angeles celebrates German auteur Wim Wenders' unique brand of wanderlust with an all-day Wimfest! Then have a quick laugh (or 10) at Downtown Independent with the L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival.