CINEMA

 » Machine Girl - Fans of The Evil Dead trilogy, the films of John Woo and Japanese anime will all find something to like in the immensely gory Tokyo Shock production of a story about a girl, her gun arm, and her gruesome killing spree.

CINEMA

 » Encounters at the End of the World - Another idiosyncratic and exceptional statement from one of contemporary cinema's greatest directors, Werner Herzog's new feature film, centered on Antarctica, fuels his approach to life as a "chain of catastrophes." The film had its premiere at New York's Film Forum earlier this month and will begin a theatrical run on Friday.

CINEMA

 » Children of Men - FROM THE ARCHIVES: Being released to DVD next week, Alfonso Cuaron's visionary 2006 film imagines humanity in the year 2027, in a world where the artistic voice has been completely lost among the wreckage of constant war and strife, and it is a world that looks frighteningly familiar.

CINEMA

 » Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea - Directed by Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer, narrated by John Waters, and soundtracked by Friends of Dean Martinez, this unique documentary recounts the catastrophic past, details the forlorn present, and looks to the uncertain future of one of America's truly weird places.

CINEMA

 » The Signal - Released to DVD last week after a low-key and limited theaters run in February, this remarkable low-budget film - written and directed by David Bruckner, Dan Bush and Jacob Gentry (yes, all three) - is a cut above similar films in the resurgent "mass hysteria" horror trend, including M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening.

CINEMA

 » The Red Violin - Along with Jean-Jacques Beineix's Diva, director Francois Girard's film, about the history of a cursed violin, is one of the first editions from Lionsgate Films' Meridian Collection of reissues. The period-jumping piece, which features a remarkably subdued Samuel L. Jackson, overcomes many of its faults thanks to John Corigliano's Oscar-winning score.