THE BLUES BROTHERS (133 minutes) M
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Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi play a pair of lowlifes on "a mission from God" in John Landis' epic musical comedy from 1980 – a genuine cult classic, with spectacular car chases, atmospheric Chicago locations, and rousing guest appearances from the likes of James Brown, Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin. Digitally projected. Stringybark Cinema (Emu Plains Reserve), today, sunset (gates open 6.30pm).
ABOUT ELLY (119 minutes) PG
A group of friends take a holiday on the Caspian Sea – but for some of them, an unmarried woman (Taraneh Alidoosti) might as well be an unexploded bomb. This 2009 riff on Michelangelo Antonioni's L'avventura confirmed the Iranian director Asghar Farhadi (A Separation) as a major talent, with a fascination with social protocol and a gift for orchestrating chaos. Digitally projected. Theatre Royal (Castlemaine), today, 1pm.
THE IRON GIANT (86 minutes) PG
Made in 1999 on the cusp of Hollywood's switch to digital animation, this retro cartoon about a giant alien robot (voiced by Vin Diesel) that lands in 1950s America remains the peak achievement of director Brad Bird (The Incredibles). The story distantly derives from a children's book by the poet Ted Hughes, but E.T. is a closer reference point. Astor, today 11am and tomorrow 1pm.
WOMEN HE'S UNDRESSED (100 minutes) PG
Orry George Kelly was the boy from country NSW who found himself smack-bang in the centre of the Golden Age of Hollywood, designing costumes for hundreds of films including classics like Casablanca and Some Like It Hot. With gleeful direct-to-camera narration by Darren Gilshenan as Kelly, Gillian Armstrong's documentary is an entertaining eye-opener. ACMI, today, 4pm. Tickets $7 or less.
SPOTLIGHT (128 minutes) M
If you're a sucker for films about crusading investigative journalism, you're bound to be hooked by Tom McCarthy's docudrama about a team of Boston reporters bent on exposing the Catholic Church's role in covering up sexual abuse. The implicit nostalgia is a little odd given the subject matter, but the actors keep things lively, especially Liev Schreiber and Michael Keaton. General.
