Dec. 30: “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” (Nicholas Webster, 1964). Martians kidnap Santa because there is nobody on Mars to give presents to their children (one of whom is played by the eminently forgettable Pia Zadora in her film debut) in this icon of what the library is touting as “truly bad filmmaking.”

Michigan Theater Foundation. Unless there is a live show in the main theater, 2 or 3 different films are shown, usually twice, almost every night. For complete, updated schedules, see michtheater.org or call 668-TIME. Tickets (unless otherwise noted): $9 (children, students, seniors, & veterans, $7; MTF members, $6.50). Michigan Theater, times TBA unless otherwise noted.

Dec. 4-10: “The Messenger” (Oren Moverman, 2009). Drama about a soldier who becomes involved with a fallen officer’s widow. Woody Harrelson, Samantha Morton.

Dec. 5: “Welcome to Dongmakgol” (Park Kwang-hyeon, 2005). Drama set during the Korean War about North and South Korean soldiers and an American pilot who end up in a secluded village whose residents are unaware of the war. Sponsored by the U-M Center for Korean Studies. Korean, subtitles. FREE, 2 p.m.

Dec.6-8: “Yes Men Fix the World” (Andy Bichlbaum & Mike Bonanno, 2009). Documentary about the directors’ culture-jamming pranks on corporations and government agencies, including posing as Dow execs and convincing the BBC to interview them.

Dec. 6: “The Shop Around the Corner” (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940). Romantic comedy about 2 rival employees in a gift shop who don’t realize they are romantic pen pals. James Stewart, Margaret Sullavan.

Dec. 7: “All That Jazz” (Bob Fosse, 1979). Semi-autobiographical musical, in which director-choreographer Fosse looks back, with existential grimness, over his life in show business. Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange.

Dec. 8-10: “Big Fan” (Robert Siegel, 2009). Comedy about an obsessive Giants football fan who gets beaten up by his favorite player.

Dec. 9 & 10: “The Horse Boy” (Michel Scott, 2009). Documentary about a family that travels through Mongolia in search of a shaman who they believe can cure their autistic son.

Dec. 12: “White Christmas” (Michael Curtiz, 1954). Sing-along version of this musical about two nightclub performers who help an old army pal try to make his winter resort popular. Musical score by Irving Berlin. Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney. 1:30 p.m.

Dec. 12, 17, & other dates TBA: short films from the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

Dec. 13: “It’s a Wonderful Life” (Frank Capra, 1946). Oh, you know the story. Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed. Kids age 12 & under, FREE. 4 p.m.

Dec. 14: “Everyone Says I Love You” (Woody Allen, 1996). Romantic musical comedy about a Manhattan family’s mishaps in Venice, Paris, and NYC. Woody Allen, Julia Roberts, Goldie Hawn, Drew Barrymore, Alan Alda.

Dec. 15: “Love Me Tonight” (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932). Musical comedy about a Parisian tailor who falls in love with a princess when he poses as a baron to collect money from an aristocrat. Maurice Chevalier, Jeanette MacDonald.

Dec. 18-24: “Red Cliff” (John Woo, 2008). Epic set in 3rd-century China about two small kingdoms that reluctantly form an alliance to face Emperor Han’s million-soldier army.

Dec. 25: “The Music Man” (Morton DaCosta, 1962). Film version of the Broadway hit about a fast-talking con man who convinces a small town he can teach their kids music and who falls for the town librarian. Robert Preston, Shirley Jones. Also, a sing-along, prizes, and special concessions. Costumes encouraged. Sponsored by Temple Beth Emeth. $7.

Dec. 25-31: “Young Victoria” (Jean-Marc Vallee, 2009). Historical drama about the first years of Queen Victoria’s rule. Emily Blunt.

Projectorhead/U-M Screen Arts & Cultures. FREE. 615-0445. U-M Museum of Art Helmut Stern Auditorium, 525 S. State, 7 p.m.

Dec. 3: “Southeast Michigan Salon.” Screening of films by WCC and College for Creative Studies students.

Dec. 10: “Beaches of Agnes” (Agnes Varda, 2008). Autobiographical documentary about Varda’s art and life. French, subtitles.

U-M Center for Chinese Studies. Chinese Documentary Film Series. FREE. 764-6308. Angell Hall Auditorium A (entrance at the Fishbowl on the east side of the bldg.), 7 p.m. Mandarin, subtitles.

Dec. 5: “To Tell the Truth: The Liu Binyan Story” (Meggie Miao, 2006). Documentary about the career of this postwar journalist known for his reporting on the injustices and sufferings of ordinary people.

Dec. 12: “A Decent Factory: Nokia in China” (Thomas Balmes, 2005). Documentary about the Finnish electronics firm’s investigation of conditions in a Chinese factory that supplies it parts.

U-M Center for International & Comparative Studies. FREE. 764-2268. 1636 SSWB (1080 South University), various times.

Dec. 1: “My Time Will Come” (Victor Arregui, 2008). A coroner’s fragile emotional life is threatened when he develops a personal interest in his cases. Spanish, subtitles. 2:30 & 4 p.m.

Dec. 8: “The Photograph” (Nan Triveni Achnas, 2007). A prostitute struggling to support her family forms a bond with the reclusive portrait photographer from whom she rents a room. Indonesian, subtitles. 2:30 & 4:30 p.m.

Dec. 15: “Songs from the Southern Seas” (Marat Sarulu, 2008). A darkly comic feud is ignited when a Russian man suspects his son is the result of an affair between his wife and a Kazakh neighbor. Russian, subtitles. 2:30 p.m.

U-M English Department Fantasy and Science Fiction/Theory Reading Group. FREE. 764-2253. Duderstadt Center Videoconference Suite (2281 Bonisteel, North Campus), 7 p.m.

Dec. 8: “Night Watch” (Timur Bekmambetov, 2005). Stylish, gory Russian horror-fantasy, set in Moscow and combining elements of Blade Runner, The Matrix, and Highlander, about the possible disruption of an uneasy truce between good and evil. Russian, subtitles. Pizza.

U-M Japanese Animation Film Society. U-M campus admission policy: No one under 18 admitted without an adult. FREE. umich.edu/~animania. MLB, 812 E. Washington at Thayer, 10 a.m.-midnight.

Dec. 5: “Animania.” Monthly anime-a-thon of feature films and episodes from TV series.

U-M Museum of Art/American Romanian Festival. FREE. 764-0395. UMMA Helmut Stern Auditorium, 525 S. State, various times.

Dec. 13: American Romanian Festival. Children of Decree (Razvan Georgescu & Florin Iepan, 2004). Documentary about Nicolae Ceausescu’s rule in Romania from 1965 to 1989 and his efforts to increase the population by banning contraceptives and outlawing abortion. Romanian, subtitles. 3 p.m. Architecture and Power (Nicolae Margineanu, 1994). Documentary about the ways Bucharest architecture reflects totalitarian ideology. Romanian, subtitles. 4:10 p.m.

U-M Screen Arts and Cultures. FREE. 764-0147. Natural Science Auditorium, 6 p.m.-midnight.

Dec. 18 & 19: “Lightworks Festival.” Screenings of animated, digital, and 16mm movies made by film students. Note: The Saturday show is usually “packed,” says an organizer; get there early.

WCBN-FM. FREE admission. 763-3500. Arbor Brewing Company (114 E. Washington), 8:30 p.m.

Dec. 9: “This Is Spinal Tap” (Rob Reiner, 1984). Mockumentary about a fictional English hard-rock band. Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer.

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