Afi Festival

Following are capsule reviews of today's screenings in the American Film Institute Los Angeles International Film Festival at the Cineplex Odeon Century Plaza Cinemas: 'Vroom' Great Britain, 1988, 117 minutes 8:45 p.m. This is no more than a romantic trifle--a road movie gone wrong about three Lancashire misfits burning rubber and losing illusions through the British countryside--but something in director Beeban Kidron's style and in...

Acclaimed director Mira Nair's ("Salaam Bombay!) latest film, the political thriller "The Reluctant Fundamentalist," will be among the more than 30 features, documentary and short films screening at the upcoming 11th Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. The festival , which is celebrating the 100th year of Indian cinema, opens Tuesday at the Arclight Hollywood and continues through April 14. Festival highlights include Ashim Ahluwalia's "Miss Lovely," a look at the underbelly of Bollywood; Vasan Bala's debut film, "Peddlers," a crime thriller about young drug runners; and Kim Longinotto's "Salma," a documentary about a South Indian woman who was locked up by her family for 25 years.

Following are capsule reviews of a selection of today's screenings in the American Film Institute Los Angeles International Film Festival at the Cineplex Odeon Century Plaza Cinemas: 'Never Say Die' New Zealand. 1988, 104 minutes 7 p.m. This is no more than the usual two lovers-on-the-run car-chase thriller, spiced up with comic paranoia, interracial lovers, a tongue-in-cheek attitude toward violence, progressive jibes against the CIA and American big business, zingy seacoast scenery and a few welcome twists and jolts.

"Hitchcock," the Fox Searchlight drama starring Anthony Hopkins as the iconic director, will open AFI Fest 2012 on Nov. 1 with a gala at Hollywood's historic Chinese Theatre. Directed by Sacha Gervasi, the film is based on Stephen Rebello's book "Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho" and chronicles the behind-the-scenes action of the groundbreaking 1960 movie. The film also stars Helen Mirren as Hitchcock's wife, Alma Reville, Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh, Jessica Biel as Vera Miles and James D'Arcy as Anthony Perkins, with Toni Collette, Danny Huston and Michael Stuhlbarg also appearing.

The gig: Director of AFI Fest, the American Film Institute's annual film festival. In the two years that she's served as head of the event, Jacqueline Lyanga has traveled around the world to various festivals and screened hundreds of movies in an effort to hunt down the year's cream of the crop. She is busy presiding over this year's AFI festival, which kicked off last week with a screening of Clint Eastwood's "J. Edgar" and concludes Thursday with Steven Spielberg's "The Adventures of Tintin.

MOVIES AFI Festival The American Film Institute Festival features cutting-edge screenings in Hollywood at Grauman's Chinese Theatre, the Egyptian, Mann's Chinese 6 and the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. With David Lynch serving as guest artistic director, the festival will showcase anticipated films such as "Blue Valentine" with Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams; and "The King's Speech" with Colin Firth. Locations, times and ticket prices vary. Today-Nov. 11. http://www.afi.

New movies from Werner Herzog, Claude Chabrol and Ken Loach will be screened at AFI Fest 2009, organizers said Wednesday. The film festival will run from Oct. 30 to Nov. 7 in Hollywood and Santa Monica. Among the first dozen films unveiled were Herzog's "The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans," with Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes and Val Kilmer; Chabrol's "Bellamy," a mystery with Gerard Depardieu; and Loach's "Looking for Eric," about a soccer fanatic. Also being shown are Lee Daniels' "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire," starring newcomer Gabourey Sidibe as a pregnant teenager in 1980s Harlem, and Bong Joon-ho's "Mother," a thriller from South Korea.

A couple of bare-bottomed girls featured in an AFI Festival guide -- an image from Adam Rifkin's surveillance-camera drama "Look" -- caused a minor dust-up when a Gelson's customer offended by the photo complained, prompting the chain to revise its festival sponsorship and pull 5,000 copies of the guide from cashier counters last weekend. Store managers made the decision independent of the chain's cultural promotions director.

A documentary about the pioneering hip-hop group Public Enemy, the winner of the Palme d'Or prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival, and a feature directed by Gael García Bernal will be among the movies screening at this year's AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival, organizers said Thursday. The announcement came as the festival unveiled a list of 15 more films that will be having either their world premiere, U.S. premiere or L.A. premiere during the event, which runs Nov. 1-11.

For the denizens of Hollywood, the term "global film" usually refers to their ability to send "Star Wars," "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "X-Men" to countries as disparate as China, Dubai, Belgium and Nigeria. For the 60,000 movie fans expected to descend on this year's AFI Fest, which kicks off tonight with the premiere of Emilio Estevez's "Bobby," the term will translate into movies from around the globe. Films featured at the festival, which runs through Nov.

The AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival will show 111 feature films, including 22 world premieres, during its Nov. 1 to 12 run at the ArcLight Hollywood and other local theaters. Among the high-profile films that will be screened are two by AFI alumni: David Lynch's "Inland Empire," starring Laura Dern and Jeremy Irons, on Nov. 3, and Darren Aronofsky's "The Fountain," starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz, on Nov. 11. For tickets and other information: www.afi.com or (866) 234-3378.