Friday, March 21

Returning to the Egyptian Theatre starting Friday is Noir City, the American Cinematheque's 16th annual festival of film noir. Nearly every night through April 6 will offer a double feature.

Take a stroll down memory lane to 1999 at the Downtown Independent at 9 p.m. with a drink-along double feature of high school films Varsity Blues and She's All That. In Varsity Blues, quarterback Mox (James Van Der Beek) takes a stand against his tyrannical football coach (Jon Voight). In She's All That, the story of Pygmalion gets a modern spin as popular jock Zack (Freddie Prinze Jr.) makes over artsy nerd Laney (Rachael Leigh Cook) on a bet, then starts to fall for her. Paul Walker co-stars in both films. Tickets are $12 (including your first drink), and you must be 21 or older to attend.

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Saturday, March 22

At the AT&T Center downtown, NewFilmmakers Los Angeles features two programs of shorts and a feature starting at 5:45 p.m. The feature, Friended to Death, stars Ryan Hansen as Michael, a social-media addict who decides to fake his own death to see which of his online “friends” will show up at his funeral (Hansen also plays Veronica Mars' Dick Casablancas, another douchebag role). Each program is $6 individually, or get access to the whole night for $16 at newfilmmakersla.com/tickets.

Tuesday, March 25

Rock band The National will give a full-length concert alongside the Los Angeles premiere of Mistaken for Strangers before the film's official theatrical run (starting April 4 at Hollywood's Arena Cinema) at the Shrine Auditorium. Right before The National's biggest tour in 2010, lead singer Matt Berninger invites his younger brother, filmmaker Tom Berninger, to come along as a roadie. This documentary is the result of Tom bringing his camera and capturing the relationship between him and Matt. Tickets are $42.50, and the show starts at 7 p.m. 

See also: More L.A. Weekly Film Coverage

Wednesday, March 26

The world premiere of Stripped takes place at the ArcLight Cinerama Dome at 7 p.m. on Wednesday – and no, it's not about strippers, or even Christina Aguilera's 2002 album. This doc about comic strips pays homage to iconic cartoonists who have entertained generations with characters such as Calvin and Hobbes (Bill Watterson), Garfield (Jim Davis) and Cathy (Cathy Guisewite). After the screening, there's a Q&A with co-directors Dave Kellett and Frederick Schroeder, as well as artists Matt Inman (The Oatmeal), Dan Piraro (Bizarro) and Keith Knight (K Chronicles). Also, 10 lucky folks will get film posters that Watterson created just for Stripped. 

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