Friday, Feb. 7

Today marks the 50th anniversary of The Beatles' U.S. television debut on The Ed Sullivan Show. Join the celebration at the Egyptian Theatre with a screening of Across the Universe, the Julie Taymor – directed musical that uses Beatles songs as a backdrop to a Vietnam War – era love story of a British dockworker who travels to America and meets a privileged high school student. There will be a post-screening discussion with Angie McCartney and Ruth McCartney, Paul's stepmother and stepsister, respectively.

At midnight, it's James Cameron's Aliens at the Vista Theatre. In this sequel to Alien, Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) returns to the Alien planet with a team that includes Jenette Goldstein's Private Vasquez, to investigate the fate of the terraforming colony. Goldstein will be at the screening, which also features a costume contest with prizes.

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Monday, Feb. 10

Monday brings a look at the dark side of human nature, with both events starting at 7:30 p.m. At the Crest Theater in Westwood, it's a True Crime Triple Feature that highlights three famous Cleveland mysteries. Starting things off is not actually a feature but the Emmy Award – winning pilot episode of Doris O'Donnell's Cleveland, “The Day Marilyn Died.” This program digs into the controversial murder of Marilyn Reese Sheppard, whose husband, Sam Sheppard, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime before finally being acquitted 10 years later after a series of appeals. That's followed by documentary The 14th Victim: Eliot Ness and the Torso Murders, which follows Ness – who became safety director of Cleveland after bringing down gangster Al Capone – as he is faced with one of the first instances of serial murders in America. The night ends with Dusk & Shadow: The Mystery of Beverly Potts, about how, 60 years ago, 10-year-old Potts somehow disappeared along the 3-minute walk home from Halloran Park.

See also: More L.A. Weekly Film Coverage

For more current events, the Aero screens The Act of Killing, Oscar-nominated for Best Documentary Feature. Director Joshua Oppenheimer traveled to Indonesia and invited former death-squad leaders to create a film that depicts their real-life mass murders in 1965-66. Oppenheimer will take part in a post-screening discussion.

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