Innocence Lost

Enough ink has been spilled over the distasteful direction that George Lucas' career has taken of late, so we'll spare the vitriol and focus instead on the positives of the man's oeuvre. American Graffiti, released in 1973, tells the story of some young people and their activities during one night in a small California town in 1962. It pretty much set the mold for Dazed and Confused and countless other movies in which kids drive around and get burgers and postulate about a future that can seem so limitless when you're 17 and determined not to become your parents. Excellent for nostalgia hounds and those who wished Grease had contained a bit more pathos. It's truly a film of which Lucas can be proud.
Wed., Jan. 9, 7:30 p.m., 2008