The Return of Doctor Mysterio. “The Doctor Who Christmas Special,” which has long been a holiday tradition on the other side of the Pond, comes to the big screen for the second year in a row thanks to BBC Worldwide and Fathom Events. Besides the special—which has the Doctor (Peter Capaldi) stepping into the TARDIS to face a thrilling new adventure—an exclusive introduction and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the program are included. AMC Orange 30, 20 City Blvd. W., Orange, (714) 769-4288; also at Cinemark Century Stadium 25, 1701 W. Katella Ave., Orange, (714) 532-9558; Cinemark Century 20 Huntington Beach, 7777 Edinger Ave., Huntington Beach, (714) 373-4573; Edwards Aliso Viejo Stadium 20, 26701 Aliso Creek Rd., Aliso Viejo, (844) 462-7342; Edwards Irvine Spectrum 21, 65 Fortune Dr., Irvine, (844) 462-7342; and Edwards Long Beach Stadium 26, 7501 E. Carson, Long Beach, (844) 462-7342; www.FathomEvents.com. Thurs., Dec. 29, 7 p.m. $15.
Boogie Nights. Paul Thomas Anderson wrote, produced and directed the fuck (literally) out of this 1997 masterpiece that is categorized as a drama but could just as easily be labeled a comedy. Set in the San Fernando Valley porn industry of the late '70s/early '80s, the film follows a teenage busboy (Mark Wahlberg) who gets recruited by a porn director (Burt Reynolds, in what was then a comeback role), pals up with a fellow clueless co-star (John C. Reilly) and . . . ahem . . . rises in the industry. Threads of stories involving supporting players are as compelling as the actors filling those roles, including Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, Heather Graham, William H. Macy and Philip Seymour Hoffman. This is the OC Weekly-sponsored Friday Night Freakout film, BTW. The Frida Cinema, 305 E. Fourth St., Santa Ana; thefridacinema.org. Fri., 11 p.m. $7-$10.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Balls Dropping New Year's Celebration. Midnight Insanity, the longtime Rocky shadowcast troupe and freaky movie presenter in both Orange County and Long Beach, once again uses props, costumes and audience participation to enliven the story about newlyweds whose car breaks down in the woods before they arrive at a mad scientist's bizarre castle. To celebrate the end of 2016 (thank God), this Midnight Insanity performance includes raffles and prizes, with proceeds going to the Long Beach Rescue Mission. Art Theatre, 2025 E. Fourth St., Long Beach, (562) 438-5435; longbeachrockyhorror.com. Sat., 11 p.m. $11.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story: Open Caption. Some may not appreciate English subtitles on an English-language film, but the deaf, hard of hearing and English-language learners do. This open-caption screening is for the first stand-alone Star Wars anthology film, directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla, Monsters). Felicity Jones stars as a Rebel Alliance recruit who works with a team that includes Diego Luna to steal the Death Star plans (so it can go kablooey in the original Star Wars). The return of Darth Vader, a new villain to loathe (in a white cape!) and a strong cast—which includes Ben Mendelsohn, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelsen, Jiang Wen, Forest Whitaker, Alan Tudyk and Donnie Yen—are packed into this seat filler. Regency Westminster 10, 6721 Westminster Blvd., Westminster, (714) 893-4222. Mon., 6:30 p.m. $8.50-$10.50.
2001: A Space Odyssey. The idea that a space ship's onboard computer system would start acting kooky and eventually square off to the death with its human master might have seen farfetched in 1968, but the idea of computers supplanting man seems much less impossible now. As for the movie, it took an enigmatic filmmaker such as Stanley Kubrick to spin gold out of sci-fi master Arthur C. Clarke's short story. Regency Directors Cut Cinema at Rancho Niguel, 25471 Rancho Niguel Rd., Laguna Niguel, (949) 831-0446, Tues. Call for show time. $8.
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. When Donald Trump says, “This election is rigged,” he should know. His buddies may have rigged it, according to Rolling Stone investigative reporter Greg Palast, who busted Jeb Bush for stealing the 2000 election for his brother Dubya by purging black voters from Florida's electoral rolls. Palast is now exposing the Republicans' dark operation Crosscheck, which is controlled by Kansas Secretary of State and Trump henchman Kris Kobach. Palast and his investigative sidekick Badpenny confront Kobach with the evidence of his “lynching by laptop.” They also stake out billionaires bankrolling the voting scam. Wonder if that is why Trump is nominating more billionaires to his cabinet than any previous president . . . hmm. This cinematic true-life detective story is told film-noir-style with cartoon animation, secret documents, hidden cameras, and a little help from Shailene Woodley, Rosario Dawson, Willie Nelson, Ed Asner, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit detectives “Fin” Tutuola (Ice-T) and John Munch (Richard Belzer). AMC Orange 30, (714) 769-4288. Wed., 7:30 p.m. $15.
Princess Mononoke. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli classic, Fathom Events and GKIDS beams into theaters this repeat showing, as well as Miyazaki's 1995 music video for “On Your Mark” that was never before released in North America. Presented with English subtitles—a Jan. 9 screening will be dubbed in English—the anime has young warrior Ashitaka infected with a deadly curse that sends him looking for a cure in the forest, where he meets Princess Mononoke. Raised by wolves, she will do everything in her power to prevent humans from destroying her home and the forest spirits and animal gods who live there. AMC Orange 30, (714) 769-4288; also at Cinemark Century Stadium 25, (714) 532-9558; Cinemark Century 20 Huntington Beach, (714) 373-4573; Cinemark at the Pike Theaters, 99 S. Pine Ave., Long Beach, (800) 967-1932; Edwards Aliso Viejo Stadium 20, (844) 462-7342; Edwards Irvine Spectrum 21, (844) 462-7342; and Edwards Long Beach Stadium 26, (844) 462-7342; www.FathomEvents.com. Thurs., Jan. 5, 7 p.m. $10.50-$12.50.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.