Film Shorts: Valley Cinemas, Streaming, The Worx

Among the films leaving Netflix in November are, unsurprisingly, some Halloween related items, such as the first Scream, still an effective slasher film, especially if you don't know the plot, and the first five Saws, if you are a student of incredibly complicated horror mythology. For those interested in the trials and tribulations of the young, there is the Stephen King adaptation Stand by Me, and the inspirational college football tale, Rudy. For fans of chaos, there is the Saturday Night Live-inspired The Blues Brothers, which turns Chicago into a demolition derby, and Three Kings, which does the same for Iraq. But by far the best film about to depart is the Coen Brothers' Fargo, an imaginary tale of violence and family set in the frigid north. Given that Fargo the TV show is currently the best thing on television, here's a chance for some prep work before diving into season two of the show.

Valley Cinemas is offering two films this week: You have to hand it to Goosebumps – as the film has found a way to solve the problem of adapting a couple hundred short books into one narrative. This is a surprisingly fun movie, with its only drawback being Jack Black as Stine. The Intern is the latest toothless, feel-good movie from Nancy Meyers, whose previous, unmemorably titled movies include It's Complicated, Something's Gotta Give, and The Holiday. I suppose they make movies like this to match up hot stars but Robert De Niro has been in about 40 films over the last four years, and no one seems to like Ms. Hathaway anymore. The film washes over your eyes like an anthology of clichés and then simply ends, with no one wiser, richer, or entertained.

Among the films available at The Worx is the controversial hit, Pixels – controversial because this Adam Sandler film was a lot better than the newspapers led you to believe. For one thing, the film put forward the notion of a Kevin James presidency, but also made numerous amusing allusions to 40 years of video games. Though "not as bad as you'd expect" doesn't sound like the highest praise, Pixels is good Saturday night couch fare. Also on hand at the store is Max, about a dog serving in the Iraq War.

Meanwhile at your local library is the Woody Allen comedy Annie Hall. If there was one film sure to turn the sturdy Montanan into a limousine-liberal-loathing native son, it's this cynical peek at love and relationships in the Big Apple, with a side trip to a ridiculous Los Angeles. The film unleashed Diane Keaton onto the world, but to its better credit, Annie Hall also introduced a new way to tell a comedy story while hopping around from past to present, with character studies at the center of its humor. It's also an Oscar winner, if that matters.