Cinema: In Paul Krik’s film, “Able Danger,” which opened the 2008 Brooklyn International Film Festival on Friday, something about the movie’s main character seemed very familiar. Thomas Flynn owned a cafe called Vox Pop on Cortelyou Road and wrote a book about a 9-11 cover-up theory; in fact, in many ways, he resembled real-life Vox Pop owner, writer and man-about-town Sander Hicks. Comment.

Cinema: As the summer blockbuster season heats up with familiar faces — we’re looking at you, Indiana Jones and Carrie Bradshaw — local cinephiles will have the chance to check out some truly original movies — beginning May 30 — when the Brooklyn International FIlm Festival lights up screens for its 11th year. Comments (1).

Cinema: On Thursday, May 29, the sun will rise on the third year of the “Sundance Institute at BAM” series, a 58-film extravaganza straight from the screens of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Comment.

Cinema: It might be the last summer for Astroland, but certain parts of Coney Island will live on forever. WIth the release of “The FIlms of Morris Engel with Ruth Orkin” DVD earlier this month, Engel’s timeless film “Little Fugitive” can be embraced by a new generation of fans. Comment.

Cinema: “America has always seemed to hate its poets,” said Ken Siegelman, a Gravesend resident and Brooklyn’s poet laureate. “But to see a film done about me — it’s really given me a new lease on life.” Comments (1).

Theater: Over a century after his father, Max Kaminsky, arrived at Ellis Island on the "SS Scandia," legendary filmmaker — and Williamsburg native! — Mel Brooks made his own voyage, this time aboard a chartered ferry running between Battery Park and the Ellis Island piers. Comment.

Cinema: Break out the popcorn for the 42nd annual Brooklyn Arts Council International Film Festival. This year brings a record number of submissions, and 23 of them — including two award-winning films — hail from the borough. Comment.

Cinema: Prostitutes, policement and gangsters. Not another gubernatorial fiasco, it’s “Tomu Uchida: Discovering a Japanese Master,” a film series celebrating the world of the late director coming to BAMCInematek on April 11. Comment.

Cinema: Music and the movies have always made a great match. From cinema’s earliest days, when music served as accompaniment to film, until today, when film scores can make or break a “talkie,” the two arts forms belong together. And don’t think that today’s cinematic music is merely background for current releases. Many musicians are writing music for new experimental films, as well as creating new scores for classics, like Windsor Terrace resident Tom Nazziola. Comment.

Cinema: It might not be everyone’s idea of the perfect Valentine’s Day date movie, but don’t let that deter you from seeing Milos Forman’s bittersweet Czech New Wave classic, “Loves of a Blonde,” a gentle but probing look at relationships that’s as far away from those typically sappy Hollywood chick-flick romances as it’s possible to be. Comment.

Cinema: GO Brooklyn catches up with “Saw” and “The Italian Job” star Franky G., a Williamsburg native whose first feature film is airing on PBS Channel 13 on Saturday, Feb. 2. Comment.

Cinema: Dmitriy Salita’s a complicated guy. Born in Odessa, Ukraine and raised in Midwood, Salita is a world-class boxer and an observant, Orthodox Jew. Comment.

Cinema: Woody Allen’s latest film opens on Jan. 18, but “Cassandra’s Dream” isn’t exactly ours. Comment.