We fucked up. The film series calendars you received in your mailboxes are not only tersely written and seductively designed but also flat out wrong. This week we will be showing SICKO, not SUPERBAD. Both movies are essential viewing, incisively surveying the comprehensive failings of our nation’ health care system and the drinking age, respectively. However, you should at least know what you’re getting yourself into when you take a seat in the CFS this Friday. On Nov. 16, “Superbad” will make you want to relive your high school attempts at debauchery, by consuming unhealthy amounts of intoxicants and convincing desperate-seeming freshman that you, too, are still a virgin, waiting for that special somebody! This Friday, “Sicko” will make you want to stay uninjured, uninfected, and out of the hospital, even if you’re not uninsured.

Thad spent his fall break re-making Kenneth Anger shorts, and Melissa wasted most of her time pining after Michael Roth (have you seen his film selections?), so our column is a disappointing two paragraphs this week (The first two blurbs below are Melissa’s, the next two Thad’s). But please enjoy the first half of the calendar. We’ll see you around.

SICKO
USA, Dir: Michael Moore, 2007
FRIDAY, Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m. $4

Rather than simply reiterating that millions of Americans lack health insurance, “Sicko” also examines the failure of HMOs to provide even for those who can afford it. This documentary has been celebrated as a departure for Moore: as demagogic as his earlier efforts, but surprisingly savvy and persuasive. Moore may not be any more “fair and balanced” than his rivals at Fox News, but at least his gift for provocation might inspire you to seek out less polemical sources.

SEVENTH SEAL
Sweden, Dir: Ingmar Bergman, 1957
SATURDAY, 7:30 p.m. Free!

The first masterpiece of Swedish death metal. Bergman takes on existentialism, the crusades, the bubonic plague, and the Book of Revelation in his beautiful and ambitious breakthrough. Probably one of his most experimental films—a medieval knight famously battles Death himself at a game of chess—but also a good introduction to Bergman’s diverse body of work (and kind of a gold mine for Halloween costume ideas). Come learn to love this canonical director, so you can weep belatedly over his demise.

RATATOUILLE
USA, Dir: Brad Bird. 2007
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 24, 7:30 p.m. $4

This summer was surprisingly pleasant at the multiplex, and I’m pleased that franchise-lusting Hollywood managed to produce “Ratatouille” without the guaranteed support of an immensely popular antecedent. It should be obvious then that “Ratatouille” is actually completely derivative and lacking almost entirely in narrative originality, which of course is why it’s great. Brad Bird has proven himself to be a fantastic young animation director with three excellent films—“The Iron Giant,” “The Incredibles,” and “Ratatouille”—to his name. He is successful because he does not fall into the traps of catch phrases and almost intentionally cloying characters (this is not the Disney of “The Emperor’s New Groove.”) Instead he molds classically tight narratives with a dedication to excellent storytelling and innovative animation techniques. This is one of my favorites from the summer; and if I’ve made it sound heady and boring, remember that it is a kid’s movie, and a very funny one at that.

THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR
USA, Dir: Sydney Pollack
THURSDAY, Oct. 25, 7:30 p.m. Free!

Coming up later on this calendar we are presenting “The Bourne Ultimatum,” which along with the other Bourne films, is reflective of current societal distrust and personal fear of our newfangled surgically invasive government. In 1975, art was similarly imitating life with the release of the sexy espionage paranoia festival that is “Three Days of the Condor.” I want to talk about the theatrical poster for a second. On it is a photograph of Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway having sex, and superimposed over their faces are the hatch marks of a sniper rifle sight. Around them is the circular border of a penny with the words “In God We Trust” above them and “United States of America” below. The title of the film is emblazoned on the breast of a stylized bald eagle above the photograph. The fact that the film lives up to that kind of poster is a huge accomplishment on its own. I don’t think there’s anything else I can say; I need a cigarette.