Lazy Afternoon? Leave it to the Pros

After the Oscars, it always feels as if Hollywood is just biding it's time until summer for some decent movies to hit theaters. (Madea Goes to Jail has been at the top of the box office for a past several weeks. I rest my case.) Well, forget new movies, what about old ones? In major cities around the country, theaters are revitalizing classic films that haven't seen theaters in several decades. So no worries--you won't have to spend your afternoon debating whether to see Jonas Brothers 3D out of pure boredome or resort to enduring Julie Roberts flashing her teeth at Clive Owen. You can have a chic, retro afternoon almost any weekday or weekend. Here are just a few films that will be out over the next week (check local listings).
New York: Leave Her to Heaven (1946); Gene Tierney, Vincent Price; Film Forum Ellen Berent has a tragic flaw--she loves too much. As her nerosis begins to unravel her marriage, and all the men she's ever loved, the film probes the merits of life and death. Martin Scorsese calls it "a film noir in color."
Los Angeles: Rear Window (1954); Grace Kelly, James Stewart; ArcLight Cinemas Laid up with a bad leg, L.B. Jefferies resort to spying on his neighbors until one day he witnesses something he wishes he hadn't seen. One of Alfred Hitcocks' most famous and frightening films.
Chicago: Portrait of Jenny (1948); Joseph Cotton, Jennifer Jones; Normal Theater A struggling artist encounters a mysterious girl in a New York park on a foggy evening. You can imagine what ensues.