Charles Theatre

I DON'T know about my Jews. Albert Einstein we gave to the world, and Sigmund Freud, too. From the great figures in literature and science and philosophy, we could fill entire ballparks. Nobel Prize winners, we got 'em by the score. But, scoring in major league baseball -- this, we can't seem to manage. Go figure. At the Charles Theatre this week, they are showing the heartwarming (and vexing) documentary, "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg." For those whose baseball history goes no deeper than Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, understand that Greenberg, more than 60 years ago, hit 58 home runs in a single season.

The Maryland Film Festival in Baltimore winds up today. Here are a few highlights from the program: 11 a.m.: Nosferatu (1922), Charles Theatre 1, 1711 N. Charles St. German master F.W. Murnau's superbly creepy, silent vampire movie set the ghoul standard. The Alloy Orchestra will augment it with its seductive, clangorous score. 11:30 a.m.: A Sense of Loss, MICA Brown Center, 1301 W. Mount Royal Ave. Marcel Ophuls' engulfing 1972 documentary about Northern Ireland rarely plays on the big screen.

We can't choose. And you don't have to, either. Giant-creature classics King Kong and Godzilla are playing at different theaters this week. Go bananas and see both. What: Godzilla (1954) Where: Charles Theatre, 1711 N. Charles St. When: Noon Sunday Tickets: $6 Information: Call 410-727-FILM or visit www.the charles.com. What: King Kong (1933) Where: The Creative Alliance at the Patterson, 3134 Eastern Ave. When: 8 p.m. Wednesday. The bar opens at 7 p.m. Tickets: $5 Information: Call 410-276-1651 or visit www.creati vealliance.

The Charles Theatre, 1711 N. Charles St., will be home to the premiere of the local independent film, The Filchaks Take a Gamble, at 7:45 tonight. Written and produced by Baltimore-based brothers Marc and Andrew Unger, the 31-minute flick portrays the sports-handicapping antics of a family forced to bet all of its belongings on the annual Thanksgiving Day football game. The short film was created as an intended prelude to the Ungers' forth coming full-length feature, Go With the Dog. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Admission is $5.

Love Actually, the latest film from English screenwriter Richard Curtis (Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, Bridget Jones' Diary), is this weekend's scheduled feature at Cinema Sundays at the Charles Theatre. The film's all-star cast, playing a group of witty folk engaged in amusing romantic entanglements, includes Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Keira Knightley and Rowan Atkinson. Love Actually marks Curtis' first film as both writer and director.

"Louisville," by Baltimore filmmakers Joy Lusco and Scott Kecken, will have its world premiere at the Charles Theatre on Saturday. The short film features Andre Braugher as a man who comes to understand his difficult father (Mets Suber) through his xTC own young son (Brandon Troy McMickens).The premiere will take place Saturday at noon at the Charles, 1711 N. Charles St. Tickets at the door will be $12. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $10 at Abbey Camera, 320 N. Charles St., or call 800-931-3083.

"Of Flesh and Blood," a dark comedy by UMBC filmmaker Jeff Mentges, will be screened tonight at 7:30 and 9:30 at the Charles Theatre.The film was inspired by the life of pornographic-film star John Holmes, who succumbed to drug addiction and died of AIDS in 1988. Mr. Mentges has described it as "an anti-drug, anti-porno film." It does not contain explicit nudity or sex scenes, but does include profanity and violence.The 25-year-old director made the movie for just $15,000, using non-professional actors and handling much of the production work himself.

If you missed "Waco: The Rules of Engagement" during its July Fourth weekend run at the Charles Theatre, you can still catch the Oscar-nominated documentary today, when it has its last screening in Baltimore."

Dan Zanes performs He's no Barney. Nor is he your typical kids' musician. He's Dan Zanes, former lead singer of the '80s rock band the Del Fuegos. And he's fast becoming one of the big names in kids' entertainment. Zanes and his band, the Rocket Ship Revue, are bringing their musical show to the Charles Theatre Saturday. With American folk songs, original tunes, dance classics and sing-along rhymes, Zanes' show offers a little of everything for everybody in the family. Audience participation is encouraged.

Bloody Sunday, a blistering re-creation of the Irish civil rights march in Derry three decades ago that left 13 unarmed civilians dead and 14 wounded, is the rare 2002 movie worth seeing twice. So take advantage of the chance to see it for the first time at an advance screening tomorrow night at 7:30 at the Charles Theatre, benefiting the Maryland Film Festival. The movie is both a harrowing depiction of protest and repression and a heartfelt plea for finding negotiated solutions to bitter social-historical conflicts.