Love Story

CAMBRIDGE — "Dance really is about real estate," says choreographer Marcus Schulkind in a video commemorating the 20th anniversary of Green Street Studios, the Cambridge-based studios and black-box theater he cofounded with four other artists in 1991. They needed, he says, "a place to do the work we wanted to do in dance. " Saturday night's gala performance showcased not just the range but the technical prowess and emotional resonance of that work. The 10 dances by nine choreographers swung in tone from understated wit to thumping drama, lickety-split tapping to lush falls and...

Novelist Jay O'Callahan will read scenes, answer questions, and sign his novel, "Harry's Our Man," on Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the Hingham Public Library. Light refreshments will be available at 6:45 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. "Harry's Our Man" is a political love story set in 1950's Boston. For more information visit www.hinghamlibrary.org.

When it comes to commercial young adult novels, we must not discount the new releases that appear to be knock-offs. Readers who tore through the "Twilight" trilogy and then turned to Richelle Mead's addictive "Vampire Academy" series because it seemed to be a suitable imitation probably figured out quickly that Mead's books are uniquely engaging, not at all derivative of Stephenie Meyer's story, and manage to use vampire lore to explore class, sexual politics, and how teenagers cope with depression.

When the orphan arrived, Daphne Sheldrick felt her heart sink: "She was the smallest elephant I had ever seen — still covered in the soft fuzz of elephant infancy, her tiny trunk tinged with pink, toenails of pale yellow — soft and brand new. " Gauging the color and softness of the baby's ears, it was clear she was under 3 weeks old. Sheldrick was experienced at saving all kinds of animal babies, elephants in particular. They came in droves from the 1970s onward, as ivory poachers shot, hacked, and maimed their way across Kenya.

When the orphan arrived, Daphne Sheldrick felt her heart sink: "She was the smallest elephant I had ever seen — still covered in the soft fuzz of elephant infancy, her tiny trunk tinged with pink, toenails of pale yellow — soft and brand new. " Gauging the color and softness of the baby's ears, it was clear she was under 3 weeks old. Sheldrick was experienced at saving all kinds of animal babies, elephants in particular. They came in droves from the 1970s onward, as ivory poachers shot, hacked, and maimed their way across Kenya.

'Beautiful women and a mystery - isn't that how a film noir starts?" Generally so, and "Just Another Love Story," which includes that self-referential bit of wisdom, is no exception. Barreling toward us with high style from Denmark, the film opens with its hero dead on the sidewalk in the rain, narrating the tale of how he came to be that way. Very "Sunset Blvd.," and it still hooks you good. The title drips with sarcasm. As written and directed by Ole Bornedal ("Nightwatch"), "Just Another Love Story" is a violent, melodramatic, feverishly overplotted tale of midlife crisis and crazy love.

*** CIRCUMSTANCE Written and directed by: Maryam Keshavarz Starring: Nikohl Boosheri, Sarah Kazemy, Reza Sixo Safai At: Kendall Square, Coolidge Corner Running time: 107 minutes Rated: R (sexual content, language, some drug use) In Farsi, with subtitles "Circumstance" is a rhapsodic erotic romance that takes place in a cultural prison, and it pulses with a defiance that would be mischievous if it weren't so rip-roaringly angry.

‘Mademoiselle Chambon’’ begins with a floor being torn up. It’s one of the few bits of action in this quiet, restrained, and often moving French film. The scene hints at what’s going on inside the man doing the demolition. Jean, a middle-aged contractor, wields a mean sledgehammer, but he’s no brute. Decent and caring, he has a small son and wife (Aure Atika) whom he seems to be happy with. Vincent Lindon, as Jean, has a great, tired, lived-in face. With his sleepy eyes, he’s like a Gallic version of the comedian Richard Lewis, only a lot more macho and with all the laughs...

The darkly whimsical new German film "Eden" recalls the work of Percy Adlon, whose "Sugarbaby" and "Bagdad Cafe" livened up art houses in the mid-'80s. There's a portly, misunderstood central figure -- here a gifted recluse of a chef -- an obsession with the erotic side of food, and a macabre sense of mischief. A love story of sorts, it's not a feel-good movie so much as feel-orgasmic-and-then-mildly-crestfallen movie. Like sex, like a good meal, like life. In plummy voice-over, we learn that Gregor (Josef Ostendorf)

The scope of Michael Moore’s documentaries gets bigger with each movie. Twenty years ago he told the story of how General Motors undid his hometown, and went on to tackle gun control, the Bush administration’s handling of the Iraq war, and health care. Now Moore is going after the entire American economic system. But “Capitalism: A Love Story’’ is redundant for a filmmaker whose work has always dealt with the dismaying consequences of this country’s profit motive. Isn’t every Michael Moore film ultimately about capitalism?

CAMBRIDGE — "Dance really is about real estate," says choreographer Marcus Schulkind in a video commemorating the 20th anniversary of Green Street Studios, the Cambridge-based studios and black-box theater he cofounded with four other artists in 1991. They needed, he says, "a place to do the work we wanted to do in dance. " Saturday night's gala performance showcased not just the range but the technical prowess and emotional resonance of that work. The 10 dances by nine choreographers swung in tone from understated wit to thumping drama, lickety-split tapping to lush falls and...

Jenna Fischer's girl-next-door accessibility has charmed viewers of "The Office" for eight seasons. And she takes that approachability into real life, posting honest descriptions on social media of what it's like to do a photo shoot or break into acting. Perhaps that's why in her latest project, a romantic comedy called "The Giant Mechanical Man," you want to see her win. Fischer's character Janice is a down-on-her-luck single woman who can't seem to get her life together and falls for a street performer played by Chris Messina.

It's taken the Russian musical "Hipsters" four years to reach America. That's all right. It may take audiences four years to recover. That's how ridiculous and goofy and often maladroit Valery Todorovsky's movie can be. It's hard to say which is worse about the musical numbers: the music or the lyrics. That said, "Hipsters" is also kind of amazing, thanks to headlong enthusiasm and an endearing obliviousness to just how ghastly the whole thing keeps threatening to become. Set in Moscow in 1955, "Hipsters" begins with a nod to the...

When it comes to commercial young adult novels, we must not discount the new releases that appear to be knock-offs. Readers who tore through the "Twilight" trilogy and then turned to Richelle Mead's addictive "Vampire Academy" series because it seemed to be a suitable imitation probably figured out quickly that Mead's books are uniquely engaging, not at all derivative of Stephenie Meyer's story, and manage to use vampire lore to explore class, sexual politics, and how teenagers cope with depression.

By Carmela Ciuraru Globe Correspondent "The Song of Achilles," the first novel by Madeline Miller, is a retelling of the Trojan War and homage to ‘‘The Iliad," but above all, it's a love story. In ‘‘The Iliad," Achilles' grief and rage over the death of his companion, Patroclus, draws the great warrior back to battle; he's determined to avenge the murder by killing Hector. His fierce devotion to Patroclus is clear, yet the nature of their bond is open to interpretation.

New Hampshire realtor Betty LaBranche has Joss Whedon to thank for some pretty fantastic free advertising. LaBranche's Exeter office was chosen by movie scouts to serve as the backdrop for significant scenes in the thriller/love story "In Your Eyes," which was written by Whedon, director of the soon-to-be-released blockbuster "The Avengers" and creator of the beloved "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" TV series. "In Your Eyes," which Whedon is also executive-producing, stars Mark Feuerstein of the show "Royal Pains," Michael Stahl-David of "Cloverfield," and Zoe Kazan (granddaughter of "A Streetcar...

On the surface, “L’Amour Fou’’ looks like another fashion documentary along the lines of “Bill Cunningham New York’’ or “Lagerfeld Confidential.’’ After all, it charts the trajectory of one-time fashion boy wonder Yves Saint Laurent as he took the helm at Christian Dior at age 21, then left to turn his own label into a powerhouse. But scratch beneath the surface of the fashion — which reveals the influence of Saint Laurent’s revolutionary Piet Mondrian shift dress and the women’s suiting he introduced into couture — and what remains is a love story between Saint...

Wynton Marsalis recently gave the third of six epic lectures that he is slated to give at Harvard University. He promised that this one wasn't going to be 4½ hours long, as the last one was. When he got started, the result was part history lesson, part concert, part spoken-word poetry reading. Three hours into the show, his agenda became clear: He was telling a timeless story about love. For Charlie "Yardbird" Parker, inventor of bebop. For Bessie Smith, teller of the low-down nasty truth.

It's a birthday for Mike Biggs, the goodhearted, heavyset hero of "Mike & Molly," and Molly Flynn, his plus-size love, presents him with the cake. "Make a wish," she says, to which he replies, "I don't need to. I already got everything I want. " A little bit sappy? Not this show, insists Billy Gardell, who co-stars with Melissa McCarthy in the hit CBS comedy. "Mike & Molly," he says, exists "in a world where we don't just say a snarky line, make a crazy face, and walk out of the room.

In the theater, a "put-in" is a rehearsal designed to help a new or returning cast member fit into a show that's already running. In New York for the past couple of weeks, Broadway veterans Rachel York and Brent Barrett have been rehearsing to put themselves back into their long-running onstage relationship. York and Barrett appear at the Robinson Theatre in Waltham on Sunday for a concert called "Isn't It Romantic?" "It's basically a little reunion concert for the two of us," Barrett says.