Blue Velvet (dir: David Lynch, 1986, cert 18)
Few directors have traduced expectations in cinema than the enigmatic and unpredictable David Lynch. Announcing himself with the surrealist and uncomfortable industrial hymn Eraserhead, Lynch’s work has never been easily classifiable, genius to some and pretentious show off to others, there is no disputing the maverick anomie of his style, characters and stories. Blue Velvet is the film where all the weird disparate elements of his dark imagination clicked in perfect synchronicity, creating a perverse and perfect movie monster. Clean cut kid Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan) finds a severed ear and sets in motion a gruelling and mysterious series of events. Frank (Dennis Hopper) is one of cinemas baddest bad guys; a demented, unstable, violent misogynist and possessed with an uncontrollable attachment to the word fuck. You have been warned. We’ve seen people walk out of screenings before. A Shock and Gore screening.
Mon 12 Dec 8.30pm at Electric, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £8.70 www.theelectric.co.uk/

Bad Santa with Conjurer’s Kitchen (dir: Terry Zwigoff, 2003, cert 15)
If the whole Christmas spirit thing is just not for you then Billy Bob Thornton’s anti-social, alcoholic, anal sex loving Santa is the perfect antidote. A foul mouthed degenerate thief who with his dwarf sidekick robs department stores each yuletide season whilst posing as an instore Santa and elf. Hilariously gross but be warned, if you really hate Christmas that much, the curmudgeonly seasonal misanthrope Willy Soke still manages to learn a valuable festive lesson from relentlessly cheery kid Therman Merman. As part of this screening those master food manipulators from Conjurer’s Kitchen will be providing another evening of bizarre gourmetry.  Annabel de Vetten has designed a Bad Christmas dinner to befuddle, bedazzle and confuse your tastebuds. It might look like a turkey but does it taste like a turkey? The audience are also encouraged to take part in Bad Secret Santa, maximum budget of £3, cheap and tacky please.
Tue 13 Dec 8pm at Electric, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £20.70 www.theelectric.co.uk/

Groundhog Day (dir: Harold Ramis, 1993, cert PG)
We’re quite breathless at the amount of quality feelgood movies available this week and they don’t come much better than this hilariously sweet tale of a weather forecasting rodent and an arrogant weather forecasting human. Timeless and eminently rewatchable, Bill Murray’s grouchy Phil Connors journeys through cynicism to redemption in a film that swings from tragedy to hilarity seamlessly. Exquisitely and perfectly pitched Groundhog Day is a genuine classic. As Ned Ryerson might say, ‘it’s a doozy’.
Wed 14 Dec 9.10pm at Mockingbird, The Custard Factory, Gibb St, Birmingham B9 4AA ticketing.eu.veezi.com/

Hollywood Shuffle (dir: Robert Townsend, 1987, cert 15) + Comedy intro from Toju
After actor/director Townsend was once told he wasn’t ‘black enough’ for certain parts and finding it increasingly difficult to find work beyond racially stereotyped roles he decided to make Hollywood Shuffle. The hilarious series of films within films follows Bobby Taylor, naturally played by Townsend, an actor who dreams of being a serious actor but inevitably finds himself auditioning for roles as pimps and drug dealers. Hollywood racism gets pummeled, such a shame that it’s still an issue 30 years later. Comedian Toju, star of Channel 4’s Ball’s of Steel, will introduce the film. Screened as part of the BFI Black Star season.
Fri 16 Dec 6.30pm at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £8 macbirmingham.co.uk/

Paterson (dir: Jim Jarmusch, 2016, cert 15)
A week in the life of Paterson, a bus driver in the city that shares his name Paterson, New Jersey. A beautifully poignant film that finds incredible depth and resonance in the minutiae of the mundane. Paterson drives the same route each day, takes the dog out for a walk in the evening and stops at the same bar for a drink. All the time observing the people around him and writing poetry in his notebook. Adam Driver is great as the titular Paterson, possessing an air of unfussy curiosity as his poetic gaze peers into the lives of others. There is a beautiful symphony of meaning to be unwrapped in nothingness, you just need to know where to look. Jarmusch knows.
Fri 16 Dec to Thu 22 Dec various times at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £8 macbirmingham.co.uk/ Fri 9 Dec to Wed 14 Dec various times at Electric, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £8.70 www.theelectric.co.uk/ Wed 14 Dec 8.30pm at Everyman, Mailbox 116, The Mailbox, Birmingham B1 1RF www.everymancinema.com/

Home Alone (dir: Chris Columbus, 1990, cert PG) Home Alone 2 (dir: Chris Columbus, 1992, cert PG)
We never get tired of watching the hapless burglars Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern submit to ever more imaginative and painful punishments. The slapstick comes thick and fast as stranded Kevin, the role for which Macauley Culkin will forever be remembered, outwits the hapless duo with increasingly hilarious levels of  cartoon violence. A genuine Christmas classic. The festive season can’t really begin until Marv and Harry have received several house bricks to the face. Well why not enjoy that experience on the big screen? The Electric is also screening the sequel, which is basically a remake set in New York. It stars a gloriously obsequios Tim Curry and maintains the violently hilarious momentum of the original. ‘Merry Christmas ya filthy animal’.
Sat 17 Dec 1pm at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £8 macbirmingham.co.uk/ Sat 17 Dec to Sat 24 Dec at at Electric, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £8.70 www.theelectric.co.uk/ Sun 18 Dec 2.15pm at Lighthouse, The Chubb Buildings, Fryer Street, Wolverhampton, WV1 1HT light-house.co.uk/ Sat 17 Dec 4pm at Moor Pool Hall, The Circle Cinema, Harborne, Birmingham B17 9DY £5 www.circlecinema.co.uk/

Car wash (dir: Michael Schultz, 1976, cert PG) + introduction from Mr. Cee
Between the washing and the cleaning there’s always time for dreaming. Unless you’ve been trapped on a Pacific Island with a Japanese soldier thinking the war was still on there is no way you haven’t heard the iconic theme tune to disco slacker classic Car Wash. That gloriously pumping uptempo slice of bouncing soul heaven perfectly encapsulates the crackerjack groove of a seminal comedy film. Ten hours in the lives of a rag tag bunch of well meaning employees, our favourite being Antonio Fargas’ cross dressing Lindy. You may remember Fargas as pimp informant Huggy Bear in Starsky and Hutch.  There are a raft of cool cameos including Richard Pryor and George Carlin and one of the funkiest disco soundtracks ever, it won a Grammy. Comedian Mr. Cee, from MTV’s Comedy Funhouse, will introduce the film. Screened as part of BFI Black Star season.
Sat 17 Dec 8pm at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £8 macbirmingham.co.uk/

It’s A Wonderful Life (dir: Frank Capra, 1936, cert U)
In a delightfully festive touch from the Electric they will be screening the greatest feelgood Christmas movie ever made in ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ right through to Christmas Eve. If you haven’t seen it, well firstly, how not? Secondly, book tickets now. So heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure you really won’t know whether to laugh or cry and will probably end up doing both as James Stewart’s George Bailey learns just how different the world would be without him in it. We all see ourselves in George; the sacrifices we make, the choices taken away and the yearning for something better. That’s what gives the film its enduring appeal. Most answers are closer to home than you think. Despite the tears you will leave the theatre wearing the biggest smile ever. It is indeed a wonderful life.
Sun 18 Dec to Sat 24 Dec various times at Electric, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £8.70 www.theelectric.co.uk/ Sat 17 Dec (part of a festive double bill with Home Alone as mentioned above), 7pm at Moor Pool Hall, The Circle Cinema, Harborne, Birmingham B17 9DY £5 www.circlecinema.co.uk/

The Electric has gone into Christmas overdrive with several seasonal classics read our guide here

Oh, apparently there’s a new film about some rogue blokes messing about in space out this week too.