The white stuff

Want to watch a gripping, intelligent thriller about art history and conspiracy theory? Here you go: It's "The Albino Code," a low-budget spoof of you-know-what that's silly as hell yet in its own way is smarter than anything Ron Howard and Tom Hanks can come up with. Dennis Hurley, the film's writer/star/producer and a "person with albinism" who's also possessed of a wicked sense of humor, is a local actor who's worked with Boston's Tribe Theatre; the short film's made by the Reading-based 7 Fluid Oz Productions. Thanks to reader Janet Zade in Hingham for sending me the link; apparently Hurley and the film will be all over CNN and other entertainment news in the coming days. Good for him.

Other picks for the weekend? I liked "Over the Hedge" better than Wesley did -- true, we've had an overload of cookie-cutter funny aminal-CGI comedies lately, but this one has a nice satirical bite in addition to the mayhem and family-values homilies. It's amazing the difference a good editor can make.

Lots of good oldies in theaters, too. Try "The Fallen Idol" at the Kendall: one of the better Hitchcock movies that Hitchcock didn't make. And the Brattle kicks off a series devoted to Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly. Trust me, if you haven't seen "Singin' In the Rain" or "Top Hat" on the big screen, you haven't seen it all.