Ty's movie picks for Friday, July 31

(Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty in "Splendor in the Grass," playing Sunday at the Harvard Film Archive)

Last night saw the kick-off of the 11th annual Roxbury Film Festival, an event that keeps growing and maturing with the years. This edition covers the bases, with a "Dinner and a Movie" screening of "Why Am I Doing This?" tonight at Haley Hall (star Obba Babatunde will be in attendance), workshops for screenwriters and young actors, marketing panels, a Sunday awards brunch, and a lot of good films, including an increasing number of strong foreign language entries. The closing afternoon documentary on Sunday at 3 pm at the Museum of Fine Arts will be Robert Townsend's "Why We Laugh: Black Comedians on Black Comedy," with sitcom legend Marla Gibbs in attendance. Has this become the best film festival in Boston? After 11 years, it's certainly the most confident and community-minded.

Elsewhere, I've already made my feelings on "Funny People" clear: Indulge it and director Judd Apatow as you wish but know that you're going in for 2 1/2 hours of crotch-obsessed soul-baring. Which is better, I guess, than soul-obsessed crotch-baring. Anyway, Sandler's good, Rogen's hog-tied by his own character, and that last hour should have been hacked off like a gangrenous limb.

The one to take the older kids to is "Afghan Star," the documentary at the Kendall Square about an "American Idol"-style TV show in post-Taliban Afghanistan. The film follows four contestants (including two women) over one season and is by turns suspenseful, funny, inspiring and indelibly sad. Like "American Idol" except with something real at stake. Terrific movie; I wish I could talk you into seeing it.

"Seraphine" is also quite good, a mad-artist true tale with a startling lead performance from Yolande Moreau. Wesley has only horrid things to say about "Shrink," the new something-is-rotten-in-the-state-of-California drama (it sounds like "Crash" on a couch).

At the Brattle, they're hosting a "Class of 1984" repertory series with a box office gimmick: Show up dressed in 80s garb (high hair, shoulder pads, you know the drill) and you get a 2-for-1 ticket fee. All well and good, but this weekend's movie truly stoops to conquer: "Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo."

Also, the Complete Elia Kazan series begins tonight at the Harvard Film Archive. I wrote about it last Sunday, but let me repeat: See "Splendor in the Grass" (above) on the HFA's big screen on Sunday if you can, and see "Wild River" here because you won't be able to see it anywhere else.