A spectrum of spectacles are coming your way: from Titanic 100-Year Anniversaries at the Natural History Museum, to pop-up dinner parties in Normal Heights -- this weekend's events hold the big and the small for your enjoyment.

The 22nd Annual San Diego Jewish Film Festival kicks off Thursday and runs through February 19 with more than 40 of the best contemporary Jewish themed films from around the world.

Once again George Lucas cannot leave well enough alone and we shall be assaulted by a 3D version of "The Phantom Menace" in theaters this weekend. But movie geek Jamie Benning has been toiling away on a series of fan-made documentaries that remind us why we fell in love with Lucas' films in the first place.

If you are looking for a tasty horror treat there is finally something good on the menu: "The Theatre Bizarre" (midnight tonight and Saturday at Landmark's Ken Cinema).

February is the shortest month of the year, which some joke is why it's the month selected to showcase Black History and Women in Horror -- like we couldn't spare a month with a full 30 or 31 days? Oh well, let the celebration begin.

"The Godfather" on the big screen at the Reading Clairemont Town Square Cinemas tonight at 7pm. That's an offer you can't refuse.

The 10th Annual San Diego Black Film Festival just ended. Here is a list of their awards.

What better way to prepare for February's Women in Horror Recognition Month than by celebrating the U.S. DVD release of "Dead Hooker in a Trunk" with some live Tweeting with the twisted Soska Twins.

Artist in residence Monique Gaffney talks about creating "Being Henrietta" (being performed at the Arthur Wagner Theater at UC San Diego February 2 at 7 p.m., with a reception at 6 p.m. and expert panel and post performance Q&A).

Babes, boobs, and blood are not what you normally expect to find at the opera but you'll find all three at the San Diego Opera's production of "Salome" (opening tonight and playing January 31, February 3 and 4 at the Civic Theater).

Our weekend preview includes an Asian celebration of the Lunar New Year, a favorite Tijuana pastime of roller-skating, and a Bible interpretation by Oscar Wilde and Richard Strauss.

The San Diego Black Film Festival will launch its 10th season this Thursday at Reading Gaslamp Stadium Theaters.

A pair of films with San Diego connections had premieres at Sundance on Friday. I checked in with the filmmakers to find out how their screenings went.

Today, 2 films with San Diego ties will have world premieres at the Sundance Film Festival. I met with two of the filmmakers before they left for Park City, Utah.

For the second time, the Museum of Photographic Arts is hosting the Human Rights Watch Film Festival (running January 20 through 23 at MoPA in Balboa Park).

I'd like nothing more than to wholeheartedly recommend the new Hong Kong film "The Viral Factor" (opening January 20 at AMC Mission Valley Theaters). The screening tonight at 7:20 is sponsored by the San Diego Asian Film Festival.

Last night the San Diego Museum of Art placed a Volkswagon Bug on display in one of its galleries. But it's not your run of the mill Beetle.

As if Africa isn't plagued with enough problems as it is it now has to deal with zombies in the Ford Brothers' "The Dead" (opening January 20 at Reading Gaslamp Stadium Theaters).

John Cameron Mitchell gained fame for bringing his drag queen stage hit "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"to the big screen. Now he presents us with a group of New Yorkers trying to figure out the connection, if any, between sex and love in "Shortbus" (screening January 18 at the Birch North Park Theater as part of FilmOut's monthly screening program).

A pair of films with San Diego ties will screen as part of the Sundance Film Festival's Next program. Sundance kicks off this Thursday.

Here's a list of films worth watching or revisiting on this Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday.

"The Conquest" (opening January 13 at Landmark's Ken Cinema) is being touted as a treat for political junkies as it follows in the footsteps of "The Queen," "Frost/Nixon," and "Il Divo."

Tonight the Broadcast Film Critics Association bestowed their Critics Choice Awards, and France's "The Artist" took the top prize as well as a trio of others.

Begin the weekend early with a rock and roll documentary at the Whistle Stop tonight and wrap it up with a showcase of artists at Habitat House on Sunday.

The Academy just announced the 10 films that remain in competition for the Visual Effects Oscar. Three of the films had 2D to 3D conversion done at Legend 3D. Listen to my profile of San Diego's Legend 3D and watch the video to see how 2D to 3D conversion is done.

Take a look back at the best, the worst, and a few assorted oddities from 2011.

A new Takashi Kitano film is always something to take note of. His latest is "Outrage" (opened December 30 at Landmark's Ken Cinema), and what better way to ring in the new year than with a yakuza gang war.

The North County Film Club's mission is to bring foreign and independent films to their region. Now they've started a petition to get studios onboard with their ambitions.

On Midday Edition we look at the top arts and culture stories of 2011 with KPBS arts reporters Angela Carone and Beth Accomando.

The National Film Registry announces the latest additions to its library and it's a diverse mix ranging from the obscure silent " A Cure for Pokeritis" to the early Disney Classic "Bambi" to the overrated "Forrest Gump."

You're done with the baking and the wrapping, and finally have time to relax. Your mission, if you choose to accept it is to find the best entertainment value for your hard earned dollars.

This month, the San Diego Film Critics announced their winners for the best of 2011. I checked in with the group's president Anders Wright about the winners.

"Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol" (opened December 21 throughout San Diego) gets my vote for the most improved franchise.

I went up to LA for a weekend of movie related fun including a one-off performance of "Re-Animator the Musical" that was to die for. Damn you LA!

"Young Adult" (opening December 16 in select San Diego area theaters) reteams director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody after their successful collaboration on "Juno."

Charlie Sheen has been getting most of the ink in the Sheen family but older brother Emilio Estevez is trying to keep all his press about his work. His latest effort, "The Way" (opening December 16 at Reading Gaslamp Stadium 15), returns him to the director's chair.

On Saturday December 17, the Media Arts Center San Diego holds an open house to introduce people to its new digital gym.

Weekend Preview goes from Christmas to chaos. For some of you, that may a short trip during this busy holiday season.

More award news: The Golden Globes go Hollywood, which is no surprise for the Hollywood Foreign Press.

The awards season shifts into high gear with the Broadcast Film Critics Association's announcement of its nominees.

Award-winning Mexican poet Alberto Blanco will be reading from a new collection of his work, "Afterglow," at D. G. Wills' Bookstore on Saturday December 17.

"Shame" (opened December 9 at Landmark's Hillcrest Cinemas) is not to be confused with either Ingmar Bergman's introspective 1960s film or the underappreciated 1980s genre film from Australia, all of which share the same name

The San Diego Museum of Art commissioned a mural that takes images from their new exhibit on modern Mexican painting and has them interpreted by graffiti artists from Writerz Blok.

Comic books and characters are probably more popular now in our culture than ever before and part of that is because of Jim Lee.

Last night San Diego Cash Mobs held its first event in South Park.

Another what are they doing now... I like to keep tabs on filmmakers whose works I've showcased. Giancarlo Ruiz, whose short films I included in more than one Film School Confidential, has an ambitious project in the works right now.

The San Diego Museum of Art and Writerz Blok have collaborated on a mural inside the museum. It was created specifically to complement the new exhibition Mexican Modern Painting from the Andres Blaisten Collection.

A cash mob is like a flash mob, only it exercises consumer power rather than dance moves.

Sci-fi fans have been excited about the new adaptation of the Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter of Mars. Here's the latest trailer of "John Carter."

On Thursday, Sundance announced the film line up for its January festival in Park City, Utah, and two San Diego films made the cut: "That's What She Said" and "I'm Not A Hipster."