EXHIBITIONS

The works of architect Jeff Slomba will be displayed in an exhibition entitled "stilted." The word implies a forced formality that characterizes the NYU graduate's works. Slomba combines various materials and disjointed, irrational imagery to suggest forces of erosion working upon his structures. (Through Nov. 7, Central Gallery at UMass.)

SELECT FLICKS

Academy of Music Theatre

(584-8435)

Steve Coogan plays Tony Wilson, the manager of the Sex Pistols and the man behind the scenes of a musical revolution in "24 Hour Party People," the best effort yet from British director Michael Winterbottom.

Cinemark at Hampshire Mall

(587-4233)

Decent performances by Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon go to waste in "The Banger Sisters," a tale of reunited groupies that sounds like fun but is missing the impact the title implies.

"Red Dragon" is reviewed in this issue.

Reese Witherspoon stars in "Sweet Home Alabama" as a successful New York designer who must return to her hometown in Alabama to obtain a divorce from her first husband before she can marry her new fiancé. While the movie predictably lacks substance, its light-hearted tone and Witherspoon's irresisitble charm make it a pleasure to watch.

Pleasant Street Theater

(586-0935)

The sleeper comedy "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" stars Nia Vardalos as Toula, an unmarried 30-year-old who falls in love with the decidedly non-Greek Ian (John Corbett), but must find a way to overcome her über-traditional Orthodox family's reservations before she can marry him.

"The Fast Runner," the first movie made in the Inuit language, is a breathtakingly exhilariting tale that follows two generations of igloo-dwelling Inuit families whose lives are disrupted by the presence of an evil spirit. Filmed on location in the Arctic, the film maintains its historical accuracy while weaving an utterly compelling narrative.

TALKS

Galit Shapira, Ariel Goldsmith and Amit Yariv, three Israeli army veterans and college students, will discuss their firsthand experiences and fears as civilians and soldiers in a war-time country in a talk entitled "Living in Terror." Among other stories, the three will recount the incident of a bombing attack on Hebrew University that killed seven students and injured 20, occurring while they were students. (Wed., 8 p.m., Johnson Chapel.)

St. Petersburg University professor Elvira Osipova will deliver a lecture called "Tolstoy and the American Transcendentalists." Osipova has been engaged in researching the impact of the American Renaissance on Russian literary and intellectual culture. She has translated such varied works as Thoreau's essays and jounals and recently published a major study entitled "Ralph Emerson and American Romanticism." (Thurs., 7:30 p.m., Amherst Center for Russian Culture in Webster Hall.)

Stephen Elliott, author of "A Life Without Consequences," will read from his new novel "What it Means to Love You," an evocation of street life in the underwold of Chicago's Halsted Street. The novel follows three people whose lives intersect in various destructive ways. (Tues., 7 p.m., The Odyssey Bookshop.)

TUNES

Decifunk, a music group whose repertoire runs the gamut from old-school funk to jazz to heavy rock and rap, will perform a concert open to the community. (Thurs., 10 p.m., Frontroom.)

The King David's Peace Drummers Army, an Israeli performance group, will be dancing, drumming and singing to give the community a taste of Israeli music. This internationally recognized group will be performing a mix of cross-religious hymns, rhytmical adaptations of Jerusalem songs and more. (Wed., 4-6 p.m., Amherst Town Common.)

Talented but little-known former actor and singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright will perform selections from his album "Poses." (Mon., Oct. 14, 8:30 p.m., Pearl Street Cafe.)

STAGE

Cedric Jennings, about whose life Wall Street Reporter Ron Suskind wrote the book "A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League," will speak about his unusual and inspiring educational history, which took him from the Washington, D.C. inner-city school Ballou Senior High to MIT to Brown University, where he was awarded his degree. (Thurs., 7:30 p.m., Pruyne Lecture Hall.)

The UMass Department of Music and Dance will present it's 28th Annual Multiband Pops, a concert that claims to showcase the creme de la creme of the university's musical and dance talent. With performances by such varied groups as the Chapel Jazz Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, UMass Marimbas, University Dancers, Wind Ensemble and more, the concert aims to be accessible and enjoyable for children, students and community members alike. (Thurs. & Fri., 8 p.m., Fine Arts Center Concert Hall at UMass.)