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Editor's note: Comment on today's "Cinema Chat" for a chance to win free movie tickets to the Michigan Theater. Some time between now and 9 a.m. Monday, leave a comment on this column, written by the Michigan Theater's Russ Collins. Offer your opinion on a recent movie you've seen, or on anything Russ mentions. A winner will be randomly selected, and we’ll notify that person via the email address they signed up with. They will get two passes to a movie of their choice, courtesy of The Michigan Theater. Full rules here.

Special event: Classic “Clash of the Wolves,” live music, and Susan Orlean

“Clash of the Wolves,” the 1925 silent-era classic starring Rin Tin Tin, will be presented with live organ accompaniment created by the Michigan Theater's nationally renowned organist Steven Ball on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. “Clash of the Wolves” is a thrilling cinema icon and was recently selected for the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry.

This special film screening is being presented in cooperation with a live-on-stage appearance by author Susan Orlean, touring with her new book “Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend.” Orlean, author of “The Orchid Thief” (the basis for the Academy Award-winning film “Adaptation” starring Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper), has written the untold story of canine superstar Rin Tin Tin. She will be at the Michigan Theater, in person, to discuss her new book and this special film screening. After the screening, Orlean will be available to sign her critically acclaimed new book.

The Michigan Theater helped organize this special presentation, which started last weekend at the New York Film Festival and will tour through the country. Tickets and more information available at michtheater.org.

Opening downtown

“The Ides of March,” partially filmed in Ann Arbor, is a political drama directed by and starring George Clooney. Ryan Gosling stars as an idealistic young staffer for a newbie presidential candidate (Clooney) who gets a crash course in dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail. The film also features Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei and Evan Rachel Wood. Well reviewed, the film was featured as the opening film at the 68th Venice International Film Festival and was shown at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival. “The Ides of March” opens Friday at the State Theatre, local multiplexes and theaters throughout the country.

“Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame” is a visually breathtaking Sherlock Holmes-style mystery in an exquisitely realized steampunk version of ancient China. A bizarre murder mystery brings together the most powerful woman in China, the soon-to-be-Empress Wu Zetian, and a formerly exiled detective, Dee Renjie, at the infamous Imperial Palace. Hoping that he will solve the crime before her coronation, Wu appoints Dee Chief Judge of the Empire and implores him to combine his indisputable wisdom with his unparalleled martial arts skills to save the future of her dynasty. The Village Voice says, “Magnificent and cheesy, the latest and most proudly absurd of Chinese historical spectaculars.” “Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame” opens Friday at the Michigan Theater.

“The Interrupters” tells the stories of three Violence Interrupters who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once employed. From acclaimed director Steve James and bestselling author Alex Kotlowitz, the film is an unusually intimate journey into the stubborn persistence of violence in our cities. Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times says, “It tears at your heart with its depiction of the intractability of the problem. But it simultaneously insists, and makes you believe, that change is possible one person at a time.” “The Interrupters” opens Friday at the Michigan Theater.

From director Gus Van Sant comes “Restless,” the story of Annabel Cotton (Mia Wasikowska), a beautiful and charming terminal cancer patient who meets Enoch Brae (Henry Hopper), a too-soon world-weary young man. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times says the film is “an uncommonly touching romance about a young man and woman who essentially worship at the shrines of their own deaths.” “Restless” opens Friday at the State Theatre.

Opening at the cineplex

Based on the 1956 short story "Steel" by Richard Matheson, “Real Steel,” starring Hugh Jackman, is set in a gritty near-future where the sport of boxing has gone high-tech. Peter Debruge of Variety says, “Though set in a future where boxing has gotten so intense only high-tech robots have what it takes to compete, ‘Real Steel’ still trusts a good, old-fashioned father-son drama to deliver the thrills.” “Real Steel” opens Friday.

Special screenings

The Nam Center for Korean Studies presents “Secret Reunion." The sophomore film of Jang Hoon stars Korea’s two top-tier actors, Song Kang-ho and Gang Dong-wan, in an action-packed, touching, funny and compelling glimpse of how the division of Korea mutilates the lives of citizens on both sides of the DMZ. “Secret Reunion” plays Saturday, Oct. 8, and is part of the Cinematic City: Seoul film series and admission is free.

The University Musical Society and the Michigan Theater join forces to bring high-definition screenings of live theater broadcasts by the National Theatre, London. Based on Goldoni’s “The Servant of Two Masters,” Richard Bean’s “One Man, Two Guvnors” is directed by National Theatre artistic director Nicholas Hytner and plays Sunday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m.

“Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb” is a classic black comedy about a group of war-eager military men who plan a nuclear apocalypse. It plays Monday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. as part of the semester-long Stanley Kubrick series.

Russ Collins is executive director of the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. Tune in to the audio version of “Cinema Chat” on WEMU radio (89.1-FM) each Thursday at 7:40 a.m. and 5:40 p.m., or listen to it online at WEMU's web site.