Nicolas Cage

Military analyst Daniel Ellsberg (far left) accelerated the downfall of the Nixon administration by leaking the Pentagon Papers.

Courtesy First Run Features

When Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island had its long-awaited October 2009 release unceremoniously delayed by Paramount, it was only natural to assume the legendary director's new thriller, starring favorite son Leonardo DiCaprio, might have missed its mark. Hardly. (The studio blamed the decision on the economy and DiCaprio's lack of availability to the foreign press.) It opens today at the Sundance Kabuki for what should be a long, well-attended run, befitting one of the most cleverly confounding thrillers in recent memory.

"No sir, you are the caretaker. You've always been the caretaker. I ought to know – I've always been here."

Courtesy Warner Brothers

With the Dec. 31 deadline for 2009 Academy Award consideration fast approaching and at least one surefire Best Picture contender – Jason Reitman's Up in the Air – arriving at theaters this weekend, it's a perfect time to catch a movie. As always, here's a list of the finest films now playing at your local indie theaters.

Besieged by an army of flesh-hungry zombies, Nick Frost (left) and Simon Pegg barricade themselves in their favorite pub in Edgar Wright's 'Shaun of the Dead.'

Courtesy Focus Features

Once you're finished scouring the city for the season's best Black Friday bargains, settle into a darkened theater to catch this year's Oscar hopefuls, including Fantastic Mr. Fox, which should give Pixar's Up fierce competition for Best Animated Feature. To help you on your way, here's a list of the finest films now playing at your local indie theaters.

From left: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes and Werner Herzog pose for the paparazzi at the Venice Film Festival.

Courtesy First Look Pictures

At 67, Werner Herzog shows no sign of slowing down. If anything, the famously feisty German auteur, an Oscar nominee for Encounters at the End of the World, his 2008 documentary about Antarctica’s rarely seen landscape, is doing his best impression of a workaholic.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel play a star-crossed couple in Mark Webb's '(500) Days of Summer.'

Courtesy Fox Searchlight Pictures

For those seeking alternatives to this weekend's surefire blockbuster – the teenage romance New Moon – there are plenty of worthy options now playing at the Bay Area's indie theaters. Among them:

Cage (right) tries his best to self-destruct, with a surprising lack of success, in 'Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.'

Courtesy First Look Pictures

Let’s get one thing straight: Werner Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is not a remake of Abel Ferrara’s Bad Lieutenant, the grittier 1992 drama starring Harvey Keitel as a corrupt cop suffering a crisis of conscience, nor is it a sequel. Like Keitel, Nicolas Cage plays a drug-addicted lawman on a mission to self-destruct – his personal life is a disaster and his bosses are sick of his indiscretions. But Port of Call New Orleans is a far cry from Ferrara’s harrowing horror show.

Blonde Ambition: Penélope Cruz plays an aspiring movie star in 'Broken Embraces.'

Courtesy Sony Pictures Classics

Thanks to Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds, the vicious political satire In the Loop and provocative documentaries like The Cove and Food, Inc., it's already been a terrific year for dedicated moviegoers. Based on the impressively strong selection of films on display at the 34th annual Toronto Film Festival, which drew to a close Sept. 19, there's plenty to look forward to in the months to come.