[Art]

[Miscellaneous]

CLARENDON-COURTHOUSE MARDI GRAS PARADE -- See Can't Miss, this page.

[Movies]

Films open Friday and are in general release unless otherwise noted. Opening dates subject to change. Checkhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/moviesor Friday's Weekend section for details and complete movie listings.

THE ABORTION DIARIES -- Tuesday at 9 p.m. A documentary by Penny Lane features 12 women who speak candidly about their experiences with abortion. Black Cat, 1811 14th St. NW. $5. 202-667-7960.

SHOWCASE OF ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEES -- See Can't Miss, this page.

FIRST NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT MUSEUM FILM FESTIVAL -- Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Friday at 8 p.m. Saturday at 1 p.m. The (not-yet-open) National Law Enforcement Museum's inaugural three-day festival features three films, accompanied by guest speakers who provide behind-the-scenes knowledge about how accurately movies depict police work. "The French Connection" plays Thursday, "Se7en" Friday and "Dragnet" Saturday. AFI Silver Theatre, 8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring. Free. 301-495-6720.

AQUAMARINE -- Two 12-year-old girls discover a mermaid in the pool of their beach house and get her a date with the cute boy who runs the food bar. Huh?

DAVE CHAPPELLE'S BLOCK PARTY -- Director Michael Gondry's cameras capture the comedy superstar as he hosts a once-in-a-lifetime free block party in a Brooklyn neighborhood. The combination of comedy and music was shot on location and features appearances by Kanye West, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common, Dead Prez, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, the Roots, Cody Chesnutt, Big Daddy Kane, and Fugees (who reunited for their first performance in more than seven years). Oh yeah, there's brand-new material by Mr. Chappelle, too.

GAY SEX IN THE 70S -- Filmmaker Joseph Lovett's documentary focuses on the sexual exploration that marked the 12 years from the Stonewall riots in 1969 to the first reported cases of AIDS in 1981. Archival film and photographs document the erotic life of New York's West Side piers, trucks, bars, dance clubs, baths and beaches. At Landmark E Street Cinema.

KING KONG -- Boasting a brand-new digital print, and Fay Wray's classic pipes, the 1933 ape-in-the-big-city classic is again a must-see on the big screen. At AFI Silver Theatre.

16 BLOCKS -- A burnt-out detective played by Bruce Willis (who else?) transports a repeat offender (Mos Def) from jail to a courthouse 16 blocks away. Along the way he learns that the rest of the force wants the witness dead, and he must choose between his loyalty to his colleagues and protecting his charge.

THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE -- The 1973 feature debut by Spanish director Victor Erice is set in the early 1940s, when Franco's Nationalists had just come to power after the Civil War. The coming-of-age tale follows two sisters growing up in a remote Castillan village. At AFI Silver Theatre.

ULTRAVIOLET -- Milla Jovovich stars as a genetically modified soldier in the late 21st century, who -- caught in the middle of a war between the government and their super-soldiers -- finds herself protecting a 9-year-old boy who has been marked for death. It has to be better than "Aeon Flux."