This weekend's Hollywood blockbuster openings are even more depressing than usual, with an ancient Stallone (looking like "an overcooked Ball Park frank," according to E), a cybercrime flick, and a take on a decade-old SNL skit "leading" the pack. Rambo, Untraceable, and Meet the Spartans (which currently has a negative rating at Rotten Tomatoes, something we haven't seen very often, if ever!) will open this weekend, most likely to some box office clamor despite the high probability that all these films will send discerning viewers clamoring for the exits.

Fortunately, Boston's many alternative movie-viewin' locales have far more interesting films to offer us this weekend. The Harvard Film Archive presents a bevy of bodacious titles, including shorts by Apichatpong Weerasethakul (7 tonight), the French film Cold Water / L'eau froide (Saturday at 7), demonlover with Chloe Sevigny (Saturday at 9), and HHH – A Portrait of Hou Hsiao-hsien (Sunday at 9, the acclaimed Taiwanese director. The Brattle has Let's Get Lost (4:45, 7:15, 9:45 tonight, and same times plus 2:15 matinee on Saturday and Sunday), which follows Chet Baker's ups and downs for a year. Coolidge Corner brings us Billy the Kid (4:45, 7:15, and 9:30 all weekend, plus varying early matinee times), the story of an almost-institutionalized young man who's odd but original--not to mention metal-obsessed. Director Jennifer Venditti and author John Elder Robison will appear at the 4:45, 7:15, and 9:30 screenings tonight and Saturday. And the MFA features a variety of great film events this weekend, including Deep Sea Blues (Saturday at 7), a Caribbean R&B cruise with music from Bobby Rush, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Joey Gilmore, Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials, Tasha Taylor, Watermelon Slim and even Buckwheat Zydeco.

If that's not enough film stuff for you, we don't know what would be, but check out antiplex and brown-baggy Fandango for more listings.

Billy the Kid image from Coolidge.org, Rambo image from http://movies.break.com/rambo/site.html