Thursday Happenings

Movies

-- The Brattle's Pedro Almodóvar retrospective ends today with a pair of the director's early comedies. Law of Desire (1987) and Matador (1986) share a casual brutality in their treatment of sex. They are also brutally funny. Law of Desire, about a homosexual love triangle, remains one of Almodóvar's most rewarding pictures; he calls it "the key film in my life and career." Matador, which takes the piss out of Spain's national sport, is a surrealist comedy that considers the difficulty of a love affair between two people whose erotic passion is murder. Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St., Cambridge. Tickets and showtimes.

Jazz

-- Legendary pianist (and New England Conservatory faculty member) Ran Blake composes jazz that could be the aural equivalent of surrealist landscape painting. Tonight, he performs Washington Square Noir: Ice Cream and Tears in a quintet. Vernissage Restaurant, 1627 Beacon St., Brookline, 8 p.m. $20/$15, dinner reservations optional.

Dancing Hipsters

-- Bass Invaders, DJ Ghostdad and Nick Yoder's weekly dance party, features a mix of booty, baile, and bass. Listen closely; the hosts will throw a few tricks into the mix. Milky Way Lounge, 403 Centre St., Jamaica Plain, 9 p.m. Free.

Benefits

-- Can you save Somerville by eating in Cambridge? Apparently so. The Pizzerias Uno in Porter and Harvard Squares will donate a percentage of today's sales to Save Our Somerville. Just leave this high-quality, easy-to-read ticket with your meal and the restaurant will donate way. If the restaurant makes up to $1000, it will donate 15% of the proceeds to SOS; if the restaurant makes over $1000 on SOS sales, it will donate 20% of proceeds. Tickets will be available at the Uno in Porter Square if you can't print one out. (KS)

Kerry Skemp contributed to this post.