nick hornby

Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal sing the blues in 'Crazy Heart.'

Courtesy Fox Searchlight Pictures

Happy New Year! As you all know, there is no better way to treat a holiday hangover than with an afternoon matinee. (Actually, that's not true. I recommend water, sports drinks that contain electrolytes, saltine crackers and, if possible, a full-body massage. And don't forget a healthy breakfast. Eating, like reading my columns, is fundamental.)

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:

Timothy Spall (left) and Michael Sheen star in 'The Damned United,' a compelling account of soccer coach Brian Clough's epic collapse.

Courtesy Sony Pictures Classics

A pair of anti-corporate celebrations of muckraking arrive at the Roxie this week, where The Yes Men Fix the World documents a series of elaborate pranks aimed at exposing hypocrisy and "unmasking global injustice," and Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story takes its final bow before exiting theaters. Elsewhere:

Truffaut's brilliant debut returns to the big screen Sunday as part of the San Francisco Film Society's celebration of French cinema.

Courtesy San Francisco Film Society

The San Francisco Film Society's French Cinema Now, a seven-day event featuring the latest offerings from directors Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and Claude Chabrol (A Girl Cut in Two), continues through Wednesday at the Clay Theatre.

Author and screenwriter Nick Hornby appears at three Bay Area events this week.

Charles Burns, The Believer

Nick Hornby isn't settling for mere literary fame.