Plato said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." Director Astra Taylor uses that nugget as a jumping-off point for this engaging but often elusive documentary that works as a decent primer of various philosophical movements and ideas. Grade B-.  

Denis Johnson seems like a really intense guy. His novels — from Angels (1983) to Tree of Smoke (2007) — center on lives ravaged by desolation, sadness, madness and more; restless lives that inhabit such places as run-down houses, bus stops, jail cells and mental institutions. Born in Munich, mentored by Raymond Carver and forever elusive, Johnson is truly a unique figure in American literature, which makes his stop in Cincinnati such a rare occurrence. Johnson precedes his 7 p.m. April 22 appearance at the Mercantile Library (414 Walnut St., Downtown) with a stop at the University of Cincinnati (ERC building room 427) 7 p.m. Tuesday.  

Professional baseball's oldest franchise opens its 127th season on Monday with a barrage of festivities. Led by Grand Marshall/former Reds great Frank Robinson, the 90th Findlay Market Parade kicks off at 10:30 a.m. WNKU will broadcast live from Arnold's (featuring a special Opening Day breakfast menu and serving up Cincinnati Red Bloody Marys) beginning at 8 a.m. before giving way to Jake Speed, who'll no doubt play 'Huzzah for the Red Stockings'). The actual game gets underway at 1:10 p.m. when the Reds battle the New York Mets and their ace pitcher Johann Santana at Great American Ball Park.  

Cincinnati World Cinema (CWC) continues its nurturing of the short film format with its eighth annual screening of Academy Award nominated live-action and animated short films. Contrary to the often bloated and formulaic long-form product being churned out by studios right now, this collection of shorts offers unique, consistently compelling work via a variety of styles and subject matter. The run has been extended and Program A will be shown at 7:30 p.m. on April 13 and Program B will be shown at 7:30 p.m. April 14 at the Redmoor.  

John Koestler (Nicolas Cage) is an astrophysicist still reeling from the accidental death of his wife a year earlier; he's left to care for his young son. The plot shifts into gear when John eyes a paper marked with a series of numbers that, when encoded, predicts the dates and death tolls of every major disaster of the last 50 years. Grade: B-.  

Evan Mast's and Mike Stroud's kaleidoscopic, pop-culture-saturated interests yield instrumental soundscapes that range from guitar-driven anthems to atmospheric tunes that could double as the soundtrack of a spaghetti western as directed by Wes Anderson.   

Evan Mast’s and Mike Stroud’s kaleidoscopic, pop-culture-saturated interests yield instrumental soundscapes that range from guitar-driven anthems to atmospheric tunes that could double as the soundtrack of a spaghetti western as directed by Wes Anderson. The scruffy-headed Brooklyn duo known as Ratatat -- Mast plays keyboards and crafts beats; Stroud plays guitar and various other things -- released its third full-length, LP3, last summer. Eight months later they’re finally hitting our little corner of the world. 8 p.m. at Bogarts.  

Local literary haven Joseph-Beth Booksellers hosts a trio of intriguing authors this week. Prolific best-selling novelist Jodi Picoult stops by 7 p.m. Thursday in support of her latest, Handle With Care, the story of a popular pastry chef who gives birth to a daughter with osteogenesis imperfecta — a collagen defect that causes brittle bones. On Saturday at 1 p.m., Fred Krakowiak will share Africa: An Artist’s Safari, a handsomely rendered “memoir and meditation.” Finally, Kentucky-based historian Charles B. Flood discusses 1864: Lincoln at the Gates of History at 7 p.m. Monday.  

This original version is probably the least well known of Hong Kong master Wong Kar Wai's nine feature films. There are numerous reasons for this: its batshit, inscrutable narrative; its lack of a proper theatrical release in the U.S.; and the need for a definitive DVD being at the top of the list.  

Hot on the heels of Catherine Hardwicke's slick, teen-friendly vampire flick 'Twilight' comes 'Let the Right One In,' a subtle, subversive take on the genre from Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson that aptly illustrates the vast artistic gulf between (much of) American and world cinema. (Yes, a U.S. remake is already in the works.) Grade: A-.