We've sorted through all the films playing this weekend in Seattle (from the disappointing Zookeeper's Wife to Life, an utterly predictable Alien knockoff) and selected the cream of the crop, including Junction 48 (a hiphop take on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict), Strike a Pose (about Madonna's iconic Blond Ambition tour), North by Northwest (one of Charles Mudede's favorite movies), the closing weekend of The Seattle Jewish Film Festival, and The Films of Daichi Saito, where audiences will have the opportunity to watch eight short films by experimental Montreal-based Japanese filmmaker Daïchi Saïto—and to meet the artist in person. See all of our critics' picks below, and click through the links to see specific movie times and trailers. For more options, check out our complete movie times calendar (as well as our list of special film events).

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THURSDAY ONLY

1. Donald Cried
Comedies like these often run into trouble translating a keen eye for human failings into a compelling narrative, and Donald Cried is not immune to this. Avedisian’s film seems happy to meander from suburban cul-de-sac to suburban cul-de-sac, occasionally stumbling on a scene of legitimate intensity or oblique emotional truth. Those peaks justify the valleys, if only just; so long as you know what you’re getting into, there’s a lot to unpack here. And if nothing else, Donald Cried will give you something to think about the next time you swing back through your podunk hometown. BEN COLEMAN
Sundance Cinemas

2. Hidden Figures
The function of white ideology is to place the blame of black poverty on black people themselves. They are not smart enough, they are lazy, they are like children—therefore they live in the projects, they are on welfare, they perform poorly academically. But the golden bowl of this logic gets a crack whenever a person or an event makes the truth visible: Blacks are as stupid or as smart as any other group of people. This is why a movie like Hidden Figures is so important—a film about a black mathematician, Katherine Johnson (played by Taraji P. Henson), who worked for NASA and participated in its key projects in the 1960s. The mathematician was also a woman, and so she challenged not only white ideology but also male ideology. She had to be hidden twice. The movie also stars Janelle Monáe, who made her mark in the best movie of 2016, Moonlight. CHARLES MUDEDE
Pacific Place

3. John Wick Chapter 2
As with the first John Wick, each action sequence—and there are a lot of them—aims to entertain, surprise, and deliver the sort of thrill that can only come from a hyper-stylized, perfectly orchestrated shoot-out. Or car chase. Or fistfight. Even if it doesn’t have the freshness of the original, Chapter 2 offers plenty: It never stops being Looney Tunes funny, but it’s also baroque, dark, and weird, moving at a burning-rubber pace. John Wick: Chapter 2 does not disappoint, and it’s a welcome reminder of how fun and exciting a well-crafted action movie can be. If Buster Keaton were alive today and saw John Wick in action... well, he’d probably be disgusted and horrified at how violent movies are now. But once he got over that, he'd probably clap pretty hard. ERIK HENRIKSEN
Pacific Place

4. Junction 48
This drama takes on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a story about family tragedy, music, and love, all wrapped up in a soundtrack by rapper Tamer Nafar and Oren Moverman (who also wrote the screenplay). Directed by Israeli-American filmmaker Udi Aloni, known for his activism and controversial films about Israel (that have drawn ire mostly from Israeli officials).
SIFF Film Center

5. Late Spring
The films in SAM's tribute to one of the three masters of Japan's Golden Age of film, Yasujiro Ozu, are all beautiful and have at their core the quiet spirit of their times and places—mid-century, post-war Japan. The second film in the series is Late Spring, which doesn't have much action in it but presents the kind of stillness that only a highly refined sense of one's culture can achieve. CHARLES MUDEDE
Seattle Art Museum

6. No Country For Old Men
No Country for Old Men, Joel and Ethan Coen’s adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s 2005 atypically lean and mean neo-western novel (and the duo’s first feature in nearly four years) is, quite simply, the most perfect fusion of literary and filmmaking sensibilities since Polanski’s hallowed Rosemary’s Baby—and might even be a finer, rarer breed. Five minutes in, the damn thing already feels like a classic. It’s astounding, really, how the Coens manage to imprint their signatures on McCarthy’s unmistakable universe—the flyblown wide-open spaces from Blood Simple here (cinematographer Roger Deakins has never been better, which is saying quite a bit), the affectionate ribbing of yokels and small-town nobility from Fargo and Raising Arizona there—without ever letting the seams show. ANDREW WRIGHT
Scarecrow Video

7. The Room
Tommy Wiseau's (writer/director/producer/lead actor/distributor) PSA about sleeping with your best friend's girl. Best watched under the influence or something or other.
Central Cinema

8. The Salesman
Back in 2011, Asghar Farhadi effectively brought Iranian cinema, one of the most vital cinemas of our times, back to the center of the world stage with the film A Separation. It won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for best foreign language film. It made a big difference. It effectively weakened a war Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waged on the film industry when he became president of Iran in 2005. He was out of power a year after A Separation. The Salesman is Farhadi’s latest film, it is again centered on the middle class of Tehran, and it promises to be one of the best things acquired by Amazon Studios this year. CHARLES MUDEDE
SIFF Cinema Uptown

9. The Sense of an Ending
Ritesh Batra's The Sense of an Ending is based on the novel by Julian Barnes. The film explores a lie that the protagonist (played by Jim Broadbent) has been telling himself for years. The plot is full of sex, betrayal, and death, and the acting is lovely. Emily Mortimer is on-screen for only a few brief moments, and she makes impeccable use of every second; each twitch and motion is fascinatingly full of character. And even though the central themes are regret and nostalgia, Broadbent's performance never settles for boring angst—it's all about disbelief and incredulity. JULIA RABAN
Guild 45th

10. Strike a Pose
Ester Gould and Reijer Zwaan’s affecting documentary, Strike a Pose, revolves around six dancers—Carlton Wilborn, Oliver Crumes, Salim Gauwloos, Kevin Alexander Stea, Jose Gutierez, and Luis Camacho—from Madonna’s 1990 Blond Ambition tour (the seventh, Gabriel Trupin, succumbed to complications from AIDS). The iconic tour featured Catholic Church–baiting imagery and cabaret-dominatrix outfits from designer Jean Paul Gaultier, including an infamous conical bra, that found their way into Alek Keshishian’s resulting concert film, Truth or Dare, which showcased the dancers—mostly gay men of color—who appeared to own their sexuality as much as Madonna did. KATHY FENNESSY
Northwest Film Forum

FRIDAY—SUNDAY

11. Frantz
Ozon uses Frantz to investigate the nature of forgiveness following a war—though they shared a border, Germany and France were on opposite sides of the conflict—and the weight of grief. And he finds a simple but hugely effective way to symbolically reflect the moments when his characters find calm and comfort. While most of the film is in black and white, certain scenes—like Anna and Adrien enjoying an afternoon hike and a swim—are rendered in lavish color. That those florid moments are few, and even include a painful flashback to the war, only emphasizes how conflict and suffering can drain the wonder out of everyday life. ROBERT HAM
SIFF Cinema Uptown and Seven Gables

12. Paterson
Paterson is beautiful throughout—visually, in how Jim Jarmusch and cinematographer Frederick Elmes capture the wondrousness of an urban morning, and aurally, with Paterson's poems (written by Ron Padgett) becoming as much a part of the film as Laura's bulletproof optimism or the rumble of the 23. But there's something else beautiful about Paterson: Jarmusch's clearheaded, straightforward reminder that the most worthwhile art is made by those who scrounge, who have day jobs, who are the same as us: the people who drive and ride the bus, or who try to take up guitar and wonder if they can sell their cupcakes, or who hone their rhymes while waiting for the washing machine. The people who get through each day, finding and sharing bits of hope and truth as the world crumbles around them. ERIK HENRIKSEN
Grand Illusion

13. Raiders of the Lost Ark
The unbearably sexy young Harrison Ford stars in the only good Indiana Jones movie, and one of the funnest films ever made.
Central Cinema

14. They Live
The reason why John Carpenter’s They Live is so important today (it was made in 1988 and concerns a working-class man who discovers sunglasses that when worn reveal the world is ruled by aliens that want humans to mindlessly consume and pollute their planet—yes, just like the rich people in the real world) is it presents us with the big question: Do people really want to know the truth? Does Donald Trump’s America even care about the truth? Would wearing special sunglasses that expose Trump to be a liar and exploiter even change their minds? By the look of things, the answer has to be no. They Live is still a great film, though. CHARLES MUDEDE
Central Cinema

SATURDAY ONLY

15. The Films of Daichi Saito
At this special event, you’ll have the opportunity to watch eight short films by experimental Montreal-based Japanese filmmaker Daïchi Saïto—and to meet the artist in person. Look forward to philosophical, poetic, and hypnotic works (many of them silent).
Northwest Film Forum

SUNDAY ONLY

16. North by Northwest
A great film is much like a great party, and what makes a party great is not the host or even the location but whom the host invites. North by Northwest, one of my favorite movies, is great because of the guests invited by the director, Alfred Hitchcock. There is the screenplay provided by Ernest Lehman (Sweet Smell of Success), the stunning title sequence by the graphic artist Saul Bass (Anatomy of a Murder), the faces of Cary Grant, James Mason, and a young Martin Landau. And, of course, there’s the big, brassy, bold, and lusty score by Bernard Herrmann. Hitchcock knew how to throw a great party. CHARLES MUDEDE
Pacific Place

ALL WEEKEND

17. CHIPS
I have no doubt that Shepard, who also wrote and directed CHIPS, has a lot of love for the original CHiPs, but this reboot is much more a Dax Shepard movie than an homage to a ‘70s TV show. That works in the movie’s favor. Shepard won hearts and minds with his 2012 car chase relationship comedy Hit and Run, which featured Shepard performing his own stunts. That same approach of crunchy, real-life motorcycle riding is evident in CHIPS. The action scenes (there are many, and there are even more explosions) are tangible and natural, allowing the humor to take a more central position. SUZETTE SMITH
Meridian 16

18. Get Out
Get Out is a feature-length version of the not-quite-joking sentiment among African Americans that the suburbs, with their overwhelming whiteness and cultural homogeneity, are eerie twilight zones for Black people. Far from being a one-joke movie, however, Jordan Peele’s directorial debut is both a clever, consistently funny racial satire and a horror film, one that mocks white liberal cluelessness and finds humor in—but doesn’t dismiss—Black people’s fears. ERIC D. SNIDER
Various locations

19. Ghost in the Shell
The 1995 version of Ghost in the Shell (an adaptation of the manga by Masamune Shirow) was very well received, but it’s being made again—this time, directed by Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman) and written by Jamie Moss and Ehren Kruger. The movie deals with issues of cyborg identity and artificial intelligence, and the (generally whitewashed) cast includes Scarlett Johansson, Michael Pitt, Pilou Asbæk, Chin Han, and Juliette Binoche.
Various locations

20. I Am Not Your Negro
Sixteen years after Lumumba, Raoul Peck, who is Haitian, has directed I Am Not Your Negro, a documentary about one of the greatest writers of 20th-century America, James Baldwin. Now, it's easy to make a great film about Baldwin, because, like Muhammad Ali, there's tons of cool footage of his public and private moments, and, also like Ali, he had a fascinating face: the odd shape of his head, the triangle of hair that defined his forehead, and his froggy eyes. Just show him doing his thing and your film will do just fine. But Peck blended footage of Baldwin with dusky and dreamy images of contemporary America. These images say: Ain't a damn thing changed from the days of Baldwin and the Civil Rights Movement. But they say this with a very deep insight about the nature of time. CHARLES MUDEDE
Varsity Theatre

21. Kedi
The enchanting Turkish documentary Kedi works triple time as a nature documentary, a travelogue, and a meditation on the human-animal bond. Director Ceyda Torun makes a case for Istanbul as the new Rome for stray cats. When she isn't soliciting the thoughts of caretakers and observers, her cinematographer, Charlie Wuppermann, shoots the furry subjects from ground level such that they fill the screen while humans fade into the background. These street-smart cats congregate around teahouses and markets for treats and back rubs. Torun follows several around town, like the orange tabby that steals food for her kittens, the gray tabby that sleeps in an auto shop, and the black-and-white cat that chases mice from a restaurant. She exalts these hardy creatures while portraying Istanbul as a city of compassionate citizens. It's a side of Turkey we don't see often enough. KATHY FENNESSY
Guild 45th

22. Kong: Skull Island
In an interview with Suzette Smith, director Jordan Vogt-Roberts said: "Kong represents the vulnerability in all of us. He represents an unknown, mythic quality in the world. A big part of this film is also just about becoming okay with not having all the answers. There are things we cannot understand and the sooner we understand that the better off we are." SUZETTE SMITH
Pacific Place and Sundance Cinemas

23. La La Land
You guys, I LOVED La La Land, and you will too. Don’t be afraid of it just because it’s a musical about a struggling actress (Emma Stone) and a pretentious jazz musician (Ryan Gosling) who meet and fall in love and sing and dance in a romanticized, cartoony LA. Yeah, it’s splashy and grandiose and full of hazy violet Southern California sunsets, but its emotional core is genuine. Take it from shriveled-hearted me, the Unearned Sentiment Police: La La Land is a grand, over-the-top, razzly-dazzly love story that won’t make you puke one bit. It might even help you forget the horrors of reality, however momentarily—and after the year we’ve had, that practically makes La La Land a public service. MEGAN BURBANK
Pacific Place

24. Land of Mine
Released in Denmark in late 2015 as Under Sandet (“Under the Sand”), writer/director Martin Zandvliet’s World War II drama Land of Mine almost deserves the clunky, Anglicized title it’s been saddled with for American audiences. There are few surprises buried in its compact running time, offset by a couple of moments any savvy filmgoer will spot well before they arrive. It’s only due to the tension wired into the plot and the wisdom of its casting that it avoids ignominy. It may be made with the subtlety of an unexpected explosion, but the aftereffects are harrowing and lasting. ROBERT HAM
Seven Gables

25. Lion
Based on Saroo Brierley’s memoir A Long Way Home, the film, an inspiring drama that earns tears without jerking them, begins with five-year-old Saroo (played by a bouncing ball of energy named Sunny Pawar) becoming separated from his mother and brother and ending up a thousand miles away in Calcutta. Saroo’s path may be unclear, but Lion’s isn’t: Like the train that took him away in the first place, the film moves steadily toward its tearful destination, propelled by sincere performances and Volker Bertelmann and Dustin O’Halloran’s gently urgent musical score. Kidman shows great tenderness as the adoptive mother, underscoring the theme of “family” not being limited by biology, and Patel is serious-minded and haunted. But it’s little dynamo Sunny Pawar that you’ll remember best, his infectious cheery optimism encapsulating the film’s hopeful tone. ERIC D. SNIDER
Ark Lodge Cinema

26. Logan
17 years after X-Men kick-started the superhero genre, we get something like Logan. Something that isn't just a great superhero movie, but a great movie. No disclaimers, no curve: Logan is fantastic. Make no mistake: Logan is such a superhero movie—such an X-Men movie—that at one point Logan (Hugh Jackman) flips through an X-Men comic featuring his spandexed alter ego, Wolverine. He's not impressed. "Maybe a quarter of it happened," he grumbles, "and not like this." Despite his crankiness, Logan is full of the same stuff as the yellowed pages of X-Men and Wolverine: superpowered mutants. Nefarious evildoers. A rock-solid belief that violence fixes everything. But for all Logan's nods to genre—and it's as much a western as a superhero movie—it's about bigger things, too. ERIK HENRIKSEN
Various locations

27. Personal Shopper
It took French filmmaker Olivier Assayas to make me appreciate the subtleties Kristen Stewart can convey. In 2014’s Clouds of Sils Maria, she held her own with the great Juliette Binoche. Now, in Personal Shopper, her latest collaboration with Assayas, she again manages to be enigmatic but not vapid. The movie is a cinematic Frankenstein monster, stitched together from different genres into something that transcends its sources: Stewart plays a young American in Paris working as an assistant for a globe-trotting supermodel, buying high-end clothes but never getting to try them on. (It’s a metaphor.) She’s also trying to make psychic contact with a twin brother who died from a heart defect—a disease she also has. MARC MOHAN
Sundance Cinemas

28. Saban's Power Rangers
The film still hits all the classic marks—teen angst, lessons about uniting to overcome evil, swooshing noises whenever punches are thrown, MORPHING, and giant robot battles. But now the graphics are clean and luxurious, there are a lot more car accidents than I remember (is that what today's teens are into?), and way fewer guitar solos. The lessons are more inclusive, and, other than the distractingly large breast plates on the women's morphed costumes, it's more feminist. The black ranger isn't Black. And best of all, the fight scenes are brain-meltingly impressive. YOU DAMN KIDS DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT WE HAD TO PUT UP WITH IN THE POWER RANGERS OF YORE! Regardless, my fellow '90s kids should see this movie. BRI BREY
Various locations

29. The Seattle Jewish Film Festival
The 22nd annual Seattle Jewish Film Festival is a nine-day cinematic exploration and celebration of Jewish life around the globe. They promise dozens of Jewish and Israeli films from countries including France, the Netherlands, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and Poland, along with exciting guests, a VIP Gala, and the rest of the usual film festival draws.
Various locations

30. T2 Trainspotting
The native visual wit of Danny Boyle's direction has only grown more delightful with age—he revels in mischievous references to the original film. And there's something undeniably satisfying in seeing the four actors from the original reunited, and looking weathered. (It's also nice to hear Ewan McGregor speaking with a Scots accent again.) The original film was like a bone-marrow biopsy of the zeitgeist of its period. By contrast, the sequel revels in pricking its characters' articulate, self-aware out-of-timeness. It confines them to a Scotland that is simultaneously collapsing upon itself (high mountains of garbage loom everywhere) and exploding outward into an indistinguishable Europeanness, and it surrounds them with reminders of the selves they never managed to become. SEAN NELSON
Meridian 16, SIFF Cinema Uptown, and Guild 45th

31. A United Kingdom
What made Botswana a success and its next-door neighbor Zimbabwe a complete disaster? A part of the answer can be found in the new and excellent movie A United Kingdom, directed by one of the few working black female directors in the world, Amma Asante. The film is about the founder of modern Botswana, Seretse Khama, played by David Oyelowo (Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma). Though Kingdom's plot is centered on how Khama, a black African aristocrat, met, romanced, and married a middle-class British white woman, Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike), it also shows how their interracial relationship was a diplomatic mess for the UK government, which still had close economic and political ties with a country, South Africa, that made racial separation (apartheid) official around the time the Khama/Williams romance began (the late 1940s). CHARLES MUDEDE
Ark Lodge Cinema

32. Wilson
Wilson, the book, is composed of 71 single-page scenes, many of which end on a darkly funny/angry punchline, and at its best, the movie preserves that blackout-sketch feel. What it can’t replicate—even though Clowes himself wrote the screenplay—is the variety of visual styles the graphic novel employed to communicate different moods. It’s also hard to capture the book’s emotional starkness using real, flesh-and-blood actors. Still, Harrelson dives into the role, putting his psycho-eyed amiability to good use, creating something like the love child of R. Crumb and Larry David. If he were to see this movie, he’d like it, despite the dollops of sentiment that bubble up. And if others found it—or him—grating, so what? Most people are goddamn idiots anyway. MARC MOHAN
Pacific Place and Sundance Cinemas

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