Even though you could spend your weekend inside, binge-watching Woody Allen's Crisis in Six Scenes or checking out the new Amanda Knox documentary, we recommend you take a trip to the moviesâif only to avoid witnessing a violent crime and being saddled with a murder investigation, like Jeff Jefferies in Rear Window. There are plenty of options, including new release American Honey, as well as virtual European vacations presented by the Irish Reels Film Festival and German-language film series Kinofest. See all of our critics' picks below, and, as always, check out our complete movie times calendar for even more choices.
Jump to: NEW RELEASES | LIMITED RUNS: Thursday Only - Friday Only - Starting Friday - Saturday Only - Sunday Only - All Weekend | CONTINUING RUNS
NEW RELEASES
1. American Honey
American Honey, the first movie set in the States by British filmmaker Andrea Arnold (Red Road, Fish Tank), finds the director working with some fairly ludicrous self-imposed hindrances: a largely untrained cast, Shia LaBeouf at his most methody-bedraggled, and a nearly three-hour running time. That she makes these all meld together beautifully feels like some kind of weird alchemy, really. Inspired by a New York Times article, the barely there story follows a Texas teen (the strikingly confident newcomer Sasha Lane) reduced to dumpster diving to get by. After catching the eye of a magnetic lost boy (a very good LaBeouf), she joins up with a van full of similarly ragged youths who travel the country selling magazine subscriptions door-to-door. ANDREW WRIGHT
LIMITED RUNS
Thursday Only
2. Andy Liotta: up, up, and away
Seattle-based singer-songwriter Andy Liotta will present a "visual translation" of his double album up, up, and away, manically blending classic movie clips and live musical performance for an end result that he describes as "bipolarqatsi."
Grand Illusion
3. Blair Witch
I wouldnât wish this exhausting nightmare on my worst enemyâand at the same time, I recommend it. The copious jump scares and sound effects are impressive and relentless; the last third of the movie reduced me to a nauseous, hyperventilating blob with my fingers splayed over my face in terrorâŠand I was far from the most frazzled person in the theater. I felt physically ill with fear, and the moment the film ended I was flooded with relief and joy. The whole endeavor made me question why I continue to watch horror movies at all. Itâs not particularly intellectual or artistic or thought-provoking, but damn, does it feel good when itâs over. JULIA RABAN
Pacific Place
4. Cameraperson
Cameraperson, by documentary cinematographer Kirsten Johnson, compiles footage from decades of workâshot around the worldâto comment on art and filmmaking itself.
SIFF Cinema Uptown
5. The Lovers and the Despot
The documentary The Lovers and the Despot recounts one of the strangest chapters in the ongoing war between North and South Korea: the 1978 kidnapping of beloved South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee and her ex-husband filmmaker, Shin Sang-ok, by North Korean agents. The reason? To fulfill the movie-obsessed North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il's ambitions of creating Asia's best film studio. KATHLEEN RICHARDS
Sundance Cinemas
6. National Theatre Live: The Deep Blue Sea
Watch a taped screening of the live production of Terence Rattigan's The Deep Blue Sea, staged at London's National Theatre and starring Helen McCrory.
SIFF Film Center
7. The Quiet Earth
The Quiet Earth, directed by a New Zealander who made a number of B movies in the 1980s, gets closer to the mystery of life than The Tree of Life. Indeed, the famous astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson calls The Quiet Earth one of the greatest science-fiction films ever made. Its beauty and its profundities are all accidental. One could never repeat an effort like The Quiet Earth; it stands alone in a universe that seems to be itself completely an original. But you could have hundreds, if not thousands, of The Tree of Life. It turns out that the weirdest flowers and shrubs grow best in the soil of B movies. This weirdness comes very close to the way we sense that life is itself very weird. If there is a god, he/she will be much closer to a B-movie director than a philosopher king. CHARLES MUDEDE
Grand Illusion
Friday Only
8. Adam Green's Aladdin
Deep-voiced indie weirdo and Macaulay Culkin's roommate Adam Green is back with his new film and accompanying stage show, Aladdin. Tonight includes a screening of Adam's Aladdin, which is a musical interpretation of the legendary Middle Eastern folk tale featuring all his art star celebrity friends. The screening will be followed by a concert in which Adam performs music from the movie as well as older and more familiar work from throughout his career.
Sunset Tavern
9. The Misplaced World
When her father stumbles across a photo of an American singer who is the doppelganger of his deceased wife, Sophie travels to the US to discover the secret for herself. Fans of German cinema will recognize the prodigious cast (Barbara Sukowa of Europa, Katja Riemann of Look Who's Back and Rosenstrasse, Matthias Habich of The Reader and Downfall) as well as the name of director Margarethe von Trotte, who directed Hannah Arendt.
This screening is presented as part of Kinofest, a festival highlighting the latest and greatest in German-language cinema.
Northwest Film Forum
Starting Friday
10. The 'Burbs
This 1989 comedy thrillerâdirected by Joe Dante, who made Gremlinsâexplores the sadomasochism in suburban life.
Central Cinema
11. Rear Window
Voyeur in a wheelchair gets his comeuppance when he witnesses a murder and tries to do something about it. Full of "that Hitchcock touch," and boasting one of the best opening shots of any film ever.
Central Cinema
Saturday Only
12. Exit Oerlikon
An elderly man loses the will to live when his dog runs away. Will his best friend help him end it all?
This screening is presented as part of Kinofest, a festival highlighting the latest and greatest in German-language cinema.
Northwest Film Forum
13. Older Than Ireland
Alex Fegan's lively and poignant documentary is filled with Irish people aged 100 or older (the one ringer is 113-year-old Kathleen Snaveley who relocated to New York at 21). Fegan, the director of The Irish Pub, based his timing on the centenary of 1916âs Easter Rising. That means that all 30 subjectsâ22 women and eight menâwere alive when Ireland became a free state in 1922. So what's their secret to longevity? Is it Jameson, Guinness, a seething hatred for the British? (My Republican grandfather tried the latter tack, but he only made it to 72.) The answer isn't quite so simple. Kitty Fingleton (100) believes it's because, "I never ate a vegetable in my life." Mostly, they talk about their lives. They may not remember what they had for breakfast, but they remember their first pair of shoes, their first kiss, and the nuns and priests who knocked them around (the words "brute" and "savage" get a workout). Some are political, some are not. One knew freedom fighter Michael Collins, and another served in the IRA. They recall characters in 2015's Brooklyn in which Saoirse Ronan's protagonist trades 1950s Ireland for a better life in the United States. Fegan profiles the people who stayed behind, which makes his film unavoidably sad, but they're also the unheralded citizens who kept the old sod going when everyone else jumped ship. KATHY FENNESSY
This screening, which will be attended by director Alex Fegan, is part of the Irish Reels Film Festival, a celebration of independent film from Ireland.
SIFF Film Center
Sunday Only
14. I Am Belfast
Mark Cousins poetically reveals the other side of Belfast, whose cultural history has been overshadowed by the Troubles. Featuring cinematography by the world-renowned Chris Doyle.
This screening is presented as part of the Irish Reels Film Festival, a celebration of independent film from Ireland.
SIFF Film Center
All Weekend
15. The Beatles: Eight Days a WeekâThe Touring Years
The world needs a new Beatles documentary like it needs another garbage gyre in the Pacific Ocean, but The Beatles: Eight Days a Week plays it smart by selecting a single lane of the Fab Four's sprawling saga and following it from start to finish. Director Ron Howard's slick but enjoyable movie focuses on the group solely as a touring and performing entity during the Beatlemania years of the early and mid 1960s. NED LANNAMANN
SIFF Cinema Egyptian
16. Captain Fantastic
In Captain Fantastic, this alternative family has to leave their little compound to attend a funeral, and in the outside world, we get to observe their smug disconnection from society alongside their admirably thoughtful, sustainable, and creative approach to life. Any audience would have a hard time not laughing out loud at the quick, complex jokesâbut liberal Seattleites will get an extra kick when they recognize themselves in the characters. The mood shifts constantly, so that at any given moment the familyâs lifestyle seems either ideal or like a mild form of child abuse. JULIA RABAN
Guild 45th and Seven Gables
17. Don't Think Twice
The premise for Mike Birbigliaâs new filmâa follow-up to his 2012 debut, Sleepwalk with Meâprobably sounds insufferable. Basically, heâs gathered sketch-comedy performers from IFC, Comedy Central, and Netflix for a film about a New York improv troupe. Watch them succeed! Watch them fail! Watch them fall in and out of love! And thatâs exactly what happens. If the film isnât especially funnyâthe curse of most comedies about comedyâIâm not sure that was Birbigliaâs intention. Mostly, itâs like a lo-fi cover of Morrisseyâs âWe Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful.â Kind of whiny, kind of mean, and kind of true. KATHY FENNESSY
Sundance Cinemas
18. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Sure, Hunt for the Wilderpeopleâs scope is small, but it gives you everything you could want from a movie: Itâs smart, emotional, and even a bit action-packed once Ricky and Hec embark on an unplanned adventure in the forest. But most of all, itâs funny. So, so funny. Wilderpeople is a hugely loveable movie thatâs suitable for date night or the whole family, and I know that sounds like a hacky movie poster blurb. But when a movieâs this good, itâs tough to avoid clichĂ©s, so Iâll leave you with another: Donât miss it. NED LANNAMANN
Ark Lodge Cinema and Varsity Theatre
19. Kubo and the Two Strings
Set in ancient Japan, the fantasy film Kubo and the Two Strings (directed by Travis Knight, who was the lead animator for Coraline) doesnât just open on a note of despair, it lingers there. The early scenesâin which Kubo, the protagonist, takes care of his injured, confused mother, feeding her and putting her to bedâdonât serve as narrative contrast; instead, the melancholy convincingly follows him throughout the movie, and death is its central theme. While the gloomy, thoughtful premise will certainly appeal to adults searching for realism, kids will also appreciate the filmâs frankness and emotional honesty. Even more than that, they will be entranced with Kuboâs brand of magic. Go watch Kubo and the Two Strings now, for its expensive and gorgeous production value, and allow yourself to be pleasantly surprised by its complex emotionality. JULIA RABAN
Pacific Place
CONTINUING RUNS
20. Bridget Jones's Baby
Bridget Jones is a figurehead for the romantic comedy genreâa genre oft-reviled for letting a plot device as simple as finding love carry a film. But come on: This is something that people, both men and women, want in our lives. Bridget Jones, as both a character and romcom juggernaut, shouldnât be faulted for celebrating this pursuit. So why should we fault the (mostly female) public who will line up for this? ELINOR JONES
21. Deepwater Horizon
The players in disaster movies often seem simply like chess pieces on a board that's about to be kicked over (and then set on fire, and then thrown into a volcano), but that's not the case here. Kurt Russell and Mark Wahlberg are old pros at playing affable everymen thrust into improbably violent scenarios, and the rest of the cast feels similarly grounded. Berg knows when to sit back and let the slice-of-life stuff play out, and that makes up the first half of Deepwater Horizon. BEN COLEMAN
22. Hell or High Water
Leave it to a Scot to deliver the next great American western. Itâs possible director David Mackenzie (Starred Up) had the distance and perspective to depict Hell or High Waterâs depressed West Texas towns and dust-dry plains with unvarnished truth. Maybe he recognized, from across the pond, a universal struggle in the specific plight of brothers Toby and Tanner Howard (Chris Pine and Ben Foster) as they try to hang on to their fatherâs ranch. Perhaps he sensed the timeliness of a story that depicts white American men running out of time, money, and land. More likely, Mackenzie had Taylor Sheridanâs (Sicario) superb script to navigate a path around the obvious men-with-guns clichĂ©s that make up Hell or High Waterâs western-noir milieu. Whatever the case may be, itâs resulted in a great film. NED LANNAMANN
23. The Magnificent Seven
To its credit, this third Magnificent Seven doesn't try to ape either Akira Kurosawa or the 1960 film. This is an all-out Antoine Fuqua production, with the director doing a solid job transporting his fast-cut action to the Old West. If one thing can be said of this Seven in comparison to previous iterations, it's that this one definitely has the most explosions. It also has the best cast: If there's a way to make a movie starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Peter Sarsgaard, and Byung-hun Lee and not have it be super fun to watch, scientists have yet to discover it. ERIK HENRIKSEN
24. Sully
The story of US Airways Flight 1549âwhich, in 2009, pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger famously landed on the Hudson Riverâwas going to be made into a movie whether we wanted it or not. So the news that Clint Eastwood, nowadays a dimmed, decidedly disappointing figure, was going to direct was neither surprising nor exciting. I'm a bit relieved, then, to tell you that Sully is a far more successful exercise in both dramatic storytelling and patriotism than Eastwood's 2012 dialogue with a chair. NED LANNAMANN
