Instead of heading to the movies to see the latest box-office release (we’re looking at you, Suicide Squad, a movie that Erik Henriksen wrote is “more boring than any movie starring a crocodile man and someone named ‘Captain Boomerang’ should be”) try out one of these picks from our film critics. Each of the movies below earned at least a few sentences of praise, and are worth seeing right now, in the comfort of a cool movie theater. Whether you want to see a movie about North Korea (like a monster movie produced by Kim Jong-il or a “deconstructed propaganda” documentary) or a movie that’s “kind of whiny, kind of mean, and kind of true,” (like the Seattle premiere of comedy-about-comedians Don’t Think Twice, with Mike Birbiglia in person), you’ve got choices below. For more options, check out our complete movie times listings.
LIMITED RUNS
Thursday
1. Black Girl
Ousmane Sembene’s feature debut—and what can be considered to be the first great African film by a black African director, and so is to world cinema what Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart is to world literature—is concerned with the existential horror of being a stranger in a strange, strange land. It is elegantly framed, acted, and articulated, it is bold, it is at once very French (particularly its ending) and very African, and, finally, it is a movie that you must see if you honestly consider yourself to be a lover of the art of moving pictures. CHARLES MUDEDE
Grand Illusion
Friday
2. The Fierce Awakens: Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same
Three Dollar Bill Cinema presents this series of free outer-space-themed movies in Cal Anderson Park, where there will be a DJ starting at 7 pm, and concessions including popcorn and candy on sale, proceeds from which will benefit Three Dollar Bill Cinema’s year-round efforts to provide voices for the LGBTQ community through film. This week, watch Madeleine Olnek’s comedy/romance film Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same.
Cal Anderson Park
Starting Friday
3. Don’t Think Twice
Writer-director Birbiglia plays Miles, the 36-year-old founder of the Commune, an Upright Citizens Brigade–like group, who are at risk of losing their performance space, so they have to figure out whether to relocate, break up, or look for more lucrative gigs, since they all work day jobs to make ends meet (Kate Micucci from Garfunkel and Oates, is a UCB veteran). Then Jack (Key and Peele’s Keegan-Michael Key) lands a gig with Weekend Live, which strains his relationships with the other members, particularly his girlfriend, Sam (Love’s Gillian Jacobs). KATHY FENNESSY
NOTE: On Friday, August 5, filmmaker Mike Birbiglia will be at SIFF Cinema Uptown for a Q&A moderated by local filmmaker Megan Griffiths at the 7 pm and 9:30 pm shows.
SIFF Cinema Uptown
4. Pan’s Labyrinth
Pan’s Labyrinth is the stuff your nightmares are made of, but it’s more imaginative and plot-driven. Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, you can expect this film to deliver stellar acting, parables, and a case of the creepy-crawlies.
Central Cinema
5. Under the Sun
This documentary follows a family in Pyongyang, North Korea for an entire year. It was described as “propaganda deconstructed” by Variety film critic Dennis Harvey, and promises an intriguing, revealing peek into the world’s most mysterious nation.
Grand Illusion
6. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
This 1971 classic, directed by Mel Stuart and adapted from the novel by Roald Dahl, has all of the strange, whimsical, musical elements you love and is 100% Johnny Depp-free.
Central Cinema
Saturday
7. Pulgasari
This fantasy/action monster movie based on the legend of the Bulgasari was directed by Shin Sang-ok and Chong Gon Jo…and produced by none other than Kim Jong-il. It promises a mixture of cinematic monster fights and anti-capitalist propaganda.
Grand Illusion
All Weekend
8. Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie picks up where the series left off: Edina and Patsy have not matured one iota, and when the pair suddenly find themselves bankrupt (and charged with killing model Kate Moss) they dash off to the French Riviera to evade the law, find rich husbands, and ingest more drugs and bubbly. The film achieves the same high-pitched, broad humor of the series—even though at a scant 90 minutes, Ab Fab: The Movie is straining at the seams. While you may wonder, “Why was this made?” the hilarious presence of Joanna Lumley is reason enough. Her character Patsy is a stroke of comedic genius, and the world is always in dire need of that. WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY
SIFF Cinema Egyptian
9. Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Sure, Hunt for the Wilderpeople’s scope is small, but it gives you everything you could want from a movie: It’s smart, emotional, and even a bit action-packed once Ricky and Hec embark on an unplanned adventure in the forest. But most of all, it’s funny. So, so funny. Wilderpeople is a hugely loveable movie that’s suitable for date night or the whole family, and I know that sounds like a hacky movie poster blurb. But when a movie’s this good, it’s tough to avoid clichés, so I’ll leave you with another: Don’t miss it. NED LANNAMANN
SIFF Cinema Uptown
10. Train to Busan
Few monsters are more in need of a good lie-down than the zombie, a once-terrifyingly loaded cultural metaphor exhausted by repetition. Sometimes, though, you get lucky. The Korean horror film Train to Busan may not wholly reinvent the genre, but it does what it does with such exuberant, head-down momentum that it’s tough not to get swept up and grossed out. ANDREW WRIGHT
SIFF Cinema Uptown
CONTINUING RUNS
11. 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 jokes—but liberal, thoughtful Seattleites will get an extra kick when they recognize themselves in the characters. The mood shifts constantly, so that at any given moment the family’s lifestyle seems either ideal or like a mild form of child abuse. JULIA RABAN
12. The Conjuring 2
For horror fans accustomed to wandering through acres of dreck for a meager jolt, James Wan is the real deal. The Conjuring 2, the director’s return to the horror game after the amiably knuckle headed Furious 7, is a brilliantly staged, strangely exhausting work of a filmmaker in complete thrall to his chosen genre. This is a movie where virtually every scene is designed expressly for the purpose of causing the viewer’s colon to have an out-of-body experience. ANDREW WRIGHT
13. Finding Dory
I never thought a movie about animated fish would make me cry so much. But then again, not all fish are Dory, the charming protagonist of Finding Dory, Pixar’s sequel to 2003’s Finding Nemo. Although the movie is intended to be a follow-up, Finding Dory holds its own 13 years after its predecessor debuted and anchored itself in the hearts of then-10-year-olds like me. As an adult, I discovered a new appreciation for the characters of my favorite Pixar film. ANA SOFIA KNAUF
14. Ghostbusters
Because I’m so enthralled by all four lead actors, and even more enthralled by watching the world of bitter, obstructionist dorks implode with rage over their casting, I was almost ecstatic to see how well the whole thing turned out. It’s not just that it works and is hilarious and has great special effects and all the candy—It’s also a perfect commentary on gender inequality in movies. Leading by example. SEAN NELSON
15. Jason Bourne
Director Paul Greengrass and his co-scriptwriter Christopher Rouse (also the movie’s editor, interestingly) focus on a coterie of supporting characters, including Alicia Vikander as a smooth-skinned computer surveillance whiz, Vincent Cassel as a deadly “asset” (translation: assassin), and Tommy Lee Jones as a melted jack-o’-lantern who’s also head of the CIA. They’re all tracking Bourne, who discovered his real identity in 2007’s The Bourne Ultimatum and feels bad about all the people he killed, so he’s taken on the life of a wandering bare-knuckle boxer, punching large men for cash throughout Eastern Europe. NED LANNAMANN
16. Star Trek Beyond
Despite the 21st century having surpassed many of Roddenberry’s wildest technological dreams, those of us living in 2016 find ourselves struggling with some of the same social and political issues as those who were alive in the 1960s. That can make Star Trek‘s interstellar utopia seem goofy and preposterous—like it’s merely one more fantasy world for us to gaze into as we retreat from reality. But every once in a while, the future of Star Trek can feel like something more—like a melding of entertainment and ideology, of adventure and potential. Every once in a while, Star Trek feels like an actual glimpse into a future. A future where, if we wanted, we could scrape the blood off our faces and do better. ERIK HENRIKSEN
