Whether you’re hiding from Bumbershoot all weekend or need a quick respite from the music festival madness, we’ve got your back—just head to a dark theater with one of these critics’ picks in mind. There’s a supernatural thriller about a boy with nine lives, a documentary about Williamsburg in the 1980s, and even some family-friendly options like Finding Dory, Kubo and the Two Strings, and Pete’s Dragon. You can mourn Gene Wilder at a special screening of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, or finally make some time to watch Ghostbusters or Captain Fantastic. The possibilities are practically endless. And as always, check out our complete movie times calendar for even more options.
NEW RELEASES
1. The Light Between Oceans
In the wake of World War I, people were defined by what they had lost. A generation of young men had been scorched from the earth, leaving a corresponding generation of young women desperate to find a match and begin the work of repopulating their communities. It’s helpful, when embarking into the sheer sadness of Derek Cianfrance’s The Light Between Oceans, to bear this pressure in mind. If women have more or less always been expected to be mothers, this job was considered all the more noble in an era when so many lives had been eradicated. Imagine the pressure on a daughter whose brothers are all dead. MARJORIE SKINNER
2. Morgan
Set in the not too distant future, the story follows a no-nonsense corporate troubleshooter (Kate Mara) sent to a secluded forest compound to assess the status of a rapidly developing artificial humanoid (The Witch’s terrifically spooky Anya Taylor-Joy). As she and the swiftly dwindling team of scientists—including Toby Jones, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and a perfectly assholish Paul Giamatti—soon discover, the experiment has some significant gray areas. ANDREW WRIGHT
LIMITED RUNS
Thursday Only
3. The Intervention
For her directorial debut, Clea DuVall borrows the template that served John Sayles (Return of the Secaucus 7) and Lawrence Kasdan (The Big Chill) so well in their early days: Thirtysomething friends gather to reminisce over good times and pick at old wounds. Their ulterior motive: to stage an intervention around a toxic marriage. It’s incredibly presumptuous… but considering that DuVall shot the film on a small budget over a short amount of time, it’s a deft piece of work, and proves she has what it takes to make a go of a directing career. KATHY FENNESSY
Sundance Cinemas
4. Made in Venice
Learn about the Venice Beach skateboarding community in the 1980s—and their efforts to build a skatepark— in this sports documentary by Jonathan Penson.
Northwest Film Forum
5. Our Little Sister
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s luminous adaptation of Akima Yoshida’s manga series Umimachi Diary is a stealth masterpiece. Like his other films, Our Little Sister never draws attention to itself (or to its maker’s understated brilliance). He simply depicts four sisters going about their lives in coastal Kamakura, where plums grow freely, mackerel is plentiful, and the air glistens with humidity. The women have their flaws, like a fondness for the wrong men, but the better you get to know them, the harder it is to let them go. In that sense, his 12th narrative feature plays more like a miniseries than a movie. KATHY FENNESSY
Seven Gables
Starting Friday
6. The 9th Life of Louis Drax
This supernatural thriller explores the story of a young boy who has survived nine near-fatal experiences.
Regal Meridian
7. The Big Lebowski
If pressed to name my single favorite moment in my single favorite Coen brothers movie, The Big Lebowski, it would be a three-way tie between Jeff “the Dude” Lebowski’s dumpster-bumping car crash, the sheriff’s assault on the Dude with a coffee mug, and the Raymond Chandler–esque discovery of Jackie Treehorn’s hard-on doodle. BRADLEY STEINBACHER
Central Cinema
8. The Big Sleep
Private eye Philip Marlowe (Robert Mitchum) falls into a porno/blackmail/murder case in 1970s London.
Central Cinema
9. Complete Unknown
This film (directed by Joshua Marston, creator of the heart-wrenching Maria Full of Grace) is distastefully quirky and takes itself far too seriously, but it’s fun to watch because liars are fascinating. The best moments are when a liar, deeply invested in their imagined reality, fucks up their story and is forced to admit to their deception. Alice is often pitiable, but she’s also a reminder of the open-endedness of things…and it’s empowering to realize that most of us put in the hard work of (mostly) telling the truth, following through, and keeping in touch. JULIA RABAN
Guild 45th
10. Los Sures
There is broken glass everywhere, people pissing in the alleys, junkies in the backyard, and no white people who are not cops. This is Williamsburg before it became the Williamsburg of today—a place that has been cleaned up by the borrowed capital of developers and transformed by forms of consumption that define middle- and upper-class white Americans. In 1984, gentrification has hit only Manhattan, and Brooklyn is still its own planet, still a place populated by poor people of color. We see them stealing cars, running chop shops, smoking dope, dancing in the street to Latin grooves, shopping with food stamps, eating Wonder Bread, worrying about their teenage daughters, looking for work, going to church and watching spiritual possessions. CHARLES MUDEDE
Northwest Film Forum
11. Miss Sharon Jones!
Want another documentary about a musician overcoming great adversity to achieve glittering critical and modest commercial success? Possibly not, but you should make room in your callous heart for director Barbara Kopple’s Miss Sharon Jones! The titular subject is a powerful vocalist who merits your respect and attention, regardless if you’re a fan of her band the Dap-Kings’ tried-and-true R&B, soul, and funk. Born in South Carolina to a mother acquainted with the godfather of soul, James Brown, Sharon Jones took a long time to get her music career going, not releasing her first record until she was 40. But she made up for lost time by cutting several high-quality, pitch-perfect releases and proving herself to be a galvanizing live performer, inspiring James Brown comparisons. Once you see her onstage, you realize this is not hyperbole. DAVE SEGAL
Northwest Film Forum
Saturday Only
12. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
This 1971 classic, directed by Mel Stuart and adapted from the novel by Roald Dahl, has all of the creepy, whimsical, musical elements you love and is 100% Johnny Depp-free.
Regal Meridian
All Weekend
13. Anthropoid
Spy movies come preloaded with expectations, promising many scenes of shadowy people doing shadowy things. The historical thriller Anthropoid thankfully knows the trappings of its genre well, telling a compelling, unexpectedly moving story that’s rife with secret knocks, signal mirrors, and hastily decoded messages. ANDREW WRIGHT
Regal Meridian
14. Don’t Think Twice
The premise for Mike Birbiglia’s new film—a follow-up to his 2012 debut, Sleepwalk with Me—probably sounds insufferable. Basically, he’s 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 that’s exactly what happens. If the film isn’t especially funny—the curse of most comedies about comedy—I’m not sure that was Birbiglia’s intention. Mostly, it’s like a lo-fi cover of Morrissey’s “We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful.” Kind of whiny, kind of mean, and kind of true. KATHY FENNESSY
SIFF Cinema Uptown and Sundance Cinemas
15. 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
Varsity Theatre
16. Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World
The French philosopher Quentin Meillassoux once suggested that god does not exist but might exist in the future. This future god is the one legendary German director Werner Herzog looks for in his new documentary, Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World—the god whose mind seems to be emerging, flicker by flicker, in the global communication network we call the internet. What will this god do? How will we worship it? Will it make demands? And if so, will these demands harm or improve the lives of the god’s creators? CHARLES MUDEDE
SIFF Cinema Uptown
CONTINUING RUNS
17. 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
18. Equity
You will not find a film that gets closer to the truth about Wall Street than Equity. It makes The Wolf of Wall Street look like a cartoon. Indeed, Equity’s ending is so radical, it will stun you into silence. You will not see it coming. You will think that its story, which is about a Bay Area tech company going public, and this transition being managed by a powerful money-loving female investment banker, is heading in a completely different direction. You will think you know who will win and who will lose in this high-stakes game. And you will be surprised by how much you got it all wrong—because this film is after a much deeper truth about finance and American greed. CHARLES MUDEDE
19. 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
20. 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
21. Hell or High Water
Leave it to a Scot to deliver the next great American western. It’s possible director David Mackenzie (Starred Up) had the distance and perspective to depict Hell or High Water’s 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 father’s 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 Sheridan’s (Sicario) superb script to navigate a path around the obvious men-with-guns clichés that make up Hell or High Water’s western-noir milieu. Whatever the case may be, it’s resulted in a great film. NED LANNAMANN
22. 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
23. 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) doesn’t just open on a note of despair, it lingers there. The early scenes—in which Kubo, the protagonist, takes care of his injured, confused mother, feeding her and putting her to bed—don’t 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 film’s frankness and emotional honesty. Even more than that, they will be entranced with Kubo’s 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
24. Pete’s Dragon
It’s a cold slap in the face when you realize your entire childhood was built on a nuclear garbage dump. So it was the day I saw the original Pete’s Dragon (1977), which ran through my young consciousness like a DNA strand (shall I sing a few bars of “Candle on the Water” for you? No? “Every Little Piece,” perhaps? Hello?), but which was, alas, as poor as Passamaquoddy. Fortunately for all, someone had the good idea to give the job of reimagining the film to the hugely imaginative indie filmmaker David Lowery (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints). The result of this seemingly unlikely collision is a really magical, surprisingly resonant work built on the essential foundation of all great stories about being a kid: Life is sadness, but sadness can be conquered. SEAN NELSON
25. Southside With You
In service of the Obama story—and the bigger story outside all of that—Southside with You presents a presidential rom-com in the midst of one of the ugliest election seasons in recent memory. The film follows a young, chain-smoking Barack Obama (Parker Sawyers) and a deeply principled Michelle Robinson (Tika Sumpter) as they traverse Chicago’s South Side on their first “date.” Southside with You, while sweet and overly schmaltzy at times, powerfully reminds viewers that the story the Obamas gave us over the past eight years—an eight years that may look a paradise if Trump wins—is one worth holding onto and retelling for future generations. SYDNEY BROWNSTONE
26. 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
27. War Dogs
Like black licorice or the PT Cruiser, Jonah Hill is divisive. I have friends who can’t get enough of his potty-mouthed braggadocio, and others who only watch his movies on the off chance there might be a scene where he gets punched in the face. War Dogs, his latest odyssey of swearing, sex workers, and spreadsheets, probably isn’t going to change your mind either way, but it’s a damn good time if you’re picking up what Hill’s putting down. BEN COLEMAN
