This Week’s Movies, 8/18/07


Courtesy of Picturehouse

(This is a weekly one-stop resource for movies screening in L.A., with Rotten Tomatoes/Metacritic averages, showtimes and more. Almost all of these movies are also either currently screening outside of L.A. or will be in the near future.)

The end-of-summer lead-up to Labor Day is a painfully slow period in the arts and entertainment world. But when it comes to the movies, this fact always seems to result in a flurry of activity, as studios rush to dump films (usually of the smaller, indie, and not-very-good variety) before the fall season. Still getting enough raves to stand apart from this glut is The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, which opens this week. The documentary follows two videogame rivals as they compete to achieve the world record score in the classic Donkey Kong arcade game. The reviews seem to suggest that the film adds up to more than just a “look at these crazy dudes” type doc (although interesting, nothing about the premise would have led me to expect the Village Voice to lose its shit over “every magical, exhilarating, infuriating, dumbfounding, jaw-dropping second of Gordon’s miniature masterpiece.”)

The week’s other notable arrivals are Delirious, a satire of celebrity culture starring Steve Buscemi as a Manhattan paparazzo, and the ubiquitous Superbad.

Little Stevie Wonder – “Monkey Talk”: mp3
Pixies – “Monkey Gone To Heaven”: mp3

HIGHEST RATED FILMS SCREENING (8/17-8/23)

Note: RT and MC scores frequently change. Click on the movie titles for showtimes.

Avg. – RT – MC
96.0 – 9696Ratatouille
92.5 – 9788Once
92.0 – 9589No End in Sight
90.5 – 9784The King of Kong
89.5 – 9485The Bourne Ultimatum
89.0 – 9286This is England
88.0 – 1007612:08 East of Bucharest
88.0 – 9185Knocked Up
87.0 – 9381Hairspray
84.5 – 8980The Simpsons Movie
83.5 – 8978Rescue Dawn
83.0 – 9274Sicko
80.5 – 8675Superbad
80.0 – 8773Rocket Science
79.0 – 8672Delirious
78.5 – 7681Lady Chatterley

This week’s openings and music-related films after the jump. [Continue reading…]

OPENING

Avg. – RT – MC
90.5 – 9784The King of Kong LAT ‘compelling’LAW ‘beauty’
80.5 – 8675Superbad LAT ‘clear-eyed’LAW ‘Go’
79.0 – 8672Delirious LAT ‘dead-on’LAW ‘Go’
73.5 – 8166The 11th Hour LAT ‘harrowing’LAW ‘a triumph’
66.0 – 6666Death at a Funeral LAW ‘begs for the laugh track’
49.0 – 3365Drama/Mex LAT ‘gimmicks’LAW ‘Go’
xx.x – 37 – xx – Marigold LAT ‘mixed’LAW ‘Go’
38.0 – 3343The Last Legion
34.5 – 2148The Invasion LAT ‘creepy’LAW ‘lousy’
xx.x – 25 – xx – 7 Dias LAT ‘flat’LAW ‘obvious’
xx.x – xx – xx – Splinter LAT ‘muddled’LAW ‘confusing’
(LAT = L.A. Times; LAW = L.A. Weekly)

LAST WEEK’S OPENINGS, STILL SCREENING

Avg. – RT – MC
88.0 – 1007612:08 East of Bucharest LAT ‘unexpected’LAW ‘Go’CB ‘with fangs’
80.0 – 8773Rocket Science LAT ‘debatable’LAW ‘ambivalent’CB ‘substantial’
74.0 – 83652 Days in Paris LAT ‘subtle’LAW ‘Go’CB ‘refreshing’
70.0 – 7466Stardust LAT ‘lively’LAW ‘fails’CB ‘spry’
43.0 – 4343Cut Sleeve Boys LAT ‘disconnected’LAW ‘Go’
32.0 – 2044Rush Hour 3 LAT ‘worn out’LAW ‘Go’CB ‘uninspired’
26.0 – 1933Skinwalkers LAW ‘witless’
07.5 – 0213Daddy Day Camp LAT ‘disposable’LAW ‘shrill’CB ‘slogs’

MUSIC-RELATED

92.5 – 9788Once ChiTrib ‘my favorite music film since Stop Making Sense’
87.0 – 9381Hairspray ChiReader ‘period-perfect pop score’
74.5 – 8069Talk to Me Var ‘A blow-out soundtrack of great tunes from the era’
70.5 – 7566La Vie en Rose NYDN ‘killer finale with Cotillard perfectly lip-synching’
35.0 – 2446El Cantante LAT ‘nothing special. Well, the music is.’

***

Click below for more Film and Television.