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 – 96 – 96 – Ratatouille
92.5 – 97 – 88 – Once
92.0 – 95 – 89 – No End in Sight
90.5 – 97 – 84 – The King of Kong
89.5 – 94 – 85 – The Bourne Ultimatum
89.0 – 92 – 86 – This is England
88.0 – 100 – 76 – 12:08 East of Bucharest
88.0 – 91 – 85 – Knocked Up
87.0 – 93 – 81 – Hairspray
84.5 – 89 – 80 – The Simpsons Movie
83.5 – 89 – 78 – Rescue Dawn
83.0 – 92 – 74 – Sicko
80.5 – 86 – 75 – Superbad
80.0 – 87 – 73 – Rocket Science
79.0 – 86 – 72 – Delirious
78.5 – 76 – 81 – Lady Chatterley
This week’s openings and music-related films after the jump. [Continue reading…]
OPENING
Avg. – RT – MC
90.5 – 97 – 84 – The King of Kong — LAT ‘compelling’ – LAW ‘beauty’
80.5 – 86 – 75 – Superbad — LAT ‘clear-eyed’ – LAW ‘Go’
79.0 – 86 – 72 – Delirious — LAT ‘dead-on’ – LAW ‘Go’
73.5 – 81 – 66 – The 11th Hour — LAT ‘harrowing’ – LAW ‘a triumph’
66.0 – 66 – 66 – Death at a Funeral — LAW ‘begs for the laugh track’
49.0 – 33 – 65 – Drama/Mex — LAT ‘gimmicks’ – LAW ‘Go’
xx.x – 37 – xx – Marigold — LAT ‘mixed’ – LAW ‘Go’
38.0 – 33 – 43 – The Last Legion
34.5 – 21 – 48 – The 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 – 100 – 76 – 12:08 East of Bucharest — LAT ‘unexpected’ – LAW ‘Go’ – CB ‘with fangs’
80.0 – 87 – 73 – Rocket Science — LAT ‘debatable’ – LAW ‘ambivalent’ – CB ‘substantial’
74.0 – 83 – 65 – 2 Days in Paris — LAT ‘subtle’ – LAW ‘Go’ – CB ‘refreshing’
70.0 – 74 – 66 – Stardust — LAT ‘lively’ – LAW ‘fails’ – CB ‘spry’
43.0 – 43 – 43 – Cut Sleeve Boys — LAT ‘disconnected’ – LAW ‘Go’
32.0 – 20 – 44 – Rush Hour 3 — LAT ‘worn out’ – LAW ‘Go’ – CB ‘uninspired’
26.0 – 19 – 33 – Skinwalkers — LAW ‘witless’
07.5 – 02 – 13 – Daddy Day Camp — LAT ‘disposable’ – LAW ‘shrill’ – CB ‘slogs’
MUSIC-RELATED
92.5 – 97 – 88 – Once — ChiTrib ‘my favorite music film since Stop Making Sense’
87.0 – 93 – 81 – Hairspray — ChiReader ‘period-perfect pop score’
74.5 – 80 – 69 – Talk to Me — Var ‘A blow-out soundtrack of great tunes from the era’
70.5 – 75 – 66 – La Vie en Rose — NYDN ‘killer finale with Cotillard perfectly lip-synching’
35.0 – 24 – 46 – El Cantante — LAT ‘nothing special. Well, the music is.’
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