Local film highlights

There are a lot of sweet films playing at local theaters this week and unless you’re spending your time praying to the sun gods while you wait for your clothes to dry, you probably don’t have the time to pick out the best ones. But don’t worry about it—we’ve searched through them for you.

Tuesday
Tombstone

It’s April Action Month at the Laurelhurst, and they’ve kicked it off with a western. While westerns are not my favorite, Tombstone is a definite exception, with a badass cast that includes Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer. It’s Arizona, 1879. Dodge City Marshall Wyatt Earp, with his wife Mattie and brothers Virgil and Morgan in tow, is heading into Tombstone—a town overrun by a villainous gang of infamous outlaws. And as the film’s tag suggests: “Justice is coming.”

Laurelhurst Theater
9:10 p.m.
$13
21+

Wednesday
Invincible Armour

Get ready, because it’s time for the Grindhouse Film Festival presents: Revenge of the Old School Kung Fu Masters. Where else can you experience the most awesome kung fu films ever made, screened in rare 35mm prints? This week’s installment is Invincible Armour, the elaborate showdown between the evil Eagle Claw master and the rookie kung fu warrior that he’s trying to take down.

Hollywood Theatre
7:30 p.m.
$6.50
All ages

Thursday
Red Riding: 1980   

In the second installment of the award-winning Red Riding trilogy, the “Ripper’ is still at large, leaving both the police force and the public scared and confused. With potential copycats springing up all over the place, veteran police officer Peter Hunter is called in to take over the investigation. Some of Hunter’s new theories regarding the serial killer don’t sit well with the others on board, and many begin to oppose his new level of authority. Red Riding: 1980 is directed by James Marsh (Man on Wire) and adapted for screen by Toni Grisoni (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) from David Pearce’s novel series of the same name.

Living Room Theaters
12:20 p.m., 2:30 p.m., 5 p.m., 7:15 p.m., 9:40 p.m.
$7 before 5 p.m., $6 w/PSU ID after 5 p.m.
21+ after 4:30 p.m.

Friday
Ran

In restored print for its 25th anniversary, Ran is one you definitely do not want to miss. Director Akira Kurosawa, using her interest in European literature, created an incredible east-meets-west version of Shakespeare’s King Lear. Ran runs in Japanese with English subtitles and is probably one of the greatest period action epics of all time.

Cinema 21
Time TBA
$7 w/PSU ID
All ages

Saturday and Sunday
Sweetgrass

Prepare to take a trip into the Absaroka-Beartooth mountain range in Montana as “recordists”—as they prefer to be called—Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Ilisa Barbash follow a family and their flock during their final sheep-herding season. The directors embrace their sense of humor (a stubborn flock of sheep has the potential to create some major laughs) while turning something fairly normal and routine into an outstanding cinematic event. The short El Cerco precedes the film.

Whitsell Auditorium
4:30 p.m., 7 p.m.
$7 w/PSU ID
All ages