Local & Repertory
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American Comedy Classics Love turns into lust for revenge in the classic 1937 screwball comedy The Awful Truth. Almost-exes Irene Dunne and Cary Grant are about to remarry, but each would rather torpedo the other’s future happiness than please a new spouse. It’s a given in the comedies of this era that sex is channeled into dialogue, and here that erotic subcurrent carries the additional charge of jealousy—neither Dunne nor Grant can bear to see the other share the marital goods with anybody else. Ralph Bellamy plays yet another memorable third leg as Dunne’s dim Okie oilman, while she plays wonderfully against type impersonating Grant’s floozy of a sister. (NR) BRIAN MILLER Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave., 654-3100, seattleartmuseum.org, $42–$45 series, $8 individual, Thursdays, 7:30 p.m. Through Aug. 15.
Clue This is the 1985 adaptation of the famous murder-mystery board game, with a big ensemble cast spoofing it up, including Madeline Kahn, Tim Curry, and Michael McKean. (PG)
Harvard Exit, 807 E. Roy St., 323-0587, landmarktheatres.com, $8.25, Saturday, Midnight.
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Cockneys vs. Zombies Director Matthias Hoene doesn’t waste any time setting the tone for his feature debut. Just a minute into the British splatter-com is a crude fart joke, immediately followed by an even cruder zombie attack featuring corn-syrup blood and some very lo-fi boneys awoken from an ancient tomb. So begins the East London zombie plague that claims everyone but the film’s unlikely heroes. Two camps fight for survival. One is a group of bumbling bank robbers led by well-meaning brothers Terry and Andy, armed to the teeth and put on edge by “Mental” Mickey (played with aplomb by Ashley “Bashy” Thomas), an Iraq War vet with a plate in his head. The second is a gang of octogenarians led by those brothers’ grandfather Ray, a no-nonsense prick played convincingly by Alan Ford. In keeping with zombie tradition, there is a slight bit of social commentary here (the gentrification displacing the elderly is also what awakens the undead)—but who needs it? This film shines in its stupidest moments. Hoene spends no time considering the morality of zombicide or augmenting his walking dead with anything more than the ability to stumble along slowly, eat brains, and spray blood. Instead he uses his monsters for a series of delightful gags. Old biddies are armed with assault weaponry; a zombie baby is drop-kicked; a man with a walker outruns his zombie pursuer; and, in the film’s most inspired moment, a fight among rival soccer zombie hooligans breaks out. A fine time; no brains required. (R) MARK BAUMGARTEN SIFF Cinema Uptown, 511 Queen Anne Ave. N., 324-9996, siff.net, $6-$11, Fri., Aug. 2, 10:15 p.m.; Sat., Aug. 3, 10:15 p.m.
Footloose Kevin Bacon stars as the rebellious, dancing teen in this 1984 hit, which also scored a pop-music hit for Kenny Loggins’ title song. Note: no show on Tues. (R)
Central Cinema, 1411 21st Ave., 686-6684, central-cinema.com, $6-$8, Aug. 2-7, 7 p.m.
Fremont Outdoor Movies Tom Cruise was so much more fun 30 years ago, not like the grim Oblivion clone of today. In Risky Business, in his breakout role, he plays a horny, college-bound teen who gets involved with a hooker (Rebecca De Mornay). Outdoor movie screens at dusk. (R)
3501 Phinney Ave. N., 781-4230, fremontoutdoormovies.com, $5, Fri., Aug. 2, 7:30 p.m.
Mile…Mile & a Half A group of artists hike and record the historic John Muir Trail from Yosemite to Mt. Whitney, a distance of 219 miles covered in 25 days. (NR)
Seattle Mountaineers, 7700 Sand Point Way N.E., themuirproject.com, $15, Thu., Aug. 1, 6:15 p.m.
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MOHAI Movies in the Park Cameron Crowe once told me that the studio delayed releasing his 1992 Singles by almost a year to capitalize on our grunge rock scene—making his sweetly observant music/rom-com seem more opportunistic than prophetic. It remains a deserved Seattle favorite, even if the nifty soundtrack seems dated and most of the local music figures who made cameos have long receded from the charts. Bridget Fonda, Campbell Scott, Kyra Sedgwick, and Matt Dillon star in the roundelay. Outdoor movie screens at dusk. (PG-13) BRIAN MILLER Lake Union Park, 860 Terry Ave. N., mohai.org, Free, Opens Aug. 3, Saturdays. Through Aug. 24.
Moonlight Cinema “You’ve got a degree from NYU. What in?” “Philosophy.” “Any particular discipline?” “No, not really. Man’s search for faith. That sort of shit.” Care to guess who that philosopher is, and in what 1989 movie he kicks ass, trades quips with Sam Elliott (long before the Coen brothers got the idea), defeats Ben Gazzara, and wins Kelly Lynch? There can be only one man, one answer: Patrick Swayze in Road House. The movie finds Swayze in a contemplative mood. He’s a man of peace, yet not one afraid to fight. But the true fight, my friend, lies within one’s own mind. And the calm Swayze seeks through his mastery of martial arts is a deeply spiritual quest. But men—bad men, ruffians and rednecks—are drawn to his calm. They’re unbalanced and volatile; they flow like water to the serene Zen center that is Swayze, so that he, the sensei, can instruct them. Because he has a Ph.D in ass-whooping. And each beating is a lesson. Outdoor screening begins at dusk. 21 and over. (R) BRIAN MILLER Redhook Ale Brewery, 14300 N.E. 145th St. (Woodinville), 425-483-3232, redhook.com, $5, Thursdays, 6 p.m. Through Aug. 29.
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Movie Mondays Turn it up to 11! The original 1984 “rockumentary” returns, and This Is Spinal Tap remains the best film Rob Reiner has ever made. That’s owing mainly to the writing and improvisational talents of its main cast (including Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer). Basically you can’t go wrong with this one. In the immortal words of Artie Fufkin (The Letterman show’s Paul Shaffer), “Do me a favor. Just kick my ass, okay?” Ticket price is your drink price. (R) BRIAN MILLER The Triple Door, 216 Union St., 838-4333, thetripledoor.net, $3, Mondays, 8 p.m. Through Aug. 19.
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Movies at Magnuson Park Daniel Craig’s third Bond film, Skyfall (2012), aims to flesh out the backstory of the spy, with the globe-trotting terrorist hunt this time literally revisiting the site of the childhood trauma that apparently pushed Bond to seek out that license to kill. Bopping from Shanghai to Macao, Bond gets up to the usual daring escapes and zipless nightcaps. A bureaucrat played by Ralph Fiennes, trying to drag MI6 into the age of Anonymous, contends that the agency “can’t keep working in the shadows—there are no shadows.” It’s a POV contested by the film’s most visually stunning action scene in a Shanghai skyscraper. Outdoor movie screens at dusk. (PG-13) KARINA LONGWORTH Magnuson Park, 7400 Sand Point Way N.E., moviesatmagnuson.com, $5, Thursdays, 7 p.m. Through Aug. 29.
Movies at Marymoor Set in an unspecified, postapocalyptic future, The Hunger Games (2012) takes place in a nation constructed out of the ruins of North America and consisting of 12 impoverished districts and the prosperous Capitol. As punishment for an earlier uprising, the Capitol demands that one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district be selected via annual lottery to participate in the Hunger Games. Representing District 12 is Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), a flinty 16-year-old. Although the film moves briskly and compellingly, it can’t match the fury of Suzanne Collins’ book. Outdoor movie screens at dusk. (PG-13) MELISSA ANDERSON Marymoor Park, 6046 W. Lake Sammamish Parkway N.E. (Redmond), moviesatmarymoor.com, $5, Wednesdays, 7 p.m. Through Aug. 28.
Snakes on a Plane Samuel L. Jackson’s presence, and delivery of its signature rant, somehow made this air-travel thriller a hit in 2006. Note: no show on Tues. (R)
Central Cinema, $6-$8, Aug. 2-7, 9:30 p.m.
Three Dollar Bill Outdoor Cinema In the 1999 comedy Galaxy Quest, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, and Tim Allen star as has-been actors from a once-popular sci-fi show. When friendly aliens mistake them for actual space explorers, the “crew” is enlisted to help battle real alien bad guys. Herein lies the film’s darkest suggestion: What if reruns are the magnum opus of the human race? Allen delivers with well-studied Shatnerisms, and it’s great to see Weaver alien-busting once again. Outdoor movie screens at dusk. (PG-13) ORIANDA GUILFOYLE Cal Anderson Park, 1635 11th Ave., threedollarbillcinema.org, Free, Fri., Aug. 2.
VHS Month A program of shorts and oddities is packaged as “Sports, Leisure, & Videotape!” Remember that beer and wine are now served, but screening open to all ages. (NR)
Scarecrow Video, 5030 Roosevelt Way N.E., 524-8554, scarecrow.com, Free, Sat., Aug. 3, 8 p.m.
Video Vengeance Curated by Scarecrow Video, this 21-and-over evening offers up various schlock and oddities from the VHS era. Beer and wine will be served. (NR)
Grand Illusion, 1403 N.E. 50th St., 523-3935, grandillusioncinema.org, $5-$8, Thu., Aug. 1, 8 p.m.
