French Flicks, Iranian Films, and Idris Elba Fighting a Lion

Pretty much every movie you can see in the Twin Cities this week.

By Keith Harris

9:00 AM CDT on August 18, 2022

Courtesy of Universal Pictures|

I’d be lion if I said I was excited for ‘Beast.’

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Got a couple nice little fests to recommend this week. The MSP Film Society will be hosting the Iranian Film Festival at the Main, featuring mostly new movies. Meanwhile, the Alliance Française de Minneapolis/St. Paul's Classic French Film Festival lives up to its name by screening some real French film basics. Never seen Jules and Jim? The Umbrellas of Cherbourg? Whatcha waiting for?

Special Screenings This Week

Thursday, August 18

RiffTrax Live: The Return of the Swamp Thing
AMC Rosedale 14/AMC Southdale 16/Emagine Willow Creek/Showplace ICON
The way it’s meant to be seen. $12.50. 7 p.m. More info here.

Call Me By Your Name (2017)
Grandview 1 & 2
You’ll never think of peaches the same way. $12. 9:15 p.m. More info here.

Cape Fear (1962)
The Heights
Upstanding Gregory Peck’s life is undermined by much cooler lowlife criminal Robert Mitchum. $12. 7:30 p.m. More info here.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
Logan Park
Still trying to forget about hologram Harold Ramis. Read our full review here. Also Tuesday at Live on the Drive. Free. Dusk. More info here.

Mr. Hulot’s Holiday (1953)
The Main
Jacques Tati tries to get away from it all. Part of La Classe! Classic French Film Festival. $8. 7 p.m. More info here.

The Outsiders (1983)
Parkway Theater
Every cute boy of the Reagan era is ready to rumble. With pre-show trivia. $9-$12. Trivia 7:30 p.m. Screening 8 p.m. More info here.

Penguins of Madagascar (2014)
Riverview
This is the Herzog doc, right? $1. 10:30 a.m. More info here.

Shark Waters (2022)
Trylon
Haven't seen it, but I assume the plot is shark-related. And water-related. $8. 2 p.m. More info here.

Sound for Silents 2022: This Land Is Your Music
Walker Art Center
Singer/songwriter Pieta Brown, accompanied by Ben Lester, Davu Seru, and Jeremy Ylvisaker, performs over an hour of silent films by Maya Deren, Sheryl Mousley, Rini Yun Keagy, Kelly Gallagher, Sama Alshaibi, and others. Free. 7:30 p.m. More info here.

Friday, August 19

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 (2009)
Alamo Drafthouse
Hang in there parents, school starts soon. $5. 3 p.m. More info here.

Shoot the Piano Player (1960)
Alliance Française de Minneapolis/St. Paul
Truffaut’s take on the gangster flick. Part of La Classe! Classic French Film Festival. $5. 7 p.m. More info here.

The Wiz (2004)
Lake Harriet Bandshell
Ease on down the road. Free. Dusk. More info here.

The Majority (2021)
The Main
A prosperous woman returns to her rural village and demands a high cost for her financial aid. Part of the MSP Iranian Film Festival. $12. 4:30 p.m. Sunday 6:45 p.m. More info here.

Absence (2021)
The Main
An Iranian man visits Eastern Europe to learn about his expatriate father’s past. Part of the MSP Iranian Film Festival. $12. 7 p.m. Also Sunday 4:30 p.m. More info here.

A Man of Integrity (2017)
The Main
An off-the-grid goldfish farmer is targeted by a state-sponsored corporation. Part of the MSP Iranian Film Festival. $12. 7 p.m. Also Saturday 4 p.m. More info here.

Smooth Talk (1985)
Trylon
Laura Dern fans (and who ain’t?) absolutely need to see her debut performance (at 18) as a flirty teen whose free-spirited ways are curtailed when she’s menaced by a stalker—a truly creepy Treat Williams. $8. 7 & 9:30 p.m. Sunday 3 & 5 p.m. More info here.

Saturday, August 20

Conan the Barbarian (2020)
Alamo Drafthouse
You crush those enemies, Arnold. $10. 6:30 p.m. More info here.

Vivre Sa Vie (1962)
Alliance Française de Minneapolis/St. Paul
Things don’t turn out the way Anna Karina planned. Part of La Classe! Classic French Film Festival. $5. 7 p.m. More info here.

Asteroid (2021)
The Main
A 12-year-old boy and his mother strive for a village home. Part of the MSP Iranian Film Festival. $12. 2 p.m. More info here.

The Incredibles (2004)
Parkway Theater
Lol remember how horny this movie made the New Yorker’s Anthony Lane? $5-$10. 1 p.m. More info here.

Sunday, August 21

Grease 2 (1982)
Alamo Drafthouse
Olivia Newton-John does not appear in this film. $10. 12:30 p.m. More info here.

Dr. No (1962)
AMC Rosedale 14/AMC Southdale 16/Emagine Willow Creek
I don’t think he’s a real doctor. $16.13. 3 & 7 p.m. More info here.

Back to the Future (1985)
Emagine Willow Creek
A white boy travels back in time to invent rock ‘n’ roll for Chuck Berry. $7.95. 12 & 7 p.m. Also Wednesday. More info here.

No Choice (2021)
The Main
A woman believes she is the subject of a government sterilization program. Part of the MSP Iranian Film Festival. $12. 2 p.m. More info here.

Wild at Heart (1990)
Trylon
David Lynch’s take on The Wizard of Oz. $8. 8 p.m. Monday-Tuesday 7 & 9:30 p.m. More info here.

Monday, August 22

Jules and Jim (1962)
Alliance Française de Minneapolis/St. Paul
Truffaut’s classic love triangle. Part of La Classe! Classic French Film Festival. $5. 7 p.m. More info here.

Slaves and Kings (2022)
AMC Rosedale 14/AMC Southdale 16
Uncovering the truth about at 19th century Spanish archbishop, if that's what you're into. $16.13. 7 p.m. More info here.

Blacula (1972)
Emagine Willow Creek
Celebrating fifty years of the dark, sexy predator. $6. 7:30 p.m. More info here.

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (1962)
The Heights
Joan Crawford vs. Bette Davis, in film as in life. $12. 7:30 p.m. More info here.

Luca (2021)
Luxton Park
He lives on the second floor. Free. Dusk. More info here.

Tuesday, August 23

Annie (1982)
Alamo Drafthouse
Lemme tell ya: 12 y.o. Keith thought Ann Reinking was so hot in this. $5. 2:45 p.m. More info here.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
Alliance Française de Minneapolis/St. Paul
Jacques Demy reinvents the movie musical. Part of La Classe! Classic French Film Festival. $5. 7 p.m. More info here.

The Addams Family 2 (2021)
Morris Park
The cartoon, FYI. No Christina Ricci here. Free. Dusk. More info here.

Wednesday, August 24

Halloween: Season of the Witch (1987)
Alamo Drafthouse
John Carpenter’s shot at turning his franchise into an anthology of short, scary films instead. $10. 8:45 p.m. More info here.

The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)
Alliance Française de Minneapolis/St. Paul
Demy and Deneuve, together again. With Gene Kelly this time. Part of La Classe! Classic French Film Festival. $5. 7 p.m. More info here.

West Side Story (2021)
The Commons
That Steven Spielberg sure can direct a picture. Read our full review here. Free. Dusk. More info here.

Lost in Translation (2001)
Grandview 1 & 2
Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson do karaoke and whisper in Tokyo. $12. 9:15 p.m. More info here.

Je Veux Voir (2008) + Barmeh (2001)
Trylon
The Mizna film series continues its summer-long look at the work of Lebanese filmmakers Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige. $10. 7 p.m. More info here.