From an adrenaline-pumping action flick to a big-hearted documentary, there's an impressive lineup of top-rated summer movies showing on the big screen in Raleigh.
Whether you're in the market for a painfully relatable middle school coming-of-age story or a twisting tale of triplets separated at birth, here are the highest rated films to catch this week, based on critical scores sourced from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. (Movie descriptions courtesy The Movie Database.)
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Won't You Be My Neighbor?
Fred Rogers used puppets and play to explore complex social issues: race, disability, equality and tragedy, helping form the American concept of childhood. He spoke directly to children and they responded enthusiastically. Yet today, his impact is unclear. Have we lived up to Fred's ideal of good neighbors?
In theaters since June 8, "Won't You Be My Neighbor" boasts an outstanding 99 percent positive critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with a consensus that the film "takes a fittingly patient and honest look at the life and legacy of a television pioneer whose work has enriched generations."
It's screening at 9pm at the Rialto Theatre (1620 Glenwood Ave.) through Thursday, Aug. 9.
Eighth Grade
Thirteen-year-old Kayla endures the tidal wave of contemporary suburban adolescence as she makes her way through the last week of middle school — the end of her thus far disastrous eighth grade year — before she begins high school.
This breakout project, which comes from writer-director Bo Burnham and stars Elsie Fisher, has earned a stellar 98 percent positive critical rating since its opening on Friday. This week, it's playing at Alamo Drafthouse (2116 New Bern Avenue Suite D), Cinemark Raleigh Grande (4840 Grove Barton Rd.) and AMC Classic Raleigh (5501 Atlantic Springs Rd.).
Mission: Impossible - Fallout
When an IMF mission ends badly, the world is faced with dire consequences. As Ethan Hunt takes it upon himself to fulfill his original briefing, the CIA begin to question his loyalty and his motives. The IMF team find themselves in a race against time, hunted by assassins while trying to prevent a global catastrophe.
Tom Cruise returns in another installment of the bulletproof Mission: Impossible franchise, and with a 97 percent positive rating for the new blockbuster, it seems critics are happy to see him back in action. Catch "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" at Alamo Drafthouse (2116 New Bern Avenue Suite D), Regal North Hills (4150 Main at North Hills St.), AMC Classic Raleigh (5501 Atlantic Springs Rd.), Raleighwood Cinema Grill (6609 Falls of Neuse Rd.) and Cinemark Raleigh Grande (4840 Grove Barton Rd.).
Blackkklansman
Ron Stallworth, an African-American police officer from Colorado, successfully managed to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan and became the head of the local chapter.
This new Spike Lee joint, based on a true story and starring John David Washington and Adam Driver, has a 96 percent positive critical score. Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus has it that the film "uses history to offer bitingly trenchant commentary on current events -- and brings out some of Spike Lee's hardest-hitting work in decades along the way."
It's screening at Alamo Drafthouse (2116 New Bern Avenue Suite D) starting Wednesday, Aug. 8, and opens Friday, Aug. 10 at Cinemark Raleigh Grande (4840 Grove Barton Rd.), Regal Brier Creek (8611 Brier Creek) and the Rialto Theatre (1620 Glenwood Ave.).
Three Identical Strangers
New York, 1980: three complete strangers accidentally discover that they're identical triplets, separated at birth. The 19-year-olds' joyous reunion catapults them to international fame, but also unlocks an extraordinary and disturbing secret that goes beyond their own lives - and could transform our understanding of human nature forever.
New documentary "Three Identical Strangers" also has a 96 percent positive score on Rotten Tomatoes. The stranger-than-fiction tale is screening at the Rialto Theatre (1620 Glenwood Ave.) through Thursday, Aug. 9, and Alamo Drafthouse (2116 New Bern Avenue Suite D) through Aug. 15.
