On the hunt for date night ideas? Check out this week's lineup of acclaimed movies showing on the big screen in and around Phoenix.
Read on for the highest rated films to catch, based on critical scores sourced from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. (Movie descriptions courtesy The Movie Database; showtimes via Fandango.)
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
When bestselling celebrity biographer Lee Israel is no longer able to get published because she has fallen out of step with current tastes, she turns her art form to deception, and abetted by her loyal friend Jack.
Boasting a 98 percent critical approval rating and an audience score of 84 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" has gotten stellar reviews since its release on October 19, with a consensus that "Deftly directed and laced with dark wit, 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?' proves a compelling showcase for deeply affecting work from Richard E. Grant and Melissa McCarthy."
You can catch it at AMC Arizona Center 24 (565 N. Third St.) and AMC Ahwatukee 24 (4915 E. Ray Road) through Thursday, Dec. 13. Click here for showtimes and tickets.Schindler's List
The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.
With a 97 percent critical approval rating and an audience score of 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, this 1993 release is a critical darling. The site's critical consensus notes that "'Schindler's List' blends the abject horror of the Holocaust with Steven Spielberg's signature tender humanism to create the director's dramatic masterpiece."
It's screening at Harkins Norterra 14 (2550 W. Happy Valley Road) through Friday, Dec. 14. Click here for showtimes and tickets.
The Hate U Give
Raised in a poverty-stricken slum, a 16-year-old girl named Starr now attends a suburban prep school. After she witnesses a police officer shoot her unarmed best friend, and she's torn between her two very different worlds as she tries to speak her truth.
With a critical approval rating of 97 percent and an audience score of 78 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "The Hate U Give" has been a must-watch since its release on October 19. The site's critical consensus has it that "Led by a breakout turn from Amandla Stenberg, the hard-hitting 'The Hate U Give' emphatically proves the YA genre has room for much more than magic and romance."
Want to see for yourself? It's playing at AMC Arizona Center 24 (565 N. Third St.) through Thursday, Dec. 13. Click here for showtimes and tickets.
It's a Wonderful Life
A holiday favorite for generations... George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8 and 000 is lost and George's troubles begin.
With a 93 percent critical approval rating and an audience score of 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, this 1946 release has garnered plenty of praise, with a consensus that "The holiday classic to define all holiday classics, 'It's a Wonderful Life' is one of a handful of films worth an annual viewing."
You can catch it at Harkins Christown 14 (1620 W. Montebello) on Saturday, Dec. 15. Click here for showtimes and tickets.
