In the market for high-caliber entertainment? Check out this week's lineup of acclaimed movies showing on the big screen in and around Visalia.
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.)
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, she's torn between her two very different worlds as she tries to speak her truth.
With a 96 percent critical approval rating and an audience score of 78 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "The Hate U Give" has gotten stellar reviews since its release on October 19. According to the site's overview of critic reviews, "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."
Get a piece of the action at Regal Visalia Sequoia Mall 12 (3355 S. Mooney Blvd.) through Friday, Dec. 14. Click here for showtimes and tickets.
Boy Erased
Jared, the son of a Baptist pastor in a small American town, is outed to his parents at age 19. Jared is faced with an ultimatum: attend a gay conversion therapy program — or be permanently exiled and shunned by his family, friends and faith.
With an 80 percent critical approval rating and an audience score of 78 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "Boy Erased" is well worth a watch. The site's critical consensus has it that "Anchored in empathy by writer-director-star Joel Edgerton, 'Boy Erased' proves the road to complex, powerfully performed drama can also be paved with good intentions."
Star Lucas Hedges' performance in the movie has earned him a Golden Globe nomination. Catch it on the big screen at Regal Visalia Sequoia Mall 12 (3355 S. Mooney Blvd.) through Friday, Dec. 14. Click here for showtimes and tickets.
Smallfoot
A bright young yeti finds something he thought didn't exist — a human. News of this “smallfoot” throws the simple yeti community into an uproar over what else might be out there in the big world beyond their snowy village.
With a critical approval rating of 76 percent and an audience score of 66 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "Smallfoot" is well worth a watch. The site's critical consensus indicates that "'Smallfoot' offers a colorful distraction that should keep younger viewers entertained — and a story whose message might even resonate with older audiences."
Catch it on the big screen at Regal Visalia Sequoia Mall 12 (3355 S. Mooney Blvd.) through Friday, Dec. 14. Click here for showtimes and tickets.
Bohemian Rhapsody
Singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bass guitarist John Deacon take the music world by storm when they form the rock 'n' roll band Queen in 1970. Hit songs become instant classics. When Mercury's increasingly wild lifestyle starts to spiral out of control, Queen soon faces its greatest challenge yet — finding a way to keep the band together amid the success and excess.
With a 62 percent critical approval rating and an audience score of 91 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "Bohemian Rhapsody" is well worth a watch. Per the site's overview of critic reviews, "'Bohemian Rhapsody' hits a handful of high notes, but as an in-depth look at a beloved band, it offers more of a medley than a true greatest hits collection." Both the film and its star Rami Malek are Golden Globe nominees.
In the mood for popcorn? It's playing at Regal Visalia Stadium 10 (120 S. Bridge St.) through Thursday, Dec. 13. Click here for showtimes and tickets.
