5 films worth checking out in Irvine this week

5 films worth checking out in Irvine this weekImage: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse/TMDb
Hoodline
Published on February 21, 2019

In the market for high-caliber entertainment? Take a look at this week's lineup of acclaimed movies showing on the big screen in and around Irvine.

Read on for the highest rated films to catch, based on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes' Tomatometer Score, which reflects the opinions of hundreds of film and television critics.

(Movie descriptions courtesy The Movie Database; showtimes via Fandango. Movie ratings and showtimes are subject to change.)

Gully Boy

This film is a coming-of-age story, based on the lives of street rappers in Mumbai.

Boasting a Tomatometer Score of 100 percent and an Audience Score of 91 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "Gully Boy" has proven to be a critical darling since its release on February 14.

Variety's Jay Weissberg said, "A mainstream rap musical served up with generous helpings of deftly written hip-hop lyrics and an appealing, largely well-woven narrative starring Ranveer Singh in all his charms."

And Deborah Young of the Hollywood Reporter noted, "Zoya Akhtar directs with flair and passion and, aided by explosive performances from a right-on cast, triumphs over the familiarity of the star-is-born storyline."

Interested? It's playing at Edwards Westpark 8 (3735 Alton Parkway) through Thursday, Feb. 28. Click here for showtimes and tickets.

Free Solo

Follow Alex Honnold as he attempts to become the first person to ever free-solo climb Yosemite's 3,000-foot-high El Capitan wall. With no ropes or safety gear, this would arguably be the greatest feat in rock-climbing history.

Boasting a Tomatometer Score of 98 percent and an Audience Score of 91 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "Free Solo" has proven to be a critical darling since its release in September of 2018.

"Impressive... But the question for me remains: Why on earth would anybody do this?" asked Peter Rainer of the Christian Science Monitor. RogerEbert.com's Glenn Kenny said, "It's scary and exhilarating stuff."

Catch it on the big screen at Edwards Westpark 8 (3735 Alton Parkway) through Thursday, Feb. 28. Click here for showtimes and tickets.

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, abetted by her loyal friend Jack.

Boasting a Tomatometer Score of 98 percent and an Audience Score of 84 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" has gotten stellar reviews since its release in October of 2018.

"The moment that will be McCarthy's Oscar clip (there's no doubt she'll get a nomination) comes when she stands before a judge and manages to be both contrite and yet triumphant," noted M. Faust of the Public (Buffalo) in a prescient review.

The film has Oscar nods for Best Lead Actress for McCarthy and Best Supporting Actor for Richard E. Grant.

It's playing at Edwards University Town Center 6 (4245 Campus Drive) through Thursday, Feb. 28. Click here for showtimes and tickets.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Miles Morales is juggling his life between being a high school student and being a spider-man. When Wilson "Kingpin" Fisk uses a super collider, others from across the Spider-Verse are transported to his dimension.

With a Tomatometer Score of 97 percent and an Audience Score of 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" has been a must-watch since its release in December of 2018.

The New York Times' Lawrence Ware said, "This film manages the delicate feat of embracing its source material while also satirizing it," while David Sims of the Atlantic called it, "The latest entry in a fully saturated genre that somehow, through sheer creative gumption, does something new."

Catch it on the big screen at Edwards Irvine Spectrum 21 IMAX & RPX (500 Spectrum Center Drive) through Thursday, Feb. 28. Click here for showtimes and tickets.

BlacKkKlansman

In Colorado Springs in the late '70s, Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer, and Flip Zimmerman, his Jewish colleague, run an undercover operation to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan.

With a Tomatometer Score of 96 percent and an Audience Score of 82 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "BlacKkKlansman" has gotten stellar reviews since its release in August of 2018. Slate's Lawrence Ware said, "The filmmaker rips from the headlines, but the struggles remain the same," and Oliver Jones of the Observer called it, "A kitchen sink and kaleidoscopic study of cultural and institutional racism in America."

The film is up for Best Picture and Best Director, for auteur Spike Lee.

Get a piece of the action at Edwards University Town Center 6 (4245 Campus Drive) through Friday, Feb. 22. Click here for showtimes and tickets.


This story was created automatically using local movie data, then reviewed by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.