20-03-2025
Movies to see this week: Turtles, 'Tigers Are Not Afraid,' 'Donnie Darko'
From the sewers to Versailles, falling airplanes to floating bodies, the film calendar in the Twin Cities is full of classics this week. (Let's interpret "classic" pretty broadly here because I don't want emails about how absurd it is to put Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the same realm as Sunset Boulevard.)
Spring is coming, but it's still cold enough that you'll want to spend some time inside. Here are the repertory movie screenings worth a stop at the theater this week.
Wednesday, March 19 at Emagine Eagan, Emagine Lakeville, Emagine White Bear, and Emagine Willow Creek
Films like Sunset Boulevard and The Godfather wind up in repertory series with relative frequency. However, it's probably less common to see the turtles back on the big screen. (At least, it's not often you get to see their early '90s incarnation.) Indulge in its deluge of pizza jokes and '90s slang, whether you unironically love the movie or feel it fits snugly into the "so bad it's good" category. (A reminder for the latter group: We didn't get the timeless collaboration between mutant turtles and Vanilla Ice until the sequel.) Various locations ($10.60)
Monday, March 24 at Heights Theater
Sunset Boulevard just won't age. Despite being 75 years old, it's still haunting, funny, and tense, right from the opening voiceover when Joe Gillis (William Holden) is seen floating face down in a pool. "You see, the body of a young man was found floating in the pool of her mansion with two shots in his back and one in his stomach. Nobody important, really. Just a movie writer with a couple of 'B' pictures to his credit." The final writing collaboration between director Billy Wilder and screenwriter Charles Brackett might have been their best. 3951 Central Ave. NE, Columbia Heights ($16–$16.75)
Monday, March 24 at Emagine Willow Creek
Issa López's film doesn't neatly fit into any single genre. It's a crime thriller. It's a fairy tale. It's horror. It's fantasy. More importantly, if you're considering seeing it for the first time, it's just good.
A group of kids navigate living amid the everyday violence and horrors of the drug cartels in their city. It's thrilling and fantastical, but Tigers Are Not Afraid (titled Vuelven in Mexico) isn't light viewing. Under the creatures and tension sits painful truth. 3951 Central Ave. NE, Columbia Heights ($7.60)
Sunday, March 23 at Emagine Eagan, Emagine Lakeville, Emagine White Bear, and Emagine Willow Creek
Is there a movie that more perfectly captures the zeitgeist of early aughts indie films? (For a certain dorm-room poster, mind-bending thread of that era, Donnie Darko is a good representative. Another thread might be more accurately represented by Wes Anderson or Sofia Coppola's whimsy. Oh, and then there's Andrew Bujalski's... I'm getting off track.)
After a plane falls from the sky, Donnie (Jake Gyllenhaal) has visions of a giant rabbit that tells him to do things. Naturally, it's not good things. The creepy rabbit with teeth and deep voice isn't benevolent. Various locations ($12.60)
Saturday, March 22 and Sunday, March 22 at Alamo Drafthouse
Coppola's offbeat retelling of Marie Antoinette's life feels well-suited for a revisit. (Because Gang of Four are on their farewell tour and coming to Minneapolis. What did you think I meant?)
The stylish film follows Marie, played by Kristen Dunst, from her marriage to Louis XVI to her time in court as a teenage queen. It also gets to that other part. You know, the whole "let them eat cake," fall of Versailles, chop chop thing, if only in a vague way that never actually shows her bloody demise. 9060 Hudson Rd., Woodbury ($13)Movies screening in the Twin Cities this week:
Mar. 19: Showgirls (1995) at Edina Theatre
Mar. 19: Shark Exorcist (2015) at The Trylon Cinema
Mar. 19: Women's Adventure Film Tour 2025 at Riverview Theater
Mar. 19: Spring Breakers (2012) at AMC Eden Prairie, AMC Southdale, and CMX Odyssey
Mar. 19: Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me (1992) at Alamo Drafthouse
Mar. 19: Wild at Heart (1990) at Alamo Drafthouse
Mar. 19–20: Hop (2011) at Emagine Eagan, Emagine East Bethel, Emagine Lakeville, Emagine White Bear, and Emagine Willow Creek
Mar. 20: Elvis: That's the Way It Is (1920-2001) at The Heights Theater
Mar. 20: Mulholland Drive (2001) at Emagine Willow Creek
Mar. 20: Rad Day 2025 at AMC Eden Prairie, AMC Southdale, Emagine Eagan, Emagine Lakeville, Emagine White Bear, Emagine Willow Creek, Oakdale Cinema, Parkwood Cinema, Southbridge Cross Cinema, St. Michael Cinema, and West End Cinema
Mar. 20 and 23: House (1977) at Grandview Theatre
Mar. 20: Boom: A Film About the Sonics (2018) at Cloudland Theater
Mar. 21: Luca (2021) at Emagine White Bear
Mar. 21 and 23–25: Lost Highway (1997) at Alamo Drafthouse
Mar. 21–25: Phantom Thread (2017) at The Trylon Cinema
Mar. 22: "Cinema Is of the Mind Anyway," films by Jordan Lord and Tiffany Sia at Walker Art Center
Mar. 22: Middle School Movie Club: Belle (2021) at Walker Art Center
Mar. 23: Spaceballs (1987) at Audrey Rose Vintage
Mar. 23–24: The Godfather (1972) at Oakdale Cinema, Parkwood Cinema, Rosemount Cinema, and West End Cinema
Mar. 23: The Princess Bride (1987) at Roxy's Cabaret
Mar. 24: Bob Trevino Likes It (2024) at The Main Cinema
Mar. 25: Catacomb Cinema Club at Bryant Lake Bowl
Mar. 25: Girls Town (1996) at Alamo Drafthouse
