The way films come and go, in and out of theaters, usually it's easier to miss a movie than catch it. That makes planning ahead a must when it comes to moviegoing in the Valley. That's also why we've handpicked five must-see flicks screening this month to add to the ol' planner. Snag some snacks and scope out our picks.
Lincoln We're calling it now. This fall's big one, the one that everyone (even your mom) will ask if you've seen yet, is Lincoln. Why? Well, there's Steven Spielberg in the director's chair. Daniel "The Greatest Actor of Our Time" Day Lewis stars in the titular role. Oh, also, remember how there was just an election? Right. That might have a smidge to do with it.
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The film focuses on the process of creating change in America toward the end of Lincoln's life, and is based on Doris Kearns Goodwin's biography of Honest Abe, Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. The movie opens Friday, November 16.Side by Side So Keanu Reeves made a movie (which, yeah, lol) about the evolution of filmmaking from shooting with physical film to embracing the digital format. He interviews such directors as Lena Dunham, Martin Scorcese, and about their take on the adoption of digital cameras in moviemaking. See the documentary at FilmBar through Wednesday, November 21.
Filmstock Film Festival There will be a lot of worthwhile screenings during the locally focused Filmstock Film Festival, but we're most excited to catch Brandon Barnard and Mark Susan's documentary Paint Life Beautiful, a film about artist and Big Brain Award winner Joseph "Sentrock" Perez. The fest goes down at Pollack Tempe Cinemas at 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, November 15 and 16. Admission is $15 per night. Wreck-It-RalphWreck-It Ralph When the holiday season rolls around (and, according to Target displays, we are very much in the midst of it) we can't help but head to the theater with a hankering for fun, kid movies that are equally entertaining for the grown-up set. Between solid reviews, voice acting from John C. Reilly, who plays Wreck-It Ralph, Sarah Silverman, and Jane Lynch, and a ton of gamer-friendly cameos, this video game story of a baddie going good seems like an across-the-board pleaser. It's in theaters now.Smoke Signals Adapted from the short story "This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona" from the book The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie (who Changing Hands brings to Dobson Auditorium on Thursday, November 15), Smoke Signals was the first film written, directed, and produced by Native Americans. The 1998 indie flick screens at Phoenix Art Museum on Sunday, November 18, at 1 p.m. Admission is free for museum members and $5 for non-members.