What movie should you go see today?
Image: Booksmart/TMDb
In the age of streaming entertainment, it can be hard to leave the couch. But movie theaters still offer a special experience for those willing to get out of the house. Want to see what's out there? Take a look at this week's lineup of acclaimed movies showing on the big screen in and around El Paso.
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.)
The River and the Wall
This documentary follows five friends on an immersive adventure through the unknown wilds of the Texas borderlands as they travel 1200 miles from El Paso to the Gulf of Mexico on horses, mountain bikes, and canoes. They set out to document the borderlands and explore the potential impacts of a border wall on the natural environment, but as the wilderness gives way to the more populated and heavily trafficked Lower Rio Grande Valley, they come face-to-face with the human side of the immigration debate and enter uncharted emotional waters.
Boasting a Tomatometer Score of 100 percent and an Audience Score of 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "The River and the Wall" has been a must-watch since its release on May 3. The New York Times's Jeannette Catsoulis said, "This casually relaxed documentary is both a vivid message movie and a wonder-filled paean to a singularly beautiful and biodiverse environment," while Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times noted, "Director Ben Masters' compelling, gorgeously shot, super-timely documentary 'The River and the Wall' should be required viewing of anyone charged with making a public case for or against a border wall between the United States and Mexico."
Get a piece of the action at Alamo Drafthouse Montecillo (250 E. Montecillo Blvd.) on Sunday, May 26. Click here for showtimes and tickets.
Booksmart
Two academic teenage superstars realize, on the eve of their high school graduation, that they should have worked less and played more. Determined to never fall short of their peers, the girls set out on a mission to cram four years of fun into one night.
Set to be released today, May 24, "Booksmart" already has a Tomatometer Score of 100 percent and an Audience Score of 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
"Olivia Wilde comes out swinging with not only one of the best movies of the year, but one of the best high school movies of all time," according to Katie Walsh of Tribune News Service, while Entertainment Weekly's Leah Greenblatt said, "If the storyline doesn't so much unfold as burst out in glittery puffs – and if music cues seem to make up about 40 percent of the plot – it's still an endearing kind of chaos."
Catch it on the big screen at Cinemark Cielo Vista Mall 14 and XD (8401 Gateway West Blvd.), The Grand 10 - Ft. Bliss (1619 Pleasonton Road), Bassett Place Premiere Cinema 17 + IMAX (6101 Gateway West, Suite 15) and AMC El Paso 16 (9840 Gateway Blvd. North) through Wednesday, May 29. Click here for showtimes and tickets.
Alien
During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host is birthed.
With a Tomatometer Score of 97 percent and an Audience Score of 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, this 1979 release is a must-see.
"This is a screamingly spooky sci-fi tale with more than a few echoes of "The Thing" but echoes which enhance rather than detract," noted Ernest Leogrande of the New York Daily News, while the Globe and Mail's Stephen Cole said, "Seen again a quarter-century later, we marvel at how the filmmaker generates so much tension and sweat with a bare minimum of moving parts."
It's playing at Alamo Drafthouse Montecillo (250 E. Montecillo Blvd.) on Sunday, May 26. Click here for showtimes and tickets.
Hail Satan?
A look at the intersection of religion and activism, tracing the rise of The Satanic Temple: only six years old and already one of the most controversial religious movements in American history. The Temple is calling for a Satanic revolution to save the nation's soul. But are they for real?
With a Tomatometer Score of 97 percent and an Audience Score of 83 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "Hail Satan?" has proven to be a critical darling since its release on April 17. The Detroit News's Adam Graham said, "Director Penny Lane frames her smart, level-headed documentary as a discussion about the Satanic Temple and its fight for religious equality," and the San Diego Reader's Matthew Lickona noted, "The question mark in the title of Penny Lane's documentary on The Satanic Temple is integral to the story she's telling ... a fine, thought-provoking effort."
Want to see for yourself? It's playing at Alamo Drafthouse Montecillo (250 E. Montecillo Blvd.) on Wednesday, May 29. 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.
