Which movies in theaters are worth the price of admission?
Image: Booksmart/TMDb
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 Washington.
Here are 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.)
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, Friday, "Booksmart" already has a Tomatometer Score of 98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
ReelViews' James Berardinelli said, "If you're in high school (or have ever gone through the experience), you'll laugh quite a bit, wince more than once, and relate from start to finish," while Moira MacDonald of the Seattle Times noted, "Olivia Wilde's raunchy yet adorable high-school comedy 'Booksmart' understands a basic truth: for so many former teenage girls, your first love is your high-school best friend."
Get a piece of the action at AMC Mazza Gallerie (5300 Wisconsin Ave. NW), Regal Gallery Place (701 Seventh St. NW), and AMC Georgetown 14 (3111 K St. NorthW.) through Wednesday, May 29. Click here for showtimes and tickets.
Avengers: Endgame
After the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos. With the help of remaining allies, the Avengers must assemble once more in order to undo Thanos' actions and restore order to the universe once and for all, no matter what consequences may be in store.
With a Tomatometer Score of 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "Avengers: Endgame" has become a favorite since its release on April 26.
"What you will be getting when you walk into an inevitably overstuffed movie theater is something singular that reflects our age in a way that none of the MCU films that preceded it have-indeed, very few Hollywood spectacles ever have," according to Oliver Jones of the Observer, while the San Diego Reader's Matthew Lickona said, "The MCU will go on and on, but this chapter — and the American pragmatism vs. American ideals bromance that drove it — have well and truly come to their 'Excelsior! Nuff said!' moment."
It's playing at AMC Mazza Gallerie (5300 Wisconsin Ave. NW) through Wednesday, May 29; Regal Gallery Place (701 Seventh St. NW) through Wednesday, May 29; AMC Georgetown 14 (3111 K St. NorthW.) through Wednesday, May 29. Click here for showtimes and tickets.
Shazam!
A boy is given the ability to become an adult superhero in times of need with a single magic word.
With a Tomatometer Score of 90 percent and an Audience Score of 87 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, "Shazam!" has racked up generally positive reviews since its release on April 5.
"For a long, glorious stretch, 'Shazam!' plays like the anti-Nolan antidote it is," noted Joshua Rothkopf of Time Out, while Salon.com's Matthew Rozsa said, "'Shazam!' is the funniest, sweetest and most innocent movie in the DC Extended Universe — a sign that it is at last ready to compete with Marvel."
It's playing at The Miracle Theatre (535 Eighth St. SE) through Sunday, May 26. Click here for showtimes and tickets.
The Lady From Shanghai
A romantic drifter gets caught between a corrupt tycoon and his voluptuous wife.
With a Tomatometer Score of 86 percent and an Audience Score of 85 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, this classic is a good bet.
Time Out's Tom Huddleston said, "A magnificent mess of switchbacks and revelations, climaxing with one of cinema's most outrageously inventive sequences," while Mark Feeney of Boston Globe stated, "The climax, a shootout in a funhouse hall of mirrors, is one of the bravura sequences in all film, a triumph of hey-look-at-me form over just-the-facts content."
You can catch it at Angelika Pop-Up at Union Market (550 E. Penn St. NE) through 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.
