Los Angeles Top 5 (1/25/13–1/31/13)

LA is the greatest place on earth to watch movies. Here are this week’s best picks.

1. Near Dark at the Cinefamily (FRIDAY 1/25, MIDNIGHT)

Perhaps you like vampire films, but Breaking Dawn Part 2 isn’t doing it for you. Perhaps you liked the direction of Zero Dark Thirty, but really wished it had… you know, more vampires (vampires vs. Bin Laden does sound like an amazing movie). Never you fear, as the Cinefamily is bringing you former Academy Award winner and current Academy Award snub victim Kathryn Bigelow’s cult classic Near Dark. This film is the ultimate in vampire badassery, and it boasts Bill Paxton’s greatest and most batshit performance to date. Go and see it at the appropriate screening time of midnight. Plus, as an added bonus, Homer and Diamondback themselves will be live in person… depending on whether you think vampires are truly alive.

2. Xanadu, Roller Boogie, and Skatetown, U.S.A. at the Egyptian (SATURDAY 1/26, 7:30 PM)

We here at Movie Mezzanine don’t recommend the use of mind-altering drugs when attending a triple-feature of discokitsch. We insist upon it. (Disclaimer: that was a joke. Mostly.) Prepare to have your mind totally blown by the flashing lights, the rolling skates, and the bright colors of these super-earnest cult classics of a bygone era. Xanadu boasts Olivia Newton John, Gene Kelly, Don Bluth animation, and a bevy of amazing songs. Roller Boogie boasts Linda Blair and direction by Mark L. Lester, a precursor to his giddily fun direction in Firestarter and Commando. Skatetown, U.S.A. sounds best of all, boasting a cast of (brace yourselves) Scott Baio, Flip Wilson, Ron “Horshack” Palillo, Maureen “Marcia Brady” McCormick, The Unknown Comic (!!!), and Patrick Swayze in his first major role as a villainous skater named Ace. Northridge Skateland is setting up a retro roller rink in the lobby. You won’t want to miss this.

3. Dreams and Synecdoche, New York at the Egyptian (SUNDAY 1/27, 7:30 PM)

A double-feature of magic realism, Kurosawa and Kaufman back to back is the most inspired pairing of films of the weekend. Kurosawa, a director whose visuals deserve to be seen on the largest screen possible, fills one of his final features with a deep sense of mystery and wonder, basing a series of segments on his own dreams. While Dreams is largely imagery-based, Kaufman’s Synecdoche, New York carries his trademark brand of neurotic dialogue throughout, rooting his more bizarre imagery and ideas in a very grounded sense of humanism. Thematically, the self-destructive quality of man pervades through both, which (ironically) may drive you to want a stiff drink afterward… but both films are masterful works of art.

4. Tabu at the Laemmle Royal and the Laemmle Playhouse (ALL WEEK)

If you’re like me, you tend to try to hit as many of the films labeled “Best Films of the Year” as possible. Tabu, arriving to the West Coast from Portugal this week, was not only on the Top 10 of 2012 list of critics such as Eric Kohn, Richard Brody, and J Hoberman, but it was named Best Film of 2012 by Hitfix’s Guy Lodge and The Playlist’s Kevin Jagernauth, both critics I respect and admire. (It was even named one of the best of the year by a certain unnamed prestigious cinephile website.) A black-and-white love letter to cinema, it should absolutely be sought out at whichever Laemmle is closest to you.

5. Repulsion at the Cinefamily (ALL WEEK)

Unless Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters 3D is being grossly mismarketed, your best bet for genuine thrills at a movie theater this week is this 1965 classic, Roman Polanski’s first English language film. Polanski, one of the great masters of cinematic psychological horror, torments us with slow camera movement, terrifying repetitive sounds, and disorienting surreal nightmare imagery. Most contemporary psychological thrillers, especially those with female protagonists, borrow heavily from Polanski’s technique here: a revisit will bring to mind the dozens of inferior films you’ve seen in the last decade that directly or indirectly present homages to Repulsion. The Cinefamily will be projecting this 35mm print of Repulsion all week long. You’d be (ahem) crazy not to go.

Click on the title of the film in the list if you’d like to be directed to each theater’s site where you can buy tickets. If you make it out to any of these screenings, let us know how it went in the comments section. Happy viewing, Los Angeles!