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Weekend Movie Guide 10/21: Spooky VHS & Electric Cars Return From The Dead
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3 courtesy Paramount Pictures
The third film in a horror franchise is often its defining point. It's when Friday the 13th gave Jason his hockey mask. It's when Halloween realized audiences wouldn't accept anyone but Michael Myers. It's when Saw transitioned from Jigsaw to his proteges.
We don't yet know whether Paranormal Activity 3 will be as important in the grand scheme of the series. But we can tell you these three things:
- It'll be the only horror film in wide release on Halloween. (Sadly, The Thing doesn't appear long for this world.)
- It's a prequel set in the 1980s & "recovered" from vintage equipment. In the found footage horror genre, this is a startling innovation. Paranormal Activity may be the first series to move entirely backward. Can't wait for the Super 8 silent reels in the next one!
- It's the best-reviewed horror film in wide release this year on Rotten Tomatoes & Metacritic. Horror mecca Bloody Disgusting calls it "non-stop supernatural insanity" with "some brilliant camera techniques that create a level of anticipation that's sure to give some viewers their first ever anxiety attack".
That's all we need to know! Will you be tweeting your scream?
Five years ago, documentarian Chris Paine asked Who Killed The Electric Car? Since then, a resurgence of interest has supercharged plug-in vehicles: the Tesla sports car, the Nissan Leaf & Chevy Volt. Fittingly, Paine & his crew have returned to chart this resurrection in Revenge of The Electric Car. The film follows the Vice Chairman of GM (a wonderful irony, as the company was the "villain" of Who Killed The Electric Car?), the CEOs of Nissan & Tesla and hobbyists who Frankensteined their own electric cars when they couldn't find any on the market. Will their gamble pay off, or will America double-down on gas? Plug into Revenge of the Electric Car at the Nuart.
Looking for a different kind of film this weekend? Check out our weekly guide to the best of LA's repertory theaters, festival series & midnight movies!
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Wide Release
Johnny English Reborn (Showtimes)
The Mighty Macs (Showtimes)
Paranormal Activity 3 (Showtimes)
The Three Musketeers (Showtimes) (3D Showtimes)
Limited Release
Bombay Beach (Laemmle's Sunset 5)
Chalet Girl (Laemmle's Monica 4-Plex)
Daylight (Downtown Independent)
Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone (Laemmle's Sunset 5)
Le Havre (Laemmle's Playhouse 7) (Laemmle's Royal Theatre) (Laemmle's Town Center 5)
Hitler's Grave (Laemmle's Music Hall 3)
Klitschko (Laemmle's Sunset 5) (Laemmle's Town Center 5)
Margin Call (Laemmle's Fallbrook 7) (Laemmle's Playhouse 7) (Laemmle's Sunset 5) (Laemmle's Town Center 5)
Martha Marcy May Marlene (The Landmark)
Oranges & Sunshine (The Landmark)
Revenge of the Electric Car (Nuart Theatre)
That's all for this week. See you at the movies!
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
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