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Weekend Movie Guide: UFOs, Trains & Automobiles
If you think life is hard on a cruise ship, try taking the train! Unstoppable pits Captain Kirk and Malcolm X against an iron horse with a serious vendetta, several tons of chemicals, and a hundred schoolkids thrown in for good measure.
Loosely based on a CSX freight incident in Ohio, Unstoppable has a very local hurdle: LA's seen enough train tragedies already. Tony Scott was never known for tact.
The same cannot be said of Skyline. When was the last time we were obliterated by aliens? 1996? It's practically retro-chic!
Director duo The Brothers Strause (VFX for 2012, Avatar & The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) shot the effects extravaganza in their own apartment. Which may explain why an extra-terrestrial rapture would target Hollywood studios.
This weekend's limited releases feature less fantastic, but more effective ways to save the world. The documentary Cool It trolls the climate change doomsday for solutions beyond lightbulbs & hybrid cars. The Taqwacores, featured in this week's Film Calendar, strengthens relations between Islam, the West & punk rock.
For counter-programming, spread a little joy with Morning Glory, which pits Rachel McAdams on a one-woman mission to keep morning news ratings up. It'd be much easier if co-anchors Harrison Ford & Diane Keaton could keep away from each others' throats.
If you’d like to see something further off the beaten path, check out our weekly Film Calendar of LA's specialty theatres, revival houses and midnight movies. See you at the movies!
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General Release
Limited Release
- Cool It (Laemmle's Monica 4-Plex) (Mann Chinese 6)
- The Kids Grow Up (Laemmle's Sunset 5)
- A Marine Story (Laemmle's Sunset 5)
- Marwencol (Nuart Theatre)
- The Taqwacores (Laemmle's Sunset 5)
Featured Trailers
Unstoppable
Skyline
Cool It
The Taqwacores
Morning Glory
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That's all for this week. Where's the story?
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
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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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