Welcome to L.A. Weekly’s Movie picks, your look at the hottest films in Los Angeles theaters this week — from indie art house gems and classics to popcorn-perfect blockbusters and new movies garnering buzz. Check here every week before you make your big screen plans.

Wide Release

Friday, May 31

Godzilla: King of the Monsters takes its title from the original 1954 classic (the American version, featuring Raymond Burr inserts) and is the 35th film in the franchise featuring the world’s most lovable reptilian monster. Gareth Edwards, who helmed 2014’s Godzilla (its immediate predecessor), left the project, resulting in one of its screenwriters, Michael Dougherty, being promoted to director. The premise involves a plethora of oversize beasts, including such familiar favorites as Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah, and their fight for supremacy. The outcome is a foregone conclusion considering the spoiler embedded in the title. Kyle Chandler and Vera Farmiga, looking reasonably concerned about the future of the human species, provide human star power, but Stranger Things fans might be more excited to see Millie Bobby Brown in her first starring role in a big movie.


Also opening Friday, May 31: Always Be My Maybe; Domino; The Fall of the American Empire; Halston; Ma; Rocketman; Too Late to Die Young; Yomeddine

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