L.A. Weekly's Movie Picks are 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 our Film section every week before you make your big-screen plans.

Friday, Jan. 25

The Kid Who Would Be King rides into theaters on the heels of 1980s fantasy throwbacks such as Netflix’s Stranger Things. While that show was as American as apple pie, Joe Cornish’s film is proudly British, drawing imaginatively on Arthurian legend and featuring a cast of English actors both young and old. Louis Ashbourne Serkis — son of actor-director Andy Serkis — plays Alex, a nerdy kid who stumbles onto the mythical sword Excalibur, which endows him with mystical powers. This, of course, invites earth-shaking peril in the form of Morgan le Fay (Rebecca Ferguson), who uses black magic to conjure the powers of darkness in a bid for world domination. Luckily, Merlin (incarnated by both Patrick Stewart as an adult and Angus Imrie as a boy) is around to offer extracurricular mentorship. Cornish’s directorial debut, Attack the Block, was a megahit in the U.K. and received a warm reception abroad. Twentieth Century Fox is aiming this one squarely at the YA market, so viewers might expect something in the vein of the Percy Jackson movies.



Also opening Friday, Jan. 25:
The Final Wish
Heartlock
King of Thieves
The Image Book
The Invisibles
Jihadists

L.A. Weekly also recommends (major releases still in theaters):
If Beale Street Could Talk; Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse; Vice; Roma; Bohemian Rhapsody; Ralph Breaks the Internet; Mary Poppins Returns; Green Book; A Star Is Born.

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