Welcome to L.A. Weekly's Movie Guide, 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, March 8

The highly anticipated Captain Marvel arrives on the big screen after six years in development. Marvel Studios had been hankering after a female-driven superhero film, and now it has one in the story of Carol Danvers (Brie Larson), a former U.S. Air Force pilot who becomes the title character after a race of scientifically advanced aliens transforms her into a powerful warrior. In case you're the type of viewer who doesn't stay past the closing credits, she's the last person Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) contacts before half of the Earth's population disintegrates at the conclusion of Avengers: Infinity War. Larson's outspoken desire to turn this $150 million origin story into “a big feminist movie” recently rattled the tectonic plates of the comic book fan community. Whether the extratextual controversies will impact the economic juggernaut known as the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) in any significant way remains doubtful. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Half Nelson) directed.

Also opening Friday, March 8: 3 Faces; An Elephant Sitting Still; Babylon; Black Mother; Ferrante Fever; Gloria Bell; I'm Not Here; The Kid; Photograph

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