Thurs., June 23

Meek's Cutoff returns to L.A. screens tonight with a three-night stand at the Egyptian Theatre. Kelly Reichardt's alternative Western re-creates life on the Plains with all its attendant pain and ennui. Michelle Williams dominates the poster, but really this is an ensemble piece that benefits as much from Zoe Kazan's widely innocent face as it does Williams' steely gaze. Sustained shots of blighted grassland and two hours in which not a whole lot happens add up to the kind of quiet horror you carry with you for a while.

Fri., June 24

With City of Life and Death, director Lu Chuan takes on the near-impossible task of bringing the Nanking Massacre to film. This devastating film moves today from the Nuart to the Laemmle Playhouse in Pasadena.

Sat., June 25

Actor (and recent L.A. Weekly Best of L.A. People issue cover boy) Danny Trejo will be at the New Beverly tonight at 11:59 to introduce Quentin Tarantino's From Dusk Till Dawn. Campy even for a combination vampire/heist movie, it's still more original than Twilight. Plus, it may be your only chance to experience George Clooney and Cheech Marin on the same list of rolling credits.

Sun., June 26

The Getty Center hosts Vive la Magnifique, a film series dedicated to sensuality and 18th-century Paris, to accompany its “Paris: Life & Luxury” exhibition. At noon, check out Dangerous Liaisons, Stephen Frears' 1988 adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos' surprisingly titillating novel. (Also Sat., June 25.; go to getty.edu for more details.) —Sarah LaBrie

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