Movies to see in the Twin Cities this week: 'Lord of the Rings,' John Candy, & 'Kiru'

Dustin Nelson
·4 min read

Where repertory film screenings are concerned, we've entered the space between outdoor movie season and the deluge of horror films hitting screens in October.

It's making space for a load of classics at local theaters. Whether it's John Frankenheimer's impressive '60s run, John Candy comedies, Back to the Future, or The Lord of the Rings, there is a lot to see this week.

Here are some of the best repertory screenings arriving in theaters around the Twin Cities this week.

The Lord the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) - extended edition

Saturday, Sept. 7–Sunday, Sept. 8 at Emagine Willow Creek

Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films must be among the most beloved and rewatched films of the 21st century. Though, the extended editions may be the kind of thing reserved for passionate fans.

Those extended editions are back on the big screen. Last week, The Fellowship of the Ring returned. This week, The Two Towers is back. While there's undoubtedly always an audience for these, the timing is good with the release of Season 2 of Amazon's The Rings of Power. Whether the show has you craving more or you need a palate cleanser, here it is. 9900 Shelard Pkwy., Plymouth ($11)

The Great Outdoors (1988)

Saturday, Sept. 7 at The Parkway Theater

The Parkway's John Candy series (yes, they have a full month featuring some of the late comedian's best films), kicks off on Saturday with The Great Outdoors. As is the case in other films, Candy plays a man from Chicago, and he's just hoping to have a nice getaway with the family. However, his unbearably obnoxious brother-in-law Roman Craig (Dan Aykroyd) is there. Hijnx! They're going to ensue. 4814 Chicago Ave., Minneapolis ($5 advance/$8 day-of)

The Brother From Another Planet (1984)

Saturday, Sept. 7 at The Main Cinema

MSP Film Society's Midnight Madness series brings in John Sayles' underappreciated The Brother From Another Planet. Joe Morton stars as a mute alien who lands in Harlem on the run from interstellar bounty hunters. It's an entertaining, unexpected sci-fi movie but also has a lot to say about race and the immigrant experience in America. 115 SE Main St., Minneapolis ($10)

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Friday, Sept. 6–Sunday, Sept. 8 at The Trylon Cinema, part of the Conspiracy/Clairvoyance in John Frankenheimer's 1960s series

The Trylon's well-timed "Conspiracy/Clairvoyance in John Frankenheimer's 1960s" series kicks off with what may be the director's greatest and most visionary film. (Apologies to The Island of Dr. Moreau.) The Manchurian Candidate, starring Frank Sinatra, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury, and Laurence Harvey, follows a former POW in the Korean War who has been brainwashed to become an assassin at the center of a sweeping conspiracy. It's the poster child for any discussion of conspiracy and clairvoyance in Frankenheimer's overtly political films. 820 E 33rd St., Minneapolis ($8)

Kiru (1962)

Sunday, Sept. 8–Tuesday, Sept. 10 at The Trylon Cinema

Chanbara films — samurai period pieces — tend to have strong, familiar themes throughout the genre. While honor and corruption are frequent touchstones, so are fathers and sons. (See: The Lone Wolf and Cub series.) Kiru, not as well-known as the movies that recently played in a series of Akira Kurosawa's collaborations with Toshiro Mifune, follows an adept samurai (Raiz? Ichikawa) who protects an honorable shogunate. He's also looking for revenge after his family is murdered by another clan.

The plot may feel familiar to genre enthusiasts, but there's a powerful and personal story about fathers and sons and family at large as well. It's unsurprising that director Kenji Misumi handles the material so well, as he was a towering figure in the genre during his lifetime, directing films in famed series like Hanzo the Razor, Zatoichi, and the best of the Lone Wolf And Cub series. 820 E 33rd St., Minneapolis ($8)

Related: Parkway Theater will screen John Candy movies throughout September

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