Equal parts Spaghetti Western, French New Wave, and hard-boiled noir, Takashi Nomura’s A Colt Is My Passport (original Japanese title: Koruto wa ore no pasupôto) is coming back for a few encores to start off September! Joe Shishido (and those famously surgically-enhanced cheeks for which he became known) stars as a stoic gun-for-hire navigating a botched assassination, double-crosses, and a bloody standoff at the edge of town.

With stark black-and-white cinematography, stylized action, and a jazzy score, the film plays like a fusion of Jean-Pierre Melville and Sergio Leone, all filtered through the lens of late-’60s Japanese cynicism. It represents the turn in Japanese cinema from introspective postwar realism to a new wave of genre experimentation and rebellion.

Arthouse 101: Japanese Cinema is a curated 12-film trip through the evolution of Japan—from the quiet post-war resilience of the 1940s all the way to the radical reinventions of the 1990s. Each Monday this July-September, we will explore a new facet of this incredible nation’s cinematic journey throughout the 20th century. All films will be presented in their original Japanese language with English subtitles, at a reduced ticket price of $8.

From the scorched deserts of California to the inner depths of one man’s ambition comes There Will Be Blood, a monumental American saga—and one of the greatest films of the 21st century, now getting a few encores as part of our One Banger After Another: The Films Of Paul Thomas Anderson series.

Daniel Day-Lewis delivers a titanic, Oscar-winning performance as Daniel Plainview, a silver miner turned oilman whose thirst for power burns brighter than the derricks he erects across the West. As towns rise and morals fall, Plainview wages war—against the land, against the Church, and eventually, against his own humanity. Across from him: Paul Dano, pulling double duty as twin brothers and spiritual adversaries, locked in a violent dance of faith and greed.

Shot by Robert Elswit in apocalyptic beauty and scored with nerve-jangling dread by Jonny Greenwood, There Will Be Blood is a film that doesn’t just depict America’s creation myth—it bleeds it.

The Toxic Avenger is back—bigger, louder, and more radioactive than ever! This 2025 reboot brings the beloved Troma antihero into the modern era with a fresh dose of outrageous gore, dark humor, and socially charged mayhem!

A horrible toxic accident transforms downtrodden janitor Winston Gooze into a new evolution of hero: The Toxic Avenger! Now wielding a glowing mop with super-human strength, he must race against time to save his son and stop a ruthless and power-hungry tyrant bent on harnessing toxic superpowers to strengthen his polluted empire.

Expect wild practical effects, outrageous action, and a satirical edge that’s as sharp as ever.

Our annual Segerstrom at the Frida series showcases films that inspired upcoming stage adaptations at OC’s Segerstrom Center for the Arts! Join us as we conclude our 2025 series by celebrating the 50th Anniversary of a Frida Cinema favorite, Monty Python and the Holy Grail!

Ranked among the top British films of all time by the BFI and various critics’ polls, directors Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones’ irreverent and absurdist reimagining of the Arthurian legend stars the Monty Python comedy troupe as King Arthur and his eccentric band of knights. The film follows their doomed quest for the Holy Grail through a series of loosely connected skits featuring killer rabbits, anarcho-syndicalist peasants, and a castle full of rude Frenchmen. With its low-budget charm, fourth-wall-breaking humor, and endlessly quotable dialogue, the film skewers everything from medieval epics to organized religion to British bureaucracy, all deliciously sandwiched between hilarious opening credits and a climax for the ages.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s shaggy dog detective story in flip-flops and a denim jacket, Inherent Vice adapts Thomas Pynchon’s psychedelic noir into a deliriously funny trip through the fogged-out tail end of the 1960s.

Joaquin Phoenix is Doc Sportello—private eye, deeply stoned romantic, and very possibly the last good man in Los Angeles—as he stumbles through a tangled conspiracy involving real estate developers, surf saxophonists, runaway girlfriends, and something called the Golden Fang.

With a killer cast (Josh Brolin! Katherine Waterston! Owen Wilson! Reese Witherspoon! Martin Short!), a dreamy Jonny Greenwood score, and PTA’s most straight-up goofy film to date, Inherent Vice is a smokey ode to things slipping away one step at a time.