Volunteer of the Month pick, selected by one of September’s Volunteers of the Month – The Amazing Trevor!

Set in the smoggy sprawl of 1970s Los Angeles, Shane Black’s (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man 3) The Nice Guys stars Ryan Gosling stars as Holland March, a bumbling private eye barely keeping it together. When his path collides with Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe), a tough-as-nails enforcer with a knack for violence, the unlikely duo find themselves investigating the apparent suicide of a porn star and the disappearance of a young woman, leading to the unraveling of a conspiracy that winds from the seedy underbelly of Hollywood to the highest levels of power.

Fast, funny, and packed with action, The Nice Guys is a stylish throwback to mismatched-detective classics – a buddy-cop mystery / neo-noir comedy that’s laced with irreverent humor, outrageous set pieces, and two irresistible lead performances.

Arthouse 101: Japanese Cinema enters the 80’s with Jûzô Itami’s acclaimed Tampopo (original Japanese title: Tanpopo), an award-winning 1985 film that is truly like no other in our series – or in movie history, really. This deliriously inventive comedy follows a widowed ramen shop owner who, with the help of a mysterious trucker (a stoic parody of Clint Eastwood), sets out to create the perfect bowl of noodles. Along the way, we meet an ensemble of eccentric characters whose lives revolve – sometimes absurdly, sometimes erotically – around food.

Nominated for the Best Screenplay and Best Director awards by the National Society of Film Critics, Tampopo is billed as the first “ramen western,” Tampopo is both a genre spoof and a soulful tribute to Japanese cuisine and community. It’s a movie about perfection, pleasure, and the strange, spiritual rituals we attach to what we eat.

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. This July-October, 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.

Taking our Arthouse 101: Japanese Cinema series into the 90’s is Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s heart-pounding 1997 thriller Cure, widely regarded as one of the best, most original, and most influential psychological horror films of the decade. 

A detective investigates a string of grisly murders—each victim killed in the same ritualistic manner, each murderer caught at the scene, unable to explain why they did it. The only connection? A mysterious drifter who seems to erase people’s memories—and unlock something buried deep inside them.

With icy precision and a creeping sense of dread, Cure is not just a murder mystery—it’s a meditation on identity and unraveling. Shot in long, haunting takes and drained colors, the film moves like a fog over post-economic-boom Japan: quiet and uncertain.

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. This July-October, 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.

Our Page To Screen series is highlighting a true American classic—Robert Mulligan’s To Kill a Mockingbird.

Adapted from Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, this is the rare film that honors its literary roots while carving out a legacy all its own. Set in the racially divided South of the 1930s, the story unfolds through the eyes of young Scout Finch, whose widowed father, Atticus (a career-defining Gregory Peck), is appointed to defend a Black man falsely accused of assaulting a white woman.

To Kill a Mockingbird is a story about justice, empathy, and the quiet heroism of doing what’s right—even when it’s hard. Elmer Bernstein’s haunting score and Robert Duvall’s unforgettable debut as the mysterious Boo Radley only deepen the film’s emotional power. Whether you first met the Finch family on the page or the screen, this is a story that continues to move, challenge, and inspire—generation after generation.

Join us for a night of brain-busting film trivia!

Think you’ve got what it takes to go toe-to-toe with the film nerds of Southern California? Then it’s time to put your cinema knowledge to the ultimate test at The Frida’s monthly Film Trivia Night!

Each month, we challenge cinephiles with five meticulously crafted rounds of film trivia, plus a special bonus round for those who truly know their stuff. Expect everything from deep dives to cult classics, iconic soundtracks to infamous flops.