Our Spielberg Summer series is kicking off exactly where you’d think: with July 4th weekend screenings of his industry-changing, pop culture-shifting, era-defining masterpiece Jaws!

When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town’s chief of police, a young marine biologist, and a grizzled hunter embark on a desperate quest to destroy the beast before it strikes again.

The film that invented the modern Summer blockbuster remains just as crowd-pleasing as ever over 50 years later. Powered by nerve-shredding suspense and Steven Spielberg’s astonishing command of tone and performance (especially for only being 27 years old at the time of production), Jaws is a masterclass in modern American filmmaking.

Dun dun dun dun dun. Dun dun dun dun dun. James Cameron’s block-busting Sci Fi/Action masterpiece, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, is headed to The Frida Cinema with a brand new 4K restoration just in time for July 4th! 

A cyborg (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is sent into the past to protect Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and her teen son John (Edward Furlong) from a new advanced model cyborg T-1000 (Robert Patrick) in a bid to stop a future war between humans and the intelligent machine SkyNet. 

Hailed as one of the greatest sequels ever made, Terminator 2: Judgment Day remains the gold standard for action spectacle over 35 years after its initial release due to its cutting-edge visual effects and jaw-dropping stunts. But its that special James Cameron emotional punch that takes truly makes it next-level. Don’t miss it on the big screen! 

A lethal secret arsenal was left behind in the jungle of Vietnam. Their job: find it and destroy it!

Legendary actor-director Sammo Hung delivers a bazooka blast of pure adrenaline with Eastern Condors, an exemplar of Hong Kong action cinema at its most entertaining.

Drawing inspiration from Hollywood war films like The Dirty Dozen, Eastern Condors follows a ragtag band of Asian American prisoners dropped into Vietnam on a secret suicide mission to prevent a cache of weapons from falling into the hands of the Viet Cong, who are more than ready for a fight. Propelled by a dynamic ensemble cast that includes the ever-charismatic Yuen Biao as a black-market trader and a superhuman Yuen Wah as a giggling martial-arts monster, this rip-roaring spectacle offers a nonstop barrage of turbocharged set pieces that defy gravity itself.

Our Hong Kong Action Essentials series explores the time from the mid-’80s through the early ’90s, where Hong Kong filmmakers rewrote the grammar of action cinema forever. Directors like John Woo, Tsui Hark, Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Ringo Lam, and Lau Kar-Leung fused balletic gunplay, risky stunts, martial arts virtuosity, and raw emotional intensity into a new cinematic language that would be oft-imitated but never replicated. (sorry, The Matrix, we love you too!) Join us every month in 2026 as we explore this golden age where style and emotion collided to change movies forever.

Coroner to the Stars, the new documentary about the life and controversial career of Dr. Thomas Noguchi, is coming to The Frida Cinema for a special one night only event! And make sure to stick around after the screening, as director Ben Hethcoat and producer Billy Ray Brewton join us for a Q&A!

The doc chronicles Noguchi, whose celebrity autopsies forever shaped American culture. From Marilyn Monroe and Robert Kennedy to Sharon Tate and Natalie Wood, Dr. Noguchi’s death investigations pushed forensic science into the spotlight, even as Hollywood elites and political adversaries sought to silence him. A Japanese American who unwittingly rose to fame in a city driven by stardom, Noguchi’s commitment to “tell it like it is” often put him within the crosshairs of controversy.

Our Bogie Fest series begins to wind down with The Big Sleep, Howard Hawks’ noir adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s iconic novel.

Private detective Philip Marlowe (played by Humphrey Bogart) is hired by the wealthy General Sternwood to investigate a blackmail scheme involving his daughter, Carmen. What begins as a straightforward case unravels into a clustermess of murder and corruption, as Marlowe discovers connections to organized crime. Along the way, he encounters the General’s other daughter, the sharp-witted and enigmatic Vivian (portrayed by Lauren Bacall) with whom he shares a smoldering chemistry.

Known for its moody cinematography and the world famous Bogie and Bacall on-screen chemistry, The Big Sleep remains a defining work of the noir genre, celebrated for its stylish complexity.