Now Playing & Coming Soon

Paint yourself rich with the new neon-tinged slow-burn suspense film Forge!  In Miami, siblings Raymond and Coco Zhang’s art forgery ring flourishes when they encounter a disgraced millionaire in need of their expertise. Meanwhile, FBI Art Crimes agent Emily Lee moves to Miami to investigate a series of mysterious paintings. Director Jing Ai Ng's debut feature premiered at SXSW to an enthusiastic audience response and positive reviews highlighting Ng's fresh spin on the caper film. The cast includes Kelly Marie Tran (Star Wars: The Last Jedi), TR Knight (Grey's Anatomy), Sonya Walger (Lost), and led by breakout performances by Andie Ju and Brandan Soo Hoo.

Trainspotting is turning 30 years old, and we're celebrating with some anniversary screenings of a brand new 4K restoration via our friends at Sony Picture Classics! Smart, funny, sickly and sometimes just plain unconscious, Mark Renton is a hero for our times. Set in an underbelly of Edinburg the city fathers never dreamed of, Trainspotting is the story of Mark and his so-called friends...a bunch of losers, liars, psychos, thieves and junkies. Hilarious but harrowing, the film charts the disintegration of their friendship as they proceed, seemingly inevitably, towards self-destruction. Mark alone has the insight and opportunity to escape his fate...but then again, does he really want to 'choose life'? Restoration notes: Supervised and approved by director Danny Boyle, this 4K digital restoration was undertaken by the Criterion Collection from a scan of the 35mm original negative. The 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered from the original six-track magnetic masters by Ted Hall at Pacific Ocean Post in Santa Monica, California, in 1997.

Before he created the music, he lived every bit of it. Our Staff Pick for the month of June comes from Allyssa, one of our Box Office Managers! She has chosen the mythmaking rock Drama Purple Rain! A victim of his own anger, the Kid is a Minneapolis musician on the rise with his band, the Revolution, escaping a tumultuous home life through music. While trying to avoid making the same mistakes as his truculent father, the Kid navigates the club scene and a rocky relationship with a captivating singer, Apollonia. But another musician, Morris, looks to steal the Kid's spotlight...and his girl. Purple Rain is a film powered by pure charisma and one of the greatest soundtracks ever recorded. Songs like “Let’s Go Crazy,” “When Doves Cry,” and the immortal title track were made to shake theater walls, and seeing Prince command the screen in all his magnetic brilliance is a reminder of just how singular a performer he was. Great pick, Allyssa!

Who wants to cook Aloo Gobi when you can bend a ball like Beckham? We're celebrating the World Cup and Pride Month with two ultra-rare screenings of Bend It Like Beckham, presented by our friends over at the Orange County Soccer Club! Jess Bhamra, the daughter of a strict Indian couple in London, is not permitted to play organized soccer, even though she is 18. When Jess is playing for fun one day, her impressive skills are seen by Jules Paxton, who then convinces Jess to play for her semi-pro team. Jess uses elaborate excuses to hide her matches from her family while also dealing with her romantic feelings for her coach, Joe. Endlessly quotable and packed with charm, this early-2000s nostalgic classic hits the sweet spot by blending sports movie thrills with a fresh and funny look at identity. Chase your goals!

Bust out those plastic spoons! The Room is back at The Frida Cinema! Wiseau's peerless magnum opus finds the auteur who shaped a generation taking on the arts of acting, writing, casting, directing, editing and more. What's even more remarkable: he's mastered them all. The multi-talented director stars as Johnny, a big-time banker working in gorgeously shot San Francisco. His fiancée Lisa, seemingly a happy part of a successful relationship, has wandering eyes…for Tommy's best friend Mark. Cinema has never witnessed such betrayal! An intense, sensual thriller, at least as it was intended by Wiseau, The Room is an intricately knit web of sweet secrets and bitter lies that interrogates the very form of drama itself, as well as a truly unforgettable piece of cinema.

Jeff Gets A Job, the new film from director Emmanuel Duga, is coming to The Frida Cinema for one day only! Jeff quits community college, and he doesn’t know what to do next with his life. He applies for jobs, but nothing has come to fruition. While waiting for any opportunity to present itself, Jeff goes to hangouts and parties with his friends. Throughout the film, Jeff quietly observes the different paths his friends are taking to move on with their lives. This program is a venue rental engagement. The views and opinions expressed in this program do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of The Frida Cinema or its staff. 

Fear and fury are sizzling in the Florida Keys! We're attempting to ride out the storm with our next Bogie Fest entry: Key Largo! This hurricane-lashed drama brings Humphrey Bogart together once more with Lauren Bacall in a story where danger rises with the tide. Set in a remote Florida Keys hotel, war veteran Frank McCloud (Bogie himself) arrives to visit the family of a fallen comrade, only to find himself trapped as a powerful storm bears down. The hotel is then seized by a gang of mobsters led by the ruthless Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson doing his very best Edward G. Robinson impression), a larger-than-life crime boss whose presence turns the claustrophobic setting into a pressure cooker of fear and defiance. As the winds howl outside, tensions escalate within, and McCloud must decide whether to remain the detached observer he claims to be...or take a stand against tyranny. Anchored by crackling dialogue and powerhouse performances, Key Largo is a bit underrated these days, sometimes lost in the sea of masterpieces that director John Huston bestowed upon us.

Merry-Go-Round Magazine is back at The Frida Cinema to present a cheer-along screening celebrating 20 years of Nacho Libre! Jack Black stars as Ignacio, a monastery cook with big dreams of wrestling glory. By day, he tends to orphans with meager meals and modest means, but by night, he dons a homemade mask and cape to become “Nacho”, a bumbling yet big-hearted fighter who enters the chaotic world of Lucha Libre. Teaming up Esqueleto (Héctor Jiménez), a wiry street thief with zero wrestling skills but plenty of scrappy determination (and a firm belief in science), Nacho must balance his secret life in the ring with his devotion to the children he cares for, all while chasing respect. Oh, and the heart of the beautiful Sister Encarnación (Ana de la Reguera). Wildly silly yet surprisingly sincere, Nacho Libre is a raucous underdog tale showcasing Jack Black at his most gloriously unhinged. It has become one of the defining cult films of the 2000s, begging for a re-visit on the big screen with a crowd of cheering Nacho fans!

One...last...plan. Nirvanna The Band The Show The Movie is back for a late night party screening at The Frida Cinema! As the long-gestating feature expansion of the cult Canadian series Nirvanna the Band the Show, created by and starring Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol, the film continues the misadventures of the two best friends. As relentlessly delusional Toronto musicians, their main goal in life is to “play a show at the Rivoli.” When their plan goes horribly wrong, Matt and Jay accidentally travel back to the year 2008. Like the series, the movie blurs fiction and reality, staging elaborate public pranks with unsuspecting bystanders while escalating the characters’ schemes to increasingly absurd and self-destructive extremes. If you love comedy that feels like it might collapse at any second, or perhaps maybe even get its creators thrown in jail, boy do we have a movie for you and your friends to come see!

Brian Helgeland’s medieval action comedy A Knight’s Tale is getting a very special late-night encore on June 20th to celebrate its 25th anniversary!  William Thatcher (the unforgettable Heath Ledger) is a peasant who disguises himself as a noble knight to compete in jousting tournaments across Europe. With the help of his loyal friends, including a witty writer named Geoffrey Chaucer (Paul Bettany), William rises through the ranks of the tournament circuit, all while hiding his true identity. Along the way, he falls in love with a noblewoman and faces off against the ruthless Count Adhemar (Rufus Sewell), his main rival. With its energetic blend of medieval action and humor, A Knight’s Tale quickly became (and has remained) one the 21st century’s most beloved cult classics!

The first film of our brand new Art House for Families series is Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves, just in time for Father's Day Weekend! In the wake of World War II, Antonio finally secures a job that could support his struggling family, but when the bicycle he needs for work is stolen on his very first day, he and his young son Bruno set out across Rome in a desperate search to recover it. What unfolds is both a gripping odyssey through the city and a deeply moving portrait of the unique bond between parent and child. A defining work of Italian neorealism, Bicycle Thieves transformed world cinema with its use of nonprofessional actors and location shooting, finding profound emotional weight in ordinary lives. Decades later, its heartbreak and compassion remain just as powerful, making it the perfect film to kick off this series. This film will be presented in its original Italian language, with English subtitles. Our Art House for Families series celebrates the magic of moviegoing across generations all summer long. From silent comedy and international classics to science fiction and fantasy adventures, the series invites longtime cinephiles and first-time art house audiences of all ages to discover some of cinema’s most enduring films together on the big screen. This event is sponsored in part by the City of Santa Ana. 

As groundbreaking now as it was when it was released 25 years ago, By Hook or by Crook is coming to The Frida Cinema with a brand new 4K restoration via our friends at Altered Innocence! Shy, a handsome, gender-bending, small town dreamer with a nagging messiah complex, and Valentine, a deliriously expressive, wise-acre adoptee on a misguided search for her birth mother. The two freaky grifters join forces and learn the true meaning of "poise under pressure" in this visually stunning and wonderfully acted, anti-authoritarian tale of friendship, trust and redemption. Provocatively exploring issues of queer representation, gender and trans identity in ways that contemporary LGBTQIA+ culture and cinema are still catching up with, By Hook or by Crook has created a powerful cultural impact that endures today. The film has been digitally restored in 4K by the Academy Film Archive and UCLA Film & Television Archive in conjunction with Frameline, Outfest, Steakhaus Productions, Inc., and the Sundance Institute. 

Season 2, Episode 9 - “Arbitrary Law”
Original Air Date: November 24, 1990

Cooper, Truman, and the others try to bring order to the aftermath of the case as legal questions, emotional fallout, and lingering mysteries remain unresolved. Major characters are forced to reckon with what has happened, while the town searches for a way forward after months of fear and suspicion.

Season 2, Episode 10 - “Dispute Between Brothers”
Original Air Date: December 1, 1990

With Laura Palmer’s case no longer the sole focus, attention shifts to the strange dynamics between Benjamin Horne and his brother Jerry, as well as the schemes, affairs, and ambitions unfolding across town. Cooper finds himself facing professional complications of his own, and Sheriff Truman must navigate new tensions inside and outside the department.

Season 2, Episode 11 - “Masked Ball”
Original Air Date: December 8, 1990

As new dangers begin to take shape, Cooper continues investigating suspicious activity tied to the town’s criminal undercurrents, while Audrey becomes more deeply entangled in her father’s complicated world. Shelly and Bobby’s relationship faces new pressures, and James meets an alluring woman that pulls him away from town.

The buzzy new indie drama Our Hero, Balthazar is finally coming to The Frida Cinema! The new film from director Oscar Boyson (Producer of Uncut Gems, Good Time, Frances Ha), the film stars Jaeden Martell, Asa Butterfield, and Noah Centineo. Eager to impress his activist crush, a wealthy New York teenager follows an online connection to Texas, where he's convinced he can stop an act of extreme violence. “…a screw-loose buddy movie for our time” -Owen Gleiberman, Variety "alternately disturbing and brutally funny” -Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter "a scathing look at America" -Frank J. Avella, The Contending

Love is a force of nature. Our Page To Screen series in June is headed to Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee's heartbreaking American epic starring Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. The film is about Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, two young ranch hands whose chance summer tending sheep on Wyoming’s Brokeback Mountain sparks a lifelong, impossible romance. What begins as a brief encounter deep in the wilderness grows into a decades-spanning bond shaped by the harsh realities of the world around them. With luminous cinematography capturing the staggering beauty of the American West, a mournful score by Gustavo Santaolalla, and deeply vulnerable performances from Ledger, Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, and Anne Hathaway, Brokeback Mountain remains a landmark of Queer Cinema.

Our Art House for Families series is inviting you to Meet The Beatles! Just one month after they exploded onto the U.S. scene with their Ed Sullivan Show appearance, John, Paul, George, and Ringo began working on a project that would bring their revolutionary talent to the big screen. A Hard Day’s Night, in which the bandmates play cheeky comic versions of themselves, captured the astonishing moment when they officially became the singular, irreverent idols of their generation and changed music forever. Directed with raucous, anything-goes verve by Richard Lester and featuring a slew of iconic pop anthems, including the title track, “Can’t Buy Me Love,” “I Should Have Known Better,” and “If I Fell,” A Hard Day’s Night, which re-conceived the movie musical and exerted an incalculable influence on the music video, is one of the most deliriously entertaining movies of all time. Our Art House for Families series celebrates the magic of moviegoing across generations all summer long. From silent comedy and international classics to science fiction and fantasy adventures, the series invites longtime cinephiles and first-time art house audiences of all ages to discover some of cinema’s most enduring films together on the big screen. This event is sponsored in part by the City of Santa Ana. 

See It On 16mm is back at the end of June to dust off some well-loved (worn) prints of ignored exploitation, horror, and other off the radar films as we present another entry into our Secret Grindhouse series! They're gonna dig up some decaying prints and thread them up for genre fans! Most titles are either in a rights limbo, forgotten, or just need to be shown more appreciation. They'll be playing blaxploitation, vansploitation, nunsploitation, kung fu, made-for-TV terrors, and everything else between! Grab a ticket and watch as the secret movie unspools loud and proud on the big screen!

We're teaming up with the fine folks at Muzeo to present a very special screening of the legendary documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys! And make sure to stick around after the screening for a Q&A with our very special guests, Craig Stecyk and Jim Fitzpatrick!  This award-winning, thrilling story is about a group of discarded kids who revolutionized skateboarding and shaped the attitude and culture of modern day extreme sports. Featuring old skool skating footage, exclusive interviews and a blistering rock soundtrack, Dogtown and Z-Boys captures the rise of the Zephyr skateboarding team from Venice's Dogtown, a tough "locals only" beach with a legacy of outlaw surfing. Directed by former pro skater Stacy Peralta and narrated with gravelly cool by three-time Academy Award winner Sean Penn, this electrifying documentary that chronicles how a scrappy crew of skateboarding misfits revolutionized youth culture forever. Come see it on the big screen, loud and proud!

Did somebody say..."more Audrey, please"? Witness the suffocating moral hypocrisies of mid-century America with The Children's Hour, William Wyler’s haunting adaptation of Lillian Hellman’s scandalous stage play about the potentially devastating consequences of forbidden desire. Reuniting screen legends Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine as Karen Wright and Martha Dobie, two women running a private girls’ school whose lives are destroyed after a malicious student accuses them of being lovers, the film unfolds as a quietly radical portrait of queer longing under siege. Shot in stark black-and-white with Wyler’s elegant precision, and anchored by MacLaine’s extraordinary portrayal of self-recognition and heartbreak, The Children’s Hour remains a landmark of coded queer Hollywood cinema.

Mark Jenkin (Bait, Enys Men) is back with his latest mind-trip, Rose of Nevada, starring Callum Turner and George MacKay!  A mysterious boat returns to a village 30 years after vanishing. Two men join its crew hoping for better fortune. After one voyage, they find themselves transported back in time, mistaken for the original crew. One of the most distinctive voices in contemporary UK art cinema, Mark Jenkin has made quite the name for himself for his handmade aesthetic, and Rose of Nevada looks to be more of that strange, melancholy folk-horror hybrid that we continue to be fascinated by.

Abby, a brilliant, young neuroscientist who has recently lost her father, drowns her grief by spending her days working with a monkey named Dorey. Abby meets a programmer, Sam, who has created a technology that reconnects Abby with her beloved father. Her relationship with her digitized dad then forces her to re-examine everything from her romantic relationships to her life’s work.

Celebrate Pride Month with a signature themed cocktail and 30th anniversary FREE screening of The Celluloid Closet, a documentary adaptation of Vito Russo’s groundbreaking book and lecture series exploring LGBTQ+ representation in film. The Celluloid Closet is an epic story, by turns surprising, hilarious, and disturbing. Academy Award-winning filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman assemble clips from over 100 Hollywood movies and interviews with many of the filmmakers and actors who created them (including Tom Hanks, Shirley MacLaine, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Curtis, and Gore Vidal). "Thoroughly enjoyable...a colorful overview with the popular appeal of a 'That's Entertainment'...sheer fun." - The New York Times "TWO THUMBS UP...terrific" - Siskel and Ebert

Our award-winning resident performance troupe K.A.O.S. returns for their celebrated all-costumed, all-choreographed, all-leg-kicking live shadowcast presentation of 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show, performed on stage in front of the film! Director Jim (Don’t squeeze the…) Sharman’s cult classic stars Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon as Brad and Janet, two virginal small-town lovers whose car breaks down in the shadows of a creepy old castle, where they encounter an odd collective of “unconventional conventionalists” gathered to witness transvestite scientist’s Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s latest creation – a muscular man named Rocky. As their innocence is lost, Brad and Janet meet a houseful of wild characters, including tap-dancing Columbia, rocking biker Eddie, and of course, the castle’s “Sweet Transvestite” himself, Frank-N-Furter! Adapted from the 1973 stage musical by Richard O’Brien, this glam cult classic is a cinematic experience unlike any other. Sing-along (and shout-along!) to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a classic that still packs houses 50 years after its initial release! Get your tickets now before it sells out! Doors open at 11:00pm  Official K.A.O.S. preshow starts at 11:30pm!  Movie at midnight! SENSORY WARNING: Flashing Lights and Fog effects may be used during the event. This program is a venue rental engagement. The views and opinions expressed in this program do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of The Frida Cinema or its staff. Member discounts and Frida Cinema comp passes not valid.

We're celebrating 60 years of Věra Chytilová's anarchic film Daisies with a couple Frida Cinema Members Only screenings! Maybe the Czech New Wave’s wildest entry, Věra Chytilová’s absurdist farce follows the misadventures of two brash young women. Believing the world to be “spoiled,” they embark on a series of pranks in which nothing, not even food, clothes, men, or war, is taken seriously.  Daisies is an aesthetically and politically adventurous film that’s widely considered one of the great works of feminist cinema. Come see it on the big screen with your fellow cinema lovers! None a Frida Cinema member yet? Sign up here!

Just added: Joining us to introduce our June 27th screening of West Side Story is Actress, Author, Producer, and daughter of Natalie Wood, Natasha Gregson Wagner! Love finds a way...even in the middle of a war. The third film in our four film Starring Natalie Wood tribute is West Side Story, where she shines as Maria alongside other screen icons Rita Moreno, Russ Tamblyn, and George Chakiris! In Manhattan’s Upper West Side, rival gangs of Polish-Americans and newly arrived Puerto Ricans clash for control of the neighborhood, even as two young members from opposite sides fall dangerously in love. Featuring unforgettable songs by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, this landmark musical remains one of cinema’s most vibrant expressions of youthful hope and heartbreak. This Summer, we are celebrating the unforgettable star power of Natalie Wood with a quartet of films that showcase the unique blend of charisma and emotional intensity that made her one of Hollywood’s most beloved screen icons. This series is co-presented by the amazing folks over at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton as part of their exhibit More Than Love: The Life & Art of Natalie Wood!

Our official Santa Ana Pride afterparty this year is the hilarious early-aughts satire on the superficiality of the music industry: Josie and the Pussycats! The film follows Josie (Rachael Leigh Cook), Melody (Tara Reid), and Valerie (Rosario Dawson), three small-town girls who form a rock band and get swept up in the glitzy world of fame, where they discover the dark undercurrents of the music industry. As they rise to stardom, they find themselves being manipulated by an all-powerful corporation that’s using their music to influence the minds of consumers. Oh, and did we mention the villain is played by none other than Miss Parker Posey? And who doesn't love Alan Cumming!? Though initially dismissed as a bubblegum teen comedy, Josie and the Pussycats has since gone on to become a cult classic, still electrifying audiences over two decades since its release!

Just added: Director Ted Nicolaou and actress Diane Franklin will be joining us for this after this screening a special in-person Q&A! People of Earth: your planet is about to be destroyed...we're terribly sorry for the inconvenience. Our friends at HorrorBuzz are back to celebrate the 40th anniversary of one of the most gloriously bonkers creature features of the 1980s: TerrorVision! When the ultra-quirky Putterman family installs a new satellite dish, they accidentally beam in more than late-night cable. A grotesque alien known as the Hungry Beast materializes in their home, and soon the eccentric clan is fighting for survival as the creature slithers through their pastel nightmare of a mansion, devouring everything in sight! Horror Movie Night takes filmgoing to another level with a full night of entertainment, including a themed HMN Video Pres-how, Trivia, Games, Prizes, and another outstanding horror short from HorrorBuzz’s The Screaming Room Film Festival at Midsummer Scream. Doors open and video pre-show video begins promptly at 7:30 pm. Games, prizes, and short film begin at 8:00PM. Feature starts at 8:30PM. This program is a venue rental engagement. The views and opinions expressed in this program do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of The Frida Cinema or its staff.

She's evil...and not just high school evil. We've added an encore screening of Diablo Cody and Karyn Kusama's iconic 2009 cult classic Jennifer's Body! Jennifer, a gorgeous, seductive cheerleader takes evil to a whole new level after she's possessed by a sinister demon. Now it's up to her best friend to stop Jennifer's reign of terror before it's too late. Cody's signature dialogue, the emo-era soundtrack, and terrific darkly comedic performances from a stacked cast including Amanda Seyfriend, Megan Fox, Johnny Simmons, Adam Brody, Kyle Gallner, and many more, make Jennifer's Body the perfect 2000s era time capsule to present for Pride Month this year! Come see it on the big screen with a hot crowd!

June Gloom is upon us, and our friends at Play It By Fear are sponsoring a Sunday Scaries screening of the 4K restoration screening of John Carpenter's marine layer horror film The Fog!  Starring the unbelievable cast of Adrienne Barbeau, Tom Atkins, Janet Leigh, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Hal Holbrook, the film centers on an unearthly fog that rolls into a small coastal town exactly 100 years after a ship mysteriously sank in its waters. What you can't see won't hurt you...it'll kill you! Don't miss this spooky good time on the big screen!

Season 2, Episode 12 - “The Black Widow”
Original Air Date: January 12, 1991

The town’s romantic entanglements, family tensions, and private agendas continue to multiply. Norma and Ed remain caught between old feelings and present obligations, and Audrey struggles with the limits of what she can control inside the Horne family.

Season 2, Episode 13 - “Checkmate”
Original Air Date: January 19, 1991

A contest of wits begins to take shape as Cooper faces off against powerful figures working behind the scenes, and several residents of Twin Peaks pursue their own strategic moves. Andrew Packard’s return complicates life for Catherine Martell and Pete, while Ben Horne starts slipping further into a world of fantasy and self-reinvention.

Season 2, Episode 14 - “Double Play”
Original Air Date: January 26, 1991

As one storyline rooted in small-town intrigue and another veering into noir melodrama, the town’s overlapping schemes continue to collide as Cooper follows new leads, Audrey tries to prove herself in a world of adult secrets and business manipulations, and James, now far from home, finds himself drawn into a dangerous and emotionally complicated situation involving a mysterious older woman.

Play It By Fear is continuing their June Gloom programming as they present a Sunday Scaries screening of the black-and-white version of Frank Darabont and Stephen King's The Mist!  After a violent storm, a dense cloud of mist envelops a small Maine town, trapping David Drayton and his five-year-old son in a local grocery store with other local residents. They soon discover that the mist conceals deadly horrors that threaten their lives, and worse, their sanity. What can we say about The Mist that won't spoil one of cinema's best endings ever? It combines pulpy monster-movie thrills with a savage critique of fear-driven groupthink, and also features a career-defining turn from Marcia Gay Harden as the terrifyingly self-righteous Mrs. Carmody. Come see the version that Darabont always wanted audiences to see, as the black-and-white version proves superior for many fans!

Young Frankenstein, the scariest comedy of all time, is coming to The Frida Cinema to celebrate the incomparable Mel Brooks' 100th birthday!  A young neurosurgeon (played by Gene Wilder in one of cinema's greatest comedic performances of all time) inherits the castle of his grandfather, the famous Dr. Victor von Frankenstein. In the castle he finds a funny hunchback, a pretty lab assistant and the elderly housekeeper. Young Frankenstein believes that the work of his grandfather was delusional, but when he discovers the book where the mad doctor described his reanimation experiment, he suddenly changes his mind. Featuring a slew of immortal gags, Young Frankenstein remains one of the greatest screen comedies ever made: an affectionate tribute to classic monster movies and a masterclass in comic precision from one of cinema’s all-time great joke machines.

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. 

Celebrate the comedic genius of Mel Brooks as we celebrate his 100th birthday by rolling out a Cinemascope print of Blazing Saddles courtesy of our friends at See It On 16mm! A town (where everyone seems to be named Johnson) stands in the way of the railroad. In order to grab their land, robber baron Hedley Lamarr sends his henchmen to make life in the town unbearable. After the sheriff is killed, the town demands a new sheriff from the Governor, so Hedley convinces him to send the town the first black sheriff in the west. One of the most outrageous and relentlessly quotable comedies ever unleashed on American screens, Blazing Saddles remains both a landmark of boundary-pushing studio comedy and a fearless reminder that Brooks’ sharpest target was always bigotry itself. Featuring all-time great comedic performances from Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little, and of course...Madeline Kahn, it’s an absolutely unhinged ride from first punchline to last explosion through the studio backlot.

How could we do an Art House for Families series without a classic Godzilla film!? It's time for 1965's Invasion of Astro-Monster, the fierce battle between Godzilla, Rodan, and King Ghidorah! Aliens from Planet X make an irresistible offer to the people of Earth: let them borrow Godzilla and Rodan to help defeat King Ghidorah, and in return they will provide a cure for all known human disease. But the aliens’ duplicity is soon revealed, as they deploy all three monsters in their quest to conquer Earth. This retro romp, featuring American star Nick Adams, stands as a high point in the Showa Godzilla series. This film will be dubbed in English as to be more accessible for younger viewers. Our Art House for Families series celebrates the magic of moviegoing across generations all summer long. From silent comedy and international classics to science fiction and fantasy adventures, the series invites longtime cinephiles and first-time art house audiences of all ages to discover some of cinema’s most enduring films together on the big screen. This event is sponsored in part by the City of Santa Ana. 

Flickrhappy returns to The Frida Cinema for a special FREE screening of the beloved 1972 film adaptation of the Tony Award-winning Broadway sensation, 1776! A musical about the signing of the Declaration of Independence may not sound like a crowd-pleaser on paper, but 1776 pulls off the impossible, transforming one of the most consequential moments in American history into a surprisingly moving political drama. Featuring a tour-de-force performance by William Daniels as the fiery John Adams, the film brings the Founding Fathers vividly to life as they clash over the birth of a nation. Decades before Hamilton, 1776 proved that history could sing. In fact, Lin-Manuel Miranda has cited the musical as one of the inspirations behind his groundbreaking hit. When 1776 premiered on Broadway and later arrived on screen in 1972, it achieved something remarkable: it made the nation's founding dramatically accessible while remaining deeply entertaining and profoundly human. Audiences across the political spectrum embraced its celebration of the imperfect process of democracy. Rather than portraying the Founding Fathers as untouchable legends, the musical presents them as passionate, flawed individuals struggling to create something greater than themselves. Don't miss this rare opportunity to experience 1776 on the big screen, for free, thanks to our friends at Flickrhappy!

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! 

He's crushing cages and protecting our neighbors! Join us for a night of solidarity and Kaiju-filled action with a special double feature showing of Showa Era Godzilla films! Hosted by OC Protests in collaboration with OCRNN, "Godzilla Invades Santa Ana" is a fundraising event that seeks to support mutual aid efforts and address the pressing challenges faced by undocumented and underserved families in Anaheim and Santa Ana. Doors open at 6:00PM with the first film will begin at 7:30PM, giving you plenty of time to shop with local vendors including T_Crux, Discos Monarca, and OCProtests, who will be selling event-specific merchandise, including shirts and stickers! You can also use this time to inquire about supporting and volunteering with your local mutual aid efforts! Tickets to this special event are $20. One ticket gets you access to both films and a raffle ticket for Angels Baseball Suite Tickets (more can be purchased during the event). There will be a 15 minute intermission between each film for local leaders to share words of solidarity with the community! Frida Cinema memberships and comp passes do not apply. Godzilla vs. Hedorah: Intended to address the crisis levels of pollution in postwar Japan, Godzilla vs. Hedorah finds the King of the Monsters fighting an alien life form that arrives on Earth and steadily grows by feeding on industrial waste. Director Yoshimitsu Banno infuses the film with equal parts ecological horror, humorous monster antics, and sixties psychedelia straight out of San Francisco, making for a truly unique—and divisive—entry in the series. Godzilla vs. Megalon: Nuclear testing unleashes mayhem on the undersea kingdom of Seatopia, causing a series of environmental disasters that nearly wipes out Rokuro, the schoolboy protagonist at the center of this film. To exact revenge, Seatopia unleashes Megalon, a gigantic beetle with the ability to fire ray beams and napalm bombs. Meanwhile, Rokuro’s brother creates Jet Jaguar, a flying robot with a built-in moral compass. The inevitable matchup of Godzilla and Jet Jaguar versus Megalon and Gigan decides the world’s fate.

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.

Come see one of the best Hong Kong action movies ever made, The Heroic Trio, starring three most popular Hong Kong actress in the 90’s namely: Michelle Yeoh, Maggie Cheung, and Anita Mui! And stick around after the screening for a Q&A with the legendary James Pax, also known as The Lighting Sorceror from Big Trouble in Little China aka the godfather of Raiden in Mortal Kombat! James Pax plays a scientist trying to invent an invisible suit for Michelle Yeoh's character to wear. However, he dies in the arms of Michelle whispering, "Can I see the blooming white orchid, please?" If you want to find out more about the making of this incredible film, James will tell you everything you want to know! Mr. Pax will also participate in an autograph signing/meet & greet from 2PM-4PM before the screening, and those tickets can be pre-ordered separately through: https://kungfulegends.com/screening or by clicking here! Fans who pre-ordered VIP Tickets & Autograph Packages will wait in the VIP line to meet James--just make sure to print your order confirmation or take a screenshot on your phone, and bring it to the venue to verify your booking and claim for your goodies!  Any questions about the VIP tickets & Autograph Packages, please send your inquiry to: Jennypu2018@gmail.com or FB: Jenny Pu, or call us at Cell: 213-693-0401 About the film: in this gloriously unrestrained action extravaganza from genre maestro Johnnie To, The Heroic Trio (Yeoh, Cheung, and Mui) are knife-throwing, shotgun-toting, kung-fu-fighting super-heroines who must overcome their dark pasts in order to defeat an evil, baby-snatching eunuch who is terrorizing Hong Kong. Eye-popping motorcycle stunts, brain-exploding skeletons, infant cannibals, and kinetically choreographed wire work are all part of the delirium in this unstoppably entertaining cult favorite (referenced in Cheung’s international breakthrough Irma Vep), a kick-butt showcase for three of the coolest women warriors to ever hit the screen. This is an event produced by Pax Entertainment in co-partnership with The Frida Cinema. Non-VIP tickets are $25, with another select number of seats being priced at $30, which are in the middle back two rows of the theater. Frida Cinema member discounts and comp passes do not apply.

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.

Season 2, Episode 15 - “Slaves and Masters”
Original Air Date: February 2, 1991

As Windom Earle’s presence begins to loom larger, Cooper finds himself facing a threat that is both strategic and deeply personal. Around town, Nadine’s unexpected return to high school creates complications for Ed and Norma, while James remains entangled in a dangerous situation with Evelyn Marsh.

Season 2, Episode 16 - “The Condemned Woman”
Original Air Date: February 9, 1991

Cooper and Truman continue tracking Windom Earle as new information sharpens the outline of his plans, while tension builds around Josie Packard as her position in Twin Peaks becomes increasingly complicated. Catherine, Andrew, and Ben remain locked in a shifting power struggle, and Audrey continues trying to assert herself within her family’s complicated business dealings.

Season 2, Episode 17 - “Wounds and Scars”
Original Air Date: February 16, 1991

As Cooper reflects on his past and his connection to Windom Earle, the investigation takes on a more introspective tone, blending personal history with present danger. James attempts to escape the situation he has been pulled into, while relationships across Twin Peaks strain under the weight of secrets, regret, and unresolved emotion. The episode focuses on the lasting impact of earlier events, showing how deeply they continue to shape the present.

Twin Peaks: The Complete Series, David Lynch’s entire three-season television show, continues with episodes screening every Sunday night through September 20th, 2026.

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 documentary pick for our Art House for Families series is For All Mankind, Al Reinert's thrilling portrait about the twenty-four men who went to the moon! Constructed entirely from restored NASA footage and accompanied by a hypnotic score from Brian Eno, the film immerses audiences in the experience of the Apollo missions, transforming historic events into something deeply human. Rather than focusing on technical milestones or political history, For All Mankind captures the surreal beauty of space travel itself. Few documentaries evoke the scale of discovery quite like this one. Projected on the big screen, its images of Earth floating silently in darkness still inspire the same awe they did more than fifty years ago. Our Art House for Families series celebrates the magic of moviegoing across generations all summer long. From silent comedy and international classics to science fiction and fantasy adventures, the series invites longtime cinephiles and first-time art house audiences of all ages to discover some of cinema’s most enduring films together on the big screen. This event is sponsored in part by the City of Santa Ana. 

Join The Frida Cinema for a special birthday fundraiser screening of Sydney Pollack’s romantic classic The Way We Were! This screening is generously underwritten by our beloved former Board President and Official Birthday VIP Laura Vasquez!  Widely regarded as one of the greatest romance films of all time, and the first film Laura saw that made her fall in love with cinema, The Way We Were features Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford in a timeless story of when opposites attract against the backdrop of the post-WWII McCarthy era.  Prior to the screening, The Frida’s Director of Marketing and Classic Movie Nights host Bekah Phillips will be giving one of her legendary informative and entertaining presentations on the history of the film.  Always a champion for The Frida, Laura will also be matching the first $500 donated to The Frida before and during the event on her official birthday fundraiser page!  

Revenge gets ripped. Our Nu-Classics pick for July is Rose Glass' 2024 "be gay, do crime" thriller Love Lies Bleeding! And make sure to stick around after the screening as our host (and award-winning actor, screenwriter, and Youtuber) Maggie Mae Fish has a conversation about the film with actress, writer, and creator of Philosophy Tube, Abigail Thorn!  Love Lies Bleeding follows a gym manager, Lou, that falls hard for Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Las Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family. Celebrated for its intense tone, blending elements of a gritty crime thriller, dark comedy, and surreal body horror, Love Lies Bleeding is an experience tailor-made for the big screen!

Welcome to the witching hour. We're teaming with our spooky friend Kialey Hail (aka Ghoul Host) for a special 30th anniversary screening of the ultimate teen occult classic, The Craft!  When new student Sarah arrives at a Catholic high school in Los Angeles, she falls in with a trio of outsider girls who practice witchcraft. As their powers grow, so do their ambitions, allowing them to finally take control of their lives. But what begins as empowerment soon spirals into consequences none of them can escape. A fun mix of Thriller and coming-of-age Drama, The Craft remains a defining artifact of '90s alternative culture and a certified Frida Cinema classic. Powered by unforgettable performances from Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, Robin Tunney, and Rachel True, this endlessly quotable cult favorite still casts a spell three decades later.

In Summer 2025, a twenty-something took a solo trip to Yosemite. It was his goal to rediscover what it meant to be alive. And to say goodbye. Join in his escape, to the premiere of Wildman! Wildman is part found footage, part one-man-show, part quasi-musical. It is an oddball freakshow adventure movie. From the Director of Brainbugs comes a new, unique vision of madness. Shot entirely on a Sony Handycam camcorder from 2009.  This program is a venue rental engagement. The views and opinions expressed in this program do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of The Frida Cinema or its staff.

Season 2, Episode 18 - “On the Wings of Love”
Original Air Date: February 23, 1991

Relationships across Twin Peaks begin shifting in new and surprising directions, as characters act on long-held feelings and uncertain loyalties. Ben Horne’s increasingly strange behavior creates confusion within his family and business, while Cooper and Truman continue monitoring developments tied to Windom Earle.

Season 2, Episode 19 - “Variations on Relations”
Original Air Date: March 2, 1991

As Windom Earle’s influence spreads, connections between characters continue to rearrange themselves, often with unintended consequences. Bobby, Shelly, Audrey, Donna, and others navigate relationships that seem increasingly fragile, while Cooper works to understand the broader pattern behind recent events.

Season 2, Episode 20 - “The Path to the Black Lodge”
Original Air Date: March 9, 1991

Cooper and Major Briggs begin confronting ideas that suggest Twin Peaks is connected to something far older and more metaphysical than a conventional criminal case. As clues point toward the mysterious Black Lodge, Windom Earle becomes more active and more dangerous, and the town’s various storylines begin gravitating toward a shared and ominous center.

The Fabulous Baron Munchausen is up next in our Art House for Families series!  Director Karel Zeman conjures a story that follows the adventures of the legendary, boastful baron, whose whirlwind exploits take him from the moon to eighteenth-century Turkey to the belly of a whale and beyond. A rainbow-esque marvel that blends live action with techniques including stop-motion, cutout collage, puppetry, painted backdrops, and antique tinting, Zeman’s film is an exhilarating visual delight and a warmhearted whirl through a bygone age too entrancing to have existed. This film is presented in its original Czech language, with English subtitles. Our Art House for Families series celebrates the magic of moviegoing across generations all summer long. From silent comedy and international classics to science fiction and fantasy adventures, the series invites longtime cinephiles and first-time art house audiences of all ages to discover some of cinema’s most enduring films together on the big screen. This event is sponsored in part by the City of Santa Ana. 

We are not alone. Our Spielberg Summer series continues with one of the filmmaker’s most personal and awe-inspiring works: the Director's Cut of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a Science Fiction epic that looks to the stars with wonder instead of fear. After an inexplicable encounter with a mysterious object in the night sky, ordinary family man Roy Neary begins experiencing strange visions that consume his life and lead him toward a destiny he cannot understand. As reports of unexplained phenomena spread across the globe, Roy joins a growing search for answers that culminates in one of the most unforgettable finales in movie history. Where many Sci Fi films imagine alien contact as a threat, Close Encounters of the Third Kind dares to imagine it as a miracle. Spielberg's knack for groundbreaking visual effects with a deeply human sense of curiosity shine brightly here, paired, of course, with a brilliant score from the one and only John Williams. It's a reminder of why we go to the movies in the first place.

The final film in our Starring Natalie Wood retrospective is the oft-requested The Great Race, the movie that paired her with the iconic duo of Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis for an affectionate throwback to silent-era spectacle and early Hollywood farce! Professional daredevil and white-suited hero, The Great Leslie, convinces turn-of-the-century auto makers that a race from New York to Paris (westward across America, the Bering Straight and Russia) will help to promote automobile sales. Leslie's arch-rival, the mustached and black-attired Professor Fate vows to beat Leslie to the finish line in a car of Fate's own invention. Ms. Wood leans fully into broad comedy here, delivering rapid-fire dialogue and playful physical humor, a fun contrast to some of the her more intense performances covered in this series. This Summer, we are celebrating the unforgettable star power of Natalie Wood with a quartet of films that showcase the unique blend of charisma and emotional intensity that made her one of Hollywood’s most beloved screen icons. This series is co-presented by the amazing folks over at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton as part of their exhibit More Than Love: The Life & Art of Natalie Wood!

We're adding a matinee encore of our special celebration of everyone’s favorite football head! We have lineup of fan-favorite episodes from the beloved Nickelodeon series Hey Arnold! in celebration of it’s 30th anniversary! Thank you to All Hail Horror for partnering with us on this awesome event! Before the screening there will be an unforgettable live musical performance from the show’s legendary jazz-infused soundtrack, performed in person by show creator Craig Bartlett and original composer Jim Lang! Plus, stick around after the screening for a Q&A after with special guests! See the show like you’ve never seen before! This will be a night full of nostalgia that you don’t want to miss! Full schedule below: 3:15PM - Doors open (Vendors + Photo op by FanMail Cinema Club) 3:30PM - Live pre-show 3:45PM - Screening starts 5:00PM - Q&A and signing

On July 19th, The Frida Cinema is partnering up with All Hail Horror for a special celebration of everyone’s favorite football head! We have lineup of fan-favorite episodes from the beloved Nickelodeon series Hey Arnold! in celebration of it’s 30th anniversary! Before the screening there will be an unforgettable live musical performance from the show’s legendary jazz-infused soundtrack, performed in person by show creator Craig Bartlett and original composer Jim Lang! Plus, stick around after the screening for a Q&A after with special guests! See the show like you’ve never seen before! This will be a night full of nostalgia that you don’t want to miss! Full schedule below: 6:00PM - Doors open (Vendors + Photo op by FanMail Cinema Club) 6:30PM - Live pre-show 7:00PM - Screening starts 8:15PM - Q&A and signing

Season 2, Episode 21 - “Miss Twin Peaks”
Original Air Date: April 10, 1991

The town prepares for the Miss Twin Peaks pageant, bringing Audrey, Donna, Lana Milford, and many familiar faces together for a public celebration shaped by private tensions, and looming danger. Cooper and Truman remain focused on Windom Earle, while romantic complications and personal rivalries unfold behind the scenes.

Season 2, Episode 22 - “Beyond Life and Death”
Original Air Date: June 10, 1991

As Windom Earle’s plans reach their culmination, Cooper is drawn into the deepest and most mysterious elements of the world surrounding Twin Peaks. The aftermath of the pageant leaves several characters in danger, and long-running storylines converge in ways that feel both intimate and otherworldly. The season finale pushes fully into surreal, nightmarish territory, culminating with a haunting final scene.

For their inaugural Frida Cinema screening, Shitty Movie Club has curated a few scenes from some of their favorite Shitty heavy-hitters! We'll watch them all first, and then you'll vote on which full movie screens!   The night's selects will be real crowd-pleasers, lesser known than The Room or Sharknado, but you get the vibe. We'll have a few surprises and interactive elements along with a showreel of bizarre clips. Think of it as a shitty movie party or watching a shitty movie at home with friends. Except on a huge screen. And with tons of new friends.   Shitty Movie Club has screened almost 200 movies in 9 countries, amassing over 50M views on their Instagram over the last year, posting daily reels if you want to get a preview of what to expect! Want more info? Head over to the Shitty Movie Club website for more!  Tickets this event are $10. Frida Cinema member discounts and comp passes do not apply.

Jacques Demy’s transcendent musical The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is the next film in our Art House for Families series! This simple romantic tragedy begins in 1957. Guy Foucher, a 20-year-old French auto mechanic, has fallen in love with 17-year-old Geneviève Emery, an employee in her widowed mother's chic but financially embattled umbrella shop. On the evening before Guy is to leave for a two-year tour of combat in Algeria, he and Geneviève make love. She becomes pregnant and must choose between waiting for Guy's return or accepting an offer of marriage from a wealthy diamond merchant. Simultaneously intimate and visually overwhelming, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg remains one of the most beloved movie musicals ever made, influencing generations of filmmakers with its fusion of romantic melancholy and pure color-saturated movie magic. It's a long-standing Frida Cinema favorite and an absolute-must for first timers on the big screen!  This film will be presented in its original French language, with English subtitles. Our Art House for Families series celebrates the magic of moviegoing across generations all summer long. From silent comedy and international classics to science fiction and fantasy adventures, the series invites longtime cinephiles and first-time art house audiences of all ages to discover some of cinema’s most enduring films together on the big screen. This event is sponsored in part by the City of Santa Ana. 

Our Classic Movie Nights series is stepping into the courtroom for a battle of the sexes with the sparkling romantic comedy Adam's Rib, starring the incomparable Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy! Married lawyers Amanda and Adam Bonner find themselves on opposing sides of a headline-grabbing case: Amanda defends a woman who shot her unfaithful husband, while Adam takes on the prosecution. What starts as a legal dispute quickly spills into their personal lives, as debates over marriage itself turn their once-harmonious relationship into a witty war zone. With the ever-scandalous neighbor Kip Lurie (David Wayne) stirring the pot, tensions run high. Directed by George Cukor and written by the husband-and-wife team of Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin, Adam’s Rib is a masterclass in screwball dialogue and chemistry, showcasing one of classic Hollywood’s most iconic screen pairings at their absolute best. Make sure to get to the screening early, as our Marketing Director Bekah will be doing a very informative and entertaining presentation on the film before it starts!

In the town of Twin Peaks, everyone has their secrets...especially Laura Palmer.  Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me is coming back to The Frida Cinema, playing between seasons two and three of our Twin Peaks: The Complete Series saga! And make sure to stick around afterwards as we go further down the rabbit hole with Twin Peaks: The Missing Pieces, a 2014 compilation of deleted and extended scenes from the film. In this prequel to his groundbreaking 1990s television series, David Lynch resurrects the teenager found wrapped in plastic at the beginning of the show, following her through the last week of her life and teasing out the enigmas that surround her murder. Nightmarish in its vision of an innocent torn apart by unfathomable forces, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me is nevertheless one of Lynch’s most humane films, aching with compassion for its tortured heroine. One ticket gets you access to two movies! There will be a ten minute intermission between both films.

Closing out our Bogie Fest series, celebrating the legendary performances of Hollywood icon Humprey Bogart, is Nicholas Ray's 1950 masterpiece In A Lonely Place! Bogart plays Dixon Steele, a Hollywood screenwriter with talent to spare and a temper he can’t quite control. When a young woman he briefly encounters turns up dead, suspicion settles on him almost immediately. And the unsettling part is…it doesn’t feel entirely misplaced. What makes In a Lonely Place stand out in a filmography stacked full of classics is how it subverts expectations of the noir genre. Directed with a quiet intensity, letting silences stretch and emotions simmer, the violence occasionally erupts in very upsetting aways. And Bogart, often the embodiment of control, lets something fray at the edges here. His Dix is charming enough...until he's not.

From the Land Beyond Beyond…From The World Past Hope and Fear…The Frida Cinema is proud to present a brand new 4K restoration of the most influential fantasy adventures ever made: Ray Harryhausen’s The 7th Voyage of Sinbad! See it the way audiences did in 1958, larger than life on the big screen! This special event includes a rare on-screen video appearance by child star Richard Eyer, along with two additional George Pal Academy Award®-winning Puppetoons, celebrating the golden age of fantasy filmmaking. In this landmark stop-motion adventure, the legendary sailor Sinbad journeys to the mysterious Island of Colossa to save Princess Parisa, his fiancée, who has been magically shrunken by the evil sorcerer Sokurah. Along the way Sinbad confronts a towering Cyclops, battles a sword-wielding animated skeleton in one of the most famous duels in motion picture history, faces a giant two-headed Roc, and ultimately fights a fire-breathing dragon in a spectacular fantasy climax--adventure, monsters, and magic Featuring groundbreaking Dynamation effects by Ray Harryhausen and a thunderous, unforgettable score by Bernard Herrmann! The 7th Voyage of Sinbad became one of the top-grossing films of 1958 and helped redefine fantasy filmmaking for generations to come--a giant-screen fantasy experience that launched a thousand filmmakers. Its influence can be seen in the work of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, James Cameron, Peter Jackson, John Landis, Dennis Muren, Phil Tippett, Rick Baker and many others. Hosted by producer-director Arnold Leibovit, who was inspired by the film as a child, later met and directed Ray Harryhausen in The Fantasy Film Worlds of George Pal, and stayed in touch with him for over 30 years. Leibovit also had the opportunity to meet George Pal and correspond with him for more than a year, and became a longtime friend of Pal’s widow, Mrs. Zsoka Pal. For decades, he has worked to restore and preserve the Puppetoons and carry forward the legacy of classic fantasy filmmaking. In 2008, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant,” and hailed as one of the finest fantasy films ever made, noted for its stunning color photography, imaginative creatures, and Bernard Herrmann’s thrilling score.   Doors open at 6:00PM and the show starts at 7:00PM! Tickets are $20 to this event. Frida Cinema comp passes and member discounts do not apply. 

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 1
Original Air Date: May 21, 2017

Twenty-five years after the conclusion of Season Two, the world of Twin Peaks expands to a network of places, characters, and mysteries stretching far beyond the state of Washington. In New York, a young man is hired to watch a mysterious glass box, while in Buckhorn, South Dakota, a grisly murder case begins raising strange questions. Elsewhere, Agent Cooper reappears under deeply unusual circumstances, as the new series immediately establishes a broader, darker, and more fragmented canvas.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 2
Original Air Date: May 21, 2017

As a dangerous doppelgänger appears, a confused and disoriented Cooper finds himself trapped in unfamiliar territory.  Meanwhile, law enforcement officers try to make sense of bizarre evidence surrounding the murder in South Dakota, as familiar names and places return in altered form. The result is a continuation that feels both recognizably Lynchian, and startlingly new.

We're keeping French with the next installment in our Art House for Families series as we present Jean Cocteau’s sublime adaptation of Mme. Leprince de Beaumont’s fairy-tale masterpiece: La Belle et la Bête!  Drawing from the classic French fable, the film follows Belle as she enters the mysterious castle of a cursed Beast whose world seems governed by living statues and other impossible acts of magic. You probably know the rest of the story, but you've never seen it told quite like this. The spectacular visions of enchantment, desire, and death in Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bête) have become timeless icons of cinematic wonder. It remains one of the great achievements of fantasy cinema, blending handmade visual effects and poetic imagination into something genuinely timeless. This film will be presented in its original French language, with English subtitles. Our Art House for Families series celebrates the magic of moviegoing across generations all summer long. From silent comedy and international classics to science fiction and fantasy adventures, the series invites longtime cinephiles and first-time art house audiences of all ages to discover some of cinema’s most enduring films together on the big screen. This event is sponsored in part by the City of Santa Ana. 

Spielberg Summer keeps rolling on with Raiders Of The Lost Ark, the film that introduced audiences to one of cinema’s greatest heroes: Indiana Jones! When the famous archaeologist and adventurer is tasked with locating the legendary Ark of the Covenant before it falls into Nazi hands, Indiana Jones embarks on a globe-trotting quest filled with pulse-pounding action! From Peruvian jungles to Egyptian deserts, Indy must stay one step ahead of ruthless enemies in a race for an artifact said to possess unimaginable power. A loving tribute to the adventure serials of the 1930s and '40s that Spielberg and George Lucas grew up on, Raiders of the Lost Ark combines old-fashioned movie magic with some of the most inventive action filmmaking ever put on screen. More than four decades later, it remains the gold standard for cinematic adventure and proof that nobody does it quite like our guy Stevie!

The Frida Cinema is teaming up with our friends at VAALA to screen the critically acclaimed documentary Jimmy in Saigon! And stick around after the screening for a special conversation with the director of the film, Peter McDowell! Jimmy in Saigon begins as a personal exploration into the mysterious death and radical life of Jimmy McDowell, an American 24-year-old Vietnam veteran who died as a civilian in Saigon in 1972, when filmmaker Peter McDowell was only five. While investigating Jimmy’s drug use and sexuality, Peter takes us from the US Midwest to Vietnam, France and back home again. In his quest to get to know his brother, he uncovers a hidden romance, new family ties and a remarkable global love story.

Each holds a secret power...together they face the ultimate evil! We're harnessing the supernova star power of cinema icons Maggie Cheung, Michelle Yeoh, and Anita Mui in a gloriously unrestrained action extravaganza double feature of The Heroic Trio + Executioners! From genre maestro Johnnie To, the story follows three knife-throwing, shotgun-toting, kung-fu-fighting super-heroines who must overcome their dark pasts in order to defeat an evil, baby-snatching eunuch who is terrorizing Hong Kong. Eye-popping motorcycle stunts, brain-exploding skeletons, infant cannibals, and kinetically choreographed wire work are all part of the delirium in this unstoppably entertaining cult favorite (referenced in Cheung’s international breakthrough Irma Vep), a kick-butt showcase for three of the coolest women warriors to ever hit the screen. There will be a ten minute intermission between each film. One ticket gets you access to both movies! 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.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 3
Original Air Date: May 21, 2017

Cooper’s attempt to navigate his strange new condition leads him through some of the most abstract and visually arresting material in the entire series, as spaces, identities, and physical laws all seem to blur. Meanwhile, the doppelgänger continues moving across the country with chilling purpose, leaving violence and confusion in his wake.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 4
Original Air Date: May 28, 2017

Back in Twin Peaks, Sheriff Frank Truman, Hawk, Andy, and Lucy begin reconnecting with unresolved threads from the town’s past, while Gordon Cole (David Lynch himself!), Albert Rosenfield, and agent Tammy Preston pursue a federal investigation with possible ties to Cooper. Meanwhile, Janey-E and young Sonny Jim are introduced to a version of Cooper who is present, but not fully himself.

Our Art House for Families series is headed to Ancient Greece (pretty timely, no?) for Jason and the Argonauts! Before CGI armies and digital creatures, movie monsters were crafted by hand, and few artists ever did it better than Ray Harryhausen.  Jason, a fearless sailor and explorer, returns to his home land of Thessaly after a long voyage to claim his rightful throne. He learns, however, that he must first find the magical Golden Fleece. To do so, he must embark on an epic quest fraught with fantastic monsters and terrible perils. More than sixty years later, Jason and the Argonauts still delivers the kind of tactile cinematic wonder that inspired generations of filmmakers, from blockbuster directors to lifelong fantasy fans discovering these creatures for the very first time. Our Art House for Families series celebrates the magic of moviegoing across generations all summer long. From silent comedy and international classics to science fiction and fantasy adventures, the series invites longtime cinephiles and first-time art house audiences of all ages to discover some of cinema’s most enduring films together on the big screen. This event is sponsored in part by the City of Santa Ana. 

Marty Isenberg’s The Way I Feel Inside blends the whimsical, offbeat charm of Wes Anderson's iconic mixtapes and cinematic language with his own personal story. It’s a soundtrack to the wonder, loneliness and nostalgia of life in the modern world. Presented as a concert that unfolds like a movie, its theatrical storytelling with Isenberg at the center of the frame. Downbeat Magazine’s glowing 4.5 star review says its "pitch perfect" and Vintage Guitar Magazine raves, “It’s a fascinating concept, executed splendidly”. This program is a venue rental engagement. Doors will open 30 minutes before each performance! Tickets are $30 for each showing. Frida Cinema comp passes and member discounts do not apply. 

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 5
Original Air Date: June 4, 2017

As Dougie Jones moves awkwardly through home life and office life, those around him begin reacting to his blankness in ways that are comic, tender, and increasingly consequential. In Twin Peaks, Becky Burnett and Steven bring a younger generation’s turmoil into the story, while Red, Shelly, and others suggest that the town’s troubles have hardly disappeared with time.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 6
Original Air Date: June 11, 2017

Dougie’s strange luck continues to carry him through situations he can barely understand, while Janey-E finds herself forced to fiercely protect their household. In Twin Peaks, Richard Horne’s volatility becomes impossible to ignore, and Carl Rodd reappears as a quiet witness to the town’s pain and sadness.

It's laugh-vacation time as our Art House for Families series presents Jacques Tati's gentle comic masterpiece Monsieur Hulot's Holiday! Monsieur Hulot, Jacques Tati’s endearing clown, takes a holiday at a seaside resort, where his presence provokes one catastrophe after another. Tati’s masterpiece of gentle slapstick is a series of effortlessly well-choreographed sight gags involving dogs, boats, and firecrackers; it was the first entry in the Hulot series and the film that launched its maker to international stardom. Decades later, still feels fresh in ways that modern comedies rarely do.  This film will be presented in its original French language, with English subtitles. Our Art House for Families series celebrates the magic of moviegoing across generations all summer long. From silent comedy and international classics to science fiction and fantasy adventures, the series invites longtime cinephiles and first-time art house audiences of all ages to discover some of cinema’s most enduring films together on the big screen. This event is sponsored in part by the City of Santa Ana. 

He is afraid. He is totally alone. He is 3,000,000 light years from home. Our Spielberg Summer series phones home with E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, one of the most beloved family films ever made and a landmark of modern American cinema. When a lonely young boy named Elliott discovers a stranded alien hiding near his home, the two form an unlikely friendship that changes both of their lives. As E.T. becomes part of Elliott’s family, the children must help their otherworldly companion evade government authorities and find a way back home before it’s too late. Few films capture the wonder of childhood as beautifully as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Spielberg transforms a simple story of friendship into something genuinely magical. Decades after audiences first watched that bicycle lift off against the moonlit sky, the film, like so many others from Spielberg, continues to inspire awe from audiences across the globe.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 7
Original Air Date: June 18, 2017

The investigation begins to gather momentum as Gordon, Albert, and Tammy work through evidence tied to Cooper’s doppelgänger, while Sheriff Truman and Hawk continue following clues buried deep in Twin Peaks history. Ben and Beverly’s emotionally charged scenes introduce yet another complicated relationship into the mix, and several mysteries begin to hint at patterns to be resolved as, piece by piece, the larger shape of the story starts coming into view.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 8
Original Air Date: June 25, 2017

One of the most audacious episodes in television history, Part 8 detours into the origins of terror, violence, and perhaps evil itself, using a dazzling blend of sound, image, and nightmare logic. The doppelgänger's fate intersects with forces that feel cosmic in scale, and the episode reaches backward into mid-century America to suggest how long these shadows have been gathering. It is both a mythic expansion of Twin Peaks, and a singular audiovisual experience we can't wait to share on the big screen.

Charlie Chaplin’s silent comic masterwork, The Gold Rush, is the next film up in our Art House for Families series! Set during the Klondike Gold Rush, the film follows Chaplin’s iconic Little Tramp as he searches for fortune in a frozen wilderness filled with comic catastrophe. Along the way come some of the most legendary moments in film history, from the famous “dance of the rolls” to a cabin teetering dangerously over the edge of a cliff. Shot partly on location in the Sierra Nevadas and featuring such timeless gags as the dance of the dinner rolls and the meal of boiled shoe leather, The Gold Rush is an indelible work of heartwarming hilarity. Our friends at Janus Films have granted us the rights to Chaplin’s definitive 1942 version, for which the director added new music and narration. Our Art House for Families series celebrates the magic of moviegoing across generations all summer long. From silent comedy and international classics to science fiction and fantasy adventures, the series invites longtime cinephiles and first-time art house audiences of all ages to discover some of cinema’s most enduring films together on the big screen. This event is sponsored in part by the City of Santa Ana. 

Our Classic Movie Nights series is headed out West as we present the trailblazing Gary Cooper film High Noon! Will Kane, the sheriff of a small town in New Mexico, learns a notorious outlaw he put in jail has been freed, and will be arriving on the noon train. Knowing the outlaw and his gang are coming to kill him, Kane is determined to stand his ground, so he attempts to gather a posse from among the local townspeople. High Noon holds a massive legacy as an Oscar-winning revisionist Western that redefined the genre by emphasizing tension over shoot-em-up tropes. It is famously interpreted as an allegory for McCarthy-era blacklisting, symbolizing moral courage against cowardice. The film also introduced the now-iconic cinematic trope of a real-time, high-noon showdown, which has been oft-imitated but never replicated.

Our Spielberg Summer series goes a little darker with Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the wildly pulpy sequel that pushed blockbuster adventure into uncharted territory. When Indiana Jones finds himself in a remote Indian village stripped of its children and sacred stones, he follows the trail to a sinister cult operating beneath an ancient palace. Joined by a skeptical nightclub singer and a brave young boy, Indy descends into a nightmare as he fights to free the enslaved children and recover the stolen Sankara stones. Stripped of the comfort and romance of its predecessor, Temple of Doom is a literal roller coaster cimeatic event. It’s Spielberg at his most unrestrained, mixing fairy-tale darkness with explosive spectacle.

He's not Freddy, he's not Jason...he's real. HorrorBuzz continues its 2026 series with the 40th anniversary of one of the most unsettling and influential films of the 1980s: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer. Viewer discretion is strongly advised. Loosely inspired by the confessions of real-life murderer Henry Lee Lucas, the movie follows drifter Henry (played by iconic silver screen "that guy" Michael Rooker) and his volatile accomplice Otis as they navigate a bleak Chicago landscape. When Otis’s sister Becky moves in, Henry’s flat affect and unpredictable behavior begin to reveal something far darker beneath the surface. Horror Movie Night takes filmgoing to another level with a full night of entertainment, including a themed HMN Video Pres-how, Trivia, Games, Prizes, and another outstanding horror short from HorrorBuzz’s The Screaming Room Film Festival at Midsummer Scream. Doors open and video pre-show video begins promptly at 7:30 pm. Games, prizes, and short film begin at 8:00PM. Feature starts at 8:30PM. This program is a venue rental engagement. The views and opinions expressed in this program do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of The Frida Cinema or its staff.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 9
Original Air Date: July 9, 2017

Several threads are drawn closer together as Gordon, Albert, Tammy, and Diane compare notes with the Twin Peaks sheriff’s department. Long-absent names return to the conversation, old evidence takes on new significance, and Jerry Horne wanders through the woods in a state of comic disorientation.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 10
Original Air Date: July 16, 2017

As a palpable dread hangs over the town, daily life continues in Twin Peaks, with scenes involving Richard, Becky, Steven, and others revealing just how much pain the town now grapples with. Meanwhile, Dougie’s life in Las Vegas remains oddly buoyant, with Janey-E, the Mitchum Brothers, and his coworkers all responding to him in ways that are baffled, yet increasingly affectionate.

Two of the most beloved family films ever made are up next for our Art House for Families series as we're presenting a special double feature presentation celebrating the poetic, adventurous world of filmmaker Albert Lamorisse. It's The Red Balloon and White Mane! Winner of the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film and an Academy Award for its screenplay, The Red Balloon follows a young Parisian boy who discovers a mysterious balloon with a personality all its own. Drifting through the streets of Paris with almost no dialogue, the film transforms ordinary city life into something quietly magical. And then after a ten minute intermission, it's time for White Mane, Lamorisse’s breathtaking adventure set in the marshlands of southern France, where a young boy forms an unforgettable bond with a wild horse pursued by local ranchers. Shot with extraordinary natural beauty and a sense of freedom that still feels exhilarating today, the film captures childhood adventure in an almost-mythic way. These films will be presented in their original French language, with English subtitles. Although, it should be noted the films are essentially wordless, with the exception of some sparse dialogue. Our Art House for Families series celebrates the magic of moviegoing across generations all summer long. From silent comedy and international classics to science fiction and fantasy adventures, the series invites longtime cinephiles and first-time art house audiences of all ages to discover some of cinema’s most enduring films together on the big screen. This event is sponsored in part by the City of Santa Ana. 

Our Spielberg Summer series takes a more sobering turn with Empire of the Sun, a sweeping coming-of-age epic full of chaos and loss of wartime innocence. Based on J.G. Ballard’s semi-autobiographical novel, the film follows young Jim “Jamie” Graham, a privileged British boy living in Shanghai whose life is shattered when World War II erupts and he is separated from his parents. Alone in an occupied city, he survives in a brutal internment camp while clinging to the fading grandeur of his former life. One of Spielberg’s most ambitious and emotionally complex works, Empire of the Sun transforms war into a surreal landscape of endurance and disillusionment. Anchored by a remarkable early performance from a young Christian Bale, the film reveals Spielberg expanding his visual language to capture not just wonder, but its disappearance. Rarely shown theatrically, this 80s gem demands to be seen big and loud! 

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 11
Original Air Date: July 23, 2017

Dougie’s improbable path continues to create ripples through Las Vegas, especially as the Mitchum Brothers become convinced he may be more extraordinary than he appears. In Twin Peaks, Bobby Briggs steps further into the role of deputy, and a discovery in the woods suggests that the town’s past is still very much alive beneath the surface.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 12
Original Air Date: July 30, 2017

Conversations take center stage as characters revisit old wounds, hidden histories, and unresolved feelings, particularly in scenes involving Audrey and Charlie, Sarah Palmer, and the members of the Blue Rose task force.

Neither Heaven nor Earth could keep them apart! Our Art House for Families series concludes with Powell & Pressburger's astonishing Technicolor fantasia A Matter of Life and Death! After miraculously surviving a plane crash during World War II, British pilot Peter Carter finds himself caught between worlds when celestial authorities realize he was never meant to live. As heavenly forces attempt to correct the error, Peter fights for the right to remain on Earth alongside the woman he has fallen in love with. Few filmmakers ever have possessed sheer cinematic imagination quite like Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Moving effortlessly between the everyday and the cosmic, A Matter of Life and Death excels at both dazzling visual invention and genuine emotional sweep. The film stands as one of the great achievements of postwar cinema, making it a perfect finale for a series dedicated to the wonder of experiencing movies together on the big screen. Our Art House for Families series celebrates the magic of moviegoing across generations all summer long. From silent comedy and international classics to science fiction and fantasy adventures, the series invites longtime cinephiles and first-time art house audiences of all ages to discover some of cinema’s most enduring films together on the big screen. This event is sponsored in part by the City of Santa Ana. 

Our Spielberg Summer series returns to a world of pure adventure with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, the heartfelt capper to one of cinema’s greatest action trilogies ever! When Indiana Jones sets out to find his missing father, Dr. Henry Jones Sr., he’s pulled into a globe-spanning race against Nazis for the Holy Grail itself. Joined by his father (Sean Connery), Indy must navigate a lifetime of unresolved tension (oh and like booby traps and stuff) as the search becomes as much about family as it is about legend. Spielberg's take on the buddy comedy, The Last Crusade is one of his most effortlessly (at least...he makes it look that way) entertaining films, balancing whip-smart humor with his knack for old school thrills. With Ford and Connery at the center of your movie, you can't really lose.

Never was a Hero needed more... Once Upon A Time In China, Writer-producer-director Tsui Hark’s sprawling vision of a changing nineteenth-century China, is coming back to The Frida Cinema! This blockbuster hit cemented Jet Li’s status as the greatest martial-arts superstar of his generation. Li displays his stunning, fast-and-fluid fighting style as the legendary martial-arts teacher and doctor Wong Fei-hung, who, with a band of disciples, battles a host of nefarious forces, foreign and local, who are threatening Chinese sovereignty as British and American imperialists encroach upon the Mainland. Once Upon a Time in China’s breathtaking blend of kung fu, comedy, romance, and melodrama climaxes in a whirlwind guns-vs-fists finale that is also a thrilling affirmation of Chinese cultural identity. 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.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 13
Original Air Date: August 6, 2017

As several storylines begin moving more decisively, the tension around Mr. C intensifies, while Dougie continues drifting toward moments of accidental brilliance and emotional connection. In Twin Peaks, Sarah Palmer’s growing estrangement from ordinary life becomes more disturbing, and James Hurley quietly returns to the series in a way that reconnects the present to the past.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 14
Original Air Date: August 13, 2017

Old mysteries return to the foreground as Gordon Cole recounts a dream, Hawk investigates a clue left behind by Major Briggs, and several key characters begin rediscovering the hidden history of the town. Andy is drawn into an experience that is both surreal and unexpectedly moving, while the Roadhouse continues serving as a gathering place for reflection, confusion, and sorrow.

Our Spielberg Summer series flies to Neverland with Hook, the once-maligned fantasy film that time has steadily re-appraised as one of Spielberg’s most heartfelt flights of imagination!!! When grown-up lawyer Peter Banning (the former Peter Pan) returns to Neverland after Captain Hook kidnaps his children, he must rediscover the boy he forgot in order to lead the Lost Boys and face his old enemy. Along the way, he’s guided by Tinker Bell (Julia Roberts), challenged by Captain Hook (Dustin Hoffman), and slowly drawn back into a world of belief. Initially met with mixed reception and criticized for its tone and excess, Hook has since been embraced by many as a deeply personal story about adulthood’s erosion of wonder and the struggle to reclaim it. Beneath the spectacle and whimsy is a film about imagination and the cost of forgetting how to play, revealing Spielberg’s enduring belief that growing up doesn’t have to mean letting go.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 15
Original Air Date: August 20, 2017

Several long-simmering threads take darker and more emotional turns as Nadine, Ed, Norma, Steven, and others reach moments of painful recognition or change. Mr. C continues pursuing his goals with frightening determination, while the ominous phrase “the dreamer” begins to resonate more strongly throughout the narrative. The episode is full of endings, thresholds, and the uneasy sense that something irreversible is approaching.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 16
Original Air Date: August 27, 2017

A series of major turns reshapes the story’s direction as Janey-E, Sonny Jim, the Mitchum Brothers, and the FBI all find themselves pulled into events they could not have anticipated. Mr. C’s trajectory grows more perilous, and long-awaited movement in Cooper’s story brings a surge of emotion and momentum. After so much delay, uncertainty, and displacement, the episode feels electrifyingly alive.

Twin Peaks: The Complete Series, our presentation of all three seasons of David Lynch’s acclaimed television show, continues with episodes screening every Sunday night through September 20th, 2026.

An adventure 65 million years in the making. Our Spielberg Summer series is taking a trip to Jurassic Park, the groundbreaking blockbuster that made audiences believe...and then run for their lives. When a billionaire philanthropist unveils a revolutionary theme park filled with genetically resurrected dinosaurs, a small group of experts is invited to preview the island before opening day. But when the park’s security systems fail, paleontologists Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), along with mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), are forced to survive a prehistoric nightmare unleashed by the follies of human ambition. A landmark in visual effects and suspense filmmaking, Jurassic Park remains one of cinema’s great “how did they do that?” experiences. Spielberg blends awe and terror in perfect balance, expanding his horizons to new themes that he would explore even more more in the second half of his career.

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 17
Original Air Date: September 3, 2017

As the series heads into its endgame, Cooper, the sheriff’s department, and the Blue Rose team all converge around long-hidden truths and immediate threats. Familiar faces from across the saga reappear as the story reaches toward resolution, and the line between supernatural conflict and personal reckoning grows increasingly thin. (Can you tell we've tried to be as spoiler-free as possible with all of our episode synopses?)

Twin Peaks: The Return, Part 18
Original Air Date: September 3, 2017

All good things come to an end, and the same can be said for one of the greatest television shows ever. The final chapter follows Cooper and a surprise companion into a haunting, uncertain space where identity, memory, and reality itself become unstable. Old places return in altered form, familiar questions take on new weight, and the series abandons any expectation of a tidy farewell. Rather than fully closing the book on Twin Peaks, Part 18 leaves it echoing with mystery befitting the vision and style of its celebrated director.

Join us for the Orange County premiere of Skweezy Jibbs Makes a Movie with the man himself, Skweezy Jibbs, live in person! Be among the first people to see the movie, and stay after for an exclusive Q&A with Skweezy himself as he keeps going on his US tour. One night only! Get your tickets before they're gone! Oddball internet legend Skweezy Jibbs is making the movie of his dreams. Unfortunately for him, he's got no money, no experience, no skill, and no filmmaking talent. When his controlling mother gets involved, Skweezy is forced to confront the very essence of who he is. GA Doors open at 7:00PM and the show starts at 7:30PM! Tickets are $20 to this event. Frida Cinema comp passes and member discounts do not apply.

Something has survived. Our Spielberg Summer series ventures to The Lost World: Jurassic World, the oft-maligned sequel to the 1993 classic. When mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) is pulled back into the dinosaur project after a second island is discovered, he joins a rescue expedition that quickly becomes a fight for survival as corporate greed and apex predators collide. What begins as a mission of observation spirals into full-scale chaos when dinosaurs prove, once again, who is higher on the food chain. Darker and much more unruly than its predecessor, The Lost World: Jurassic Park explores the consequences of trying to manage wonder once it’s been unleashed. Spielberg leans into scale and spectacle, building some of the best set pieces of his career, each more intense than the last.

Our Hong Kong Action Essentials series is  growing larger, darker, and more operatic with each and every chapter. There's no better example of this with our special double feature of A Better Tomorrow II + A Better Tomorrow III! Directed by John Woo, A Better Tomorrow II picks up in the aftermath of betrayal and loss, following survivors pulled back into a violent underworld they can’t escape. As old wounds reopen and new alliances form, the film pushes themes of brotherhood and sacrifice to even more operatic extremes, all building toward action staged on a mythic scale. And then after a quick 10 minute intermission...Tsui Hark’s A Better Tomorrow III rewinds the clock, re-centering the saga around the rise of its most iconic figure amid political upheaval and shifting power structures. Steeped in romantic fatalism, this prequel is less about crime than about identity and the cost of survival. There will be a ten minute intermission between each film. One ticket gets you access to both movies! 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.

After a decade of silence...the buzz came back. HorrorBuzz is slicing up our October lineup with a 40th anniversary party of unhinged insanity: Tobe Hooper’s gloriously deranged sequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2! When late-night DJ Stretch accidentally records a pair of murders committed by the Sawyer clan, she teams up with the unhinged Lieutenant “Lefty” Enright (a chainsaw-wielding Dennis Hopper in one of the wildest performances of his career). Their mission: descend into the Sawyer family’s subterranean lair of meat, madness, and twinkling Christmas lights to put an end to the carnage once and for all. Horror Movie Night takes filmgoing to another level with a full night of entertainment, including a themed HMN Video Pres-how, Trivia, Games, Prizes, and another outstanding horror short from HorrorBuzz’s The Screaming Room Film Festival at Midsummer Scream. Doors open and video pre-show video begins promptly at 7:30 pm. Games, prizes, and short film begin at 8:00PM. Feature starts at 8:30PM. This program is a venue rental engagement. The views and opinions expressed in this program do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of The Frida Cinema or its staff.

Our Spielberg Summer series turns its attention to one of the most powerful and influential war films ever made with Saving Private Ryan, a landmark achievement that forever changed how combat is portrayed on screen. In the aftermath of the D-Day invasion, Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) and his squad are assigned an extraordinary mission: locate Private James Ryan (Matt Damon), whose brothers have all been killed in action, and bring him home. As the soldiers journey deeper into war-torn France, the mission forces each man to confront difficult questions about the value of a single life amid unimaginable loss. Famous for its visceral opening depiction of Omaha Beach, Saving Private Ryan goes far beyond just technical brilliance. Spielberg combines staggering realism with his signature humanism, creating a film that honors both the chaos of war and the ordinary people "asked" to endure it.

Our Spielberg Summer series ventures off-path and into the Fall as we visit the future in A.I. Artificial Intelligence, a haunting Science Fiction fairy tale that stands among the director’s most ambitious and deeply misunderstood works. In a world where advanced robots live alongside humans, a young android named David (Haley Joel Osment) is programmed with the ability to love. When he is abandoned by the family he was created to join, David embarks on an extraordinary journey to become “real,” believing it is the only way to win back the affection he longs for. Originally developed by Stanley Kubrick and ultimately realized by Spielberg, A.I. is an unsettling vision of technological loneliness. Over two decades later, its questions about what it means to love feel more relevant than ever, revealing a far more profound than many audiences recognized upon its release.

The penultimate film in our Hong Kong Action Essentials series is Bullet In The Head, which also happens to be our final John Woo film in the series, as well. There's no better way to end his chapter in this lineup than with his most brutal and personal film to date. Three friends fleeing Hong Kong after a violent crime find themselves trapped in the chaos of the Vietnam War, where their loyalty and morality are tested beyond repair. What begins as a desperate bid for escape descends into a harrowing portrait of friendship under unimaginable pressure. As war strips away ideals and innocence, the bonds between the men fracture, leading to betrayals that cut deeper than any bullet. Fueled by rage and grief Bullet in the Head trades balletic elegance for raw emotional devastation. This is heroic bloodshed turned inward, and a legendary filmmaker pushing himself into completely new territory. 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.

What would you do if were framed for a murder…you had not committed yet? The penultimate film in our Spielberg Summer series is the Tom Cruise-starrer Minority Report, a dazzling Sci Fi Thriller that imagines a world where crime can be stopped before it happens. In Washington, D.C., of 2054, police captain John Anderton (Tom Cruise) leads a revolutionary unit that uses psychic visions to arrest murderers before they commit their crimes. But when Anderton himself is identified as a future killer, he goes on the run, determined to uncover the truth behind a system he once believed was infallible. Based on the novel by Philip K. Dick, the film combines breathtaking action, Noir intrigue (something you'd think would be in more Spielberg projects), and startlingly prescient ideas about surveillance and predictive technology, making it one of smartest blockbusters of the 21st century.

Our Spielberg Summer series concludes with some post-Thanksgiving screenings of War of the Worlds, his hauntingly realistic reinvention of a Sci Fi classic that transforms an alien invasion into a terrifying story of survival. When colossal extraterrestrial machines suddenly emerge from beneath the Earth and begin annihilating entire cities, divorced dockworker Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is forced to protect his children as civilization collapses around them. As humanity struggles to comprehend the scale of the catastrophe, Ray’s desperate journey becomes a fight not to save the world, but simply to keep his family alive. Released in the shadow of a newly changed America, War of the Worlds channels post-9/11 anxieties into some of the most intense and visceral spectacle of Spielberg’s career. Stripping away triumphalism in favor of fear, the film stands as one of his darkest works. It's a reminder that even at his most pessimistic, Spielberg never loses sight of the human beings at the center of the story, making it the perfect film to conclude our 14 film retrospective of his work. 

"Like Lethal Weapon only far funnier and with more chainsaw action." -Total DVD After so much emotion and violence, we are choosing to close our Hong Kong Action Essentials series by cutting loose with little bit laughter and...uhhh...more violence. Directed by Lau Kar-leung and starring Chow Yun-fat, Tiger on the Beat follows a pair of mismatched cops on the trail of a violent drug dealer, a case that escalates from street-level comedy into something far more savage and unhinged. What begins as a rambunctious action/comedy steadily sheds its humor, morphing into a full-throttle collision of gunplay, hand-to-hand combat, and sheer physical excess. By the time it reaches its infamous finale, the film has abandoned restraint entirely, delivering the perfectly brutal and messy ending to our series. 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.

A singing plant. A daring hero. A sweet girl. A demented dentist. It's the most outrageous musical comedy ever made! HorrorBuzz caps off its year of 40th anniversary screenings with the show-stopping musical Little Shop of Horrors! Meek flower-shop clerk Seymour Krelborn (Frida favorite Rick Moranis) discovers a mysterious plant after a solar eclipse and names it Audrey II, after his coworker-crush Audrey (Ellen Greene). But this plant doesn’t want sunlight or water....it wants blood. As Audrey II grows from a cute little sprout to a fast-talking menace, Seymour must choose between fame, fortune, and doing the right thing…preferably before the plant eats the whole block. Horror Movie Night takes filmgoing to another level with a full night of entertainment, including a themed HMN Video Pres-how, Trivia, Games, Prizes, and another outstanding horror short from HorrorBuzz’s The Screaming Room Film Festival at Midsummer Scream. Doors open and video pre-show video begins promptly at 7:30 pm. Games, prizes, and short film begin at 8:00PM. Feature starts at 8:30PM. This program is a venue rental engagement. The views and opinions expressed in this program do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of The Frida Cinema or its staff.