It’s as real as the feelings you feel.
This season, we honor the extraordinary legacy of Rob Reiner with some screenings of one of his most beloved films: the timeless and irresistibly funny fairy-tale adventure The Princess Bride.
When young Buttercup (Robin Wright in a luminous breakout performance) loses her true love Westley (Cary Elwes), she vows never to love again. Until fate, pirates, politics, giants, miracles, and rodents of unusual size intervene, of course. Told through the framing device of a grandfather (Peter Falk) reading a bedtime story to his skeptical grandson (Fred Savage), the film becomes a celebration of imagination itself.
Few filmmakers moved so effortlessly between genres as Rob Reiner. From coming-of-age classics to sharp-edged comedy to pulse-pounding thrillers, his filmography is a tour of American movie magic. But The Princess Bride remains his most universally cherished creation.
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Step into the windswept moors and shadowed corridors of director Cary Joji Fukunaga’s 2011 adaptation of Jane Eyre, part of January’s programming thanks to our Volunteer Of The Month, Sirena!
Mia Wasikowska stars as Jane, the fiercely principled young governess whose quiet strength and sharp intelligence set her apart in a world determined to keep her small. When she arrives at Thornfield Hall, she encounters the brooding, enigmatic Mr. Rochester (Michael Fassbender), and their unlikely connection ignites one of literature’s most enduring romances.
Full of mystery and longing, Fukunaga’s adaptation was praised upon its release for its suitably bleak atmosphere and magnetic performances. Come see it on the big screen!
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There’s no better way to open our 2026 cinematic calendar than with Cinema Paradiso, Giuseppe Tornatore’s timeless ode to moviegoing and childhood.
Set in a small Sicilian town after World War II, Cinema Paradiso follows young Toto, a mischievous dreamer whose life is forever changed when he befriends Alfredo, the kindly projectionist at the local cinema. Through reels of adventure and heartbreak flickering across the screen, Toto discovers not just the power of movies, but the power they have to shape a life.
Since its release in 1988, Cinema Paradiso has earned a reputation as one of the most beloved films about going to the movies ever made. Its unique blend of humor and heartache have made it a staple at The Frida over the years, all brought together beautifully by the incredible score by the maestro himself, Ennio Morricone.
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Goofy is back, baby! You’ve been asking, so we’re happy to oblige: we’ve added some encores of A Goofy Movie for the weekend of January 23rd-25th!
Max Goof just wants to impress his crush, Roxanne. His dad, Goofy, just wants to spend some quality time with his rapidly growing son. The solution, naturally, is a chaotic fishing trip that somehow spirals into a runaway adventure involving Bigfoot, disastrous campgrounds, a stolen map, and an arena-size performance by Powerline (or as our Director Of Programming often calls him…Livewire?) the brightest star in the animated pop universe.
A Goofy Movie isn’t just nostalgia. It’s a 1990s Disney outlier with real personality that doubles as a genuinely heartfelt teen comedy. Come see it on the big screen with a goofed-up crowd!
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Join us for To Have and Have Not—the film that introduced the world to the electric pairing of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall!
Set in wartime Martinique, Bogart plays a tough American boat captain trying to stay neutral while Bacall arrives as a mysterious young drifter with a cigarette, a razor-sharp wit, and a look that could stop the story cold. What begins as a smoldering battle of nerves soon pulls both into a dangerous resistance plot.
Directed by Howard Hawks and written in part by William Faulkner, To Have and Have Not belongs entirely to its stars, launching one of cinema’s most iconic romances.
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!
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Pillow Talk, the endlessly charming Doris Day/Rock Hudson comedy that helped define the golden age of Hollywood rom-coms, is coming back to The Frida Cinema with some matinee encores!
Playboy songwriter Brad Allen’s succession of romances annoys his neighbor, interior designer Jan Morrow, who shares a telephone party line with him and hears all his breezy routines. After Jan unsuccessfully lodges a complaint against him, Brad sets about to seduce her in the guise of a sincere and upstanding Texas rancher. When mutual friend Jonathan discovers that his best friend is moving in on the girl he desires, however, sparks fly.
Directed by master craftsman Michael Gordon and decked out in glamorous costumes and jazzy set design, Pillow Talk is studio-era comfort cinema at its most fun and quotable. The film earned Doris Day her first Academy Award nomination and cemented one of the most beloved screen pairings in movie history.
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Join us for some cheeky encores of Charade—Stanley Donen’s irresistible mix of romance and suspense that pairs two of Hollywood’s brightest stars at the height of their powers.
After Regina Lampert (Audrey Hepburn) falls for the dashing Peter Joshua (Cary Grant) on a skiing holiday in the French Alps, she discovers upon her return to Paris that her husband has been murdered. Soon, she and Peter are giving chase to three of her late husband’s World War II cronies, Tex (James Coburn), Scobie (George Kennedy) and Gideon (Ned Glass), who are after a quarter of a million dollars the quartet stole while behind enemy lines. But why does Peter keep changing his name?
Often dubbed “the best Hitchcock movie Hitchcock never made,” Charade pairs up Hepburn and Grant along with some witty dialogue and glamorous locations for some of the most flirtatious thrills of all time!
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Just added: Frida Cinema Board Member/Trivia Night host Atalia Lopez (Chapman University) and Porter Gilberg (Frida Cinema Director of Development) will join us Tuesday 12/23 for a brief presentation on the film’s literary history and cinematic influences. An interactive discussion will take place immediately following the film.
Across our entire staff, if there was a movie we could all agree on being the definitive holiday season masterpiece of the past 25 years, it would be Todd Hayne’s Carol.
Starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara (are you kidding me?), the film is set in 1950s New York, and follows a shy young shopgirl and aspiring photographer, who becomes captivated by Carol Aird, an elegant woman trapped in a failing marriage. As the two grow closer, their connection deepens into a forbidden romance that threatens Carol’s custody battle for her daughter. Forced onto a road trip that becomes both an escape and a reckoning, the women must decide whether their love can survive the scrutiny and constraints of their time.
In the years since its release, Carol has become a pop-cultural touchstone that perfectly blends a holiday-season staple and queer cinematic landmark. For pop culture purposes, it’s perhaps the most GIFed slow-burn romance of the internet age. Its influence can be seen all over the rise of prestige LGBTQ+ storytelling across screens big and small. Some movies change your life forever.
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Celebrate this holiday season with Greta Gerwig’s joyful, heart-full adaptation of Little Women from 2019. Starring an A+ cast of Saoirse Ronan, Florenge Pugh, Emma Watson, Eliza Scanlen, Laura Dern, and Timothee Chalamet, it’s the perfect seasonal escape on the big screen.
The film follows the four March sisters—Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth—as they navigate love and heartbreak in Civil War–era New England. Told across intertwined timelines, the film traces their journey from spirited girlhood to adulthood as they fight to define their own futures.
Bring your friends, bring your family, and ring in the holidays with a film that celebrates sisterhood and the power of following your own path. Little Women has been adapted many times, but Gerwig’s version is the best interpretation yet, and might just be her magnum opus as director.
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Join us as we ring in the holiday season by playing Nancy Meyers’ The Holiday for the first time ever!
Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz star as two women on opposite sides of the globe who impulsively swap homes for Christmas—one trading a cozy English cottage for sunny Los Angeles, the other escaping Hollywood hustle for snow-dusted Surrey. What begins as an experiment in escape soon turns into a chance for renewal, connection, and the kind of unexpected romance that only seems possible in December.
With Meyers’ signature warmth and gorgeous interiors (duh) and a dream ensemble (we didn’t even mention Jack Black, Jude Law, and the legendary Eli Wallach), The Holiday delivers everything you want from a seasonal favorite!
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