Jul

08

3:45 PM

3:45pm - Tuesday, Jul 8, 2025

Wolf Children (2025 Restoration)

College student Hana falls in love with a “wolf man” and together they have two half-human, half-wolf children, Ame and Yuki. The young family’s happy but humble life comes to an abrupt end when the father is tragically killed during a hunt. After struggling to raise her children in the busy city, Hana boldly decides to move to a dilapidated house in the countryside, in hopes that her children may one day decide their own path to happiness – whether “human” or “wolf.”

This heart-wrenching modern fairy tale is a staggering work of beauty and emotion from Academy Award®-nominated director Mamoru Hosoda. Rich with gorgeous animation and set to a poignant musical score, WOLF CHILDREN is a sweeping tale about self-discovery and the bonds of family.

"The film works as the simplest of fairy tales, so scrumptious you'll want to devour it whole." (London Evening Standard)

"It's a fairytale in a real-life setting, photorealistically drawn in shifting light that rivals Monet or GTA5." (Guardian)

"It is an exceptionally beautiful film, with the lingering glory and magisterial quality that recalls Miyazaki's greatest work." (The Tyee)

"Judging from his last three films, I count Hosoda Mamoru as the true hope of quality anime in the future. Because he dared to make The Wolf Children a film which is, first and foremost, for the parents!" (ScreenAnarchy)

Tuesday, July 8
Doors 3:15 pm | Movie 3:45 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Cheap Date Night! All tickets $8
*2-for-1 passes n/a to this screening.

WOLF CHILDREN "Ôkami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki" (Mamoru Hosoda, 2012 / PG / 117 mins / Japanese w. EST) After her werewolf lover unexpectedly dies in an accident, a young woman must find ways to raise their werewolf son and daughter while keeping their trait hidden from society.

Jul

08

6:30 PM

6:30pm - Tuesday, Jul 8, 2025

The Life of Chuck

From the hearts and minds of Stephen King and Mike Flanagan comes THE LIFE OF CHUCK, the extraordinary story of an ordinary man. This unforgettable, genre-bending tale celebrates the life of Charles 'Chuck' Krantz as he experiences the wonder of love, the heartbreak of loss, and the multitudes contained in all of us. Starring Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, Jacob Tremblay, Mia Sara, Matthew Lillard, Kate Siegel, and Mark Hamill.

Winner of the People's Choice Award, Toronto International Film Fest 2024

"A film that’s as sweet as it is scary, and whose frights are the sort that come from all-too-relatable fears about being alone, being apart, and being unable to hold onto the people and memories that matter most." (The Daily Beast)

"This is one of the best ensembles of the year, filled in with appearances by many of Flanagan’s past collaborators." (RogerEbert.com)

"'The Life of Chuck' is miraculous, a feather in [Mike] Flanagan’s already-decorated cap, and a dance worth saying yes to." (Film Obsessive)

"Now that he’s delivered an elegy in the vein of “Stand By Me” or “The Shawshank Redemption,” Flanagan has made one thing clear: He’s attuned to King at every frequency." (Washington Post)

Tuesday, July 8
Doors 6:00 pm | Film 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Cheap Date Night! All tickets $8
*2-for-1 passes n/a to this screening.

THE LIFE OF CHUCK (Mike Flanagan, 2025 / 110 mins / PG) A life-affirming, genre-bending story based on Stephen King's novella about three chapters in the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz.

Jul

08

9:00 PM

9:00pm - Tuesday, Jul 8, 2025

Friendship

Suburban dad Craig falls hard for his charismatic new neighbor, as Craig's attempts to make an adult male friend threaten to ruin both of their lives. With Tim Robinson, Kate Mara, Jack Dylan Grazer, and Paul Rudd.

"It suggests not just a subversion but a putrefaction of the Ruddy-comedy genre -- a portrait of male loneliness so totalizing, and so scarily close to the bone, that laughs and screams all but bleed together." (The New Yorker)

"Director Andrew DeYoung’s exploration of broken masculinity and middle-aged isolation manages to be the funniest — and the cringiest — film of the year." (LA Weekly / Village Voice)

"The funniest buddy comedy of recent memory. Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd are the Jekyll and Hyde of modern male bonding." (Boston Movie News)

"This anarchistic comic take on bad bromance is also a startlingly effective comment on 21st-century loneliness." (Winnipeg Free Press)

Tuesday, July 8
Doors 8:30 pm | Movie 9:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Cheap Date Night! All tickets $8
*2-for-1 passes n/a to this screening.

FRIENDSHIP (Andrew DeYoung, 2025 / 100 mins / 14A) A man tries to befriend his charismatic new neighbour, but it soon threatens to ruin both of their lives.

Jul

09

12:00 PM

12:00pm - Wednesday, Jul 9, 2025

FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Viewing Party (Semi-Finals)

Joins us at the Rio Theatre for a big screen viewing of the FIFA Club World Cup games on July 8 (Semi finals) and July 13 (Finals).

Wednesday, July 9 Semi Finals! Teams TBD.
Doors 11:30 am | Game 12:00 pm *Start time subject to change.

Jul

09

6:30 PM

6:30pm - Wednesday, Jul 9, 2025

Dazed and Confused

Alright, alright, alright!

Why go cruising the strip or climbing the moontower when you could spend it at your favourite indie movie theatre instead?

Join us at the Rio Theatre for a slice of cult-classic nostalgia that celebrates the best day of high school you never had: Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused.

As fresh today as it was when it was released in 1993, Linklater's infinitely quotable coming-of-age tale features a truly excellent ensemble cast, an authentically groovy 70s feel, and a pretty killer soundtrack, man. Dazed and Confused might be Linklater's best-loved work, and really showcases his signature rambling, naturalistic style and an approach to storytelling that was so memorable in his breakthrough 1991 indie hit, Slacker. Dazed and Confused manages to take a peek into the cliques and characters of high school in a smart, heartfelt, and often very funny way, revealing an endearing and occasionally profound picture of, "the best years of your life." Starring Jason London, Wiley Wiggins, Matthew McConaughey, Parker Posey, Joey Lauren Adams, Rory Cochrane, Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, Marissa Ribisi, Milla Jovovovovich, and Ben Affleck.

"Bet it makes you wanna dance." (TIME Magazine)

Wednesday, July 9
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

DAZED AND CONFUSED (Richard Linklater, 1993 / 102 mins, 14A) | The adventures of a group of Texas teens on their last day of school in 1976, centering on student Randall Floyd, who moves easily among stoners, jocks and geeks. Floyd is a star athlete, but he also likes smoking weed, which presents a conundrum when his football coach demands he sign a "no drugs" pledge.

Jul

09

9:00 PM

9:00pm - Wednesday, Jul 9, 2025

Kids (30th Annviersary Screening)

One of the most quietly provocative and controversial indie films of the 1990s, Larry Clark’s groundbreaking KIDS chronicles a frenetic day-in-the-life of a group of contemporary teenagers in New York City. Notable for Clark's signature eye for capturing breathtaking photographic images, KIDS is a hard watch; it offers a deeply affecting, no holds-barred landscape of words and images, depicting with raw honesty the experiences, attitudes and uncertainties of innocence lost.

Featuring a screenplay from a 19-year old Harmony Korine (who was "discovered" by Clark while skateboarding in Washington Square Park), the film assembles an impressive cast of first-time actors, including Chloë Sevigny and Rosario Dawson in their breakout roles.

"Frightening, frank and serious, a wake-up call to the world." (New York Times)

"None of the advance hype on Kids can prepare you for the raw, stripped-down reality that Larry Clark captures in his astonishing first film." (San Francsico Chronicle)

"'Kids' is the kind of movie that needs to be talked about afterward." (Roger Ebert)

"'Kids' is an emotional sucker punch, a raw, dirty, disturbing piece of cinema verité filmmaking that simultaneously hooks and repulses you from its opening scenes." (Austin Chronicle)

Wednesday, July 9
Doors 8:30 pm | Movie 9:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

KIDS (Larry Clark, 1995 / 91 mins / 18A) The film follows amoral teen Telly, who has made it his goal to sleep with as many virgin girls as possible. While on the hunt for his latest conquest, Telly and his best friend, Casper, smoke pot and steal from shops around New York. Meanwhile, Jenny, one of Telly's early victims, makes it her mission to save other girls from him. But before she has a chance to confront him at a party, everything goes horribly wrong.

Jul

10

6:30 PM

6:30pm - Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

In The Mood For Love (25th Anniversary Edition)

Hong Kong, 1962: Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung Man-yuk) move into neighboring apartments on the same day. Their encounters are formal and polite—until a discovery about their spouses creates an intimate bond between them.

For the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the film, Wong Kar Wai has revisited the original concept of the film. With this special edition he has offered the possibility of storytelling by adding an unseen chapter as a bonus to the original version.

Initially conceived as one third of a triptych about food, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE was expanded into a stand-alone feature that won immediate recognition as a modern-day classic. Another third—intended as the “dessert,” as Wong Kar Wai has put it—was, until now, only screened during his masterclass at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. Now available in wide release for the first time, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE 2001 demonstrates the director’s masterful ability to generate palpable atmosphere and striking characterizations on a miniature canvas—with the film's stars Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Maggie Cheung Man Yuk once again providing the sizzling chemistry— evoking the mystery of transient, unexpected connections in the modern city through his inimitable romantic touch.

At once delicately mannered and visually extravagant, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE is a masterful evocation of romantic longing and fleeting moments. With its aching musical soundtrack and exquisitely abstract cinematography by Christopher Doyle and Mark Lee Ping-bin, this film has been a major stylistic influence on the past decade of cinema, and is a milestone in Wong’s redoubtable career. (In Sight & Sound's most recent poll of The Greatest Films of All Time, the film finds itself ranked at #5.)

"Wong Kar Wai’s masterpiece is a heartbreaking story of illicit love that pulses with the ache of repressed desire." (BFI.org)

"So skillfully does the director brings us to a state of breathless expectation that when he refuses to deliver the goods he almost seems to have invented a new form of perversion." (New Yorker Magazine)

"Further complemented by the gentle lull of Nat King Cole songs, 'In The Mood For Love' casts a dreamy and melancholic spell that remains unbroken long after the closing credits have rolled." (AV Club)

"Stylized, set-designed to the last hair wisp, the film is a mixture of bold devices with delicate understatement that leave a remarkable aftereffect." (Globe and Mail)

Thursday, July 10 - OVER 75% SOLD!
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE 2001 (Wong Kar Wai, 2000 / PG / 107 mins / Cantonese with English subtitles) Hong Kong, 1962: A journalist, Chow and his wife move into a Hong Kong apartment, but his spouse is often away on business. Before long, the lonely Chow makes the acquaintance of an alluring neighbour whose own significant other also seems preoccupied with work. As the two friends realize their respective partners are cheating on them, they begin to fall for one another; however, neither wants to stoop to the level of the unfaithful spouses.

Jul

10

9:00 PM

9:00pm - Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

The Mystery of Chess Boxing

Acclaimed hip-hop collective Wu-Tang Clan are taking over Vancouver on June 30, so we thought it was the perfect time for us to give some big screen love to one of the films that directly influenced them and their music, THE MYSTERY OF CHESS BOXING.

Released in 1979, the film is highly regarded as one of the best kung fu movies of all time, and was a major influence on the Wu Tang Clan. The film’s plot is about a young kung fu fighter who trains under a master of chess, so they can battle “The Ghost Face Killer," a villain who is killing off his old rivals.

This particular version of the film slated to screen at the Rio Theatre comes via Dan Halsted, the Head Film Programmer at Portland's Hollywood Theatre (he also owns the only known 35mm print), and Wu Tang Clan founder RZA’s company 36 Cinema which acquired the rights and made a digital restoration (made directly from Dan's 35mm print!) of the film.

"The original Ghostface Killer is on the loose! A vicious villain with an unstoppable five element technique, Ghostface is killing off all his old rivals. Meanwhile, a young student tries to learn kung fu and is taken under the wing of an old chess master. The basics of chess prove to be the same as the basics of fighting, and eventually the heroes will have to fight Ghostface Killer, who verbally insults his opponents as he annihilates them. A true classic, and obvious favorite of the Wu Tang Clan, directed by Joseph Kuo (SEVEN GRANDMASTERS, 18 BRONZEMEN)." (Dan Halsted)

Thursday, July 10
Doors 8:30 pm | Movie 9:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

THE MYSTERY OF CHESS BOXING (Joseph Kuo, 1979 / NR / 91 mins / Mandarin with EST) Evil Chun Shan uses chess boxing and a five-element ninja style to terrorize the martial arts world until he is challenged in a series of battles, then destroyed.

Jul

11

2:30 PM

2:30pm - Friday, Jul 11, 2025

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (4K Restoration)

Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, and Lee Van Cleef star in Sergio Leone’s masterpiece, a “spaghetti Western” that is generally considered to be the most influential (if not thoroughly entertaining!) in the genre. Set in a mythologized "old West" during the Civil War, the film follows Joe (Eastwood) and a Mexican outlaw named Tuco (Wallach) joined in a bounty hunting scam - Joe turns in the bandit for the reward money, then rescues him just as he is being hanged. When Joe's shot at the noose goes awry during one escapade, a furious Tuco tries to have him murdered. The men re-team abruptly, however, to beat out a sadistic criminal and the Union army and find $20,000 that a soldier has buried in the desert.

"Sergio Leone's grandiose 1966 western epic is nothing less than a masterclass in movie storytelling, a dynamic testament to the sheer, invigorating uniqueness of cinema." (Time Out)

"Of all the great films of the 1960s, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is one of a fistful that can be truly appreciated only on the big screen." (Detroit Free Press)

Friday, July 11
Doors 2:00 pm | Movie 2:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY “Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo” (Sergio Leone, 1966 / 179 mins / 18A) While the Civil War rages between the Union and the Confederacy, three men – a quiet loner, a ruthless hit man and a Mexican bandit – comb the American Southwest in search of a strongbox containing $200,000 in stolen gold.

Jul

11

8:00 PM

8:00pm - Friday, Jul 11, 2025

S.P.I.T!

(A Night of) STORIES, POEMS, INTRIGUE, & THEATRE!

Presenting a night composed of equal parts storytelling and poetry, as two-time World Poetry Slam Champion and published author, Joaquín Zihuatanejo, brings his one-person show to the Rio Theatre for one night only. Never sacrificing substance for style, Joaquín's manic and passionate performance has been called by critics "a display of verbal fireworks that leaves audience members breathless and on the edge of their seats."

Joaquín will be presenting a new show made up of poems and stories from his life that will charge and challenge you to think and feel and perhaps even write more deeply. Yes, he has a new book, Occupy Whiteness, out now from Deep Vellum Publishing, and he will have a QR Code link for you to purchase either the paperback version or the ever convenient E-Book, but this show goes beyond his new book. He will bring poems and stories that capture his journey from a barrio boy raised by migrant field workers to the stages of Paris and two world championships.

Supporting Joaquín will be some of the most extraordinary Vancouver poets and storytellers that will bring their talents from The Vancouver Poetry Slam scene and the Vancouver Story Slam scene to share the stage with Joaquín for one night only. We will laugh together...we will cry together...hell, we may even dance together. Get your tickets now and join us for a night that will stay with you long after the last story is told and the last poem performed. 

Featuring Special Guests:

Vancouver Story tellers: Karen Spears, and Erin Reddekopp

Vancouver Poets are: Anjalica Solomon and Lolu Oyedele 

Hosted by: Bryant Ross

Friday, July 11
Doors 7:00 pm | Show 8:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Assigned seating - $15 + s/c

Joaquín Zihuatanejo is the only poet on the planet to win the Individual World Poetry Slam Championship and the European World Cup of Poetry Slam Championship making him, for a two-year period, the number one ranked slam poet on the planet. His poems have been featured on NBC, HBO, and NPR in their series Historias and The National Teachers' Initiative. He has shared a stage with the late great Maya Angelou, as well as Alicia Keys, Dave Chappelle, John Legend, Pearl Jam and many others. Joaquín served as the Inaugural Dallas Poet Laureate and was awarded a $50,000 Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellowship Prize in honor of the outstanding work he did as his city's first poet laureate. His last book, Arsonist, won the Anhinga-Robert Dana Prize for Poetry as selected by Eduardo C. Corral. His new book, Occupy Whiteness is out now from Deep Vellum Publishing. Occupy Whiteness is a collection of hybrid erasures that start with long form works of fiction and nonfiction by white, male authors. Joaquín then erases those books in their entirety down to a handful of words floating in a sea of white space. Joaquín then occupies that white space with what he calls, Brown verse. Someone recently asked him if he felt bad about taking words from white male authors...even if it's just a handful of words? Joaquín replied, "No. Because you see...I'm not taking any words. I'm discovering them. I'm colonizing them." Joaquín has two passions in his life, his partner Aída and poetry...always in that order.

Jul

11

11:00 PM

11:00pm - Friday, Jul 11, 2025

Dangerous Animals

The Rio Theatre’s patented Friday Late Night Movie series continues on July 11 with Australian filmmaker Sean Byrne‘s (THE DEVIL’S CANDY) latest, the cold blooded survival thriller DANGEROUS ANIMALS.

Zephyr, a solitary surfer with a troubled past has come to Australia’s Gold Coast to find an escape, but her peaceful existence is disrupted when she meets Moses, a local real estate agent and fellow surfer. After a romantic night with him, she flees to the ocean but is abducted by Tucker, a shark–obsessed psycho-sadomasochistic serial killer. Soon, things go from bad to the absolute bloody worst, and she finds herself facing a terrifying showdown somewhere between onboard the ship and the sharks below. Zephyr must challenge the real monster: man. With Hassie Harrington, Jai Courtney, Ella Newton.

“Making this work requires wit, the right tone and a ruthleJosh Heuston, ss sense of pace. [Director Sean] Byrne manages all three with a sure hand.” (New York Times)

“What truly elevates this film above the mediocrity one might expect from such a project is the credibility its actors bring to their characters.” (Los Angeles Times)

“Generally, movies that deal with the triumph of the human spirit are just so much multiplex chum. But Dangerous Animals is the rare survival thriller in which it feels like something is at stake beyond the mechanics of the story line.” (The Ringer)

Friday, July 11
Doors 10:30 pm | Movie 11:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

LATE NIGHT DATE NIGHT! Tickets are two-for-one entry.

DANGEROUS ANIMALS (Sean Byrne, 2025 / 14A / 98 mins) A shark-obsessed serial killer holds Zephyr, a rebellious surfer, captive on his boat. Racing against time, she must figure out a way to escape before he carries out a ritualistic feeding to the sharks below.

Jul

12

2:45 PM

2:45pm - Saturday, Jul 12, 2025

Dazed and Confused

Alright, alright, alright!

Why go cruising the strip or climbing the moontower when you could spend it at your favourite indie movie theatre instead?

Join us at the Rio Theatre for a slice of cult-classic nostalgia that celebrates the best day of high school you never had: Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused.

As fresh today as it was when it was released in 1993, Linklater's infinitely quotable coming-of-age tale features a truly excellent ensemble cast, an authentically groovy 70s feel, and a pretty killer soundtrack, man. Dazed and Confused might be Linklater's best-loved work, and really showcases his signature rambling, naturalistic style and an approach to storytelling that was so memorable in his breakthrough 1991 indie hit, Slacker. Dazed and Confused manages to take a peek into the cliques and characters of high school in a smart, heartfelt, and often very funny way, revealing an endearing and occasionally profound picture of, "the best years of your life." Starring Jason London, Wiley Wiggins, Matthew McConaughey, Parker Posey, Joey Lauren Adams, Rory Cochrane, Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, Marissa Ribisi, Milla Jovovovovich, and Ben Affleck.

"Bet it makes you wanna dance." (TIME Magazine)

Saturday, July 12
Doors 2:15 pm | Movie 2:45 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

DAZED AND CONFUSED (Richard Linklater, 1993 / 102 mins, 14A) | The adventures of a group of Texas teens on their last day of school in 1976, centering on student Randall Floyd, who moves easily among stoners, jocks and geeks. Floyd is a star athlete, but he also likes smoking weed, which presents a conundrum when his football coach demands he sign a "no drugs" pledge.

Jul

12

5:15 PM

5:15pm - Saturday, Jul 12, 2025

This is Spinal Tap: 41st Anniversary

Get ready to rock out (and maybe lick a love pump, or two) at the Rio Theatre with 41st Anniversary screenings of the iconic comedy satire THIS IS SPINAL TAP, which has been beautifully restored, remastered, and remixed in anticipation of the long-awaited sequel (THIS IS SPINAL TAP II: THE END CONTINUES - coming in September). Created by director Rob Reiner with stars and co-writers Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer, THIS IS SPINAL TAP chronicles England’s loudest and most punctual band on their disaster-filled U.S. tour.

THIS IS SPINAL TAP pushed (or possibly created) the "mockumentary" genre with this pitch-perfect, hilarious spoof about the excesses of the rock n' roll lifestyle. Reiner (who also appeared as Archie Bunker's son-in-law on TV's ALL IN THE FAMILY) cast himself in the role of "director" Marty DiBergi, tasked with chronicling the life and times of Britain's loudest heavy metal band, Spinal Tap (co-writers Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer), during their American comeback tour.

"It stays so wickedly close to the subject that it is very nearly indistinguishable from the real thing." (The New York Times)

"... all these years later, their songs remain the same, the jokes are still funny — and in terms of fake movie bands, they still go to 11." (Rolling Stone)

"The funniest film ever made." (BBC)

Saturday, July 12
Doors 4:45 pm | Movie 5:15 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

THIS IS SPINAL TAP (Rob Reiner, 1984 / 82 mins / PG) Legendary British rock band Spinal Tap is followed by a documentary film-maker during their attempt at an American comeback tour. The resulting film, interspersed with powerful performances showcasing Tap's pivotal music and profound lyrics, candidly follows the group as the difficult industry threatens to fade them into obscurity.

Jul

12

7:30 PM

7:30pm - Saturday, Jul 12, 2025

Sinners

“You keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home.”

Following the massive success of both CREED and BLACK PANTHER franchises American director Ryan Coogler is again reuniting with one of the stars of those films, Michael B. Jordan, in an entirely new vision of fear: SINNERS.

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan, in a dual role) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back. With Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, and Delroy Lindo.

"'Sinners' is a redemption movie, a revenge movie with elements of Blaxploitation, and certainly a red-blood-soaked horror movie; it’s also deeply romantic and has the rhythms and audaciousness of some of our boldest musicals." (Filmspotting)

"It’s both a wildly ambitious meditation on American history and a rip-roaring good time." (Slate)

"It is a phantasm of Black Southern delights." (New York Magazine / Vulture)

"An awe-inspiring ode to what music means to communities and cultures." (Chicago Reader)

Saturday, July 12
Doors 7:00 pm | Movie 7:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

SINNERS (Ryan Coogler, 2025 / 137 mins / 14A) Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

Jul

12

10:30 PM

10:30pm - Saturday, Jul 12, 2025

Kids (30th Anniversary Screening)

One of the most quietly provocative and controversial indie films of the 1990s, Larry Clark’s groundbreaking KIDS chronicles a frenetic day-in-the-life of a group of contemporary teenagers in New York City. Notable for Clark's signature eye for capturing breathtaking photographic images, KIDS is a hard watch; it offers a deeply affecting, no holds-barred landscape of words and images, depicting with raw honesty the experiences, attitudes and uncertainties of innocence lost.

Featuring a screenplay from a 19-year old Harmony Korine (who was "discovered" by Clark while skateboarding in Washington Square Park), the film assembles an impressive cast of first-time actors, including Chloë Sevigny and Rosario Dawson in their breakout roles.

"Frightening, frank and serious, a wake-up call to the world." (New York Times)

"None of the advance hype on Kids can prepare you for the raw, stripped-down reality that Larry Clark captures in his astonishing first film." (San Francsico Chronicle)

"'Kids' is the kind of movie that needs to be talked about afterward." (Roger Ebert)

"'Kids' is an emotional sucker punch, a raw, dirty, disturbing piece of cinema verité filmmaking that simultaneously hooks and repulses you from its opening scenes." (Austin Chronicle)

Saturday, July 12
Doors 10:00 pm | Movie 10:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

KIDS (Larry Clark, 1995 / 91 mins / 18A) The film follows amoral teen Telly, who has made it his goal to sleep with as many virgin girls as possible. While on the hunt for his latest conquest, Telly and his best friend, Casper, smoke pot and steal from shops around New York. Meanwhile, Jenny, one of Telly's early victims, makes it her mission to save other girls from him. But before she has a chance to confront him at a party, everything goes horribly wrong.

Jul

13

12:00 PM

12:00pm - Sunday, Jul 13, 2025

FIFA Club World Cup 2025 Viewing Party (Finals)

Joins us at the Rio Theatre for a big screen viewing of the FIFA Club World Cup games on July 8 (Semi finals) and July 13 (Finals).

Tuesday. July 8 Semi Finals! Teams TBD.
Doors 11:30 am | Game 12:00 pm *Start time subject to change.

Jul

13

4:15 PM

4:15pm - Sunday, Jul 13, 2025

In The Mood For Love (25th Anniversary Edition)

Hong Kong, 1962: Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung Man-yuk) move into neighboring apartments on the same day. Their encounters are formal and polite—until a discovery about their spouses creates an intimate bond between them.

For the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the film, Wong Kar Wai has revisited the original concept of the film. With this special edition he has offered the possibility of storytelling by adding an unseen chapter as a bonus to the original version.

Initially conceived as one third of a triptych about food, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE was expanded into a stand-alone feature that won immediate recognition as a modern-day classic. Another third—intended as the “dessert,” as Wong Kar Wai has put it—was, until now, only screened during his masterclass at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. Now available in wide release for the first time, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE 2001 demonstrates the director’s masterful ability to generate palpable atmosphere and striking characterizations on a miniature canvas—with the film's stars Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Maggie Cheung Man Yuk once again providing the sizzling chemistry— evoking the mystery of transient, unexpected connections in the modern city through his inimitable romantic touch.

At once delicately mannered and visually extravagant, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE is a masterful evocation of romantic longing and fleeting moments. With its aching musical soundtrack and exquisitely abstract cinematography by Christopher Doyle and Mark Lee Ping-bin, this film has been a major stylistic influence on the past decade of cinema, and is a milestone in Wong’s redoubtable career. (In Sight & Sound's most recent poll of The Greatest Films of All Time, the film finds itself ranked at #5.)

"Wong Kar Wai’s masterpiece is a heartbreaking story of illicit love that pulses with the ache of repressed desire." (BFI.org)

"So skillfully does the director brings us to a state of breathless expectation that when he refuses to deliver the goods he almost seems to have invented a new form of perversion." (New Yorker Magazine)

"Further complemented by the gentle lull of Nat King Cole songs, 'In The Mood For Love' casts a dreamy and melancholic spell that remains unbroken long after the closing credits have rolled." (AV Club)

"Stylized, set-designed to the last hair wisp, the film is a mixture of bold devices with delicate understatement that leave a remarkable aftereffect." (Globe and Mail)

Sunday, July 13
Doors 3:45 pm | Movie 4:15 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE 2001 (Wong Kar Wai, 2000 / PG / 107 mins / Cantonese with English subtitles) Hong Kong, 1962: A journalist, Chow and his wife move into a Hong Kong apartment, but his spouse is often away on business. Before long, the lonely Chow makes the acquaintance of an alluring neighbour whose own significant other also seems preoccupied with work. As the two friends realize their respective partners are cheating on them, they begin to fall for one another; however, neither wants to stoop to the level of the unfaithful spouses.

Jul

13

7:00 PM

7:00pm - Sunday, Jul 13, 2025

Hot Spring Shark Attack

The Summer of 2025 marks the year that cinema's most famous shark (aka, JAWS) turns 50, and it turns out there's blood in the water (or on the screen?) as movie-loving audiences the world over hunger for more of the terrifying ocean predator.

Japanese filmmaker Morihito Inoue makes his feature debut with a horror-comedy that is sure to whet the appetite of summer audiences with HOT SPRING SHARK ATTACK, a deft fusion of shark movies and kaiju films that offers a nostalgic ode to the the beloved practical effects-heavy tokusatsu movies. SPOILER ALERT: "The dog survives!"

In Atsumi City, where construction of a huge tourist complex led by the mayor, Mankan, is underway, a series of incidents have occurred in which the people while bathing in onsen have suddenly disappeared. What's more, the bodies of unidentified people who had been attacked by sharks in the sea were found. The police chief, Tsuka, and marine biology doctor, Kose, who set out to investigate, discover the shocking truth that ferocious sharks that have been revived from ancient times are freely moving between the hot springs and attacking people... The cast includes Takuya Fujimura (ONE CUT OF THE DEAD), Daniel Aguilar (SHIN GODZILLA), Shôichirô Akaboshi, Masaki Naito, Koichi Makigami, Kiyobumi Kaneko, and Mio Takaki.

"An oversupply of sharks, tokusatsu effects that fully embody a kaiju movie, an in sane plot, an overly luxurious soundtrack, and spectacular explosions—everything was superb. The intricate sci-fi settings are brilliantly elevated into Shark Fantasy, and I was moved by the fact that a bizarre shark film, standing alongside "Sharknado," has emerged from Japan." (Japanese Shark Film Critic)

Audience Award, 2024 Tokyo International Shark Film Festival; Invited to Paris Shark Week, Atami Kaiju Film Festival, San Sebastian Horror & Fantasy Film Festival

Sunday, July 13
Doors 6:30 pm | Movie 7:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

HOT SPRING SHARK ATTACK "Onsen Shâku" (Morihito Inoue, 2024 / 77 mins / NR / Japanese w/EST) There have been cases of mysterious disappearances of onsen visitors in Atsumi city in S prefecture.The victims were eventually found dead with signs of severe injuries to their bodies resembling a vicious shark attack.

Jul

13

9:00 PM

9:00pm - Sunday, Jul 13, 2025

Sinners

“You keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home.”

Following the massive success of both CREED and BLACK PANTHER franchises American director Ryan Coogler is again reuniting with one of the stars of those films, Michael B. Jordan, in an entirely new vision of fear: SINNERS.

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan, in a dual role) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back. With Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, and Delroy Lindo.

"'Sinners' is a redemption movie, a revenge movie with elements of Blaxploitation, and certainly a red-blood-soaked horror movie; it’s also deeply romantic and has the rhythms and audaciousness of some of our boldest musicals." (Filmspotting)

"It’s both a wildly ambitious meditation on American history and a rip-roaring good time." (Slate)

"It is a phantasm of Black Southern delights." (New York Magazine / Vulture)

"An awe-inspiring ode to what music means to communities and cultures." (Chicago Reader)

Sunday, July 13
Doors 8:30 pm | Movie 9:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

SINNERS (Ryan Coogler, 2025 / 137 mins / 14A) Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

Jul

14

6:30 PM

6:30pm - Monday, Jul 14, 2025

Amélie

“Amélie has a strange feeling of absolute harmony... It’s a perfect moment. A soft light, a scent in the air, the quiet murmur of the city. A surge of love, an urge to help mankind overcomes her.”

We're toasting French cinema on Bastille Day (July 14) with one of our all-time favourites, a film that is equal parts romantic and magical, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s delightfully charming AMELIE. Released in 2001, this endearing modern French classic about an impish, lonesome young woman in Paris remains one of the most successful international releases of all time, is roundly embraced by cinephiles the world over, and happens to have one of the most beloved scores (Yann Tiersen) in recent memory. It also introduced the world to the thoroughly enchanting Audrey Tatou, the pleasures of the crack of a spoon against the brittle, caramelized top of an ice-cold crème brûlée, and the magic of traveling garden gnomes. With Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, and Jamel Debbouze."It's hard not to fall under the spell of this moonstruck romance." (Rolling Stone)

Monday, July 14
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

AMELIE "Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain" (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001 / 122 mins / 14A / French w/ EST) At a tiny Parisian café, the adorable yet painfully shy Amélie accidentally discovers a gift for helping others. Soon Amelie is spending her days as a matchmaker, guardian angel, and all-around do-gooder. But when she bumps into a handsome stranger, will she find the courage to become the star of her very own love story?

Jul

14

9:15 PM

9:15pm - Monday, Jul 14, 2025

Titane

Titane: A metal highly resistant to heat and corrosion, with high tensile strength alloys, often used inmedical prostheses due to its pronounced biocompatibility.

French filmmaker Julia Decournau (whose upcoming film ALPHA received a "thunderous" 12 minute standing ovation at this year's Cannes Film Festival) became only the second female director to take home the prestigious Palme d'Or, the Cannes Film Festival's top award, for her visionary, provocative and dark body horror fantasy TITANE. The film stars Agathe Rousselle in her feature film debut as Alexia, a woman who, after being injured in a car accident as a child, has a titanium plate fitted into her head. With Vincent Lindon, Garince Millier, and Laïs Salamthe.

"'Titane' is a truly harrowing experience, if you're willing to let go behind the wheel." (Austin Chronicle)

"For whatever we're supposed to feel is outrageous about it, it's slickly entertaining for straightforward reasons: the pile-up of mysteries that some of us simply can't not see through to the end." (Rolling Stone Magazine)

"Despite its physical horrors, the movie is also a celebration of the body, of the bond between pleasure and pain, agony and ecstasy-and that fusion proves to hold for family bonds as well." (New Yorker)

"This year's Palme d'Or winner is a symphony of disturbing and dark madness unlike anything you've ever seen - and I mean that in a good way." (Chicago Sun-Times)

Monday, July 14
Doors 8:45 pm | Movie 9:15 pm *Please arrive on time. Start time subject to change.

TITANE (Julia Doucournau, 2021 / 18 A / Graphic violence / 108 mins / French with English subtitles) A woman with a metal plate in her head from a childhood car accident embarks on a bizarre journey, bringing her into contact with a firefighter who's reunited with his missing son after 10 years.

Jul

15

6:30 PM

6:30pm - Tuesday, Jul 15, 2025

Sinners

“You keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home.”

Following the massive success of both CREED and BLACK PANTHER franchises American director Ryan Coogler is again reuniting with one of the stars of those films, Michael B. Jordan, in an entirely new vision of fear: SINNERS.

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan, in a dual role) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back. With Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, and Delroy Lindo.

"'Sinners' is a redemption movie, a revenge movie with elements of Blaxploitation, and certainly a red-blood-soaked horror movie; it’s also deeply romantic and has the rhythms and audaciousness of some of our boldest musicals." (Filmspotting)

"It’s both a wildly ambitious meditation on American history and a rip-roaring good time." (Slate)

"It is a phantasm of Black Southern delights." (New York Magazine / Vulture)

"An awe-inspiring ode to what music means to communities and cultures." (Chicago Reader)

Tuesday, July 15
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

SINNERS (Ryan Coogler, 2025 / 137 mins / 14A) Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

Jul

15

9:20 PM

9:20pm - Tuesday, Jul 15, 2025

Dangerous Animals

Australian filmmaker Sean Byrne‘s (THE DEVIL’S CANDY) latest, the cold blooded survival thriller DANGEROUS ANIMALS, is a must-see for fans of genre horror.

Zephyr, a solitary surfer with a troubled past has come to Australia’s Gold Coast to find an escape, but her peaceful existence is disrupted when she meets Moses, a local real estate agent and fellow surfer. After a romantic night with him, she flees to the ocean but is abducted by Tucker, a shark–obsessed psycho-sadomasochistic serial killer. Soon, things go from bad to the absolute bloody worst, and she finds herself facing a terrifying showdown somewhere between onboard the ship and the sharks below. Zephyr must challenge the real monster: man. With Hassie Harrington, Jai Courtney, Ella Newton.

“Making this work requires wit, the right tone and a ruthleJosh Heuston, ss sense of pace. [Director Sean] Byrne manages all three with a sure hand.” (New York Times)

“What truly elevates this film above the mediocrity one might expect from such a project is the credibility its actors bring to their characters.” (Los Angeles Times)

“Generally, movies that deal with the triumph of the human spirit are just so much multiplex chum. But Dangerous Animals is the rare survival thriller in which it feels like something is at stake beyond the mechanics of the story line.” (The Ringer)

Tuesday, July 15
Doors 9:00 pm | Movie 9:20 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

DANGEROUS ANIMALS (Sean Byrne, 2025 / 14A / 98 mins) A shark-obsessed serial killer holds Zephyr, a rebellious surfer, captive on his boat. Racing against time, she must figure out a way to escape before he carries out a ritualistic feeding to the sharks below.

Jul

16

6:30 PM

6:30pm - Wednesday, Jul 16, 2025

This is Spinal Tap: 41st Anniversary

Get ready to rock out (and maybe lick a love pump, or two) at the Rio Theatre with 41st Anniversary screenings of the iconic comedy satire THIS IS SPINAL TAP, which has been beautifully restored, remastered, and remixed in anticipation of the long-awaited sequel (THIS IS SPINAL TAP II: THE END CONTINUES - coming in September). Created by director Rob Reiner with stars and co-writers Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer, THIS IS SPINAL TAP chronicles England’s loudest and most punctual band on their disaster-filled U.S. tour.

THIS IS SPINAL TAP pushed (or possibly created) the "mockumentary" genre with this pitch-perfect, hilarious spoof about the excesses of the rock n' roll lifestyle. Reiner (who also appeared as Archie Bunker's son-in-law on TV's ALL IN THE FAMILY) cast himself in the role of "director" Marty DiBergi, tasked with chronicling the life and times of Britain's loudest heavy metal band, Spinal Tap (co-writers Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer), during their American comeback tour.

"It stays so wickedly close to the subject that it is very nearly indistinguishable from the real thing." (The New York Times)

"... all these years later, their songs remain the same, the jokes are still funny — and in terms of fake movie bands, they still go to 11." (Rolling Stone)

"The funniest film ever made." (BBC)

Wednesday, July 16
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

THIS IS SPINAL TAP (Rob Reiner, 1984 / 82 mins / PG) Legendary British rock band Spinal Tap is followed by a documentary film-maker during their attempt at an American comeback tour. The resulting film, interspersed with powerful performances showcasing Tap's pivotal music and profound lyrics, candidly follows the group as the difficult industry threatens to fade them into obscurity.

Jul

16

8:45 PM

8:45pm - Wednesday, Jul 16, 2025

Sinners

“You keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home.”

Following the massive success of both CREED and BLACK PANTHER franchises American director Ryan Coogler is again reuniting with one of the stars of those films, Michael B. Jordan, in an entirely new vision of fear: SINNERS.

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan, in a dual role) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back. With Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, and Delroy Lindo.

"'Sinners' is a redemption movie, a revenge movie with elements of Blaxploitation, and certainly a red-blood-soaked horror movie; it’s also deeply romantic and has the rhythms and audaciousness of some of our boldest musicals." (Filmspotting)

"It’s both a wildly ambitious meditation on American history and a rip-roaring good time." (Slate)

"It is a phantasm of Black Southern delights." (New York Magazine / Vulture)

"An awe-inspiring ode to what music means to communities and cultures." (Chicago Reader)

Wednesday, July 16
Doors 8:15 pm | Movie 8:45 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

SINNERS (Ryan Coogler, 2025 / 137 mins / 14A) Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

Jul

17

6:25 PM

6:25pm - Thursday, Jul 17, 2025

Lust, Caution

Following the massive international success of 2005's BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, acclaimed Taiwanese filmmaker Ang Lee turned his lens to another period adaptation, this time to Eileen Chang's 1979 novella "Lust Caution." Inspired by a true story and set in Hong Kong and Shanghai during 1938-1942, the hyper-erotic romantic drama received the dreaded NC-17 rating in the US (and was eitehr banned or censored in several Asian countries) when it was released in 2007 because of its highly charged scenes of sexuality.

An intense story and strong performances are buoyed by the quiet yet lush and authentic production value that has become Lee's trademark. At its core, the film is very much a daring spy thriller that follows a secret agent (Tang Wei) whose task is to seduce, then assassinate an official (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) who works for the Japanese puppet government. Her mission becomes clouded when she finds herself falling in love with the man she is assigned to kill. With Joan Chen.

"Lee is a filmmaker who understands the power of pure visual storytelling. Lust, Caution is a near perfect film with strong performances and a well-crafted narrative." (Filmotomy)

"'Lust, Caution' is so ambitious and detailed that you'll never be bored." (The Stranger)

"Lust - the word that speaks of inflamed passions, repressed longing and seriously naughty sex stands ill at ease with this rather languid exploration of freedom fighting during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai in the early 1940s." (Eye for Film)

"You leave the theatre a trifle exhausted but rewarded by a resonance few films possess." (London Evening Standard)

Thursday, July 17
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:25 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

LUST, CAUTION "Se, jie" (Ang Lee, 2007 / 18A / 157 mins / English subtitles) During World War II era, a young woman gets swept up in a dangerous game of emotional intrigue with a powerful political figure, Mr. Yee.

Jul

17

9:40 PM

9:40pm - Thursday, Jul 17, 2025

Sinners (Final Screening)

“You keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home.”

Following the massive success of both CREED and BLACK PANTHER franchises American director Ryan Coogler is again reuniting with one of the stars of those films, Michael B. Jordan, in an entirely new vision of fear: SINNERS.

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan, in a dual role) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back. With Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, and Delroy Lindo.

"'Sinners' is a redemption movie, a revenge movie with elements of Blaxploitation, and certainly a red-blood-soaked horror movie; it’s also deeply romantic and has the rhythms and audaciousness of some of our boldest musicals." (Filmspotting)

"It’s both a wildly ambitious meditation on American history and a rip-roaring good time." (Slate)

"It is a phantasm of Black Southern delights." (New York Magazine / Vulture)

"An awe-inspiring ode to what music means to communities and cultures." (Chicago Reader)

Thursday, July 17
Doors 9:20 pm | Movie 9:40 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

SINNERS (Ryan Coogler, 2025 / 137 mins / 14A) Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

Jul

18

3:00 PM

3:00pm - Friday, Jul 18, 2025

Brokeback Mountain (20th Anniversary Screening)

June is Pride month across North America and the Rio Theatre is joining in the celebration with the groundbreaking, and first of its kind in contemporary Hollywood mainstream films, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN: 20th anniversary screening.

The film is set in a fictitious yet picturesque location, Brokeback Mountain, and chronicles the lives of two cowboys Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist who are hired by Joe Aguirre in 1963 for sheep-herding. Slowly, the men develop a close, intimate relationship, but the values instilled in them by the heteronormative society prevents them from embracing their true feelings. They part from one another with heavy hearts, only to meet again, four years later. Ennis is married to the young Alma and has children of his own while Jack has a son with the wealthy daughter of a farm businessman, Lureen. Jack and Ennis rekindle their passion and frequently escape on romantic getaways under the pretext of fishing trips.

"To my mind, Brokeback Mountain (2005, Ang Lee) is a landmark film, a film that utterly deconstructs the “cowboy” (hypermasculine, patriarchal, phallocentric) ideology, while also revealing how horribly destructive such normalizing ideologies as hypermasculinity, patriarchy, heteronormativity, and Christianity/Protestantism are to identity. (Your Film Professor)

"Intimate and emotionally stirring, the film can be evaluated on multiple levels. It is important to note that despite there being quite a few LGBTQ+ films, Brokeback Mountain has cemented its position in cinematic history and is often considered the “go-to gay movie”. (faroutmagazine.co.uk)

Friday, July 18
Doors 2:30 pm | Film 3:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN (Ang lee, 2005 / 134 mins / 14A) In 1960s Wyoming, two men develop a strong emotional and sexual relationship that endures as a lifelong connection complicating their lives as they get married and start families of their own.

Jul

18

6:00 PM

6:00pm - Friday, Jul 18, 2025

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Considered by many to be his "magnum opus," Wes Anderson's glorious THE GRAND BUDAPEST perfectly places the filmmaker's signature style against a compelling narrative brought to life thanks to stellar performances from an ensemble of A-listers. Adapted from the works of Austrian author Stefan Zweig, the film absolutely revels in its nostalgic, romanticized version of an era that exudes a refined elegance while simultaneously being pinned to a reality of the inevitable, forthcoming upheaval that will ultimately define mid-century Europe.

Set in the 1930s, the Grand Budapest Hotel is a popular European ski resort, presided over by the exceedingly charming concierge, Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes). Zero, a junior lobby boy, becomes Gustave's friend and protege. Gustave prides himself on providing first-class service to the hotel's guests, including satisfying the sexual needs of the many elderly women who stay there. When one of Gustave's lovers dies mysteriously, Gustave finds himself the recipient of a priceless painting and the chief suspect in her murder. With F. Murray Abraham, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jeff Goldblum, Harvey Keitel, Jude Law, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, Léa Seydoux, Tom Wilkinson, Owen Wilson, Tilda Swinton, and Tony Revolori.

"Wes Anderson blends his trademark fanciness with a more rompish style of humour than usual." (Financial Times)

"From the start, it's clear Anderson is working with a new sophistication both in the vocabulary and structure of the film's voiceover narrations." (Globe and Mail)

"Discerning travellers and Wes Anderson fans will luxuriate in the glorious Mittel-European kitsch of one of the director's funniest and most exquisitely designed movies in years." (The Times)

"Anderson's films are too precious for some, but for those of us willing to lose ourselves in them, they're a delight. "The Grand Budapest Hotel" is no different, except that he has added a hint of gravitas to the mix, improving the recipe." (Arizona Republic)

Friday, July 18
Doors 5:30 pm | Movie 6:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (Wes Anderson, 2014 / 14A / 99 mins) A writer encounters the owner of an aging high-class hotel, who tells him of his early years serving as a lobby boy in the hotel's glorious years under an exceptional concierge.

Jul

18

8:30 PM

8:30pm - Friday, Jul 18, 2025

The Phoenician Scheme

Wealthy businessman Zsa-zsa Korda appoints his only daughter, a nun, as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists and determined assassins. With Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Willem Dafoe, F. Murray Abraham, Rupert Friend, Richard Ayoade, Riz Ahmed, Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Wright, Hope Davis, Benedict Cumberbatch.

"A caper made with all the intricacy of a Rube Goldberg machine, 'The Phoenician Scheme' doesn't deviate from Wes Anderson's increasingly ornate style but delivers the formula with mannered delicacy." (Rotten Tomatoes)

"Each set is carefully assembled, with the blocking of each shot perfectly aligned, and Anderson’s rat-a-tat dialogue is delivered exactly as written. Still, there’s a spontaneity to the storytelling and the world it’s moving through." (The Atlantic)

"... A palate cleanser – a lovely lark, a spirits lifter." (Austin Chronicle)

"The result is more digestible, though also less moving, than Anderson’s recent Asteroid City, but it does have a stealth emotional weapon in Threapleton’s Liesl, who exudes the intelligence and self-possession of a young Anna Karina." (The New Yorker)

Friday, July 18
Doors 8:00 pm | Movie 8:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME (Wes Anderson, 2025 / 101 mins / PG) Wealthy businessman, Zsa-zsa Korda appoints his only daughter, a nun, as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists, and determined assassins.

Jul

18

11:00 PM

11:00pm - Friday, Jul 18, 2025

Barbarella

The Rio Theatre's Friday Late Night Movies series continues on July 18 with a big ol' cheesy slice of unadulterated 60's camp, with "Queen of the Galaxy" Jane Fonda in Roger Vadim's out-of-this-world sci-fi sex romp / cult-classic, BARBARELLA. With Anita Pallenberg, John Phillip Law, Marcel Marceau.

"BARBARELLA is a gift-wrapped 'X' certificate bonbon for a space age nursery." (The Spectator)

"Roger Vadim's ultra-kitsch sci-fi classic somehow improves with age." (Total Film)

Friday, July 18
Doors 10:30 pm | Movie 11:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Late Night Date Night! Bring a friend, date or your own friendly neighbourhood mad scientist and get two-for-one entry!

BARBARELLA (Roger Vadim, 1968 / 98 mins / PG) In the the 41st century, a highly sexual female astronaut named Barbarella is tasked with finding and stopping the mad scientist Durand-Durand, whose Positronic Ray threatens to bring evil back into the galaxy. Along the way she encounters various unusual people.

Jul

19

4:45 PM

4:45pm - Saturday, Jul 19, 2025

In The Mood For Love (25th Anniversary Edition)

Hong Kong, 1962: Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and Su Li-zhen (Maggie Cheung Man-yuk) move into neighboring apartments on the same day. Their encounters are formal and polite—until a discovery about their spouses creates an intimate bond between them.

For the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the film, Wong Kar Wai has revisited the original concept of the film. With this special edition he has offered the possibility of storytelling by adding an unseen chapter as a bonus to the original version.

Initially conceived as one third of a triptych about food, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE was expanded into a stand-alone feature that won immediate recognition as a modern-day classic. Another third—intended as the “dessert,” as Wong Kar Wai has put it—was, until now, only screened during his masterclass at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. Now available in wide release for the first time, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE 2001 demonstrates the director’s masterful ability to generate palpable atmosphere and striking characterizations on a miniature canvas—with the film's stars Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Maggie Cheung Man Yuk once again providing the sizzling chemistry— evoking the mystery of transient, unexpected connections in the modern city through his inimitable romantic touch.

At once delicately mannered and visually extravagant, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE is a masterful evocation of romantic longing and fleeting moments. With its aching musical soundtrack and exquisitely abstract cinematography by Christopher Doyle and Mark Lee Ping-bin, this film has been a major stylistic influence on the past decade of cinema, and is a milestone in Wong’s redoubtable career. (In Sight & Sound's most recent poll of The Greatest Films of All Time, the film finds itself ranked at #5.)

"Wong Kar Wai’s masterpiece is a heartbreaking story of illicit love that pulses with the ache of repressed desire." (BFI.org)

"So skillfully does the director brings us to a state of breathless expectation that when he refuses to deliver the goods he almost seems to have invented a new form of perversion." (New Yorker Magazine)

"Further complemented by the gentle lull of Nat King Cole songs, 'In The Mood For Love' casts a dreamy and melancholic spell that remains unbroken long after the closing credits have rolled." (AV Club)

"Stylized, set-designed to the last hair wisp, the film is a mixture of bold devices with delicate understatement that leave a remarkable aftereffect." (Globe and Mail)

Saturday, July 19
Doors 4:15 pm | Movie 4:45 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE 2001 (Wong Kar Wai, 2000 / PG / 107 mins / Cantonese with English subtitles) Hong Kong, 1962: A journalist, Chow and his wife move into a Hong Kong apartment, but his spouse is often away on business. Before long, the lonely Chow makes the acquaintance of an alluring neighbour whose own significant other also seems preoccupied with work. As the two friends realize their respective partners are cheating on them, they begin to fall for one another; however, neither wants to stoop to the level of the unfaithful spouses.

Jul

19

8:15 PM

8:15pm - Saturday, Jul 19, 2025

Amélie

“Amélie has a strange feeling of absolute harmony... It’s a perfect moment. A soft light, a scent in the air, the quiet murmur of the city. A surge of love, an urge to help mankind overcomes her.”

We're toasting some of our favourite "must be seen on the big screen" classics this summer and are featuring one of our all-time favourite titles is equal parts romantic and magical, Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s delightfully charming AMELIE. Released in 2001, this endearing modern French classic about an impish, lonesome young woman in Paris remains one of the most successful international releases of all time, is roundly embraced by cinephiles the world over, and happens to have one of the most beloved scores (Yann Tiersen) in recent memory. It also introduced the world to the thoroughly enchanting Audrey Tatou, the pleasures of the crack of a spoon against the brittle, caramelized top of an ice-cold crème brûlée, and the magic of traveling garden gnomes. With Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, and Jamel Debbouze."It's hard not to fall under the spell of this moonstruck romance." (Rolling Stone)

Saturday, July 19
Doors 7:45 pm | Movie 8:15 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

AMELIE "Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain" (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001 / 122 mins / 14A / French w/ EST) At a tiny Parisian café, the adorable yet painfully shy Amélie accidentally discovers a gift for helping others. Soon Amelie is spending her days as a matchmaker, guardian angel, and all-around do-gooder. But when she bumps into a handsome stranger, will she find the courage to become the star of her very own love story?

Jul

19

11:00 PM

11:00pm - Saturday, Jul 19, 2025

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Let’s do the Time Warp… Again!

There is no better way to experience the pop-culture juggernaut that is  THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW than the the way it is meant to be seen – on the big screen, in the dark, and with a raucous Rio Theatre audience who are just as into it as you are.

Whether you’re a Virgin or a veteran, you’ll have a blast!

Even better? Joyful chaos creature and the Rio's own legendary host, DANDY, will be on-hand to guide the Virgins (and veterans!) through all the do's-and-don'ts of this monumentally experiential cinematic phenomenon.

As always, costumes and audience participation are highly encouraged - because costume contest! (In other words: Prizes! Here's your chance to go all out and let your freak flag fly, people.) The ticket price includes a fun prop bag, too!

Your own props are also very welcome, but please – whatever you do – DO NOT BRING RICE OR CONFETTI!

Saturday, July 19
Doors 10:30 pm | Event 11:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (Jim Sharman, 1975 / 100 mins / 14A) A newly engaged couple (Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick) have a breakdown in an isolated area and must pay a call to the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry).

Jul

20

6:15 PM

6:15pm - Sunday, Jul 20, 2025

Mulholland Drive

"Hey, pretty girl. Time to wake up."

On two memorable occasions, the Rio Theatre had the distinct honour and privilege of screening David Lynch's iconic MULHOLLAND DRIVE - accompanied by the one and only Rebekah Del Rio performing her signature song from the film on our stage. We were all deeply saddened to learn of her recent passing. Rebekah she was a gentle, funny, and quietly perceptive soul with an uncanny knack for storytelling who also happened to be in possession of a pure vocal talent that was second-to-none. It goes without saying that few artists have ever mesmerized a Rio audience or rocked our stage quite the way she did! One might even argue that her fantastic a capella rendering of "Llorando" in that pivotal scene in Lynch's opus is what underpins the whole damn movie...

We'll miss you, Rebekah! "Silencio," always. - Rio Theatre Management

Lynch wrote and directed this story in the City of Dreams about two women (including Naomi Watts, in her star-making turn) who find themselves walking a fine line between truth and deception in the beautiful but dangerous netherworld of Hollywood.

Blonde Betty Elms (Watts) has only just arrived in Hollywood to become a movie star when she meets an enigmatic brunette with amnesia (Laura Harring). Meanwhile, as the two set off to solve the second woman’s identity, filmmaker Adam Kesher (Justin Theroux) runs into ominous trouble while casting his latest project. David Lynch’s seductive and scary vision of Los Angeles’s dream factory is one of the true masterpieces of the new millennium, a tale of love, jealousy, and revenge like no other.

With Ann Miller, Michael J. Anderson, Billy Ray Cyrus, Angelo Badalamenti, Robert Forster, Rebekah Del Rio.

"You can discover a lot about yourself by getting lost in 'Mulholland Drive.' It grips you like a dream that won't let go." (Rolling Stone)

"A bone fide masterpiece. An erotic, deeply unsettling, darkly comic journey through the subconscious city of night." (Empire Magazine)

"Lynch gets dreams like almost no other filmmaker, because he understands that dreams are not metaphors, but irrationally assembled spaces in which we can’t help but look for symbolism and logic." (AV Club)

Sunday, July 20
Doors 5:45 pm | Movie 6:15 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

MULHOLLAND DRIVE (David Lynch, 2001 / 18A / 147 mins) After a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.

Jul

20

9:30 PM

9:30pm - Sunday, Jul 20, 2025

Lords of Dogtown (20th Anniversary Screening)

Join us at the Rio Theatre for the third installment of a series presented in partnership with Antisocial AV Club, featuring a 20th anniversary screening of Catherine Hardwicke’s LORDS OF DOGTOWN.

Before the movie, head on down to China Creek for an old school skate jam! Prizes for Best Dressed, Best Old School Trick and Highest Fly Out will be awarded on stage later at the Rio Theatre...

Legendary pro-skateboarder and surfer Stacy Peralta took inspiration from his own experiences as a former "Z-Boy," and penned the script for the film, which offers a dramatic re-telling of the origin and rise of the Dogtown days. A heavy drought in 1970s Southern California has an unexpected side effect: as people emptied their swimming pools, a group of teen surfers from the Dogtown area of Venice Beach move in with skateboards, and a new sport is born. Based on a true story, this film follows the up-and-coming skate team as their fearless pool surfing leads to fame, fortune -- and misfortune. With Heath Ledger, Emile Hirsch, John Robinson, and Victor Rasuk.

"It's a thrashing good time." (Seattle Times)

"The movie is like a daydream, and it's most infectious when the characters are in motion or misbehaving, which is often." (Boston Globe)

Sunday, July 20
China Creek Skate Jam at 7:00 pm!

LORDS OF DOGTOWN
Doors 9:00 pm | Movie 9:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

LORDS OF DOGTWON (Catherine Hardwicke, 2005 / PG / 107) The radical true story behind three teenage surfers from Venice Beach, California, who took skateboarding to the extreme and changed the world of sports forever. Stacy Peralta, Tony Alva and Jay Adams are the Z-Boys, a bunch of nobodies until they create a new style of skateboarding that becomes a worldwide phenomenon. But when their hobby becomes a business, the success shreds their friendship.

Jul

21

6:30 PM

6:30pm - Monday, Jul 21, 2025

Tommy (50th Anniversary Restoration)

"See me, Feel me, Touch me, Heal me..."

In 1975, filmmaker Ken Russell and iconic Brit rockers The Who brought the band's classic 1969 concept album TOMMY to life with the release of the eponymous psychedelic musical fantasy drama, which, in addition to the band, boasted an outstanding, star-studded ensemble including Ann-Margret, Tina Turner (who burns up the screen as 'The Acid Queen'), Sir Elton John, Jack Nicholson, and Eric Clapton.

The rock opera tells the life story of Tommy, who, when just a boy of six, witnessed the murder of his father by his mother and her lover. They command him, "You didn't hear it, you didn't see it, and you won't say anything to anyone..." As a result, the traumatized boy goes into shock, retreating into the shadows of his mind and becoming deaf, dumb and blind. As a teenager, Tommy stumbles upon a pinball machine and discovers he is a natural prodigy at the game. Fame and fortune follow as Tommy (The Who's lead singer Roger Daltry, in an electric performance) becomes a pinball champion and later the messiah of a religious cult, which views his pinball skills as a miraculous sign of divine intervention.

“When Brit cinema mostly opted for dullness, Ken Russell was showing us a film that was daring and risky and mad.” (The Guardian)

“Tina Turner’s Acid Queen sequence is a mini-masterpiece of visual inventiveness and dramatic cohesion, helped in no small measure by Turner’s extraordinary showmanship.” (Sight & Sound)

“How many films can drench the shrill and rambunctious Ann-Margret in soap and beans and chocolate and get her an Oscar nomination? It’s that freakiness that’s both alienating and transfixing, and regardless of the film’s emotional elicitations, Tommy stays with you, stares you down, and can even haunt you.” (Consequence of Sound)

#MusicMonday, July 21
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

TOMMY (Ken Russell, 1975 / 111 mins / PG ) A psychosomatically blind, deaf, and mute boy becomes a master pinball player and, subsequently, the figurehead of a cult.

Jul

21

9:10 PM

9:10pm - Monday, Jul 21, 2025

The Phoenician Scheme

Wealthy businessman Zsa-zsa Korda appoints his only daughter, a nun, as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists and determined assassins. With Benicio del Toro, Mia Threapleton, Michael Cera, Willem Dafoe, F. Murray Abraham, Rupert Friend, Richard Ayoade, Riz Ahmed, Scarlett Johansson, Jeffrey Wright, Hope Davis, Benedict Cumberbatch.

"A caper made with all the intricacy of a Rube Goldberg machine, 'The Phoenician Scheme' doesn't deviate from Wes Anderson's increasingly ornate style but delivers the formula with mannered delicacy." (Rotten Tomatoes)

"Each set is carefully assembled, with the blocking of each shot perfectly aligned, and Anderson’s rat-a-tat dialogue is delivered exactly as written. Still, there’s a spontaneity to the storytelling and the world it’s moving through." (The Atlantic)

"... A palate cleanser – a lovely lark, a spirits lifter." (Austin Chronicle)

"The result is more digestible, though also less moving, than Anderson’s recent Asteroid City, but it does have a stealth emotional weapon in Threapleton’s Liesl, who exudes the intelligence and self-possession of a young Anna Karina." (The New Yorker)

Monday, July 21
Doors 8:40 pm | Movie 9:10 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

THE PHOENICIAN SCHEME (Wes Anderson, 2025 / 101 mins / PG) Wealthy businessman, Zsa-zsa Korda appoints his only daughter, a nun, as sole heir to his estate. As Korda embarks on a new enterprise, they soon become the target of scheming tycoons, foreign terrorists, and determined assassins.

Jul

22

8:30 PM

8:30pm - Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Parasite

Master Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho (THE HOST, SNOWPIERCER) brought his work home to Korea with the cinematic masterpiece PARASITE, a pitch-black modern fairytale that proved itself a complete game-changer for movie-lovers around the world. It became the first Korean film to win the Cannes Film Festival's coveted Palme d'Or in 2019, and eventually won Oscars in four categories (Best Director, Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature).

Meet the Park Family: the picture of aspirational wealth. And the Kim Family, rich in street smarts but not much else. Be it chance or fate, these two houses are brought together and the Kims sense a golden opportunity. Masterminded by college-aged Ki-woo, the Kim children expediently install themselves as tutor and art therapist, to the Parks. Soon, a symbiotic relationship forms between the two families. The Kims provide "indispensable" luxury services while the Parks obliviously bankroll their entire household. When a parasitic interloper threatens the Kims' newfound comfort, a savage, underhanded battle for dominance breaks out, threatening to destroy the fragile ecosystem between the Kims and the Parks.

"In Bong Joon-ho’s flawless tragicomedy, a poor yet united family bluff their way into the lives of a wealthy Seoul household." (The Guardian)

"What keeps you rapt in 'Parasite' is the visual wit — every shot distills the movie’s themes — and the richness of the characters and performances." (Vulture)

"This is the best movie of the year... A tonal marvel." (NPR)

"'Parasite' isn't really a monster movie. Yet on at least one of its nearly infinite levels it is - and the monsters are us. (Boston Globe)

Tuesday, July 22
Doors 8:00 pm | Movie 8:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

PARASITE (Bong Joon Ho, 2019 / 133 mins / 14A / Korean with English subtitles) Greed and class discrimination threaten the newly formed symbiotic relationship between the wealthy Park family and the destitute Kim clan.

Jul

24

6:30 PM

6:30pm - Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (25th Anniversary Screening)

Set against 19th-century China's breathtaking landscape, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON is the action-packed, box office "wuxia" blockbuster from acclaimed director Ang Lee (BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, SENSE & SENSIBILITY). Released in 2000, the film was an overwhelming critical and commercial success that was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and winning three - at the time, it received most nominations ever or a non-English-language film.

Featuring stunning martial arts choreography by Yuen Wo Ping (THE MATRIX), gorgeous cinematography, action, romance, adventure, and knockout performances from Chow-Yun Fat, Michelle Yeoh, and Ziyi Zhang.

"A lot of time has passed since “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” first stormed festivals, theaters and the gates of Hollywood itself in 2000. Returning to the big screen in a digital 4K restoration, the movie has lost none of its dreamy beauty or hypnotic power, and that power still builds as assuredly and methodically as ever." (LA Times)

"Watching Michelle Yeoh in both [EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE] films, particularly within the context of the awards season campaign she’s currently undergoing, is to see two bookends to the paradox that is her career. “Crouching Tiger” boasted great performances, but it was Yeoh who shined the brightest. And yet, her current “Everything Everywhere” victory lap has correctly framed her as a revered global star who only now has been allowed to fully extend her limbs." (New York Times)

Thursday, July 24
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (Ang Lee, 2000 / 120 mins / PG / English subtitles) Two master warriors are faced with their greatest challenge when the treasured Green Destiny sword is stolen. A young aristocrat prepares for an arranged marriage, but soon reveals her superior fighting talents and her deeply romantic past. As each warrior battles for justice, they come face to face with their worst enemy - and the inescapable, enduring power of love.

Jul

25

6:00 PM

6:00pm - Friday, Jul 25, 2025

Materialists

Oscar-nominated Canadian filmmaker Celine Song follows up her 2023 breakout hit, the romantic drama PAST LIVES, with another thoughtful take on modern love, MATERIALISTS.

Dakota Johnson stars as a young New York City matchmaker whose lucrative business gets complicated when she finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex. Like PAST LIVES, Song's latest offers an equally mature deconstruction of the conventional rom-com while providing its trio of swoon-worthy stars (Johnson, Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans) with some of their meatiest material yet - and reaffirming the filmmaker as something of a modern master of relationship dramas.

"I do heartily recommend you see 'Materialists,' and that you see it for what it is, not what it kinda looks like from the outside, as pitched to you by the very sort of romance-commodification salespersons that Celine Song’s movie criticizes." (The Wrap)

"'Materialists' is more bittersweet than sweet—which is what makes it so wonderful, in a wistful, elusive way." (TIME Magazine)

"[Celine] Song lays bare the tricky parts of love, holding the messiness accountable without overplaying the drama. Instead of sweet escapism, it pulls us into the gray areas of desire, power, and performance." (Chicago Reader)

"A hypnotic affair... Song's contemplative writing and ethereal relationship-setting deserve some credit. She has a knack for making even the most complicated things simple and beautiful." (Seattle Refined)

"Song resists the urge to follow any formula herself, forging questions about love and romance that can’t all be answered by the time the credits roll and the lights go up." (Salon.com)

Friday, July 25
Doors 5:45 pm | Movie 6:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

MATERIALISTS (Celine Song, 2025 / 14A / 116 mins) A young New York City matchmaker's lucrative business gets complicated as she finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex.

Jul

25

8:45 PM

8:45pm - Friday, Jul 25, 2025

Dogtooth (15th Anniversary Restoration)

Graceful, enigmatic, and often frightening, DOGTOOTH is an ingenious dark comedy that won the Un Certain Regard Prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, propelling Oscar-winner Yorgos Lanthimos (POOR THINGS, THE FAVOURITE, THE LOBSTER) to the forefront of contemporary cinema's most ambitious young filmmakers.

In an effort to protect their three children from the corrupting influence of the outside world, a Greek couple transforms their home into a gated compound of cultural deprivation and strict rules of behavior. But children cannot remain innocent forever. When the father brings home a young woman to satisfy his son's sexual urges, the family's engineered "reality" begins to crumble, with devastating consequences. Like the haunting, dystopic visions of Michael Haneke and Gaspar Noé, DOGTOOTH punctuates its compelling drama with moments of shocking violence, creating a biting social satire that is as profound as it is provocative. With Christos Stergioglou, Hristos Passalis, Aggeliki Papoulia.

Restored in 4K from the 35mm camera and sound negatives by Boo Productions and mk2 Films at Asterisk* Post and I Hear Voices sound studio. Colour grading by Gregory Arvanitis and Thimios Bakatakis. Digital sound restoration by Landros Ntounis. The restoration process was supervised by the director, Yorgos Lanthimos.

"By far the most original film I've seen in a long time." (John Waters)

"... brilliant, disturbing and often frighteningly funny." (The Guardian)

"“By turns hilarious, macabre and baffling." (New York Times)

"A Stunner! Perfectly perverse." (Time Out New York)

"The father, the mother and their three kids live at the outskirts of a city. There is a tall fence surrounding the house. The kids have never been outside that fence. They are being educated, entertained, bored and exercised in the manner that their parents deem appropriate, without any influence from the outside world. They believe that the airplanes flying over are toys and that zombies are small yellow flowers. The only person allowed to enter the house is Christina. She works as a security guard at the father’s business. The father arranges her visits to the house in order to appease the sexual urges of the son. The whole family is fond of her, especially the eldest daughter. One day Christina gives her as a present a headband that has stones that glow in the dark and asks for something in return."

Friday, July 25
Doors 8:15 pm | Movie 8:45 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

DOGTOOTH (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2009 / 94 mins / R / Greek w/EST) A controlling, manipulative father locks his three adult offspring in a state of perpetual childhood by keeping them prisoner within the sprawling family compound. The children are bored to tears in spite of distractions like Christina, an employee of their father's who makes regular visits to sexually service the son. Increasingly curious about the outside world, the older daughter hatches a plan to escape.

Jul

25

11:00 PM

11:00pm - Friday, Jul 25, 2025

Fight Club

Mischief. Mayhem. Soap.

Toxic masculinity never looked so good! The Rio Theatre's Friday Late Night Movie series continues on July 25 with a screening of David Fincher's adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's blockbuster novel about a bored office worker and his soap-making friend, FIGHT CLUB. Released in 1999, Fincher's cinematic take on millennial malaise resulted in an equally blockbuster film, thanks to his own standout direction and memorable performances from Ed Norton, Brad Pitt, Helena Bonham Carter, Jared Leto, and.... Meat Loaf.

"It is working American Beauty-Susan Faludi territory, that illiberal, impious, inarticulate fringe that threatens the smug American center with an anger that cannot explain itself, can act out its frustrations only in inexplicable violence." (Time Magazine)

"The film’s bold, bruising humor leaves marks on a wide range of hot-button issues: It’s about being young, male and powerless against the pacifying drug of consumerism. It’s about solitude, despair and bottled-up rage. It’s about how not to feel dead as Y2K approaches. It’s about daring to imagine the disenfranchised reducing the world to rubble and starting over." (Rolling Stone Magazine)

"There are so many ways to read Fight Club that it's almost impossible to know where to start. Is it a fascistic call to action for a generation of dickless wonders? A homoerotic love story in which Jack is reintroduced to his nads before being carried off in Tyler's pneumatic arms? A satire on modern feminism's cartoonish views of what men are like, or...? Well, have a go yourself. It's half the fun." (Empire Magazine)

Friday, July 25
Doors 10:30 pm | Movie 11:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Late Night Date Night! The first rule of Friday Late Night Movies at the Rio Theatre is that they're two-for-one entry!

FIGHT CLUB (David Fincher, 1999 / DCP / 139 mins / 18A) A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.

Jul

26

4:15 PM

4:15pm - Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

My Beautiful Laundrette (40th Anniversary Restoration)

Ain't nothing I can say to make it up to you. There's only things I can do to show you... that I am with you.

A benchmark of both 1980s British and new queer cinema, Stephen Frears' poignant Oscar®-nominated drama MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE celebrates its 40th spin cycle in 2025, and has been beautifully restored in a stunning digital transfer.

In a seedy corner of London, Omar (Gordon Warnecke), a young Pakistani, is given a run-down laundromat by his uncle (Saeed Jaffrey), who hopes to turn it into a successful business. Soon after, Omar is attacked by a group of racist punks, but defuses the situation when he realizes their leader is his former lover, Johnny (a "fresh-faced" Daniel Day-Lewis). The men resume their relationship and rehabilitate the laundromat together, but various social forces threaten to compromise their success.

"It’s an enormous pleasure to see a movie that’s really about something, and that doesn’t lay on any syrupy coating to make the subject go down easily." (The New Yorker)

"A brutally funny social comedy about the racial and social consequences of a Pakistani and an Englishman going into business and becoming lovers." (Detroit Free Press)

"The strength of the film is its vision -- cutting, compassionate and sometimes hilarious -- of what it means to be Asian, and British, in Thatcher's Britain." (Time Out)

"A fascinating, eccentric, very personal movie." (New York Times)

Saturday, July 26
Doors 3:45 pm | Movie 4:15 *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE (Stephen Frears, 1985 / PG / 95 mins) An ambitious Pakistani Briton and his white boyfriend strive for success and hope when they open a glamorous laundromat.

Jul

26

6:30 PM

6:30pm - Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

There Will Be Blood

"There's a whole ocean of oil under our feet... No one can get at it, except for me!"

Loosely based on Upton Sinclair's novel Oil! is writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson's utterly magnificent epic THERE WILL BE BLOOD, starring Daniel Day-Lewis (in an Oscar-winning performance) as a ruthless oil prospector, is as much a historical drama as it is a very relevant and contemporary commentary on 21st century consumerism, family values, religious dogma, wealth, greed, and isolation. Anderson's work is a revelatory modern masterpiece with the stylish production value of old-school Hollywood; an edgy, comples opus featuring sweeping visuals (Robert Elswit rightly deserved his Best Cinematography Oscar), a phenomenally atonal (not to mention anachronistic) score courtesy of Johnny Greenwood (Radiohead), and a stellar turn from Paul Dano.

"Day-Lewis, no ifs, ands or buts, gives one of the great elemental performances in modern cinema." (Rolling Stone)

"This is a dark, uncompromising film, thrillingly original and distinctive, with a visionary passion. It is a movie against which all directors, and all moviegoers, will want to measure themselves. Paul Thomas Anderson is doing something new with cinema, and you can hardly ask for more than that." (The Guardian)

Saturday, July 26
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007 / 158 mins / 18A) When ruthless oil prospector, Daniel Plainview learns of oil-rich land in California that can be bought cheaply, he moves his operation there and begins manipulating and exploiting the local landowners into selling him their property. Using his young adopted son to project the image of a caring family man, Plainview gains the cooperation of almost all the locals with lofty promises to build schools and cultivate the land to make their community flourish. Over time, Plainview's gradual accumulation of wealth and power causes his true self to surface, and he begins to slowly alienate himself from everyone in his life.

Jul

26

10:00 PM

10:00pm - Saturday, Jul 26, 2025

Boogie Nights

"We're about to make film history, right here... on videotape. "

Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson made an impression with his 1996 feature debut, HARD EIGHT, but it was his sophomore effort in 1997, BOOGIE NIGHTS that really cemented his career and place in Hollywood. Set in California's San Fernando Valley in 1977, the story centres on teenage busboy and high school dropout Eddie Adams (a memorable Mark Wahlberg), who gets discovered by idealistic porn director Jack Horner (Burt Reynolds), who aspires to elevate his craft to an art form. Horner is drawn to the attractive young man, and recognizes his potential, before transforming him into adult-film sensation Dirk Diggler. Brought into a supportive circle of industry friends, including fellow actors Amber Waves (Julianne Moore), Rollergirl (Heather Graham) and Reed Rothchild (John C. Reilly), Dirk fulfills all his ambitions, but a toxic combination of drugs and egotism threatens to take him back down. Featuring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, William H. Macy, Don Cheadle, Luis Guzmán, Nicole Ari Parker.

"A beautifully made survey of '70s excess, filtered through the trashy world of the burgeoning porno film industry in southern California." (Chicago Tribune)

"Not since the mysteriously reclusive Terrence Malick has there been such an explosion of sheer talent on the American movie scene." (Observer)

"The Quentin arantino comparison is ultimately less about technique than a shared joyful electricity of the filmmaking, the sense of an artist clearly high on the sheer act of making a movie." (VICE)

Saturday, July 26
Doors 9:30 pm | Movie 10:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time

BOOGIE NIGHTS (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1977 / 155 mins / 18A) | Set in 1977 (back when sex was safe), pleasure was a business and business was booming for idealistic porn producer Jack Horner, whose aspirations include elevating his craft to an art form. Horner discovers Eddie Adams, a hot young (not to mention well-endowed) talent working as a busboy in a nightclub, and welcomes him into the extended family of movie-makers, misfits and hangers-on that are always around. Adams' rise from nobody to a celebrity adult entertainer is meteoric, and soon the whole world seems to know his porn alter ego, "Dirk Diggler". Now, when disco and drugs are in vogue, fashion is in flux and the party never seems to stop, Adams' dreams of turning sex into stardom are about to collide with cold, hard reality.

Jul

27

9:30 PM

9:30pm - Sunday, Jul 27, 2025

Polyester (Presented in 'Odorama!')

"Its SCENTS-ational! 'Polyester' offers more honest laughs than 'Airplane'... ODORAMA is a wondrous screen gimmick!" (TIME Magazine)

John Waters' magnificent muse, and cinema's favourite plus-sized transvestite Divine, stars opposite '60s heartthrob Tab Hunter in this comic tale as frustrated middle-class Baltimore housewife Francine Fishpaw, a woman who tries to maintain her sanity while taking care of a dysfunctional bent on constantly driving her to the brink of insanity. Her nightmarish husband is the owner of an "adult theatre," and he's sleeping with his secretary! Her teen son Dexter is a delinquent foot fetishist and her daughter is knocked up by a local hoodlum, which only adds to the domestic turmoil. But when Francine meets dashing Todd Tomorrow (Hunter), the owner of a theatre specializing in "art films" who also drives a flashy white Corvette, her life appears rosier. With Edith Massey, Mink Stole, Stiv Baters.

This screening is proudly presented in glorious ODORAMA. Official POLYESTER scratch-and-sniff cards are included with the purchase of every ticket.

"Polyester stands firmly as a gateway between the gross-out films of Waters' past and the soft-hearted sentimentalist ones that were to come." (Spectrum Culture)

"Only John Waters would think of marrying Douglas Sirk melodrama to William Castle showmanship." (Film Frenzy)

"A fitfully amusing comedy of not so ordinary people." (Variety)

Sunday, July 27
Doors 9:00 pm | Movie 9:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

POLYESTER (John Waters, 1981 / 89 mins / 18A) A suburban housewife's world falls apart when she finds that her pornographer husband is serially unfaithful to her, her daughter is pregnant, and her son is suspected of being the foot-fetishist who's been breaking local women's feet.

Jul

28

6:30 PM

6:30pm - Monday, Jul 28, 2025

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

"That's just what this country needs:  A cock in a frock on a rock. "

The Rio Theatre's #MusicMonday movie series is getting dressed up and in the mood for Vancouver Pride 2025 with a screening of writer-director Stephan Elliot's glittering delight THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT.

This iconic Australian road tripping tale is one of our most regularly-requested films, and between its eye-popping visuals and spectacular soundtrack, it is an absolute "big screen must-see." A landmark of queer film when it was released in 1994, it has since managed to become both a cultural touchstone within that community and a mainstream cult-classic, its broad appeal appeal standing squarely on the shoulders of remarkable performances that bring to life a story that veers from hilarious, to sweet, to tender, and even into occasional (hilarious) filth.

The film follows three career drag queens (Terence Stamp, Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce) as they travel from Sydney to perform at a remote resort in the outback aboard their lavender tour bus, nicknamed "Priscilla." The film is equal parts eye and ear candy; its gorgeous cinematography capturing the magical beauty of the Australian landscape underscored by killer dance tracks that are accessorized by the queens' sparkling collection of drool-worthy outfits (that also garnered an Oscar for Best Costume).

#MusicMonday, July 28
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

THE ADVENTURES OF PRISCILLA, QUEEN OF THE DESERT (Stephan Elliot, 1994 / 104 mins / 18A) | Three drag queens travel across the Australian outback, making friends (and some foes) along the way.

Jul

29

6:30 PM

6:30pm - Tuesday, Jul 29, 2025

Materialists

Oscar-nominated Canadian filmmaker Celine Song follows up her 2023 breakout hit, the romantic drama PAST LIVES, with another thoughtful take on modern love, MATERIALISTS.

Dakota Johnson stars as a young New York City matchmaker whose lucrative business gets complicated when she finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex. Like PAST LIVES, Song's latest offers an equally mature deconstruction of the conventional rom-com while providing its trio of swoon-worthy stars (Johnson, Pedro Pascal, Chris Evans) with some of their meatiest material yet - and reaffirming the filmmaker as something of a modern master of relationship dramas.

"I do heartily recommend you see 'Materialists,' and that you see it for what it is, not what it kinda looks like from the outside, as pitched to you by the very sort of romance-commodification salespersons that Celine Song’s movie criticizes." (The Wrap)

"'Materialists' is more bittersweet than sweet—which is what makes it so wonderful, in a wistful, elusive way." (TIME Magazine)

"[Celine] Song lays bare the tricky parts of love, holding the messiness accountable without overplaying the drama. Instead of sweet escapism, it pulls us into the gray areas of desire, power, and performance." (Chicago Reader)

"A hypnotic affair... Song's contemplative writing and ethereal relationship-setting deserve some credit. She has a knack for making even the most complicated things simple and beautiful." (Seattle Refined)

"Song resists the urge to follow any formula herself, forging questions about love and romance that can’t all be answered by the time the credits roll and the lights go up." (Salon.com)

Tuesday, July 29
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

MATERIALISTS (Celine Song, 2025 / 14A / 116 mins) A young New York City matchmaker's lucrative business gets complicated as she finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex.

Jul

30

7:00 PM

7:00pm - Wednesday, Jul 30, 2025

Jacob Balshin

Toronto comic Jacob Balshin is moving to Vancouver for two months. To celebrate his time in Vancouver, Jacob will be performing at the Rio Theatre on his last day in the city.

An award winning stand-up, Jacob was named one of Toronto’s Top 10 Influencers of 2025 by the Toronto Star and has also been featured on CBC’s New Wave of Comedy, where he has amassed millions of views online. Do not miss your chance to see one of Canada’s fastest rising stars!

(Jacob would like to note that he rented out the Rio Theatre on his own credit card. So come support a Canadian comedian who is truly trying to do this all on his own.)

Wednesday, July 30
Doors 6:30 pm | Event 7:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Early Bird (Until July 1) ? $17+ s/c

General Admission $25+ s/c | At the door $30 + s/c

Connect with Jacob on Instagram @Jacobbalshin

Jul

30

9:30 PM

9:30pm - Wednesday, Jul 30, 2025

Cruising

Al Pacino stars in William Friedkin's (THE EXORCIST, THE FRENCH CONNECTION) notorious neon-lit time capsule, CRUISING, a polarizing crime thriller that stirred controversy when it was released in 1980 due to both its depiction of the gay community and its thematic exploration of identity and sexuality.

The film follows Detective Steve Burns (Pacino) who goes undercover to infiltrate New York City's seedy subculture to lure a vicious psychopathic serial killer who is scouring New York City's gay clubs for victims out of the shadows. To do this, he is ordered to don leather attire, hang at the city's S&M joints, and keep an eye out for the killer. But as Steve becomes immersed in club-hopping, he begins to identify with the subculture more than he expected. Meanwhile, as Steve begins to behave distantly around his girlfriend, the police force's homophobia becomes apparent and the killer remains at large. With Paul Sorvino, Karen Allen, Richard Cox, Joe Spinell.

"The film is ugly and mean, but art is fundamentally a search for the truth, and when the vision starts to become unpalatable, is it suddenly right for us to complain?" (Washington Blade)

"At its best, this William Friedkin effort is an American giallo and a document of a community just before HIV/AIDS came along and demolished it." (Nashville Scene)

"William Friedkin's 'Cruising' is a work of art." (Boston Globe)

"It's a lurid, twisted film that brings you into its world and completely works you over." (San Francisco Chronicle)

"'Cruising' is a mediocre thriller but an amazing time capsule -- a heady, horny flashback to the last gasp of full-blown sexual abandon, and easily the most graphic depiction of gay sex ever seen in a mainstream movie." (Village Voice)

Wednesday, July 30
Doors 9:00 pm | Movie 9:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

CRUISNG (William Friedkin, 1980 / 18A / 102 mins) A police officer goes undercover in the underground S&M gay subculture of New York City to catch a serial killer who is preying on gay men.

Jul

31

8:00 PM

8:00pm - Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

Cirque du Slay

Forget everything you thought you knew about circus. This isn’t your childhood big top, this is something curious and queer.

Vancouver Pride Week is hitting the Rio Theatre on Thursday, July 31 as co-producers April O’Peel Productions and Du Jour Marketing present CIRQUE DU SLAY, a provocative and powerful night of drag, circus, comedy, and sexiness, showcasing an all-queer, all-creative cast that'll flip your expectations upside down - and hang 'em from the ceiling.

This one-night-only event promises boundary-pushing acts from some of the most devoted and unapologetic performers in the city, including Cali Cobalt, Malandro, Batty Banks, Dame Derrière, Space Cake, Rain City Circus, and many more. From arresting aerial acrobatics to groundbreaking ground acts, this is a celebration of queer expression like no other. Expect the unexpected, and come ready to cheer, laugh, and maybe even blush.

Featuring: Cali Cobalt, Malandro, Batty Banks, Dame Derrière, Space Cake, Rain City Circus and many more!

Thursday, July 31
Doors 7:15 pm | Show 8:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Early Bird Tickets $20+ s/c (Until June 30)
General Admission Tickets $30+ s/c
VIP (First two rows, centre) $40 + s/c
Squad Pass (Group of Four) $100+ s/c

Aug

01

8:00 PM

8:00pm - Friday, Aug 1, 2025

Dandy's BIG GAY CABARET 2025

For Pride this year the Rio Theatre is rolling out the rainbow carpet to welcome back Vancouver Pride & the return of Dandy's BIG GAY CABARET 2025! And whom better to be our honorable ambassador to the world and fellow Gaynadians than our very own Gayest of the Gays, Queerest of the Queers, Dandy!

Celebrate Vancouver at the most anticipated cabaret of the year! Runner up in Georgia Straight's BEST OF VANCOUVER 2023 and host of the year 2024, DANDY (tiktok star @dandyandfriends) curates a cabinet of charismatic, Queer, cabaret creators. Live singing, dance, death defying circus feats, drag, burlesque and some fun surprises. You might not be gay when you sit down, but research shows that attending this show will make you 69% gayer!. HUZZAH!

If you don't come to this show, you are homophobic! So get your tickets now, Darling.

Friday, August 1
Doors 7:15 pm | Show 8:00 pm
*Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Early Bird tickets available until July 1, SAVE $5 off each ticket!

Main Floor Assigned $30 + s/c | $35 at the door
VIP - First 4 rows $40 + s/c **VIP ticket holders also get an interactive prop bag to be used during the show!**
The 'We Are Family' 4 Pack $25 a ticket + s/c (Available online only)

But wait, there's more!

The Rio Theatre lobby and bar will be open between shows and serving up Pride inspired cocktails, mocktails and your favorite gay anthems. Don't forget to pick up a Rio Theatre Pride Edition T-shirt, check out the merch booth and pose, vogue, pose at our pride photo backdrop. Don't forget to tag us in your pics @riotheatre & @dandyandfriends

Featuring:

Ruth Ordare
Queen Kong
Melrose Twist
Jordy Matheson
 Tally Ho
Karmella "Sissy" Barr
Glimmer Rouge
&
Deviant Dancing Dandies 

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About your Host:

Dandy (he/him) is the award-winning host made popular on TikTok for his viral videos promoting queer joy! Winner of Host of the Year 2024 for Vancouver International Burlesque Festival and awarded runner up in the Georgia Straight’s BEST OF VANCOUVER for his show Drag Attack! – you can catch him regularly on stage in his shows at the iconic Rio Theatre in Vancouver, or touring regularly this year between LA and New York City. His all new series Dandyland, which highlights businesses, organizations, and artists in the lower-mainland’s LGBT Community, premiered this Summer on Optik TV and was nominated by the Costume Designers Guild Awards for Excellence in Short Form Design 2024 thanks to already award winning, multi-talented Costume Designer, Rafaella Rabinovich

@dandyandfriends

Aug

03

5:30 PM

5:30pm - Sunday, Aug 3, 2025

Akira Kurosawa's 'Ran' (40th Anniversary Screening)

When one of the greatest filmmakers of all time adapts one of the greatest literary works of all time, the result can only be described as epic. In 1985, iconic director Akira Kurosawa adapted William Shakespeare's 'King Lear' and crafted one of - if not the - best cinematic representations of the Bard's canon with RAN. Nominated for numerous Oscars, (including Best Director for Kurosawa, who was 75 years old at the time), the film won for Best Costume Design.

In this remarkable re-imagining, olde Britain is transposed into Medieval Japan, where at the age of seventy, after years of consolidating his empire, the Great Lord Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai) decides to abdicate and divide his domain amongst his three sons. Taro (Akira Terao), the eldest, will rule. Jiro (Jinpachi Nezu), his second son, and Saburo (Daisuke Ryu) will take command of the Second and Third Castles but are expected to obey and support their elder brother. Saburo defies the pledge of obedience and is banished.

"Akira Kurosawa's sprawling, epic take on 'King Lear' should be required viewing for fans of westerns, war movies, or period films in general." (Rotten Tomatoes)

"Spectacular! Among the most thrilling movie experiences a viewer can have!" (New York Times)

"RAN remains gripping because it depicts not only the long-ago past, but also our hellish present." (The Village Voice)

"An irresistible attraction that should be viewed on the biggest screen you can find." (Observer)

"This is one of the year's major cinematic events. It's well worth leaving the house for, should that opportunity arise." (The AV Club)

Sunday, August 3
Doors 5:30 pm | Movie 6:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Tickets on sale July 2

RAN (Akira Kurosawa, 1985 / 162 mins / PG / 4K / In Japanese w/ EST) Set in Japan in the 16th century (or so), an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them, or cause them to turn on each other...and him...

Aug

03

9:30 PM

9:30pm - Sunday, Aug 3, 2025

Ghost in the Shell (30th Anniversary Screening)

Mamoru Oshii's landmark 1995 anime film GHOST IN THE SHELL is a title that has evolved into something of a cultural phenomenon, spawning sequels, remakes, and even a live action feature. The story follows a cyborg policewoman named Motoko Kusanagi, who is herself a "ghost in a shell" (meaning her living consciousness is somewhere being projected into a organic/mechanical body). She struggles with what it means to be "alive" while searching for a master hacker known as “the Puppet Master” whose motivation goes beyond merely disrupting the status quo. Full of action, pathos, and glorious vistas of a city mixing tradition and futurism, GHOST IN THE SHELL is best experienced and appreciated when viewed on the big screen.

"... a pillar of the cyberpunk movement and a testament to visual realism in animation." (Nerdist)

"A stunning feat of modern animation, GHOST IN THE SHELL offers a thoughtful, complex treat for anime fans, as well as a perfect introduction for viewers new to the genre." (Rotten Tomatoes)

"For sheer mind-expanding sci-fi strangeness this is hard to beat." (Time Out)

"Most alluring are the crumbling neon cityscapes, real world/cyberspace fusion and the musings on identity." (Total Film)

Sunday, August 3
Doors 9:00 pm | Movie 9:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

GHOST IN THE SHELL "Kôkaku kidôtai" (Mamoru Oshii, 1995 / 83 mins / 14 A / Japanese w/EST) In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster' begins involving them in politics, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster.

Aug

10

5:00 PM

5:00pm - Sunday, Aug 10, 2025

Sammy Obeid

Guess who's back to keep Vancouver laughing... The East Van Laugh RioT is pleased to welcome the summertime return of comedian Sammy Obeid - with all-new material! We just can't keep him off our stage!

Sunday, August 10
Doors 4:00 pm | Show 5:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

Early Bird tickets available until May 12, midnight.

Adult Balcony (General Admission) $39 + s/c
Adult Main Floor (Assigned Seating) $48+ s/c
VIP Meet n' Greet (Rows 2-6, centre section) $65+ s/c
VVIP Meet n' Greet (Front Row, centre section) $75+ s/c
Group Ticket Pricing (Minimum 4) $43 (ea)+ s/c (online only)

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Lebanese-Palestinian American and born in Oakland California, Sammy Obeid double-majored in Business and Mathematics at UC Berkeley and then turned down a job at Google to be a comedian.

Now the host of 100 Humans on Netflix, he’s also appeared on NBC's Last Comic Standing and America's Got Talent, as well as TBS’s Conan, and is best known for his world record of performing comedy 1,001 nights in a row, a story featured in both Time Magazine and The New York Times.

Connect on Instagram @sammyobeid
Connect on Facebook
Connect on TikTok @sammyobeidthem
Connect on X @sammyobeid

Aug

13

6:45 PM

6:45pm - Wednesday, Aug 13, 2025

Vertigo

"The only way to get rid of my fears is to make films about them."

Join us at the Rio Theatre on August 13 as wetip our collective hat and raise an icy beverage to one of the absolute icons of cinema, Alfred Hitchcock (on his birthday!), with a screening of what many consider to be his greatest cinematic triumph, VERTIGO.

An erotic rumination on obsession and paranoia, it is considered, by many, to be his greatest cinematic achievement. James Stewart stars as an ex-police officer with an intense fear of heights who is hired to surveil an old friend's wife in the hopes of preventing her from committing suicide. But all is not as it seems, as his work moves from voyeurism to obsession. (It goes without saying that Hitchcock's haunting, compelling work is uniquely revelatory about the director's own predilections and hang-ups.) Also starring Kim Novak, and Barbara Bel Geddes.

"Alfred Hitchcock is daring us to leap. He has prepared the ultimate fix for a cinema junkie: a movie to get lost in." (Rolling Stone)

"An unpredictable scary thriller that doubles as a mournful meditation on love, loss, and human comfort." (Rotten Tomatoes)

"Why is this movie Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece? Because no movie plunges us more deeply into the dizzying heart of erotic obsession." (Newsweek)

Wednesday, August 13
Doors 6:15 pm | Movie 6:45 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.

VERTIGO (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958 / 128 mins / G) A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.

Aug

17

6:45 PM

6:45pm - Sunday, Aug 17, 2025

Raging Bull

Join us on Sunday, August 17 for a double feature that celebrates actor Robert De Niro (on his birthday!) and includes two of our favourite performances from his many collaborations with filmmaker Martin Scorsese - RAGING BULL and TAXI DRIVER.

RAGING BULL is an indisputable cinematic triumph, a black and white biopic that is often lauded as one of the greatest films of the 1980s, and frequently described as Scorsese's "magnum opus." The ambitious sports film follows the dramatic life story of Italian-American boxer Jake LaMotta (De Niro, in one of his Golden Globe and Oscar-winning performances), a former middleweight champion, whose reputation for tenacity and success in the ring was offset by his self-destructive troubled domestic life. La Motta was full of rage, sexual jealousy, and crippling suspicion - particularly towards his wife (Cathy Moriarty) and manager/brother (Joe Pesci) - which, in the end, left him destitute, alone, and seeking redemption. Also staring Nicholas Colasanto, Theresa Saldana and Frank Vincent.

"This is not a film about boxing. This is a film about the human condition and about cinema itself." - Empire Magazine

"Arguably Martin Scorsese's and Robert De Niro's finest film, Raging Bull is often painful to watch, but it's a searing, powerful work about an unsympathetic hero." - Rotten Tomatoes

Sunday, September 17
RAGING BULL
Doors 6:15 pm | Movie 6:45 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Single & Double Feature Film Tickets available

TAXI DRIVER
Movie 9:30 pm *As this is a double feature, this is an approximate start time.

RAGING BULL (Martin Scorsese, 1980 / 129 mins / 18A) When Jake LaMotta steps into a boxing ring and obliterates his opponent, he's a prizefighter. But when he treats his family and friends the same way, he's a ticking time bomb, ready to go off at any moment. Though LaMotta wants his family's love, something always seems to come between them. Perhaps it's his violent bouts of paranoia and jealousy. This kind of rage helped make him a champ, but in real life, he winds up in the ring alone.

TAXI DRIVER (Martin Scorsese, 1976 / 113 mins / 18A) Robert De Niro stars as Travis Bickle in this oppressive psychodrama about a Vietnam veteran who rebels against the decadence and immorality of big city life in New York while working the nightshift as a taxi driver.

Aug

17

9:30 PM

9:30pm - Sunday, Aug 17, 2025

Taxi Driver

"Are you talkin' to me? Well, I'm the only one here."

Join us on Sunday, August 17 for a double feature that celebrates actor Robert De Niro (on his birthday!) and includes two of our favourite performances from his many collaborations with filmmaker Martin Scorsese - RAGING BULL and TAXI DRIVER.

Released in 1976 and scripted by Paul Schrader (who also wrote 1980s's RAGING BULL), Scorsese's intense psychological thriller TAXI DRIVER offers one of the quintessential cinematic captures of New York City at peak 70s grit in a film that borders on the neo-noir. Robert De Niro offers a career-defining performance as Travis Bickle, a Vietnam vet who is effectively a mentally disturbed loner. Suffering from insomnia, Bickle takes a job as a New York City cabbie, haunting the streets nightly and growing increasingly detached from reality as he dreams of cleaning up the filthy metropolis. When Travis meets pretty campaign worker Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), he becomes obsessed with the idea of saving the world, first plotting to assassinate a presidential candidate, then directing his attentions toward rescuing 12-year-old prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster). Also starring Harvey Keitel, Albert Brooks, and Peter Boyle.

"Utter alone-ness is at the center of Taxi Driver, one of the best and most powerful of all films, and perhaps it is why so many people connect with it even though Travis Bickle would seem to be the most alienating of movie heroes. We have all felt as alone as Travis. Most of us are better at dealing with it... Martin Scorsese's 1976 film is a film that does not grow dated, or over-familiar. I have seen it dozens of times. Every time I see it, it works; I am drawn into Travis' underworld of alienation, loneliness, haplessness and anger." (Roger Ebert)

"This is a wholly remarkable film, flaws and all. In fact, even the flaws are significant." (The Guardian)

Sunday, August 17

TAXI DRIVER
Movie 9:30 pm *As this is a double feature, this is an approximate start time.

TAXI DRIVER (Martin Scorsese, 1976 / 113 mins / 18A) Robert De Niro stars as Travis Bickle in this oppressive psychodrama about a Vietnam veteran who rebels against the decadence and immorality of big city life in New York while working the nightshift as a taxi driver.

Aug

23

9:00 PM

9:00pm - Saturday, Aug 23, 2025

Summer Night Fever!

Get ready to boogie down at The Rio Theatre as we turn back the clock for a night of nonstop 70's disco magic! Featuring a high-energy live stage show from DISCOBABY, The Retrolytes band, Anushka Kashyap, + more, plus a 70s costume contest with prizes and an all-out dance party that will keep you groovin’ all night long! So brush off those bell bottoms, shine up those platform shoes, and join the throwback fun!  Featuring music from The Bee Gees, ABBA, Donna Summer, Chic, Jackson 5 & more…

Saturday, August 23
Doors 8:15 pm | Event 9:00 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time. 

**Early Bird tickets just $20 + s/c (Available only till midnight, July 18)***
Advanced General Admission $25 + s/c | At the door $30 + s/c

Book your TICKETS now baby!

DISCOBABY Website: https://www.beautyshopdolls. com/discobaby-1970s
Instagram: @discobabydolls

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