Cinema Usher is a Scout column dedicated to detailing some of the best films playing in theatres with the when, where and why you should really give a damn and go watch. Presented by Ken Tsui.

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Solaris & Stalker

Solaris: July 21st – 24th | DETAILS
Stalker: July 27th – 31st | DETAILS

Watching an Andrei Tarkovsky on any screen smaller than the one at The Cinematheque is a crime. As one of the great visionaries of cinema, Tarkovsky’s visual masterpieces ‘Solaris’ and ‘Stalker’ are returning with a newly minted restoration. Known for blending unhurried poetry and dense philosophical meditations with strikingly unforgettable visuals, Tarkovsky’s the pair screening at the Cinematheque are some of his best. From Solaris’ haunting tale of a guilt-ridden psychologist on board a space station being visited by the ghost of his wife to the journey of three men through the post-apocalyptic Forbidden Zone in ‘Stalker’, they are not to be missed on the big screen.

Ramen Heads

July 22nd | Vancity Theatre, 1181 Seymour St. | DETAILS

After touring film festivals across the country, Koki Shigeno’s crowd-pleasing ‘Ramen Heads’ returns the Vancity Theatre by popular demand. With two matinee shows in July and August, work up an appetite as the documentary follows Osamu Tomita – Japan’s king of ramen – through the history, fanaticism and definition of what it takes to make the perfect bowl of noodles and soup.

National Lampoon’s Summer Vacation

July 25th | Stanley Park at Ceperley Meadow / 2nd Beach | DETAILS

If you’re the type that refuses to sit in a dark theatre while the sun is out, then catching National Lampoon’s Summer Vacation at Stanley Park’s outdoor cinema is ideal. For the unacquainted, the movie takes the Griswold family across the country for a vacation to Wally World that gets more and more peculiar (to say the least). Written by John Hughes ( 80’s teen movie king responsible for The Breakfast Club, among several others) and directed by Harold Ramis (Caddy Shack), this is a classic summer flick worth catching under the stars.