Modern classic movies mosey into OKC theaters in July

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Let’s not kid ourselves, friends. It’s scary out there right now.

Red-hot political divisions, disastrous, unsustainable weather, and the head-spinning pace of concerning technology might all have you feeling confused and fearful of the daily uncertainty that has become our new norm.

But if there’s one thing that’s practically guaranteed to help ground and relax us, it’s our favorite comfort movies.

There’s just nothing like the warm, temporary escapism of a film from your childhood or your best memories of years past, always waiting there for you to jump back into that fictional world and ignore the worries of the real one outside for a couple of hours.

Luckily, some Oklahoma City theaters are offering the chance to catch some certified modern classics pulled straight out of the “comfort movie” pantheon over the next few weeks, right when it seems that we need them most.

So whether you like to be swept away in a jungle adventure, swept off your feet in a Victorian romance, or swept across the dusty desert plains of the Old West, you’ll find something here to bring back a few good memories for a little while.

‘Jumanji’ – Flix Brewhouse – July 20th & 21st 

It feels almost impossible that “Jumanji” is 30 years old this year.

That’s mostly down to the great Robin Williams’ seemingly infinite youthful energy, but also the surprisingly solid CGI and the always-fresh sense of adventure every time you hear the drums coming from that game box.

If you somehow missed the brief “Jumanji” craze in the ’90s, the book is all about a mysterious board game of perilous jungle adventure that comes to life around a group of children as they play, plunging them into a dangerous world with their only escape being a completed game.

Director Joe Johnston’s movie takes that concept a couple of steps further by trapping one of the children inside the game world and making it impossible for the kids to finish playing. When decades pass and he’s eventually released (now as an adult Robin Williams, with requisite wild-eyed wackiness,) the game’s jungle world grows to consume the whole town and an even bigger adventure unfolds.

But while the thrills still hold up and the humor (mostly) still lands, it’s actually the movie’s refreshingly mature explorations of missed youth and childhood trauma that have given “Jumanji” three decades of love and longevity.

Granted, it also gave a whole generation of kids anxiety every time they hear that deep, distant drumming, but hey, a legacy is a legacy.

For showtimes, tickets, and more, visit flixbrewhouse.com.

‘Pride & Prejudice’ – Oklahoma City Museum of Art – July 26th 

If you ever find yourself thinking, “Do we really need yet another movie adaptation of this mega-classic novel?” just know that everyone was saying that back in 2005 about Jane Austen’s immortal “Pride & Prejudice,” and then director Joe Wright dropped this film and blew everyone away.

It’s the same legendary Austen tale that everyone knows: headstrong “plain” girl Elizabeth Bennet draws the unexpected interest and passion of the wealthy Mr. Darcy, and they essentially commence to infuriate one another into love.

But while the story had already been hashed and rehashed numerous times in cinema – even with some in-their-own-right classic adaptations not long hence – Wright’s artfully photographic eye and the electric chemistry between Kiera Knightley and Matthew McFayden struck a chord with audiences, especially young viewers and newcomers to the tale.

The result was a whole new generation of hopeless romantics enamored with the ever-thin line between frustration and infatuation, making Wright’s vision of the most classic of Jane Austen classics a repeated favorite for the past 20 years and a likely entry into all-time film romance history.

So yes, sometimes it actually is worth taking another stab at a story already over-told.

For showtimes, tickets, and more, visit okcmoa.com.

‘Tombstone’ – Rodeo Cinema Stockyards – July 25th and 26th 

Speaking of stories that anyone would assume had already been beaten to death, the epic yarn of lawman Wyatt Earp and the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral had been adapted ad nauseam for nearly a century before 1993’s “Tombstone,” and even Kevin Costner’s own take would come the next year.

Still, it’s this Kurt Russell/Val Kilmer action vehicle that has taken the reins of the timeless western tale and knocked out a place for itself in the hearts and minds of moviegoers for the past three decades.

“Tombstone” buzzes with the pace and attitude of a ’90s blockbuster action flick, something that the “Old Hollywood” western purists of the time turned their noses up at, but it’s exactly that infectious energy, violent spectacle, and straight-up fun that’s made this one such a classic.

Russell’s untouchable charisma is dialed up to eleven, and Kilmer’s Doc Holiday is nothing short of iconic, and is likely one of the best film characters of its decade.

Sure, it’s way over-the-top, with its seething, grimy villains and B-movie melodrama (like Russell’s Earp repeatedly yelling “no!” in slow-motion) but it’s also loaded with some of the best quotes and one-liners in action movie history, and the thrill and romance of it all feel undeniable even now.

Cinephiles and traditionalists would surely prefer more long, contemplative landscape shots and historically accurate ruminations on the complicated nature of the Old West, but this movie actually feels like how some cowboys would tell a story around a campfire or how an old vaudeville troupe would reenact these famous lives.

It’s inarguably a modern classic and remains a popcorn-and-blankets-ready comfort film for countless fans.

It’s blasphemous to some, but I’m going to say it anyway: “Unforgiven” be damned. “Tombstone” is the greatest western of the 90s.

For showtimes, tickets, and more, visit rodeocinema.org.

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Catch Brett Fieldcamp’s film column weekly for information and insights into the world of film in the Oklahoma City metro and Oklahoma. | Brought to you by the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

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