The ultimate film about Los Angeles, plus the week’s best movies

Hello! I’m not Mark Olsen but Joshua Rothkopf, stepping in for an abbreviated taste of the best movies coming to your favorite L.A. repertory theaters this week. Welcome to another edition of your regular field guide to a world of Only Good Movies.

‘Big Trouble in Little China’

A scene from the 1986 film “Big Trouble in Little China.”

(20th Century-Fox / Getty Images)

John Carpenter’s career will always be a subject of fascination for me, particularly his habit during the 1980s of taking big swings once he had gained — or, more accurately, regained — enough clout. After 1984’s “Starman” netted Jeff Bridges an acting Oscar nomination (rare for sci-fi), the director mounted a huge-hearted fantasy, inflected by his love of John Wayne westerns and martial arts movies. Fine, so it wasn’t the next “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” “Big Trouble in Little China” represents one of the decade’s more exhilarating dares. Plus, you can speculate on the alternate history of Kim Cattrall, Action Hero. It screens on Saturday at midnight at the New Beverly in 35mm (of course), and while online tickets have sold out, there will be some added availability on the night.

The ultimate movie about L.A.

Craig Wasson and Melanie Griffith in “Body Double,” cited in Thom Andersen’s essay film “Los Angeles Plays Itself.”

(Columbia Pictures)

I recently moved from an apartment that was a five-minute walk (I walk!) from the Academy Museum. Already I’m having withdrawal symptoms. Sunday’s midday screening of Thom Andersen’s “Los Angeles Plays Itself” would have been a perfect excuse for a stroll. A critical examination of L.A.’s onscreen history — evolving as office towers rise, neighborhoods recede and corporate interests expand — the film is both a record of lost evidence captured in the backgrounds of movies, as well as a major piece of cultural excavation à la Mike Davis’ landmark “City of Quartz.” Andersen’s documentary is trove of movie nods, everything from “The Exiles” to “Swordfish.” An April conversation at the Los Angeles Festival of Movies between musician Kim Gordon and author Rachel Kushner used the film as a critical point of reference. You can’t call yourself a real Angeleno without seeing it — but yes, Thom, of course we refer to the city as “L.A.”

Bleak Week returns in all its dark glory

Director Lynne Littman on the set of 1983’s “Testament.”

(Melinda Sue Gordon)

Even though American Cinematheque’s beloved series is only in its third year, it already feels an essential part of the annual screening calendar. Kicking off June 1 for a week, the 43-film showcase is already enjoying robust ticket sales, but don’t give up hope. Standby lines will form and the devoted will find a way in. Plus, you’ll be able to see several Times staffers and freelancers in action: On Wednesday, Mark Olsen introduces the punishing “Ratcatcher” and speaks with director Lynne Ramsay; Katie Walsh chats with Ramsay on Thursday about her equally oppressive “Morvern Callar.” On Sunday, Carlos Aguilar will sit down with filmmaker Don Hertzfeldt to talk about his animated “World of Tomorrow” and a new short, “Me.” Don’t miss Tim Grierson in conversation with director Lynne Littman about “Testament,” a nightmarish film that, in no small sense, saved the world. And I’ll be there doing Q&As for “Seven” (with screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker) and the extended cut of “Margaret” with director Kenneth Lonergan and actor J. Smith-Cameron.