Welcome to L.A. Weekly's Movie Guide, your look at the hottest films in Los Angeles theaters this week ? from indie art house gems and classics to popcorn-perfect blockbusters and new movies garnering buzz. Check here every week before you make your big screen plans.

Film Festival

Friday, June 14

Since 1998, Dances with Films has been a staple of the Los Angeles film festival circuit, premiering nearly 200 independent films each year since its inception. Now located at the Chinese Theatre (the one with the celebrity footprints lining the entrance), Dances launches on June 13th and continues through the 23rd. Here you will find narrative features like Apple Seed, about a down-on-his-luck guy (writer-director-star Michael Worth) who picks up an ex-con hitchhiker (Rance Howard) en route to robbing his hometown bank. In the Narrative Shorts competition, you can check out films like The Amateurs, Pamela Mitchell's comedy about a group of girlfriends who take revenge on a sleazy ex-boyfriend. Documentaries like A Rugby Story, a Libyan micro-drama by Rashid Kadura about clashing loyalties, is representative of the diverse non-fiction stories on exhibition. If you're a night owl, staying awake for the Midnight Series, which will include Ace Thor's surrealistic Wowzers, starring Sam Fox as a woman haunted by a strange recurring dream, is a no-brainer. For more information, visit danceswithfilms.com.

Also opening Friday, June 14: 5B, American Woman, Being Frank, Blackbear, Daughter of the Wolf, The Dead Don't Die, Deep Murder, For the Birds, Framing John DeLorean, Hampstead, Head Count, In the Aisles, Men in Black: International, Plus One, Saving Flora, Say My Name, Surprise Me!, Vault