Battle Royale in theaters this weekend…

2000’s dystopian Japanese flick Battle Royale, about a class of high school students who find themselves assigned to kill all their classmates (after being provided a variety of weapons of various levels of lethality to do so), is playing nationally Sunday night. I *think* that’s the only showing, but since BR is up there with The Raid and Dredd among modern action exploitation classics, it would be well worth a look if you can rouse yourself to hit a theater that evening.

Meanwhile, rather to my surprise (a lack of product surely helps), but the really great psychological thriller Perfect Blue has been held over in theaters, at least through the weekend (and perhaps longer). Again, the film is gangbusters and at 80 minutes is an easy watch, although a disturbing one as well. Don’t go in thinking because it’s animated film that it won’t get under your skin. The picture made significantly less than a million last weekend, although it also topped the per screen average of 10 of the 14 films above it. (Again, not a lot of product out there.) Anyway, if you were interested but didn’t get out to see it, you have another chance. Believe me, you could do far worse.