While Voyagers' PG-13 rating is already a hint that Neil Burger's futuristic thriller won't emerge as the daring, nasty good time it keeps threatening to be, the problem isn't so much the movie's rating as it is its blandness. Thanks to Alien, we know the deal with screams. But as it turns out, in space, no one can hear you yawn, either.

Screening locally as the fourth cinematic presentation in Fathom Events' seventh-annual TCM Big Screen Classics series, the beloved 1987 hit La Bamba will enjoy a two-day cineplex return at Rave Cinemas Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, its April 18 through 22 engagement exploring the artistry of rock icon Ritchie Valens in a film that, according to Rotten Tomatoes, “distills its subject's creative energy and reflects his music's enduring appeal.”

Teaming up for the new series Kinogarten that will screen German films on the first Friday of every month through September, Rock Island's Rozz-Tox and Davenport's German American Heritage Center present the venues' season-opener with an outdoor April 2 showing of The Edukators, the award-winning 2004 release that the Los Angeles Times called a “sweet, funny, and gripping romantic adventure.”

Two new cineplex releases this past weekend opened with words that frequently inspire ennui in moviegoers everywhere: “Based on a true story.” Yet while both dramatic thrillers – The Courier and City of Lies – are overly earnest and expository in ways those five-word preambles usually imply, their true (or more precisely true-ish) tales are gripping nonetheless, and the performers carry you through the occasional dead spots. One of those films is mostly tight and polished. The other is mostly sprawling and messy. And I mostly enjoyed them both … but kinda preferred the messy one.