Ron Robinson Theater screens 'Napoleon Dynamite,' 'Pirates of the Caribbean,' 'Pulp Fiction' and more in August

The summer before I started sixth grade, “Napoleon Dynamite” hit theaters. Along with so many other kids my age (and hopefully some adults, too), I watched it a zillion times. Then, after a few months of cultural reign, it fell out of fashion, the jokes souring from being quoted in the middle school halls a few too many times. For some reason, I never grew tired of it — the silliness and sweetness of Napoleon, Pedro and Deb’s gentle escapades only gaining power as the years passed. Maybe if I’d been any younger or older for my initial watch, it wouldn’t be so important to me, but I prefer to believe that the movie would have struck a spiritual chord regardless of when I first encountered it.

Celebrating its 20th birthday this year, “Napoleon Dynamite” is among the films screening at the Central Arkansas Library System’s Ron Robinson Theater (100 River Market Ave.) next month. As was the case in July, there are a number of anniversary showings in August, with “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” “The NeverEnding Story,” “C.H.U.D.” and “Repo Man” all turning 40, and “The Mask” and “Pulp Fiction” turning 30. There’s also a special showing on Thursday, Aug. 8 of a selection of shorts by Arkansas filmmakers that originally played at the Little Rock Film Festival during its run from 2007 to 2015, including Mark Thiedeman’s “Sacred Hearts, Holy Souls.”

Tickets can be purchased here, and beer, wine and concessions will be sold onsite. A full list of the August offerings:

Thursday, Aug. 1 — “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl” (2003, PG-13), 7 p.m., $5.