Transformers One
Blue Grass Drive-in, Blue Grass IA
Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Davenport IA
FilmScene, Iowa City IA
The Last Picture House, Davenport IA
Marcus Sycamore Cinema, Iowa City IA
Putnam Museum & Science Center, Davenport IA
VIP Cinemas, Moline IL
Voy 61 Drive In Theatre, Delmar IA
(Hyperlinked titles take you to Reader reviews; IMDb hyperlinks take you to the films’ Internet Movie Database pages or other sites with film information.)
***
AfrAId (PG-13; VIP Cinemas) - For a Labor-Day-weekend throwaway, this believably performed, visually engaging thriller isn't bad, and earns bonus points for three sublime supporting actors. IMDb listing.
Akeelah & the Bee (PG; FilmScene at the Chauncey) - Despite the goodwill attached to it, nothing in the doggedly cutesy spelling-bee drama plays as anything but phony; IMDb listing.
Alien: Romulus (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - Fede Álvarez's franchise extender is a punchy, routinely exciting entertainment. Coming after the twinned bores of Scott's Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, it's also a considerable relief. IMDb listing.
Am I Racist? (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas) - IMDb listing.
And Mrs (not rated; VIP Cinemas) - IMDb listing.
The Babadook: 10th Anniversary (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Sunday, September 22, 3:30 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Batman (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Sunday, September 22, 2 p.m.; The Last Picture House Rooftop: Friday, September 20, and Saturday, September 21, 8 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Batman Begins (PG-13; Putnam Museum & Science Center: Saturday, September 21, 1 p.m.) - Christopher Nolan's superhero blockbuster is so mired in the surface details of its mythology - all the Bat-minutiae - that it barely exists except as an exercise in Keeping the Fans Happy, and it exudes such reverence toward its source material that even its attempts at comedy feel sour. IMDb listing.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, The Last Picture House, 61 Voy Drive In Theatre, Blue Grass Drive-in, FilmScene on the Ped Mall, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - What this long-gestating sequel occasionally lacks in energy and taste is completely made up for in charm, as well as the kinds of knockout, lunatic set pieces that turned its predecessor into such a singular work of Burton-ian art. IMDb listing.
The Birds (PG-13; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Friday, September 20, and Monday, September 23, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
The Blue Angel (not rated; The Last Picture House: Wednesday, September 25, 6 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
The Dark Knight (PG-13; Putnam Museum & Science Center: Saturday, September 21, 4 p.m.) - Terrifying yet hilarious, wildly outsize yet devastatingly subtle, and at all times alive with the sheer playfulness of acting, Heath Ledger's Joker raised the bar for all future screen super-villains, and quite possibly, for all future screen stars. IMDb listing.
The Dark Knight Rises (PG-13; Putnam Museum & Science Center: Saturday, September 21, 7 p.m.) - I left Christopher Nolan's 165-minute comic-book epic simultaneously jazzed and sated, and more than ready to see it again. IMDb listing.
Deadpool & Wolverine (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Shawn Levy's R-rated comic-book adventure is gutless, and supremely dull, because it doesn't believe in anything beyond sarcasm. IMDb listing.
Despicable Me 4 (PG; VIP Cinemas) - This latest entry in Illumination's animated franchise is fun, but at 94 compact minutes, it's also kind of exhausting fun. IMDb listing.
Dream Big: Engineering Our World (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
The Forge (PG; VIP Cinemas) - IMDb listing.
God's Not Dead: In God We Trust (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - IMDb listing.
Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets (PG; Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Sunday, September 22, 4 p.m., and Tuesday, September 24, 6 p.m.) - Chris Columbus' second stab at Rowling is totally devoid of personality, and therefore, irredeemably boring. IMDb listing.
The House of the Dead (PG; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Wednesday, September 25, 10 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
In the Mood for Love (PG; FilmScene in the Park: Saturday, September 21, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
It Ends with Us (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas) - In this adaptation of Christy Hall's bestseller, it's her script's character complexity, and the tough-minded performances bringing it to life, that help make up for most everything that might make you roll your eyes. IMDb listing.
Jung Kook: I Am Still (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - IMDb listing.
The Killer's Game (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - This action-comedy showcase for Dave Bautista and a terrific supporting cast is a lot more fun than it had any right to be. IMDb listing.
Long Gone Heroes (R; VIP Cinemas) - IMDb listing.
Mathu Vadalara 2 (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - IMDb listing.
The Matrix: 25th Anniversary (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Sunday, September 22, 3 & 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Mesmerica XL (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center: Friday, September 20) - Putnam.org.
A Mistake (not rated; Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
The Mother of All Lies (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey) - IMDb listing.
Nelly Queen: The Life & Times of Jose Sarria (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Thursday, September 26, 6:30 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Never Let Go (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Omni Loop (not rated; VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Reagan (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas) - This right-leaning bio-pic isn't electrion-year propaganda; it's just your typically earnest, bland, boring bio-drama that bites off way more than it can chew. IMDb listing.
Run Lola Run (R; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Saturday, September 21, 10 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
The Scale of Hope (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Wednesday, September 25, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Secrets of the Dunes (not ratedl; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Putnam.org.
The Shade (not rated; Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Speak No Evil (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Blue Grass Drive-in, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - I didn't dislike James Watkins' fright flick because it wasn't frightening, though that certainly didn't help matters. I disliked it because, in a rarity for this genre, its heroes and villains truly seemed to deserve each other. IMDb listing.
The Substance (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, FilmScene at the Chauncey, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Sugarcane (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey) - IMDb listing.
Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Saturday, September 21, and Wednesday, September 25) - IMDb listing.
T. rex (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Putnam.org.
Train Time (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
Transformers One (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Trap (PG-13; Voy 61 Drive In Theatre, Blue Grass Drive-in) - Shymalan's latest twisty thriller may not be very good, but you gotta hand it to M. Night: He does have a flair for the perverse. IMDb listing.
Twisters (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Glen Powell, here, is a perfect representation of the film experience as a whole: eminently watchable, enjoyably cheeky, deeply (if sometimes cloyingly) sincere, and obviously eager to give audiences a great time. IMDb listing.
What We Find on the Road (R; Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Whiplash: 10-Year Anniversary (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - Damien Chazelle's Oscar-winning jazz-drummer drama is thrilling, funny, frightening, heartbreaking, and, despite what you may mistakenly perceive as "formula," almost stunningly unpredictable. IMDb listing.
Will & Harper (R; FilmScene on the Ped Mall) - IMDb listing.
