Moana
Aledo Opera House, Aledo IL
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.)
***
Bad Counselors (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
The Bad Guys 2 (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Monday, July 27, through Thursday, July 30) - One of few animated releases whose big-name cast had me happily imagining the same experience sans animation. IMDb listing.
Barbie (PG-13; The Last Picture House Rooftop: Friday, July 24, and Saturday, July 25, 8:45 p.m.) - That Greta Gerwig is able to make statements about corporate greed without equivalent corporate interest, and deep-rooted patriarchy in the guise of PC-friendly “wokeness.," while delivering ginormous laughs and making you cry constitutes something of a miracle. IMDb listing.
The Breadwinner (PG; Aledo Opera House) - Like a pile-of-poo emoji with a smiley face attached, this Nate Bargatze comedy isn't remotely human, but dammit, you get it, and it makes you giggle. IMDb listing.
Brunello: The Garcious Visionary (PG-13; VIP Cinemas) - IMDb listing.
Bugs! (not rated;; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - The 3D effects make the film's creepy-crawly world pop in enjoyable fashion, and the bugs' life-and-death struggle makes for endlessly intriguing viewing IMDb listing.
Chennai Love Story (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - IMDb listing.
Curious George (G; Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Sunday, July 26, through Thursday, July 30) - This cartoon adaptation of the beloved children's-book series is a spirited, surprisingly funny entertainment that captures the books' impish simplicity, yet is far wittier than you'd expect. IMDb listing.
Disclosure Day (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - I found myself raising a cocked eyebrow at Steven Spielberg's sci-fi thriller in the first five minutes, and the last five minutes, and during many of the 130 minutes in between. IMDb listing.
Dog Soldiers (R; FilmScene on the Ped Mall Rooftop: Wednesday, July 29,10 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Dream Big: Engineering Our World (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
Elephants: Giants of the Desert (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
Evil Dead Burn (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Blue Grass Drive-in, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - In addition to not being fun, or even remotely funny, this gore-fest denies us even one character whose survival you're invested in. IMDb listing.
The Fifth Element (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Sunday, July 26, and Monday, July 27) - IMDb listing.
Flight of the Butterflies (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - A bit pokey, but the slow, unspeakably beautiful explosion that is the butterflies' mass exodus is enough to make you believe in God - or, at the very least, in the gods of nature docs. IMDb listing.
Gauthali (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - IMDb listing.
Hadestown: The Musical (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, The Last Picture House, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Haunted Heist (R; Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Her Private Hell (R; The Last Picture House) - IMDb listing.
Hidden Universe (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
Into America's Wild (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
The Invite (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, The Last Picture House, FilmScene at the Chauncey) - It's really only the aggressively off opening quarter that kept me from loving Olivia Wilde's marfital comedy, and even that becomes something close to a distant memory by the finale. IMDb listing.
Jackass: Best & Last (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas) - An ecstatic, collective middle finger to aging and chronic pain and death - not a world I want to live in, but one I'm always delighted to visit. IMDb listing.
Jana Nayagan (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - IMDb listing.
Jesus (not rated; Aledo Opera House: Monday, July 27, 6 p.m.) - Sight-Sound.com.
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (PG; Aledo Opera House) - The series isn't stepping backward with this installment so much as merely running in place IMDb listing.
Mary Oliver: Saves by the Beauty of the World (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey) - IMDb listing.
Minions & Monsters (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Blue Grass Drive-in, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - It's hard to think of a more ticklish recent ode to cinema than thios animated sequel, which would've been just about perfect if its monsters were ditched entirely. IMDb listing.
Moana (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Voy 61 Drive In Theatre, Blue Grass Drive-in, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Another unconscionable yet sadly inevitable Disney cash grab. IMDb listing.
Motor City: Early-Access Screening (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
The Mummy (PG-13; The Last Picture House Rooftop: Thursday, July 30, 8:45 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Mysteries of the Unseen World (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - One of the fastest-moving, most visually resplendent edu-tainments the Putnam has ever housed. IMDb listing.
National Parks Adventure (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - This expectedly gorgeous endeavor is also unexpectedly, even thrillingly, varied in presentation: sensationally informative, joyfully inspiring, and even laugh-out-loud funny. IMDb listing.
Obsession (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - This is Curry Barker's chance to give Gen Z a Fatal Attraction of its very own, and if his movie doesn't wholly succeed … . Well, Adrian Lyne's 1987 smash had major problems, too. IMDb listing.
Oceans (G; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
The Odyssey (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, The Last Picture House, Blue Grass Drive-in, FilmScene at the Chauncey, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - A Homer adaptation of staggering grandeur and (for Nolan) considerable emotional power, and more sheer fun than anything Christopher Nolan has delivered since The Dark Knight. IMDb listing.
Pinocchio: Unstrung (R; Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Punch-Drunk Love (R; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Monday, July 27, 7 p.m.) - Paul Thomas Anderson made the most technically accomplished Adam Sandler movie ever, but all that technique does is exacerbate the witlessness of the Sandler formula. IMDb listing.
Rose of Nevada (not rated; FilmScene on the Ped Mall) - IMDb listing.
The Sandlot (PG; FilmScene in the Park: Saturday, July 25, 8:30 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Sia: Nostalgic for the Present (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Sunday, July 26, 1:20 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants (PG; VIP Cinemas: Tuesday, July 28, through Thursday, July 30) - IMDb listing.
Sugar Island (not rated; FilmScene on the Ped Mall: Thursday, July 30, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Supergirl (PG-13; VIP Cinemas) - Given how bored I've been at so many cinematic superhero origin stories over the decades, I feel silly for wishing that Craig Gillespie's adventure had merely been a superhero origin story. IMDb listing.
Superpower Dogs (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Daniel Ferguson provides enough globe-trotting action for a James Bond flick, treating us to first-rate training footage and re-created missions in locales ranging from the Canadian Rockies to the Italian coast to a debris-strewn site near New York's Ground Zero. IMDb listing.
T. Rex (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
Toy Story 5 (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Blue Grass Drive-in, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - To not have fun at this movie, I think you'd have to actively try to have a bad time – which isn't to say that we didn't deserve a better one. IMDb listing.
Tremors (PG-13; VIP Cinemas: Sunday, July 26, 1 & 7:20 p.m., and Wednesday, July 29, 2 & 7:30 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
WHAM! 10 Days in China (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Tuesday, July 28, 6:15 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Wild Rescue (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
Young Washington (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - For all of the film's squareness and late-in-the-day silliness, writer/director Jon Erwin, his subtly magnetic lead, and his deeply impressive supporting ensemble delivera true American hero to root for. IMDb listing.
