The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Blue Grass Drive-in, Blue Grass IA

Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAXDavenport IA

FilmScene, Iowa City IA

The Last Picture House, Davenport IA

Marcus Sycamore CinemaIowa City IA

Putnam Museum & Science Center, Davenport IA

VIP CinemasMoline 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.)

***

Absolution (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Doesn't Liam Neeson remember that he already made this action thriller in 2022, when it was directed by Martin Campbell and titled, ironically enough, MemoryIMDb listing.

Addams Family Values (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Sunday, November 10, noon, and Wednesday, November 13, 6:30 p.m.) - Barry Sonnenfeld's follow-up is just about flawless for what it aims to be – nothing more, or less, than 90 minutes of madly inspired, laugh-out-loud silliness. IMDb listing.

Almost Famous (R; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Saturday, November 9, 10 p.m.) - While I gave them all faint praise the first time around, I'm now continually knocked out by the portrayals of Kate Hudson, Frances McDormand, and Billy Crudup, the latter of whose turn as ascending rock god Russell Hammond should've made the Tony winner a huge film sta IMDb listing.

Andrea Bocelli 30: The Celebration (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.

Anora (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, The Last Picture House, FilmScene at the Chauncey) - IMDb listing.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (PG-13; VIP Cinemas) - 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 Best Christmas Pageant Ever (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.

Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 +IMAX) - IMDb listing.

The Boondock Saints: 25th Anniversary (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Sunday, November 7, 2:30 p.m.) - IMDb listing.

Catch-22 (R; FilmScene on the Ped Mall: Monday, November 11, 6:30 p.m.) - IMDb listing.

Conclave (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, FilmScene at the Chauncey, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - While the process of electing a new Catholic pope may not sound like the stuff of cinematic enthrallment, Edward Berger's dramatic thriller is an almost ridiculous amount of fun. IMDb listing.

Dragon Ball Daima (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.

Dream Big: Engineering Our World (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.

Elevation (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.

For Friends & Family Only: Shawn Mendes, A Live Concert Film (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Thursday, November 14, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.

Gilda (not rated; FilmScene on the Ped Mall: Sunday, November 10, 4 p.m., and Thursday, November 14, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.

Godzilla Minus One (PG-13; VIP Cinemas) - We're left in an unusual and thrilling position in this first-rate monster spectacle: wanting, as genre fans, as much demolition as possible, just so long as no people get hurt. IMDb listing.

The Goonies (PG; Voy 61 Drive In Theatre) - IMDb listing.

Here (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Robert Zemeckis' considerable technical virtuosity would mean more if it weren't in serve to what is, hands down, the movie year's most simpering, witless, staggeringly pandering achievement. IMDb listing.

Heretic (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, The Last Picture House, FilmScene at the Chauncey, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - While your nerves are in a constant jangle throughout Scott Beck's and Bryan Woods' latest, your worry is routinely offset by unexpected notes of discordant comedy. IMDb listing.

Hitpig! (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.

Kanguva (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: opens Wednesday, November 13) - IMDb listing.

The Lighthouse (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Wednesday, November 13, 7 p.m.) - Robert Eggers' black-and-white freakout is a major head-scratcher, but the film's in-the-moment pleasures are copious and profound. IMDb listing.

Lost on a Mountain in Maine (PG; VIP Cinemas) - IMDb listing.

Mango House (not rated; FilmScene on the Ped Mall: Wednesday, November 13, 7 p.m.) - ICFilmScene.org.

Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - This edu-doc tries to do too much in too little a time, but it's never less than interesting, and those mega-screen vistas of Egypt are truly stunning. IMDb listing.

Museum Alive! (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Putnam.org.

Oceans (G; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - A little dull and wildly overlong, but it's hard to be too disappointed by a film that provides so many extraordinary sights. IMDb listing.

Patterns of Evidence: The Israel Dilemma (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Wednesday, November 13, 7:30 p.m.) - PatternsOfEvidence.com.

Prince of Darkness (R; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Wednesday, November 13, 10 p.m.) - IMDb listing.

Purna Bahadur ko Sarangi (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - Cinemark.com.

Radiating Joy: The Michelle Duppong Story (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Tuesday, November 12) - FathomEvents.com.

Red One: Early-Access Screening (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Sunday, November 10, 4:15 p.m.) - IMDb listing.

Singham Again (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - IMDb listing.

The Secret Life of Pets (PG; Voy 61 Drive In Theatre) - It has sensational animation and a zippy pace, but it’s hard not to see directors Yarrow Cheney’s and Chris Renaud’s outing as a bit of a blown opportunity, given that it keeps hinting at a potential greatness it seems forever uninterested in pursuing. IMDb listing.

Secrets of the Dunes (not raped; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Putnam.org.

Small Things Like These (PG-13; VIP Cinemas, FilmScene on the Ped Mall) - IMDb listing.

Smile 2 (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Blue Grass Drive-in, Marcus Sycamore Cinemas) - While this horror sequel isn't that bad, it is buoyed by an unusual and welcome foundation: tension built on preexisting tension. IMDb listing.

Space: The New Frontier (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.

A Special Day (not rated; FilmScene on the Ped Mall: Tuesday, November 12, 6:30 p.m.) - IMDb listing.

Stories of Community One Year Celebration (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Saturday, November 9, 3 p.m.) - ICFilmScene.org.

Swan Lake in IMAX (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - IMAX.com.

T. rex (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Putnam.org.

Terrifier 3 (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Blue Grass Drive-in, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - In this horror threquel, we totally get the goods – namely murders and mutilations so unspeakably grisly that the former Fangoria obsessive in me was continually, if queasily, delighted. IMDb listing.

Train Time (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.

Transformers One  (PG; VIP Cinemas) - The animation is fairly impressive. The story, or what I remember of it, is serviceable. Transformers die-hards will surely leave happy. I couldn't have cared less. IMDb listing.

Venom: The Last Dance (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Kelly Marcel's trilogy-ender is like the exact mid-point between the two previous comic-book outings, meaning it falls somewhere between generically bad and atrocious. IMDb listing.

We Live in Time (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, FilmScene on the Ped Mall, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Without the jumping-forward/leaping-back conceit of director John Crowley's and screenwriter Nick Payne's romantic tearjerker, there's no movie – or at least, not one that most would find worth watching. IMDb listing.

Weekend in Taipei (R; Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.

Where Olive Trees Weep (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Thursday, November 14, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.

Wild Africa (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.

The Wild Robot (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Like my 10-year-old chaperone, I watched nearly all of this animated adventure in a state of grinning, open-mouthed rapture, and the only thing that would've made us happier, we agreed, was watching it all over again the instant it finished. IMDb listing.

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