The Fall Guy
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
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.)
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Abigail (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - Because almost half the movie is spent getting to the “twist” that nearly every patron will be aware of before entering the theater, you'll likely find yourself inordinately antsy even if you're enjoying the rogue's gallery of mismatched kidnappers. IMDb listing.
The Amazing Spider-Man (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Monday, May 6, 7 p.m.) - This 2012 blockbuster is a perfectly acceptable, unadventurous, by-the-numbers endeavor that doesn't, in any significant way, improve on Sam Raimi's oh-so-ancient Spider-Man from 2002 IMDb listing.
Away from Her (PG-13; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Tuesday, May 7, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Boy Kills World (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - Our zillionth entertainment concerning a kid who witnesses his family's brutal murders and spends his life training to annihilate the perpetrators, but there was a lot about it I very much liked. IMDb listing.
Challengers (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, The Last Picture House, FilmScene on the Ped Mall, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - A deep dive into competitive and sexual power dynamics so overflowing with passion that your admission ticket should come with a complimentary mini-fan. IMDb listing.
Chicken for Linda! (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey) - IMDb listing.
Civil War (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Alex Garland's rather astonishing dystopian provocation may be exciting, but it's exciting in the way a near-death experience is – which is to say terrifying, and no fun at all. IMDb listing.
Degree Maila M.A. 3rd Class (not rated; Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Saturday, May 4, and Tuesday, May 7, 1:30 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Departing Seniors (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Wednesday, May 8, 10 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Dial M for Murder (not rated; Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Sunday, May 5, and Wednesday, May 8) - IMDb listing.
Dragonkeeper (PG; Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Dream Big: Engineering Our World (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
Dune: Part Two (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - A bit more redundant than Part One, but it's hard to imagine another offering this year matching or bettering this sci-fi sequel's levels of scale, scope, and bone-deep, only-in-the-movies satisfaction. IMDb listing.
Egoist (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey) - IMDb listing.
The Empire Strikes Back (PG; Putnam Museum & Science Center: Saturday, May 4, 1:30 p.m.) - This Star Wars followup is a more polished work than its immediate forebear – better written, better acted, better at conveying mood and atmosphere and crisis. IMDb listing.
The Fall Guy (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, The Last Picture House, FilmScene at the Chauncey, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - 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.
Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - I just sighed at the experience, and slumped into my seat further and further as the film continually struggled, and failed, to deliver anything approximating the zippy good times of Ivan Reitman's '80s blockbusters. IMDb listing.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - While I'd hardly consider this monster mash on par with the Oscar-winning genius of Godzilla Minus One, but I actually managed to stay awake, and even have a bit of fun. IMDb listing.
Into America's Wild (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
Jeanne du Barry (not ratedl Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Jolly Roger (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Putnam.org.
Journey to Space (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Says narrator Patrick Stewart of the genial scientists on-screen, "It's all about getting the job done and having a little fun" - an apt description for this edu-doc itself. IMDb listing.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes: Early Access Screening (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Wednesday, May 8, 7:15 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Kung Fu Panda 4 (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Voy 61 Drive In Theatre) - This third animated sequel is hardly a debacle, but it's definitely a series low point, and all but indistinguishable from a 90-minute yawn. IMDb listing.
Lost Boys, Stolen Trucks (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Saturday, May 4, 10 p.m.) - ICFilmScene.org.
Migration (PG; Voy 61 Drive In Theatre) - This goofy animated outing is merely a well-executed lark with all the expected, family-friendly Life Lessons in place, if one boasting funnier second bananas than we're generally treated to. IMDb listing.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Guy Ritchie's spy-themed action comedy is for everyone who would've liked Inglourious Basterds more if it had less threat, less wit, and no Christoph Waltz. IMDb listing.
Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Freedom (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Tuesday, May 7, and Wednesday, May 8, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Monkey Man (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - While the action scenes may be energetic, they leave no residue; an hour after seeing the film, I couldn't recall a single instance of inventive choreography. IMDb listing.
The Mummy: 25th Anniversary (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - IMDb listing.
Museum Alive! (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Putnam.org.
National Parks Adventure (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - This expectedly gorgeous edu-doc is also unexpectedly, even thrillingly, varied in presentation: sensationally informative, joyfully inspiring, and even laugh-out-loud funny. IMDb listing.
Oceans (G; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - The movie's 85 minutes occasionally crawl by as deliberately as its sea-floor denizens, but it's hard to be too disappointed by a film that provides so many extraordinary sights. IMDb listing.
The People's Joker (not rated; FilmScene on the Ped Mall) - IMDb listing.
Prasanna Vadanam (not rated; Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Return of the Jedi (PG; Putnam Museum & Science Center: Saturday, May 4, 4 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Robinson Crusoe (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Putnam.org.
Rocket Club: Across the Cosmos (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - IMDb listing.
Steel Magnolias: 35th Anniversary (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Sunday, May 5, 4 & 7 p.m., and Wednesday, May 8, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Star Wars (PG; Putnam Museum & Science Center: Saturday, May 4, 11 a.m.) - IMDb listing.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Strange Brew (PG; Monday, May 6, FilmScene at the Chauncey: Monday, May 6, 6:30 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Superpower Dogs (G; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - We're given just enough information on how the heroic pups pull off their feats of derring-do to wholly appreciate them in practice, with the duties of the stunningly well-trained Ricochet proving especially moving. IMDb listing.
Tarot (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Unsung Hero (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Given that so many works of this sort feel predictable to a fault even from their first trailers, I was thoroughly grateful for the unanticipated character complexity. IMDb listing.
Volcanoes: The Fires of Creation (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - I might've left this edu-doc just as satisfied if it were a silent film, or at least one wholly free of words, given that the 3D sights on display left me less fascinated than thunderstruck. IMDb listing.
West Indies: The Fugitive Slaves of Liberty (not rated; Sunday, May 5, 3:30 p.m., and Thursday, May 9, 6:30 p.m.) - ICFilmScene.org.
Wicked Little Letters (R; FilmScene on the Ped Mall) - Potty language aside, this is pure Brit-com, overflowing with easy stereotypes, pleasant period trappings, and a heavy-handed social message delivered with the lightest of touches. IMDb listing.
