Superman
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.)
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28 Years Later (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Here's hoping that Danny Boyle's and Alex Garland's weirdly static, deeply disappointing freakout may merely wind up a partial bummer – the two unsatisfying hours we have to endure before getting to four superior ones. IMDb listing.
The Ballad of Suzanne Cesaire (not rated; FilmScene on the Ped Mall) - IMDb listing.
The Devil's Backbone (R; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Monday, July 14, 7 p.m.) - This political drama-cum-horror movie is little heavy with its political metaphors, but Guillermo Del Toro's direction transcends the banality of some of the film's ideas. IMDb listing.
Do the Right Thing (R; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Sunday, July 13, 4 p.m., and Thursday, July 17, 7 p.m.) - An exhilarating exploration of race relations and temperatures (both environmental and emotional) passing their boiling points, this deservedly legendary Spike Lee joint might be the most purely alive movie of the '80s. IMDb listing.
Dream Big: Engineering Our World (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
Elio (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Voy 61 Drive In Theatre, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - You don't have to squint to see the more soulful, more devastatingly Pixar-ian film this entertainment might've been, say, 15 to 20 years ago, yet it's still fast and flaky and a consistently good time. IMDb listing.
FI: The Movie (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, FilmScene at the Chauncey, Blue Grass Drive-in, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - As an unequivocal Dad Movie, this big-screen spectacle is pretty solid and successful, even though I can barely muster any enthusiasm for it. IMDb listing.
Fellini Satyricon (R; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Tuesday, July 15, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Hardbodies (R; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Wednesday, July 16, 10 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets (PG; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - As with the first film, director Chris Columbus is letting J.K. Rowling's material do all the work for him; his films in this franchise are totally devoid of personality, and therefore, irredeemably boring. IMDb listing.
Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire (PG-13; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - A very literal-minded, and therefore deeply unsurprising, adaptation, "magical" in subject matter but not in execution. IMDb listing.
Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban (PG; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - A visually audacious work with moments of true magic, and it improves on Chris Chris Columbus' vision tenfold. IMDb listing.
Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone (PG; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - This big, handsome production, filled with classy art direction and classier performers, is also a bit of a dud, because all the professionalism in the world can't compensate for what's missing: magic. IMDb listing.
How to Train Your Dragon (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Voy 61 Drive In Theatre, Blue Grass Drive-in, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - As a live-action re-creation, the movie is impressive, in its way, but boasts close to zero in the way of personality, and a true zero in terms of fresh personality. IMDb listing.
Jerusalem (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - This visually spectacular, 45-minute edu-tainment on Israel's "cradle of civilization" is really quite a glorious piece of work. IMDb listing.
JUJUTSU KAISEN: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death - The Movie (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Wednesday, July 16, 7:15 & 9:45 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Jurassic World Rebirth (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, The Last Picture House, Voy 61 Drive In Theatre, Blue Grass Drive-in, Marcus Sycamore Cinema, ) - Gareth Edwards' direction kept me from hating this dino-sequel, but I did kind of hate the fact of its existence – some $180 million spent in service of something this profoundly, infuriatingly mediocre. IMDb listing.
Karate Kid: Legends (PG-13; VIP Cinemas) - Really? This is it? This whole, paltry, indifferently shot thing exists simply to get Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio on-screen together – and even then only barely, and not until almost a full hour has passed? IMDb listing.
Kung Fu Panda 4 (PG; Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - This animated comedy is hardly a debacle, but definitely a series low point, and all but indistinguishable from a 90-minute yawn. IMDb listing.
The Last Rodeo (PG; VIP Cinemas) - This pro-faith "inspirational" drama is profoundly unsurprising, generically tiresome, blandly staged, and indifferently acted in several major roles. IMDb listing.
A League of Our Own (PG; The Last Picture House Rooftop: Friday, July 11, and Saturday, July 12, 8:30 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Lilo & Stitch (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Blue Grass Drive-in, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Given Disney's “live-action” track record of recent years, "perfectly decent" is it's own kind of upgrade, and what the film is missing in magic is more than made up for in off-the-charts cute. IMDb listing.
The Lost World (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Putnam.org.
M3GAN 2.0 (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Blue Grass Drive-in, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Beyond last fall's Joker: Folie à Deux, it's hard to think of another recent sequel to a Hollywood hit that gives us so little of what we enjoyed the first time around. IMDb listing.
Materialists (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Celine Song's Past Lives followup is romantic silliness treated with absolute sincerity, even painful seriousness, and its effect is frequently breathtaking. IMDb listing.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Tom Cruise's eighth go at Ethan Hunt never stops reiterating that this is Serious Stuff for both the character and his portrayer, and the exhausting sameness of it all keeps grinding the movie to a halt. IMDb listing.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: 50th-Anniversary Screenings (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Sunday, July 13, and Wednesday, July 16) - IMDb listing.
The Phoenician Scheme (PG-13; FilmScene at the Chauncey) - While this is a swift, clever, oftentimes very funny fable that could only be the product of Wes Anderson, I'll admit I liked it better when it wasn't quite so manically busy and was titled The Royal Tenenbaums. IMDb listing.
Return to the Lost World (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Putnam.org.
Singing in My Sleep (not rated; VIP Cinemas) - IMDb listing.
Skillhouse (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas. Marcus Syacmore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Sinners (R; VIP Cinemas) - This might be first great movie that literally gives you everything, considering that most revered titles don't think to add bloody supernatural horror, original blues songs, and an American-history primer into the mix. IMDb listing.
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (PG; The Last Picture House Rooftop: Thursday, July 17, 8:30 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (PG; FilmScene in the Park: Saturday, July 12, 8:45 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Soverign (not rated; VIP Cinemas) - IMDb listing.
Space: The New Frontier (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
Superman (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, The Last Picture House, Blue Grass Drive-in, FilmScene at the Chauncey, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Superpower Dogs (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Daniel Ferguson's edu-doc 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.
This Is Spinal Tap: 41st-Anniversary Screening (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - A favorite (if not the favorite) of nearly every musician I've ever known, as well as every fan of Christopher Guest, mockumentaries, Christopher Guest mockumentaries, and movies that make you glad to be alive. IMDb listing.
Top Gun (PG; Blue Grass Drive-in) - To this day, tony Scott's square, silly recruiting poster still features enjoyable guilty pleasures, plus a few legitimate pleasures. IMDb listing.
Top Gun: Maverick (PG-13; Blue Grass Drive-in) - Had the movie and its star actually embraced Tom Cruise's human fallibility, this corny, retrograde, occasionally quite-entertaining outing might've really been something. IMDb listing.
Transformers One (PG; VIP Cinemas: Wednesday, July 16, and Thursday, July 17, 10 a.m.) - The animation is fairly impressive. The story is serviceable. Transformers die-hards will surely leave happy. I couldn't have cared less. IMDb listing.
The Wild Robot (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Monday, July 14, and Wednesday, July 16, 9:30 a.m.) - I watched nearly all of Chris Sanders' film in a state of grinning, open-mouthed rapture, and the only thing that would've made me happier was watching it all over again the instant it finished. IMDb listing.
