The Naked Gun
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.)
***
28 Years Later (R; VIP Cinemas) - 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 Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (R; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Monday, August 4, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Aliens (R; FilmScene on the Ped Mall Rooftop: Sunday, August 3, 8:25 p.m.) - Terrifying but not traumatizing; inventively futuristic yet grounded in reality; memorably gross (the chest-burster!); disarmingly funny (bless you, Bill Paxton!); and packed to the gills with call-backs and military combat and screeching, toothy xenomorphs. IMDb listing.
Architecton (G; The Last Picture House) - IMDb listing.
The Bad Guys 2 (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Voy 61 Druve In Theatre, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
The Blues Brothers (R; The Last Picture House Rooftop: Friday, August 1, and Saturday, August 2, 8:30 p.m.; VIP Cinemas: Sunday, August 3, and Wednesday, August 6, 1 & 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
BTS Army: Forever We Are Young (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Saturday, August 2, noon) - IMDb listing.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Sunday, August 3, 4 p.m., and Tuesday, August 5, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
CatVideoFest 2025 (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Saturday, August 2, and Sunday, August 3, 1 p.m.) - ICFilmScene.org.
Critical Role Live: Indianapolis (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Tuesday, August 5, 7 p.m.) - FathomEntertainment.com.
DCI 2025: Big, Loud, & Live (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Thursday, August 7, 5:30 p.m.) - FathomEntertainment.com.
Dream Big: Engineering Our World (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
Eddington (R; The Last Picture House, FilmScene at the Chauncey) - Nearly everyone in Ari Aster's satiric neo-Western appears about five seconds away from completely losing their minds. You could argue that the film eventually goes crazy, too. That's part of what I loved about it. IMDb listing,
Elio (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Blue Grass Drive-in) - 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, 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.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Blue Grass Drive-in, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - By the finale, nearly everything of early interest has succumbed to the same ol' visually indistinct, destruction-of-the-universe meaninglessness, with the added hangup of the action being almost insultingly stupid. IMDb listing.
Freakier Friday: Fan First Screening (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Wednesday, August 6, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Grease (PG; Blue Grass Drive-in) - Randal Kleiser's 1978 mega-hit remains pretty irresistible, and has become more so given that its performers who looked way too old for high school now appear almost unspeakably young. IMDb listing.
The Home (R; VIP Cinemas) - Not since 2021's Malignant, or maybe the following year's Orphan: First Kill, has a fright flick so gobsmacked me with a narrative shock that it wound up making a mediocre movie kind of awesome. IMDb listing.
House on Eden (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - Even at a mere 78 minutes, this Blair Witch Project wannabe is absolutely intolerable, and not just because this was all done with considerably more artistry 26 years ago. IMDb listing.
How to Train Your Dragon (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas) - 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.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Between the obnoxiously vocalized exposition and the performers' maddening diction issues, this unnecessary horror sequel was annoying from the word go. IMDb listing.
Iowa City Video Zine Youth Episode (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey, 6:30 p.m.) - ICFilmScene.org.
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.
Jurassic World Rebirth (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, 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.
Kingdom (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - IMDb listing.
The Lego Batman Movie (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Monday, August 4, and Wednesday, August 6, 9:30 p.m.) - Will Arnett is a consistent riot as a relentlessly self-aggrandizing Dark Knight, and director Chris McKay and his quintet of screenwriters make frequently marvelous comedic hay out of 78 years of superhero mythology. IMDb listing.
Lilo & Stitch (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Blue Grass Drive-in) - 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.
Labyrinth (PG; The Last Picture House Rooftop: Thursday, August 7, 8:30 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
The Lost World (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Putnam.org.
The Met Summer Encore: Lucia di Lammermoor (not rated: Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Wednesday, August 6, 1 & 6:30 p.m.) - MetOpera.org.
Migration (PG; VIP Cinemas: Wednesday, August 6, and Thursday, August 7, 10 a.m.) - Merely a well-executed animated 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.
Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (PG-13; VIP Cinemas) - 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.
Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaohs (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - This edu-doc tries to do too much in too little 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.
The Naked Gun (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, FilmScene at the Chauncey, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Oh, Hi! (R; Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Paper Plates (not rated; The Last Picture House: Sunday, August 3, 8:30 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Return to the Lost World (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Putnam.org.
Sketch (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: opens Monday, August 4) - IMDb listing.
Smurfs (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Blue Grass Drive-in) - I was just happy that I managed to smile on more than a few occasions, and even find a bit of pleasure in elements I expected to loathe. IMDb listing.
Son of Sardaar 2 (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - IMDb listing.
Sorry, Baby (R; FilmScene at the Chauncey) - IMDb listing.
Sunset Boulevard: 75th Anniversary (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Sunday, August 3, and Monday, August 4) - IMDb listing.
Superman (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Voy 61 Drive In Theatre, Blue Grass Drive-in, FilmScene on the Ped Mall, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - This problematic big swing is more fun than most generically solid comic-book movies, because it's a determinedly weird one, and largely held together by David Corenswet's devastating sincerity and well-employed comic chops. 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.
T. REX (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
Together (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, The Last Picture House, FilmScene at the Chauncey, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
The Toxic Avenger (R; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Wednesday, August 6, 10 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
What If ... : 15th Anniversary (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Tuesday, August 5, and Thursday, August 7) - IMDb listing.
