Verity
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.)
***
Adore Him: He Is Here (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Avengers: Endgame (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Voy 61 Drive In Theatre, Blue Grass Drive-in, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Directors Joe and Anthony Russo delivered a clever, funny, baffling, touching, blissfully fan-centric concluding chapter to the (at the time) 22-movie Marvel Cinematic Universe. IMDb listing.
Back from the Brink: Saved from Extinction (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - This edu-doc would be recommended solely for the chance, for 40 minutes, to actually feel momentarily great about the state of the human race. IMDb listing.
Beware Bouina (R; VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Buddy (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Rasting roughly nine times as long as Too Many Cooks, Casper Kelly's first big-screen release delivers a solid concept, sometimes ideally presented, that wildly overstays its welcome. IMDb listing.
Bugs! (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - The 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.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (PG; FilmScene in the Park: Saturday, October 3, 7 p.m.) - Before seeing Spielberg's sci-fi masterwork, I'd never known true cinematic awe – the kind that leaves you staring at the screen, slack-jawed, with the same hushed reverence of the film's scientists at the finale. IMDb listing.
Coyote vs. Acme (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Voy 61 Drive In Theatre) - Astonishingly, especially for a movie that runs roughly 35 times longer than any Looney Tunes classic ever did, this comedy doesn't run out of invention, and might even necessitate a second viewing just to notch all the gags. IMDb listing.
Creepshow (R; Blue Grass Drive-in) - IMDb listing.
Daniel & the Fiery Furnace (PG-13; VIP Cinemas) - IMDb listing.
Digger (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, FilmScene at the Chauncey, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Don't Trouble the Trouble (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Donnie Darko: 25th Anniversary (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Richard Kelly's 2001 cult classic is a genre-busting fusion of sci-fi, horror, comedy, and '80s-era teen pic. IMDb listing.
Drishyam: The Conclusion (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - IMDb listing.
Elephants: Giants of the Desert (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
The End of Oak Street (PG-13; VIP Cinemas) - David Robert Mitchell's dinosaurs-in-suburbia thriller is an absolute blast. I sensed that it was also a blast to make. 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.
Forgotten Island (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, FilmScene at the Chauncey, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - 2026 has been an overall banner year for animated features. This hilarious, inventive, eye-popping DreamWorks Animation release might be my new favorite. IMDb listing.
Ghostbusters (PG; The Last Picture House Rooftop: Thursday, October 8, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Ginger Snaps (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Saturday, October 3, 10 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! (R; FilmScene on the Ped Mall) - IMDb listing.
HauntedWeen (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Wednesday, October 7, 10 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Heart of the Beast (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Blue Grass Drive-in, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - The dog is wonderful, but this well-meaning survival drama is sill kinda dull, mostly because it's all so familiar. IMDb listing.
Hollywood Shuffle (R; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Monday, October 5, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
The Influencer Project (R; VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Lemonade Blessing w/ Chris Merola Q&A (not rated; The Last Picture House: Wednesday, October 7, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Linkin Park: Unshatter (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Saturday, October 3, 2 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
The Met Opera: Cosi fan tutte (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Saturday, October 3, and Wednesday, October 7) - IMDb listing.
Minions & Monsters (PG; VIP Cinemas) - 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.
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.
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.
National Theatre Live: All My Sons (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Saturday, October 3, noon) - IMDb listing.
Nickels (not rated; VIP Cinemas) - IMDb listing.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (PG; Blue Grass Drive-in) - IMDb listing.
Ocean's 8 (PG-13; Aledo Opera House) - Gary Ross' crime caper is breezy and stylish, but the rather paint-by-numbers approach can lead to your mind wandering even while you're enjoying yourself. IMDb listing.
Oceans (G; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - The movie's 85 minutes occasionally crawl by as deliberately as its sea-floor denizens, yet it's hard to be too disappointed by a film that provides so many extraordinary sights. IMDb listing.
Practical Magic 2 (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Voy 61 Drive In Theatre, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Director Susanne Bier's sequel is at least significantly stronger than its forebear, though it's a measure of just how drippy PM1 is that the new outing is still only not-bad, at best. IMDb listing.
Primetime (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, The Last Picture House, Blue Grass Drive-in, FilmScene at the Chauncey, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Lance Oppenheim's To Catch a Predator thriller is a great dela of lurid fun, but what's missing is any sense of a bigger picture. IMDb listing.
Queen: Live in Budapest (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Wednesday, October 7, 7:15 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Resident Evil (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Blue Grass Drive-in, FilmScene on the Ped Mall, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - This horror comedy may not boast the “WTF?!” thrill that accompanied 2022's Barbarian, and it's certainly less sprawling and ambitious than last summer's Weapons, but it's still my favorite Zach Cregger to date. IMDb listing.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (R; The Last Picture House Rooftop: Friday, October 2, 7 p.m., and Saturday, October 3, 9:30 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Rolling Loud: The Movie (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore) - IMDb listing.
Runner (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - Ask Claude to compose a “Midnight Run with a refrigerated organ” screenplay and I'm pretty sure it would spit out Runner. IMDb listing.
Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, FilmScene on the Ped Mall) - Aardman's latest stop-motion-animated comedy is a gloriously eccentric, visually riotous family film that almost held my interest all the way through. IMDb listing.
The Shining (R; VIP Cinemas: Sunday, October 4, and Wednesday, October 7, 12:50 & 7 p.m.) - We all thought we knew what we were getting into, until this horror classic's director/co-writer shattered our presumptions by significantly deviating from the novel's haunted-hotel particulars and creating hypnotically unsettling imagery that felt far more the product of Kubrick than King. IMDb listing.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas) - Its moderate merits are ultimately undone by the element that's been imposing itself on Marvel Studios releases for ages: a feature-length game of connect the dots. IMDb listing.
Spirited Away: Live on Stage (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Thursday, October 8, 7:20 p.m.) - 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.
This Is Buzz w/ Mark Pellington Q&A (not rated; The Last Picture House: Monday, October 5, 6:45 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Tiny Giants (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - All told, it would be nearly impossible not to have a great time at this thing. IMDb listing.
Titans of the Ice Age (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Gorgeously photographed and boasting perhaps the finest CGI I've ever seen in a National Geographic doc, the film is both informative and a heck of a lot of fun. IMDb listing.
Trick 'r Treat (R; Blue Grass Drive-in) - IMDb listing.
Verity (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, The Last Picture House, Blue Grass Drive-in, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - 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 sights on display left me less fascinated than thunderstruck. IMDb listing.
Weekend (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Tuesday, October 6, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
The Weight (R; VIP Cinemas) - Among Depression-era tales, Padraic McKinley's thriller is just slightly less harrowing than Paper Moon. IMDb listing.
Wild Africa (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
