Whalefall
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.)
***
Aa Bata Aama (not rated; Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Always Lalisa (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Saturday, October 17, 6 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
American Psycho (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Tuesday, October 20, 6:45 p.m.) - Despite a few glitches, this Bret Easton Ellis adaptation works terrifically well, and director Mary Harron's approach is probably the only route this particular film could have taken to succeed. IMDb listing.
Angel & the Badman (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas) - By all means, capture the QR code at the end, and share this pathetic Western romantic drama with whomever you most hate. IMDb listing.
Arctic: Our Frozen Planet (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
Avengers: Endgame (PG-13; VIP Cinemas) - 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 to the Future (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Wednesday, October 21, 4 & 6:45 p.m.) - 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.
Clue (PG; Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Wednesday, October 21, 1 & 7:30 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Coyote vs. Acme (PG; VIP Cinemas) - 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.
The Craft (R; The Last Picture House Rooftop: Friday, October 16, and Saturday, October 17, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Crawlers (R; VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Daniel & the Fiery Furnace (PG-13; VIP Cinemas) - IMDb listing.
Digger (R; Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - It's loud, boorish, obvious, and resolutely, almost fiendishly unfunny ... yet the unrevealable final five to 10 minutes genuinely affected me, and were more powerful and bone-chillingly hilarious than anything that came before. IMDb listing.
Dinosaurs Alive! (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Even young viewers may wind up disappointed that the 3D effects don't add much, while the rest of us might also be underwhelmed by the sub-Ray Harryhausen recreations and general blandness of the presentation. IMDb listing.
Elephants: Giants of the Desert (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
Fallen Angels (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Thursday, October 22, 6 p.m.) - Kelli O'Hara and Rose Byrne go to soused seed with uproarious relish, their sloshed – yet entirely comprehensible – words cascading helplessly and their bodies twisting into seemingly every unnatural position possible. 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.
The Fly (R; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Saturday, October 17, 10 p.m.) - Jeff Goldblum's escalating transformation/deterioration is hilariously repellent on numerous levels. IMDb listing.
Flywheel: Ignition of the Soul (PG; VIP Cinemas) - IMDb listing.
Forgotten Island (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, FMarcus 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; Aledo Opera House) - IMDb listing.
Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers (R; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Wednesday, October 21, 10 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Heart of the Beast (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, 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.
The History of Concrete (not rated; FilmScene on the Ped Mall) - IMDb listing.
Iowa: and the Broekn Circle w/ Filmmaker Q&A (not rated; The Last Picture House: Wednesday, October 21, 7 p.m.) - LastPictureHouse.com.
Jailer 2 (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - IMDb listing.
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.
The Met Opera: Macbeth (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Saturday, October 17, noon, and Wednesday, October 21, 1 & 6:30 p.m.) - MetOpera.org.
Monsters, Inc. (G; Aledo Opera House) - Instead of achieving the genius-level greatness of the Toy Story films and A Bug's Life, Pixar's 2001 work is just brilliantly designed, cleverly plotted, and funny as all get-out. 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.
Musk (R; VIP Cinemas) - 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.
Naza (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey) - IMDb listing.
Never After Dark (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Friday, October 16, 10 p.m., and Saturday, October 17, 9:30 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - 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.
Other Mommy (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, The Last Picture House, Voy 61 Drive In Theatre, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - I may have been disappointed in this Blumhouse shocker, but it's hardly an ignoble failure, and it was kind of thrilling to see several genre norms smartly upturned before the picture was a half-hour old. IMDb listing.
Penguin Island 3D (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Putnam.org.
Practical Magic 2 (PG-13; 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, 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.
Ranabaali (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - IMDb listing.
Resident Evil (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Voy 61 Drive In Theatre, 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 Scout (not rated; FilmScene on the Ped Mall) - IMDb listing.
Sense & Sensibility (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, FilmScene at the Chauncey, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
The Social Reckoning (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore) - This kinda-sorta Social Network sequel reeks of Aaron Sorkin, and it'll be a litmus test of your tolerance for the man's writing whether you consider his latest excruciating, as many reviewers appear to, or enjoyable despite itself, an opinion I'm only semi-guiltily copping to. IMDb listing.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day (PG-13; 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 (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar winner is deeply emotional without being cloying and truly funny without being corny. IMDb listing.
Street Fighter (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - 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.
T. Rex (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - 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.
Trust Me, I'm a Doctor (R; VIP Cinemas) - IMDb listing.
Verity (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, The Last Picture House, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - The plotting and execution may frequently make you want to hide under a blanket, it would be hard to argue that the performers aren't giving this trashy Colleen Hoover thriller their all. 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.
Whalefall (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Wild Africa (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
The Work in Progress (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey) - IMDb listing.
You Can See Everything (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, The Last Picture House) - IMDb listing.
You Can't Leave (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - IMDb listing.
Zombieland (R; The Last Picture House Rooftop: Thursday, October 22, 7 p.m.) - Bile is spewed, brains are bashed in, blood splatters the camera lens, and running a zippy 80 minutes, it's all just as gruesome and funny as you could want. IMDb listing.
