Napoleon
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, Maquoketa 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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Arctic: Our Frozen Planet (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - 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.
Casting Crowns: Home by Sunday (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Thursday, November 30, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Dead Poets Society (PG; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Tuesday, November 28, 7 p.m.) - While the boys are seizing the day, Peter Weir's prep-school drama is gently seizing you. IMDb listing.
Dr. Seuss' The Grinch (PG; Voy 51 Drive-in Theatre) - This family film does have a couple of ideas. Avoiding the film isn't an altogether bad one. IMDb listing.
Dhruva Natchathiram Chapter 1: Yuddha Kaandam (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - IMDb listing.
Duck Soup (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Friday, November 24, 3:30 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Elf: 20th Anniversary (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - Will Ferrell is so likable here that he overrides everything embarrassing about the material. IMDb listing.
FernGully: The Last Rainforest (G; The Last Picture House) - IMDb listing.
Five Nights at Freddy's (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - If you're up-in-the-air on whether this Blumhouse release is appropriate for, say, a Freddy's-obsessed nine-year-old, allow me to report that the one who accompanied me to a screening had the time of her life, and it was easy to see why she was so tickled. 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.
Godzilla Minus One: Early Access Screening (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Wednesday, November 29, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
High & Low (not rated; FilmScene on the Ped Mall) - IMDb listing.
The Holdovers (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, FilmScene on the Ped Mall, Marcus Sycamolre Cinema) - Nothing about Alexander Payne's latest dramedy significantly diverges from this blueprint, and yet, refreshingly, nothing that happens here happens in quite the manner you expect. IMDb listing.
The Hourglass Sanatorium (not rated; FilmScene on the Ped Mall: Sunday, November 26, 3:30 p.m., and Wednesday, November 29, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
The House of the Devil (R; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Wednesday, November 22, 10 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, The Last Picture House, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Director Francis Lawrence's terrific dystopian thriller kept me invested for the entirety of its two-and-a-half hours – even if it was slightly odd that this big-budget, large-scale return of cinematic YA lit is wholly stolen by its grown-ups. IMDb listing.
Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade (PG-13; The Last Picture House) - IMDb listing.
Into America's Wild (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - 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.
Journey to Bethlehem (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - This biblical musical is silly beyond words, yet it's easy to sit through, and could eventually make for fine parochial-school viewing right before Christmas break, when teachers might be looking for any excuse to not teach. 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 iitself. IMDb listing.
Killers of the Flower Moon (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Boasting amazing highs and significant flaws, Martin Scorsese's genre-bending crime drama is a just-miss of a masterpiece. IMDb listing.
Kota bommali PS (not rated; Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
Last Action Hero (PG-13; The Last Picture House) - IMDb listing.
The Last Black Man in San Francisco (R; The Last Picture House) - IMDb listing.
The Last Detail (R; The Last Picture House) - IMDb listing.
The Last Dragon (PG-13; The Last Picture House) - IMDb listing.
The Last Duel (R; The Last Picture House) - While the results are somewhat enticing, Ridley Scott's admittedly well-crafted Medieval #MeToo drama remains oddly unsatisfying – a tale of the past too-awkwardly trapped in the present. IMDb listing.
The Last Picture Show (R; The Last Picture House) - IMDb listing.
The Last Supper (R; The Last Picture House) - IMDb listing.
The Marvels (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Resoundingly meh, but I've seen five worse MCU offerings over the last 25 months alone. IMDb listing.
May December (R; FilmScene at the Chauncey) - IMDb listing.
The Met Opera: The Life & Times of Malcolm X (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Wednesday, November 29, 1 & 6:30 p.m.) - MetOpera.org.
Mummies: Secrets of the Pharaoahs (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - This edu-doc tries to do too much in too little time, but it's ever less than interesting, and those mega-screen vistas of Egypt are truly stunning. IMDb listing.
Napoleon (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, FilmScene at the Chauncey, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (PG-13; Voy 61 Drive-in Theatre) - IMDb listing.
Next Goal Wins (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - Taika Waititi's biographical sports comedy is a film that can be recommended only if you choose to completely ignore its central performance – which comes as something of a shock, given that the performance in question is by Michael Fassbender IMDb listing.
Oceans (G; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - IMDb listing.
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (R; The Last Picture House.) - IMDb listing.
The Polar Express (G; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - After its blessedly quiet opener, the 90 minutes that follow are a grating blend of the hyperactive and the maudlin, and any sweetness inherent in the Chris Van Allsburg children's book the movie is based on is totally lost. IMDb listing.
Priscilla (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, FilmScene on the Ped Mall) - A delicate little jewel box of a movie with a terrific central performance, but I would have preferred it had those jewels been put through more wear and tear. IMDb listing.
Saltburn (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, FilmScene at the Chauncey, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
The Shift: Early Access Screening (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Wednesday, November 29, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Spirited (PG-13; Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - At the end of Dickens' holiday tale, Scrooge requests that a local urchin procure the biggest turkey he can find. It may have taken 179 years, but I think the kid finally found it. IMDb listing.
Superpower Dogs (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Writer/director 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.
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX) - There’s a safe chance that if you’re a Taylor Swift fan, you’ve already seen The Eras Tour. Or perhaps you’ve already made plans to go. If you haven’t, I am going to safely exclaim, “It’s totally worth it!” (Reviewed by Madeline Dudziak.) IMDb listing.
Thanksgiving (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Eli Roth's splatter comedy is one of his less-objectionable offerings, which a number of reviewers seem to be equating to the movie actually being good. It's not. It's just mildly better. IMDb listing.
Trolls Band Together (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Enjoy this veritable Skittles explosion for the goofy, visually impressive, aurally ticklish toss-off it is, with the script boasting so many freestanding jokes that at least one in 10 made this adult viewer laugh out loud – and given the hearty plethora of gags, that's actually a commendable number. 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.
Wild Africa (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
Wish (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
The Wicker Man (R; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Wednesday, November 29, 10 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
