Gladiator II
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.)
***
Anora (R; FilmScene at the Chauncey) - Sean Baker's comedy/drama/romance/borderline-thriller nested inside an inverted fairy tale probably shouldn't have worked, yet it does, and so beautifully that my considerable gripes came to seem thoroughly dismissible. IMDb listing.
Arctic: Our Frozen Planet (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
Aristotle's Plot (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Tuesday, December 3, 7 p.m.) - ICFilmScene.org.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Funny without being pandering, touching without being saccharine, pro-Christian without being preachy, Barbara Park's literary bear hug is a true rarity among family entertainments. IMDb listing.
Black Christmas: 50th-Anniversary Screening (R; Thursday, December 5, 8 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin. (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
A Christmas Horror Story (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Wednesday, December 4, 10 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Conclave (PG; VIP Cinemas) - While the process of electing a new Catholic pope may not sound like the stuff of cinematic enthrallment, Edward Berger's dramatic thriller is an almost ridiculous amount of fun. IMDb listing.
Elf (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX: Saturday, November 30, 11:30 a.m., and Tuesday, December 3, 6:45 p.m.) - Will Ferrell plays Santa's helper completely without irony or any kind of audience-nudging, and is so likable that he overrides everything embarrassing about the material. IMDb listing.
Gladiator II (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, The Last Picture House, FilmScene on the Ped Mall, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - As easy as Rudley Scott's historical action epic is to sit through, it's only transfixing when Denzel Washington is onscreen … and he's never onscreen quite as much as you want. IMDb listing.
Here (PG-13; VIP Cinemas) - Robert Zemeckis' considerable technical virtuosity would mean more if it weren't in serve to what is, hands down, the movie year's most simpering, witless, staggeringly pandering achievement. IMDb listing.
Heretic (R; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas) - While your nerves are in a constant jangle throughout Scott Beck's and Bryan Woods' latest, your worry is routinely offset by unexpected notes of discordant comedy. IMDb listing.
Memoir of a Snail (R; FilmScene at the Chauncey) - IMDb listing.
The Met Opera: Tosca (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema: Wednesday, December 4) - MetOpera.org.
Moana 2 (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - 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 Theatre Live: Dear England (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Sunday, December 1, noon) - IMDb listing.
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (PG; Putnam Museum & Science Center: Thursday, December 5, 7 p.m.) - I was depressed to no end by the bum jokes, lazy sentiment, and mostly stagnant staging, with the incessant closeups preventing the comedians from ever developing a satisfying rhythm with one another. IMDb listing.
The Polar Express (G; Putnam Museum & Science Center: Friday, November 29, and Saturday, November 30) - After a blissfully quiet opening 10 minutes, the 90 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.
The Pruitt-Igoe Myth (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Wednesday, December 4, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Pushpa: The Rule - Part 2 (not rated; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - IMDb listing.
A Real Pain (R; FilmScene on the Ped Mall) - There's an incredible thrill in watching Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin play their widely recognized “types” so flawlessly, and with such fresh enthusiasm, that these roles feel like ideal distillations of their portrayers' talent and presence. IMDb listing.
Red One (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Jake Kasdan's holiday-themed action comedy is competent, professional, earnest, and harmless. I would've traded every one of those attributes for even a hint of garish, unseemly excess. IMDb listing.
The Room Screening and Live Q&A with Greg Sestero (R; The Last Picture House: Thursday, December 5, 7 & 9:30 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Space: The New Frontier (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
T. rex (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - Putnam.org.
Venom: The Last Dance (PG-13; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas) - Kelly Marcel's trilogy-ender is like the exact mid-point between the two previous comic-book outings, meaning it falls somewhere between generically bad and atrocious. IMDb listing.
Wicked (PG; Davenport 53rd 18 + IMAX, VIP Cinemas, The Last Picture House, FilmScene at the Chauncey, Marcus Sycamore Cinema) - Jon M. Chu's musical is truly alive – imaginative and surprising and a little bit nuts, and the tears you shed are suffused with the kind of delirious joy sometimes felt during live theatre. IMDb listing.
Wild Africa (not rated; Putnam Museum & Science Center) - IMDb listing.
The Wild Robot (PG; VIP Cinemas) - Like my 10-year-old chaperone, I watched nearly all of this animated adventure in a state of grinning, open-mouthed rapture, and the only thing that would've made us happier, we agreed, was watching it all over again the instant it finished. IMDb listing.
Youth (Hard Times) (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Saturday, November 30, 11:30 a.m.) - IMDb listing.
Youth (Homecoming) (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Sunday, December 1, 7 p.m.) - IMDb listing.
Youth (Spring) (not rated; FilmScene at the Chauncey: Friday, November 29, 11:30 a.m.) - IMDb listing.
