What I’m Seeing This Week: I think I’m going to go with Here, which closes at Cinemapolis today but continues its run at the Regal Ithaca Mall at least through Thursday, but I might audible to A Real Pain at Cinemapolis.
Also in Theaters: The best new movie now playing Ithaca that I’ve already seen is Anora, which I described on Letterboxd as “a container for some of the year’s best performances (most notably, as you’ve heard, by Mikey Madison and Yura Borisov, who is like a Frank Borzage hero in the way he immediately knows the woman of his dreams when he sees her and keeps his eyes locked on her for the duration of the movie) further elevated by a handful of standout moments.” I also enjoyed Conclave, which is at both Cinemapolis and the Regal; The Wild Robot, which is just at the Regal; and Sing Sing, which is at Cornell Cinema tonight only. Other new films that I hope to see in theaters include Small Things Like These (Regal) and Heretic (Cinemapolis and the Regal). We might also take the whole family to see Red One at the Regal as well because we’re suckers for Christmas movies and Dwayne Johnson. This week’s special events are highlighted by CatVideoFest 2024 at Cornell Cinema on Sunday. A portion of the ticket proceeds will be donated to the SPCA of Tompkins County. Last but by no means least, your best bets for repertory fare are two modern classics, The Fifth Element and Brick. The former is at the Regal on Sunday and Wednesday, and the latter is at Cinemapolis on Wednesday.
Home Video: My Old Ass, which is now available on Prime Video, has a premise that I find irresistible: what if you could communicate with your past or future (I suspect whether you’re closer to 18 or 39 has a huge bearing on how exactly you experience this movie) self via cellphone and occasional in-person meetups? What advice would you give yourself, and would you take it? Given that it also stars Aubrey Plaza as the older version of protagonist Elliott, I went in expecting to enjoy myself; I was surprised and delighted to discover that it’s also quite moving. Other reasons to see it include Maisy Stella’s spirited performance as someone who very plausibly could grow up to be Plaza and beautiful Ontario lake country locations.
Previous “Ithaca Film Journal” posts can be found here.
The Prodigal Cinephile 