What I’m Seeing This Week: Happy Thanksgiving! My oldest has selected Moana 2 as her Family (née Friday) Movie Night selection, so we’re seeing that the Regal Ithaca Mall today. I’m planning to catch a screening of Wicked either there or at Cinemapolis later this week as well.
Also in Theaters: There wasn’t much turnover in local theaters, so most of my recommendations are the same as last week: my favorite 2024 film now playing Ithaca is Anora, which is at Cinemapolis, and I enjoyed A Real Pain (Cinemapolis), Conclave (Cinemapolis), and The Wild Robot (Regal) as well. In addition to the two I’m seeing, the new release dominating screens nationwide is Gladiator II, which is at Cinemapolis and the Regal. Finally, Cornell Cinema once again has both the most interesting-looking special event and your best bet for repertory fare, the opening of an exhibit called “Inspired by Edith Head: Fashion Vignettes for a Film Series” at the Jill Stuart Gallery on Cornell’s campus on Wednesday at 4pm followed by a screening of Samson and Delilah at Willard Straight Theatre at 7pm.
Home Video: Looking for a palate cleanser between epic blockbusters past and present? Please allow me to recommend Here, which is now streaming on The Criterion Channel! At 84 minutes it’s short, and it features quiet but sophisticated sound design, contemplative extreme close-ups of moss, a multifaceted extended roots metaphor, and a scene in which a bunch of men sit around eating soup and talking about their emotions, all of which also makes it a great way to take a break from the hubbub of the holidays. As I mentioned on Letterboxd, pretty much the only thing I *don’t* like about it is its name, which it confusingly shares with another, more prominent Movie Year 2024 release (that I haven’t yet seen).
Previous “Ithaca Film Journal” posts can be found here.
The Prodigal Cinephile 