What I’m Seeing This Week: I’m excited to finally see No Other Choice at Cinemapolis and am also planning to catch 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and Is This Thing On? there or at the Regal Ithaca Mall. I intend to see Dead Man’s Wire before it closes at the Regal as well, but not until next week at the earliest.
Also in Theaters: Marty Supreme, which continues its runs at Cinemapolis and the Regal, remains the best new movie now playing Ithaca that I’ve already seen. I also enjoyed Father Mother Sister Brother, a perfect date movie for couples just starting to get serious, and Hamnet, a perfect date movie for couples with children, both of which are at Cinemapolis. This week’s special events highlight is the free screening of What’s Up, Doc? at Cinemapolis on Sunday. Finally, other noteworthy repertory options include screenings of Brick, Reservoir Dogs, and Lady Bird at the Regal today, tomorrow, and Wednesday respectively. You can also see Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King there on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday respectively.
Home Video Recommendation: As I mentioned in this space last week while recommending The Baltimorons, Movie Year 2025 came complete with not one, but two new additions to my holiday rotation. The other is Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point, which landed on a number of 2024 top ten lists, but never played theatrically in Ithaca and didn’t debut on a streaming service I subscribe to until after Oscar night, and therefore retains “rookie eligibility” in my book. It features absolutely stunning camera work by Eephus director Carson Lund, a non-seasonal soundtrack that pairs oldies music evocative of the idea of nostalgia paired with ghosts of Christmas past (red and green M&Ms! The same tree topper my grandmother had!) that I’m nostalgic for, and my favorite cut of the year, from this shot of Matilda Fleming’s Emily looking up at the suburban night sky:
To this one of her mother (Maria Dizzia) looking down on a winter “scene” like the one we put up every December:
You can watch it on Hulu and as of yesterday there were still 196 copies of a limited edition Blu-ray available from Vinegar Syndrome.
Previous “Ithaca Film Journal” posts can be found here. A running list of all of my “Home Video” recommendations can be found here.
The Prodigal Cinephile 