What I’m Seeing This Week: I am going to close out Movie Year 2025 by seeing Sirât at Cinemapolis tomorrow, then spend the rest of the weekend working on my top ten list so that I can post it before the Oscars start at 7pm on Sunday! I’m also planning to see Undertone at either Cinemapolis or the Regal Ithaca Mall sometime after that.
Also in Theaters: If you haven’t already streamed them, Best Animated and Documentary Feature Film Oscar nominees Little Amélie or the Character of Rain and Come See Me in the Good Light are both worth a trip to Cornell Cinema on Sunday! You also have one final chance to see the Best Animated Short Film nominees at Cinemapolis this afternoon, and the Regal is screening Zootopia 2 and Train Dreams today, One Battle After Another tomorrow, F1: The Movie on Saturday, and Frankenstein on Sunday. And then, of course, it’s time for Cinemapolis’ annual “And The Winner Is…” Awards Night Celebration!
Other special events include the Woman’s Adventure Film Tour at Cinemapolis this evening, a free screening of Crazywater which also includes free popcorn at Cornell Cinema at the exact same time, and a free screening of a 35mm print of Cría Cuervos at Cornell Cinema on Tuesday. Finally, repertory highlights include Imitation of Life at Cornell Cinema tomorrow, Blade Runner there on Saturday, The Iron Giant at the Regal on Saturday and Sunday, and Irma Vep at Cinemapolis on Tuesday.
Home Video Recommendation: Ella McCay didn’t quite make it onto my top ten list, but this throwback to a time “when we all still liked each other” definitely was one of my favorite comedies of the year! If you take a close look at the diploma behind Emma Mackey’s titular protagonist in the image below, you’ll see that it also has a local connection:
I believe this may be the most flattering reference to Cornell I’ve spotted in a movie since I started working there in 2019! Ella McCay now streaming on Hulu with a subscription and can be rented or purchased on a number of other platforms.
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 