In Theaters: As I said in my recent blog post about the movie it’s a sequel to, I go into The Devil Wears Prada 2, which opens at both Cinemapolis and the Regal Ithaca Mall today, with some trepidation. But that’s obviously the headliner. I saw Hokum, which begins a run at both theaters as well, with an enthusiastic audience at the Philadelphia Film Society’s SpringFest a couple of weeks ago and it’s worth your time as well as long as you’re okay with jump scares–my friend Katie, who isn’t, walked out of it! Among the holdovers, The Christophers handily beats Mother Mary in the battle of Michaela Coel vehicles; both are at Cinemapolis. I’m intrigued by the disconnect between Michael‘s box office and reviews, so I’m likely going to see it at the Regal, and I’m also going to take advantage of the second chance to catch “Modern Fables for Complicated Times,” a “visual album” of shorts by local filmmaker John Scott that I missed when it played the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, at Cinemapolis on Wednesday.
Other noteworthy special events include Cornell Cinema‘s traditional end-of-semester Mystery Screening and a free screening of Vieques: A Living Archive followed by a Q&A with director Juan Carlos Rodriguez at Cinemapolis this evening. Finally, this week’s repertory highlights are the screening of Purple Rain at the Regal on Sunday and Cruising at Cinemapolis on Tuesday, the latest installment in their “Staff Picks: Erotic Thrillers” series.
Home Video Recommendation: I called Northern Lights a “black and white stunner” in the FLEFF ’26 dispatch I published yesterday, but went much longer on it on Letterbox during the fest. Here’s what I said:
Has the same relationship to fellow 2026 Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival selection Seeds as Come and See has to Green Border, but that’s the long arc of the moral universe for you! This was deservingly the second-ever winner of the Caméra d’Or at Cannes, and the scene where Robert Behling’s Ray Sorensen rehearses a speech introducing “the next governor of North Dakota!” as an economical and also more intimate alternative to a nominating convention hall full of extras is one all aspiring filmmakers should be familiar with. In a Q&A ably facilitated by friend and Ithaca College professor Dr. Ashley R. Smith, co-director John Hanson explained the verisimilitude of the amazing threshing scene was attributable to an actual unplanned snow storm that they later wrote additional scenes around so that they could incorporate it into the film. He also confirmed that, yes, Ingmar Bergman (whose films he first became acquainted with while working as a projectionist) was an influence.
It’s currently streaming on the Criterion Channel with a subscription, but only for one more day! It will still be available for rental from a variety of other platforms after that, though, and Kino Lorber released it on Blu-ray and DVD last year.
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 