In Theaters: We’ll be out of town for most of the next week, so the only movie I’m going to be able to catch is former Film Comment editor Kent Jones’s latest Late Fame, which opens at Cinemapolis tomorrow. It’s actually pretty quiet on the new release front otherwise, but there are some outstanding repertory options to choose from!
The one I’m sorriest to miss is The Searchers at the Regal Ithaca Mall tomorrow. I’ve written about it quite a few times on this blog and elsewhere, including as recently as July in a post called “What Makes a Man To (Not) Wander.” The Regal is also showing Halloween tomorrow, Double Indemnity on Saturday, and The Last Picture Show on Wednesday. Cornell Cinema is screening Aguirre, the Wrath of God tonight, Jia Zhangke’s debut feature Pickpocket tomorrow, and a new 4k restoration of Days and Nights in the Forest on Saturday. Finally, Cinemapolis gets in on the action with Studio Ghibli’s production of The Tale of the Princess Kaguya on Tuesday.
The Odyssey, which closes at Cinemapolis today but continues its run at the Regal, reclaims its title as my favorite holdover. I also enjoyed The End of Oak Street, It Ends (which I only saw last night and am still processing), Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Tony, and Toy Story 5. All of them are at the Regal, and both It Ends and Tony are at Cinemapolis as well.
Last but not least, special events include free presentations of Palestine 36 at Cornell Cinema on Tuesday, The Sludge War at Cinemapolis on Wednesday, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever at Cornell Cinema on Wednesday featuring an introduction by Cornell alum Dominique Thorne, who plays Riri Williams. There’s also a screening of the documentary A Place in the Ring at Cinemapolis on Saturday which will feature a talkback with subject Katja Schumann.
Home Video Recommendation: Speaking of Princess Kaguya, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter that she originally appeared in also inspired one of the wackiest movies I’ve seen so far this year, Cosmic Princess Kaguya! Here’s the somewhat befuddled reaction I posted to Letterboxd in April:
What if Hermione, Harry, and Luna Lovegood were all the same person? I am not the target audience for this and frankly didn’t fully understand what the heck was going on during most of it, but found its frenetic pace and colorful images enjoyable in a people watching in downtown Tokyo after downing two double espressos sort of way. If you can’t handle the soundtrack, don’t even think about tackling the full audiovisual experience.
Kaguya! is available on Netflix with a subscription.
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 