In Theaters: The girls finally finished reading the book it’s based on, so at long last THIS is the week we’re all going to see Wildwood at Cinemapolis or the Regal Ithaca Mall! I’m also planning to check out festival-circuit darlings Fatherland and Once Upon a Time in Harlem at the former, and maybe Mouse at the Regal as well.
The clear special-events highlight is a free screening of the 1920 silent film Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde at Cornell University’s Bailey Hall tomorrow accompanied by the Cornell Orchestras, who will be playing an original score by a team of film composers led by Sheldon Mirowitz and conductor Gabriela Gómez Estévez. There is also a free Family Classics Picture Show presentation of Singin’ in the Rain at Cinemapolis on Sunday, and three free screenings at Cornell Cinema early next week: Treasure Planet, which will be followed by a discussion with screenwriter Rob Edwards, on Monday; The Color of Pomegranates on Tuesday; and Seed, which will be followed by a discussion with director Bobby Sheehan, on Wednesday. Finally, Cornell Cinema will be presenting a double feature that cleverly pairs a new 4k restoration of Sleepaway Camp with Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma on Saturday which is free for Cornell students, and there’s a program of short works by Ithaca College professors Cathy Lee Crane and Daïchi Saïto at Cinemapolis on Monday.
My favorite holdover is Godzilla Minus Zero, which continues its run at both Cinemapolis and the Regal. Here’s what I recently said about it on Letterboxd:
Reaffirms its predecessor’s argument that there’s nothing more important than family, but where Godzilla Minus One was a bracingly pure tale about the necessity of facing your personal demons before you can start to build a better future for your loved ones, Minus Zero is about how those family groups come together into a society like ingredients in a hot pot. This requires a more complex broth, and some of the flavors here are muddy, but highlights include a chilling fantasy-interrupted-by-a-mirror that shows how real-life supervillains are born (or not), the most effective crying child sequence I’ve seen since Bellissima, and one of my favorite effects of Movie Year 2026, King Ghidorah’s lifeless hydra head.
I also enjoyed Wicker, which remains at the Regal, and You Can See Everything, which is still going strong there and at Cinemapolis. Last but not least, noteworthy repertory options include a new 4k restoration of The Devils at the Regal on Friday, a new 4k restoration of The Wicker Man (no relation) at Cornell Cinema on Sunday, and everybody’s favorite Thanksgiving movie Planes, Trains & Automobiles at the Regal on Tuesday.
Home Video Recommendation: Speaking of Thanksgiving, there aren’t many other films we make a point of revisiting every year during the month of November leading up to Black Friday, which is when we traditionally start binging on Christmas movies. Enter my younger daughter’s last Family (née Friday) Movie Night selection Coraline. Here’s what I said about it on Letterboxd the next day:
Unsettled the girls as intended, but didn’t creep them out so much they couldn’t get to sleep, which is an impressive act of needle-threading voodoo! With the scary Other Mother, sumptuous feasts, family dynamics, and decaying pumpkin person, we might have to make this an annual between-Halloween-and-Thanksgiving tradition.
You can watch Coraline on HBO Max and Hulu with a subscription or for free with ads on the Roku Channel and Tubi.
Previous “Ithaca Film Journal” posts can be found here. A running list of all of my “Home Video” recommendations can be found here.
