Category: Ithaca Film Journal

What I’m Seeing This Week: I am excited to finally see All We Imagine as Light, the first film from India to compete in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival in 30 years, at Cinemapolis!

Also in Theaters: Flow and Anora, which conclude their respective runs at Cinemapolis this week, are both contenders for the back half of my Movie Year 2024 top ten list, so those are definitely my top new film recommendations. I also enjoyed A Real Pain, which is also playing Cinemapolis just until the end of the week, as is Queer, which it sadly looks like I’m going to miss. All the blockbusters dominating local screens that I’ve seen deliver more or less what their previews and posters promise, so if you *think* you’d like them, you’re probably right: in (very) approximate order of preference, that’s Gladiator II (the Regal Ithaca Mall), Moana 2 (Regal), Wicked (Cinemapolis + Regal), and Red One (Regal). There are no repertory screenings of note this week, but there are a whole bunch of other movies opening at both Cinemapolis and the Regal on Tuesday or Wednesday that I’m eager to see, including Babygirl, A Complete Unknown, and Nosferatu.

Home Video: If you missed The Night of the Hunter when it played Cinemapolis last month as part of their “Noirvember” series, fear not: it’s screening on the Criterion Channel until the end of the year! This retelling of the fable of the reed and the oak features velvety black and white cinematography by Stanley Cortez that opens with disembodied heads on a starscape reminiscent of October, 2023 Drink & a Movie selection The Very Eye of Night and contains two of cinema’s most indelible images, a dead woman’s hair slow dancing with underwater reeds at the bottom of the river and knuckles tattooed with the words “love” and “hate.” With an ending set on Christmas morning, it’s also a great example of what I call a “holiday mixtape movie” in that it’s a terrifically terrifying change of pace from the wonderful, but tonally similar seasonal favorites that many of us spend the month of December watching.

Previous “Ithaca Film Journal” posts can be found here. A running list of all of my “Home Video” recommendations can be found here.

What I’m Seeing This Week: We are taking the whole family to see Flow at either Cinemapolis or the Regal Ithaca Mall!

Also in Theaters: All We Imagine as Light is appearing on all sorts of year-end Best lists, so I’ll definitely make sure to see it at Cinemapolis before we start our holiday travels next week! Queer–director Luca Guadagnino’s second film of Movie Year 2024 after Challengers, which I enjoyed–opens there tomorrow as well. My favorite new films now playing Ithaca that I’ve already seen remain Anora and A Real Pain, both of which are also at Cinemapolis. Moana 2 is “fun for the whole family,” as the fella says, and Gladiator II and Wicked deliver more or less what they promise, too. All three movies are at the Regal, and Wicked is at Cinemapolis as well. Finally, your best bets for repertory fare are holiday favorites A Christmas Story, which screens at Cinemapolis on Sunday, and White Christmas, which plays the Regal Sunday-Tuesday.

Home Video: With Anora still going strong in theaters, now is a fine time to check out Tangerine, the film that put director Sean Baker on the map, on Netflix. Especially since it takes place on December 24! To be sure, it’s even less of a “Christmas movie” than (in)famous debate cases like Die Hard, but it does feature a centerpiece performance of the song “Toyland” by protagonist Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) that calls to mind Judy Garland singing “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” in Meet Me in St. Lous . With no disrespect to his latest effort, this remains my favorite one of Baker’s features.

Previous “Ithaca Film Journal” posts can be found here.

What I’m Seeing This Week: We rented a theater at Cinemapolis for a private screening of my oldest’s favorite movie The Mitchells vs. the Machines for her ninth birthday party, which we’re all pretty excited about! I’m planning to see Gladiator II there or at the Regal Ithaca Mall this week as well.

Also in Theaters: I’d be seeing Flow, which opens at the Regal tonight and Cinemapolis tomorrow, if I wasn’t saving it for next week when it will be eligible to be my Family (née Friday) Movie Night selection. In the meantime, my favorite new film now playing Ithaca remains Anora, which is at Cinemapolis, and I enjoyed A Real Pain (Cinemapolis), Conclave (Cinemapolis), and The Wild Robot (Regal) as well. Upcoming special events include the free student-led Hilltop Film Festival of Diversity and Inclusion screening at Cinemapolis on Sunday and Cornell Cinema‘s traditional end-of-semester “mystery screening” of a 35mm film print tonight. They’ll be back with their spring lineup in January. Finally, your best bet for repertory fare is the Studio Ghibli classic My Neighbor Totoro, which is at the Regal Saturday through Wednesday.

Home Video: With no disrespect to winner Encanto, The Mitchells vs. the Machines was easily my favorite nominee for the 2022 Best Animated Feature Film Oscar, so you really should check it out on Netflix if you haven’t already! Our girls, who have never known a world without YouTube, dig its clever use of a meme aesthetic, while My Loving Wife and I appreciate the way it finds meaningful things to say about parenting without devolving into sappiness, and we all love Beck Bennett and Fred Armisen voicing malfunctioning robots with the “human names” of Eric and Deborah . . . bot . . . 5000.

Previous “Ithaca Film Journal” posts can be found here.

What I’m Seeing This Week: Happy Thanksgiving! My oldest has selected Moana 2 as her Family (née Friday) Movie Night selection, so we’re seeing that the Regal Ithaca Mall today. I’m planning to catch a screening of Wicked either there or at Cinemapolis later this week as well.

Also in Theaters: There wasn’t much turnover in local theaters, so most of my recommendations are the same as last week: my favorite 2024 film now playing Ithaca is Anora, which is at Cinemapolis, and I enjoyed A Real Pain (Cinemapolis), Conclave (Cinemapolis), and The Wild Robot (Regal) as well. In addition to the two I’m seeing, the new release dominating screens nationwide is Gladiator II, which is at Cinemapolis and the Regal. Finally, Cornell Cinema once again has both the most interesting-looking special event and your best bet for repertory fare, the opening of an exhibit called “Inspired by Edith Head: Fashion Vignettes for a Film Series” at the Jill Stuart Gallery on Cornell’s campus on Wednesday at 4pm followed by a screening of Samson and Delilah at Willard Straight Theatre at 7pm.

Home Video: Looking for a palate cleanser between epic blockbusters past and present? Please allow me to recommend Here, which is now streaming on The Criterion Channel! At 84 minutes it’s short, and it features quiet but sophisticated sound design, contemplative extreme close-ups of moss, a multifaceted extended roots metaphor, and a scene in which a bunch of men sit around eating soup and talking about their emotions, all of which also makes it a great way to take a break from the hubbub of the holidays. As I mentioned on Letterboxd, pretty much the only thing I *don’t* like about it is its name, which it confusingly shares with another, more prominent Movie Year 2024 release (that I haven’t yet seen).

Previous “Ithaca Film Journal” posts can be found here.

What I’m Seeing This Week: I have been planning to revisit The Night of the Hunter for awhile, so there’s no way I’m going to miss a chance to see it on the big screen at Cinemapolis on Wednesday!

Also in Theaters: For all the reasons I mentioned last week, the best new movie now playing Ithaca that I’ve already seen remains Anora, which continues its run at Cinemapolis. I also enjoyed A Real Pain and Conclave, which are at Cinemapolis, and The Wild Robot, which is at the Regal Ithaca Mall. The big news this week is of course the wide release of Gladiator II and Wicked: Part I, including at Cinemapolis and the Regal locally, tonight and Moana 2 (Regal) on Tuesday. I’m planning to see all three, which probably means I’m waiting for Heretic (Cinemapolis) to hit the streaming video platforms. So it goes. Finally, your most interesting-looking special event and best bet for repertory fare (aside from Night of the Hunter, natch) is the “Science on Screen” presentation of Ratatouille at Cornell Cinema tonight which will include presentations on “food nostalgia” and a tasting inspired by the film.

Home Video: I saw Seconds for the first time last month and I confess that initially I found it to be a bit tedious. Upon revisiting it a couple of weeks later, though, its various mysteries (including a man in an airport and a deceptively ambiguous final image) engaged me much more. Now I find myself thinking about it over and over again in connection to films from the past year like I Saw the TV Glow, which it surely must be a conscious reference point for, and a slew of movies about mid-life crises (Hit Man) and things that look like them (A Real Pain, Between the Temples). I’m still not sold on it as a masterpiece, but it’s leaving the Criterion Channel at the end of the month and I definitely think it’s a text that all cinephiles should be familiar with, so check it out if you’re a subscriber!

Previous “Ithaca Film Journal” posts can be found here.

What I’m Seeing This Week: I think I’m going to go with Here, which closes at Cinemapolis today but continues its run at the Regal Ithaca Mall at least through Thursday, but I might audible to A Real Pain at Cinemapolis.

Also in Theaters: The best new movie now playing Ithaca that I’ve already seen is Anora, which I described on Letterboxd as “a container for some of the year’s best performances (most notably, as you’ve heard, by Mikey Madison and Yura Borisov, who is like a Frank Borzage hero in the way he immediately knows the woman of his dreams when he sees her and keeps his eyes locked on her for the duration of the movie) further elevated by a handful of standout moments.” I also enjoyed Conclave, which is at both Cinemapolis and the Regal; The Wild Robot, which is just at the Regal; and Sing Sing, which is at Cornell Cinema tonight only. Other new films that I hope to see in theaters include Small Things Like These (Regal) and Heretic (Cinemapolis and the Regal). We might also take the whole family to see Red One at the Regal as well because we’re suckers for Christmas movies and Dwayne Johnson. This week’s special events are highlighted by CatVideoFest 2024 at Cornell Cinema on Sunday. A portion of the ticket proceeds will be donated to the SPCA of Tompkins County. Last but by no means least, your best bets for repertory fare are two modern classics, The Fifth Element and Brick. The former is at the Regal on Sunday and Wednesday, and the latter is at Cinemapolis on Wednesday.

Home Video: My Old Ass, which is now available on Prime Video, has a premise that I find irresistible: what if you could communicate with your past or future (I suspect whether you’re closer to 18 or 39 has a huge bearing on how exactly you experience this movie) self via cellphone and occasional in-person meetups? What advice would you give yourself, and would you take it? Given that it also stars Aubrey Plaza as the older version of protagonist Elliott, I went in expecting to enjoy myself; I was surprised and delighted to discover that it’s also quite moving. Other reasons to see it include Maisy Stella’s spirited performance as someone who very plausibly could grow up to be Plaza and beautiful Ontario lake country locations.

Previous “Ithaca Film Journal” posts can be found here.

What I’m Seeing This Week: I’m excited to finally see this year’s Palme d’Or winner Anora at Cinemapolis!

Also in Theaters: There aren’t any new movies now playing Ithaca which I truly adored, but as I mentioned last week I won’t be rooting *against* The Wild Robot, which is at the Regal Ithaca Mall, or Conclave, which is both there and at Cinemapolis, when they’re inevitably nominated for some of this year’s Oscars. If I wasn’t out of town, I’d be seeing Sugarcane at Cornell Cinema tonight, which is screening as part of a double feature with Cornell professor Jeffrey Palmer’s Ghosts. Other films I’m hoping to see in local theaters before they close include Here and Heretic, which are both at both Cinemapolis and the Regal, and Small Things Like These, which is at the Regal. Noteworthy special events include free screenings of Butterfly in the Sky at Cinemapolis on Tuesday and Oedipus Rex at Cornell Cinema on Wednesday. It’s a good week for repertory fare, with Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and The Matrix screening at Cornell Cinema tomorrow, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial there on Sunday, and In a Lonely Place at Cinemapolis on Wednesday.

Home Video: I Saw the TV Glow has been streaming on Max for awhile now and I finally got around to rewatching it the other day. I’m pretty sure that it’s still my favorite film of Movie Year 2024. As I wrote on Letterboxd:

The key scene for me is the one in which Owen (Justice Smith) rewatches his favorite television show The Pink Opaque as an adult and it’s *completely different* from how he remembers it. Which: I don’t think we can write this off as “you can’t go home again” because, 1) he has ostensibly seen it a million times, and 2) we’ve seen clips from the show, too, and this isn’t the same program! The one we’ve caught glimpses of is a mash-up of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Adventures of Pete and Pete which veers on some seriously dark territory; the one Owen returns to is basically just a riff on the latter’s classic “What We Did on Our Summer Vacation” episode pitched at an even younger audience. Clues to what’s actually going on here are provided in the form of the games at the arcade Owen works at based on characters from the more grown-up version of TPO, which we could interpret as merchandizing, except that the lack of branding and fact that the show was cancelled decades earlier suggest that a more likely explanation may be that he invented the “complicated mythology” as a way of repressing what all those Saturday night sleepovers with Brigette Lundy-Paine’s Maddy were *really* about. This would presumably also explain how this supposed super fan somehow fails to comment on the fact that at one point he finds himself actually in the show’s Double Lunch hangout spot.

I suspect that by writing all of this out I’m exposing myself to a possible response of “well, duh, you dummy,” but what I find compelling is the way director Jane Schoenbrun presents it. Owen knows all of this, but he is unable to act. Like Arthur Hamilton/Tony Wilson (John Randolph/Rock Hudson) in Seconds, he sees the necessity for transformation, but remains tragically convinced that this is something he needs someone else to do *to* him. That film ends with the sound of a drill announcing that it’s too late for its hero; this one holds out the possibility that “there is still time.” It’s also quite a bit more sympathetic to both the mainstream and “counter” cultures it depicts, but that comparison might be a good place to start a deep dive.

P.S. I’m still a member of team “‘Claw Machine’ for this year’s Best Original Song Oscar”!

Previous “Ithaca Film Journal” posts can be found here.

What I’m Seeing This Week: I think I’m going to try to check out The Apprentice (which is at Cinemapolis) before the election on Tuesday as intended even though I’ve already voted.

Also in Theaters: The best new movie now playing Ithaca that I’ve already seen is either The Wild Robot, which is at the Regal Ithaca Mall, or Conclave, which is both there and at Cinemapolis. I’m expecting both of them to be among this year’s Oscar nominees, and I won’t be mad if they win a few. Of the films I haven’t yet seen, the one I’m most interested in is Here (which is at both Cinemapolis and the Regal), although I’m annoyed that it shares a title with one of my favorite movies of the year. Your best bets for repertory fare are Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, which is at Cornell Cinema on Sunday; Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb and Sunset Boulevard, which are there tomorrow; and John Wick, which is at the Regal on Sunday and Wednesday. Unless you have kids who haven’t yet experienced Labyrinth, that is, in which case your top priority should be taking them to see it at Cornell Cinema on Sunday!

Home Video: In the Drink & a Movie post I’m going to publish later today, I will refer to The Leopard Man as “the film I’ve long thought of as my favorite B movie” and House of Usher as “the one which recently stole that crown.” This is all true! But between you and me, that’s only because I forgot how good I Walked with a Zombie, one of my acquisitions during the most recent Criterion Channel flash sale, is. Its brisk 69-minute runtime is filled with enough atmosphere to fill six seasons of a television series, and it also includes the following exchange of dialogues which I consider to be the final word on the pros and cons of the tiki movement:

BETSY CONNELL: I don’t know about zombies, doctor. Just what is a zombie?

DR. MAXWELL: A ghost. A living dead. It’s also a drink.

BETSY CONNELL: Yes. I tried one once. But, there wasn’t anything dead about it.

It also contains one of the best uses of a troubadour (played by Sir Lancelot) I’d ever seen prior to this movie year’s La Chimera. There truly isn’t any other movie quite like it, and you can watch it on Watch TCM until November 3, so what are you waiting for?

Previous “Ithaca Film Journal” posts can be found here.

What I’m Seeing This Week: I think I’m going with The Outrun at Cinemapolis.

Also in Theaters: The best new movie playing in Ithaca *right now* that I’ve already seen is My Old Ass, but it closes at Cinemapolis today. My whole family also enjoyed The Wild Robot, which is at the Regal Ithaca Mall, although not as much as we were hoping to. Other 2024 releases that I’d like to see in theaters include Conclave (Cinemapolis and the Regal), Rumours (Cinemapolis), and maybe Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (the Regal) if it runs long enough. This week’s special events include two performances of the Rocky Horror Picture Drag Show at Cinemapolis tomorrow and Saturday and a pairing of the silent short The Pill Pounder and feature It (on 35mm) both accompanied by musician Philip Carli at Cornell Cinema on Saturday. Your best bets for repertory fare are Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, which is at Cornell Cinema on Saturday; Kiki’s Delivery Service, which is at the Regal Saturday through Wednesday; and The Shining, which is at Cornell Cinema on Sunday.

Home Video: My favorite horror movie of Movie Year 2023 was When Evil Lurks, which is now available on Hulu with a subscription. I recently revisited it after La Ciénaga, which I talked about in this space a few weeks ago, reminded me of it. Two scenes in particular really stuck with me, one involving a little girl and her pet dog and another featuring a boy and his grandmother’s necklace. Like the film as a whole, each is predictably less surprising on a second viewing, but even more disturbing, I think because director-writer Demián Rugna and company have indulged in just the right amount of world building: everything which transpires has a logic too it, but we never dwell on the details. Ezequiel Rodríguez’s Pedro’s doomed efforts to do right by people he no longer has any credibility with is also frustratingly relatable.

Previous “Ithaca Film Journal” posts can be found here.

What I’m Seeing This Week: I’ll be glued to my television watching the Mets play the Dodgers tonight and tomorrow, engaging in various seasonal festivities (e.g. my kids are throwing a Halloween party) this weekend, then traveling for work next week, so I’m taking the week off from theatrical screenings.

Also in Theaters: My favorite new movie now playing Ithaca remains Megalopolis, which continues its run at the Regal Ithaca Mall. I also enjoyed The Wild Robot, which is also at the Regal, and My Old Ass, which is at Cinemapolis. Films I’m hoping to see on the big screen before they close include Rumours (Cinemapolis), The Outrun (Cinemapolis), The Substance (Cinemapolis and the Regal), and maybe even Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (the Regal) if it sticks long enough. I’m also very intrigued by Pepe, which screens at Cornell Cinema on Sunday, but its showtime is incompatible with my schedule. This week’s noteworthy special events include a free screening of the film Machuca at Cornell Cinema tonight featuring a “talkback” session with screenwriter Roberto Brodsky, a “Family Classics Picture Show” screening of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein at Cinemapolis on Sunday (tickets = $2 apiece or $10 for groups of five or more), and the free premiere of a new documentary by Ithaca-based filmmaker Thomas Hoebbel called ¿Are We There Yet?: A Compassionate Exploration of Contemporary Immigration at Cinemapolis on Wednesday. Your best bets for repertory fare are Sunset Boulevard and Nostalghia, which are at Cornell Cinema tomorrow and on Saturday respectively. Two of my kids’ favorite Halloween movies, Hocus Pocus and The Nightmare Before Christmas, are also at the Regal all week.

Home Video: I talked about the “Directed by David Cronenberg” collection on the Criterion Channel in this space last week. Anyone who checked it out likely noticed that they’re also currently featuring a bunch of great films about witches, including my October, 2022 Drink & a Movie selection Suspiria. If you’ve already seen that one and are looking for something else to watch, try The Love Witch, which is a fun, subversive update of B-movie tropes that features outstandingly garish colors, including a magnificent purple house that is one of my all-time favorite movie locations! It’s also available on Mubi.

Previous “Ithaca Film Journal” posts can be found here.