Plenty to check out this week. Mizna's 19th Arab Film Festival is in full swing at the Main and the Walker—and, tonight, under the Third Avenue Bridge. And no, I haven't seen One Battle After Another yet.
Special Screenings
Thursday, September 25
Shaun of The Dead (2004)
Emagine Willow Creek
Emagine is doing a Edgar Wright retrospective. $11.60. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
Ms. 45 (1981)
Grandview 1&2
A shy, mute seamstress is out for vengeance. $14.14. 9:15 p.m. More info here.
Alien (1979)
Heights Theater
The original is still the greatest. $13. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
Psycho (1960)
Heights Theater
A secretary steals $40,000 from her boss. $9/$12. Trivia at 7:30 p.m. Movie at 8 p.m. More info here.
The Goonies (1985)
Loring Park
Hit a bike-in movie while the weather’s still nice. Free. 7:05 p.m. More info here.
Shorts and Fragments
Main Cinema
Three films from local Arab and SWANA filmmakers. Part of the Arab Film Festival. $14. 5 p.m. More info here.
Divine Intervention (2002)
Third Avenue Bridge
Worth seeing for the incredible climax alone, which I won’t spoil here. Part of the Arab Film Festival. Free. 8 p.m. More info here.
Heimat is a Space in Time (2019)
Trylon
The 20th century as experienced by three generations of a German family. Free. 6:30 p.m. More info here.
Friday, September 26
Re-Animator (1985)
Alamo Drafthouse
Bringing corpses back to life causes unanticipated problems. OK, maybe they could have been anticipated. $13.99. 9:30 p.m. More info here.
Pas de vague (2023)
Alliance Française
A teacher fights to clear his name after a false allegation. $10 donation requested. 6 p.m. More info here.
Spider-Man (2002)
AMC Rosedale 14/AMC Southdale 16/B&B Bloomington/Emagine Willow Creek/Marcus West End
Fact: Sam Raimi made the best Spiderman movies. Also Tuesday. Times, prices, and more info here.
We Never Left (2024)
Main Cinema
A documentary about the responses of Lebanese students in NYC to the 2019 protests back home. Preceded by the short Like a Spiral. Part of the Arab Film Festival. $14. 4:30 p.m. More info here.
Aïcha (2024)
Main Cinema
A young woman flees her family after an accident. Part of the Arab Film Festival. $14. 7 p.m. More info here.
Seeking Haven for Mr. Rambo (2024)
Main Cinema
A young Egyptian man must save his dog, Rambo. Preceded by the short film Chinatown Cowboy. Part of the Arab Film Festival. $14. 9:30 p.m. More info here.
Minnesota Lynx vs Phoenix Mercury—Game 2
Riverview Theater
Check out the playoffs at the Riverview. Free. 8:30 p.m. More info here.
The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973)
Trylon
A Black CIA agent trains his people in anti-government guerilla warfare. $8. Friday-Saturday 7 & 9 p.m. Sunday 3 & 5 p.m. More info here.
Saturday, September 27
Bonjour le monde (2019)
Alliance Française
A French film for kids. $5 donation suggested. 9 & 10:15 p.m. More info here.
Spider-Man 2.1 (2004)
AMC Rosedale 14/AMC Southdale 16/B&B Bloomington/Emagine Willow Creek/Marcus West End
Maybe even better than Spiderman. Showtimes, prices, and more info here.
Sudan Remember Us (2024)
Main Cinema
A documentary about female Sudanese activists. Part of the Arab Film Festival. $14. 12:30 p.m. More info here.
Memories and Hauntings
Main Cinema
Five short films about memory. Part of the Arab Film Festival. $14. 2:45 p.m. More info here.
Shapes of Normal Human Beings (2025)
Main Cinema
An experimental documentary of modern Lebanon. Part of the Arab Film Festival. $14. 5 p.m. More info here.
All That’s Left of You (2025)
Main Cinema
The story of a family’s involvement with the Palestinian resistance. Part of the Arab Film Festival. $14. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
Catvideofest 2025
Riverview Theater
If it’s the weekend, it’s time for cat videos at the Riverview. $5. 10.30 a.m. More info here.
Didi (2024)
Rivoli Bluff Farm
Sean Wang’s hilarious and moving coming-of-age film. Presented by Trilingua Cinema. Free. 7 p.m. More info here.
Sunday, September 28
A Room With a View (1985)
Alamo Drafthouse
There are more penises in this than you remember. $10.99. 12 p.m. More info here.
Bernadette of Lourdes (2025)
AMC Rosedale 14/AMC Southdale 16/Marcus West End
Weren’t you just saying that there should be more musicals about saints? Also Monday. Prices, showtimes, and more info here.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2025)
AMC Rosedale 14/AMC Southdale 16
In this anime, a girl leaps through time. Through Tuesday. $15. 4 p.m. More info here.
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
AMC Rosedale 14/AMC Southdale 16/B&B Bloomington/Emagine Willow Creek/Marcus West End
OK, this is a weird one, for sure! Showtimes, prices, and more info here.
Mutt (2023)
Emagine Willow Creek
A trans man has a rough day in NYC. $11.60. 2 p.m. More info here.
American Psycho (2000)
Grandview 1&2
Patrick Bateman invented poptimism. $14.44. 9:15 p.m. More info here.
Forgotten Faces (1928)
Heights Theater
A silent melodrama with live Wurlitzer accompaniment from Andy McCormick. $20. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
A State of Passion (2025)
Main Cinema
A documentary about a reconstructive surgeon in Gaza. Part of the Arab Film Festival. $14. 1 p.m. More info here.
Minnesota Lynx vs Phoenix Mercury—Game 4
Riverview Theater
Check out the playoffs at the Riverview. Free. 7 p.m. More info here.
But I’m a Cheerleader (2000)
Roxy’s Cabaret
The movie that invented lesbian cheerleaders. Free. 7 p.m. More info here.
The Keep (1983)
Trylon
Nazis must battle a supernatural force they unleash from a Romanian castle. $8. 7 p.m. Monday-Tuesday 7 & 9 p.m. More info here.
Reassemblage in the Relational Film
Walker Art Center
A lecture/performance from filmmaker Nadia Shihab including three of her recent short films. Part of the Arab Film Festival. $12/$15. 3:30 p.m. More info here.
East of Noon (2024)
Walker Art Center
The Arab Film Festival closes with this “satirical, contemporary fable” set in a real and imagined Egypt. Part of the Arab Film Festival. $12/$15. 7 p.m. More info here.
Monday, September 29
Van Helsing (2004)
Alamo Drafthouse
This movie should have been so much more fun. $22. 7 p.m. More info here.
Idle Hands (1999)
Emagine Willow Creek
Devon Sawa, Seth Green, and Jessica Alba? Maybe the 1999est movie ever made. Sold out. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Heights Theater
The best of all the Frankensteins. $16. 7:30 p.m. More into here.
Secret Movie
Lagoon Cinema
A long one—two hours, 40 minutes. $5. 7 p.m. More info here.
Nosferatu with Radiohead: A Silents Synched Film
Lagoon Cinema
The 1923 silent classic synched to music from Kid A and Insomniac. Supposedly it works. $17.75. 7 p.m. More info here.
Tuesday, September 30
Four Flies on Grey (1971)
Alamo Drafthouse
A prog drummer is framed for murder in this lesser-known Dario Argento giallo. $10.99. 9:30 p.m. More info here.
The Student Nurses (1970)
Alamo Drafthouse
A nurseploitation classic. $13.99. 6:45 p.m. More info here.
Satisfied (2025)
AMC Southdale 16/Marcus West End
A doc about Hamilton star Renée Elise Goldsberry. Also Wednesday. Times, prices, and more info here.
Catacomb Cinema Club
Bryant Lake Bowl
As always, trivia from the Haunted Basement folks followed by a horror film. $12. Trivia at 7 p.m. Movie at 8 p.m. More info here.
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Orchestra Hall
The Minnesota Orchestra performs the score. $74-$149. 7 p.m. More info here.
Minnesota Lynx vs Phoenix Mercury—Game 5
Riverview Theater
If necessary. Free. TBD. More info here.
Wednesday 10.1
Surprise Screening/Advance Preview
Main Cinema
What is it??? Part of the Arab Film Festival. $14. 7 p.m. More info here.
Good Boy (2025)
Main Cinema
A dog battles the supernatural. $11. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
Tape Freaks
Trylon
You guessed it… Sold out. 7 p.m. More info here.
Opening This Week
Follow the links for showtimes.
All of You
A sci-fi romance starring the unfortunately named Imogen Poots.
Bau: Artist at War
Emile Hirsch is an artist living through the Holocaust.
Dead of Winter
Emma Thompson stops at a Minnesota cabin during a blizzard and discovers horrifying goings on!
Dude Perfect: The Hero Tour
The comedy sports guys do a concert movie.
Eleanor the Great
Hey Thelma fans, June Squibb is back.
Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie
The Netflix kids’ show heads to the big screen. Though I guess most people will stream it.
The Lost Bus
Dude, where’s my bus?
One Battle After Another
Why can’t we see it in Vistavision?
Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror
A “making of” doc for its 25th anniversary.
The Strangers: Chapter 2
There's so much more of the story to tell.
They Call Him OG
A Mumbai mob boss returns, looking for revenge.
Ongoing in Local Theaters
Follow the links for showtimes.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey
What if Knight Rider had been a romcom? That's not exactly the concept behind the latest from mononymous director Kogonada, who may be the first to tell you that he didn't write the script, as he had with his more subtle successes Columbus and After Yang. Put simply, this is a movie about a magical GPS that forces two relationship-averse single people to relive the most traumatic moments in their lives until they fall in love. Margot Robbie and Colin Ferrell are charming, hot, and determined to make this damn thing work, and at some of the loopier moments (Ferrell performing in a high school production of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) and quieter ones (Robbie, as her 12-year-old self, seeking advice from her mother) they pull it off. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say this may be the best possible movie you could make about a magical GPS that forces two relationship averse single people to relive the most traumatic moments in their lives until they fall in love. B-
Caught Stealing
What a slog. Austin Butler (weirdly channeling Barbarino-era Travolta at times) is Hank Thompson, a hunky bartender on the Lower East Side who coulda been a star ballplayer if he hadn’t rammed his IROC into a tree as a kid. His neighbor (Matt Smith with a mohawk that would’ve got him hooted off St. Mark’s Place in 1998, which is when this movie takes place for some reason) asks Hank to look after his cat; soon Russian mobsters start pummeling Hank, and Hasidic hitmen are on his trail too. The film veers between bloody ha-ha and bloody oh-no without settling on a style, and if you try to miss its “last good days of New York” thesis, don’t worry, Darren Aronofsky will get the Twin Towers into every shot he can. Maybe Charlie Huston’s 2005 novel of the same name works on the page, but nothing in his lackluster adapted script suggests how, and though Butler does have charisma you’d never know it from his performance here. Still, Aronofsky haters (we are legion) will be relieved that the film keeps his auteurist tics in check, so no women are tormented to the brink of insanity and beyond—which doesn’t mean no women get a bullet to the head. C
Checkpoint Zoo—ends Thursday
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale
London Calling—ends Thursday
Megadoc—ends Thursday
The Roses
I’m not gonna pretend I remember much about Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner going at each other 36 years ago in The War of the Roses, a movie that mostly existed because people really liked them together in Romancing the Stone. But I do recall its core conceit—how quickly passion flips to hatred—which this reboot/revamp/do-over/whatever avoids with laborious determination. Tony McNamara’s screenplay, which dodges predictability so assiduously it rarely has much fun, is dedicated to the even more cynical proposition that marriage can turn even the most thoughtful humans into monsters. Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch are Ivy and Theo, married Brits bemused by life in the U.S., where friends give them guns as gifts; while his career as an architect craters, hers as a chef skyrockets. A self-aware modern liberal man, Theo consciously resists toxic resentment as he takes on childcare duties, and the duo’s shared ironic sensibility allows them to bicker cordially for most of the film. Until this all collapses into violent farce, that is, at which point it’s like Scenes from a Marriage turning into Punch and Judy. Docked a notch for letting Kate McKinnon do her “Ooh, am I sexy or creepy, who can say, ooh” shtick along the way. B-
Splitsville—ends Thursday
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues
Weapons
Zach Cregger is no Oz Perkins (complimentary). Still, “17 children left their homes in the middle of the night and they never came back” is the easy part, and without giving too much away to the “I’ll wait for streaming” crowd, the explanation struck me as anticlimactic and a little goofy. As with Barbarian, Cregger works better with premises and characterization than with “what’s behind that door,” and, ugh, old ladies still creep him out. Still, Weapons as a manic meditation on grief, kind of an energy-drink-fueledThe Sweet Hereafter, with each adult is wrapped up in their own world—the kids’ teacher (Julia Garner) makes it all about herself, Josh Brolin is a dad doing his own research, and Alden Ehrenreich is a hapless cop who distracts himself by targeting a homeless swindler. So, how do you grade a film that zips from ominous to amusing to dumb to creepy-despite-itself to arrive at a truly galvanizing ending. Let’s try… B
