<\/p>\n
Our movie and media Calendar appears every Friday\/Saturday on <\/em>C-U Blogfidential<\/span><\/strong> and caters to the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.<\/em><\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n MILESTONES | Happy Birthday to You!<\/strong><\/p>\n 7\/9: Jessie Seitz (key make-up artist, THE THIRD SATURDAY IN OCTOBER PART V, Sleep Creature LLC, Moulton, AL) \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said<\/strong><\/p>\n Ugh<\/em>. No waxing obtusely from me^ this<\/em> week, dearest readers! I\u2019ve waned so badly over the last few days that I had told myself to go ahead and skip the Calendar<\/strong>. I rescinded that thought, obviously, yet I could have easily sat it out since everyone most likely knows what\u2019s playing at the theaters near us due to promotion overload in the media. Our two major venues in Champaign County<\/strong> are both showing the exact same seven releases<\/em> across 29 screens total, Danville<\/strong>\u2019s AMC<\/strong> location is more of the same, and the Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in<\/strong> of Hoopeston<\/strong> is thrilling the home folks with the top two box office earners. I guess a tip of the cap goes to the Virginia Theatre<\/strong> and News-Gazette<\/span><\/strong> for running TOP HAT<\/strong> on Saturday as an alternative except that, given all<\/em> the classic catalog titles that are likely available to rent, they felt the need to revisit a familiar oldie last shown in this long-running series way back in \u2026 2019.<\/a><\/span> Why?<\/em><\/p>\n If this is the \u201creturn to normal\u201d that paying customers have been pining for since the pandemic forced all auditoriums to go dark at the end of March 2020<\/a><\/span>, then the patience of many is finally being rewarded. Support the local arts and entertainment houses, by all means, and if what they offer is appealing to you, then enjoy. If what they offer is old hat or worse in your eyes, then more engaging film can always be found elsewhere. I realize this is an ebb-and-flow issue in a pragmatic sense with the big-ticket summer items dominating screen time until the studios loosen their grip and allow for more choices per week* in the fall<\/a><\/span>, but it also paints a too-familiar picture of what kinds of movies are deemed \u201cpopular\u201d and \u201cdesirable\u201d by the general public and elicits a deep, defeated sigh from yours truly.<\/p>\n Sadly, I\u2019m having a hard time justifying a trip to see a movie for any<\/em> reason. Several wide releases have tempted me and none of them lasted long enough for me to say \u201cyes\u201d over the stress. The last one I bought a ticket to see was GODZILLA VS. KONG<\/strong>, which in and of itself didn\u2019t help matters, but at least it was an excuse to visit a theater I had never been to, the Roxy Cinemas<\/strong> in Ottawa<\/strong>. It should not be a surprise to you that my choices in the Illinois<\/strong> region where I currently live are as lacking as in Champaign-Urbana<\/strong> right now. THE BLACK PHONE?<\/strong> Check<\/em>. THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER?<\/strong> Aye<\/em>. MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU<\/strong>? Bananas!<\/em> TOP GUN: MAVERICK<\/strong>? All systems go!<\/em> ELVIS<\/strong>? Thankyouverymuch!<\/em><\/p>\n To think that I used to get so excited<\/em> every year about the Big Movies coming soon<\/em> \u2026 in 1985, anyway. Here in 2022, the restored over-reliance on hoped-for Hollywood<\/strong> hits** and the overt limitations of what the cinema du C-U can support as a result*** is a sorry situation that can simply kiss my Asgard. Ugh<\/em>.<\/p>\n *I should make mention of the limited-run, \u201cspecial event\u201d shows appearing most weeks at the Phoenix Savoy 16<\/strong> in Savoy<\/strong>. Their picks certainly broaden the range of what patrons can choose to see, even if quality control from suppliers is at times less than optimal<\/a><\/span>, yet one needs to skim their listings on the regular if one wants a heads-up. Occasional surprises appear in the m\u00e9lange of catalog favorites, documentaries, sports programs, television retrospectives, music concerts, and Christian tracts.<\/p>\n **I do<\/em> remember the \u201cdire state\u201d of the industry not long ago. Corporations teetered on bankruptcy and many average citizens lost their jobs. It\u2019s not just picky customers who want their money back. The numbers being thrown up by tracking services lately<\/a><\/span> must look quite lovely to the suits in office spaces.<\/p>\n ***I should reiterate that Savoy and the Champaign AMC earn props for featuring full runs as often as not of Asian and Indian genre films, which they both had been doing in the spring before TOP GUN: MAVERICK<\/strong> zoomed in to launch the summer blockbuster parade. Of course, there is a ton<\/em> more fare from the world over that could play here if theaters booked them and<\/em> audiences attended them and<\/em> the University of Illinois<\/strong> fostered them outside of \u201cEbertfest<\/strong>.\u201d Once upon a time in C-U<\/a><\/span>, they all simply did<\/em>.<\/p>\n ^\u201cOh, who the hell<\/em> am I kidding,\u201d I think as I finally write the end of this at 5:30 in the morning\u2026<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area<\/strong><\/p>\n @ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL<\/strong> @ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL<\/strong> @ Main Quad, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL<\/strong>
\n7\/12: Michael Wiese (president, Michael Wiese Productions, Studio City, CA)<\/p>\n
\nTHOR: LOVE AND THUNDER, THE BLACK PHONE, ELVIS, MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU, JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION, LIGHTYEAR, TOP GUN: MAVERICK (7\/8 on), PAWS OF FURY: THE LEGEND OF HANK, WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING (7\/14 on)<\/p>\n
\nTHOR: LOVE AND THUNDER, THE BLACK PHONE, ELVIS, MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU, JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION, LIGHTYEAR, TOP GUN: MAVERICK (7\/8 on), TRANSFORMERS 15th anniversary (7\/10, 7\/14, 3 & 7 p.m.), DIRTY DANCING (1987) (7\/10, 11:55 a.m., 3 & 7 p.m.; 7\/13, 3:30 & 7 p.m.), TROLLS WORLD TOUR, THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS 2 (7\/12-7\/14, 10 a.m., free), The Metropolitan Opera Summer Encore: The Merry Widow<\/span> starring Ren\u00e9e Fleming (7\/13, 1 & 6:30 p.m., recorded), THE DEER KING fan event (anim\u00e9; 7\/13-7\/14, 7 p.m., English dub), PAWS OF FURY: THE LEGEND OF HANK, WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING (7\/14 on)<\/p>\n
\nIllini Union Board presents \u201cSummer Films on the Quad\u201d feat. THE BAD GUYS (7\/14, 9 p.m., free)<\/p>\n