<\/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 FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2018Tis the season! Therefore, \u2018tis the low-ebb portion of our school year activity here at C-U Blogfidential<\/span><\/strong>, although this round is different as we finally begin a gradual metamorphosis into a different phase of how we chronicle the C-Universe. For the moment, we\u2019re cutting back on our Report<\/strong> protocol through March at the least, offering one-and-done entries when something really stokes our curiosity, while the Images<\/strong> department will go into hibernation after today unless we have such<\/em> a sight to show you because it is simply that astounding. What all are we up to at MFHQ Deux<\/strong>? Only one sure way to know \u2013 read about it<\/em><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n What we\u2019d like to point out for your enticement today is an upcoming series that will be held a little bit outside of our usual geography. Ye Ed<\/strong> has been noticing ads in his Facebook<\/strong> news feed for a hefty retrospective that will begin next Friday, January 9<\/strong>, in the screening auditorium at the Peoria Riverfront Museum<\/strong> in downtown Peoria<\/strong>. Alfred Hitchcock<\/strong>\u2019s famous \u201csingle-shot\u201d experiment in tension, ROPE<\/strong>, will kick off the spring program<\/a><\/span>, \u201cArt of Film<\/strong>\u201d hosted by the Film Society of the Giant Screen Theater<\/strong><\/a><\/span>, at 6:30 p.m.<\/strong> that evening to be followed by \u2013 collective gasp at the sheer magnitude of what we\u2019re about to list<\/em> \u2013 MULHOLLAND DRIVE<\/strong> (Jan. 10), WOMAN IN THE DUNES<\/strong> (Jan. 11), JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES<\/strong> (Jan. 11), THE SERVANT<\/strong> (Jan. 16 & 18), TO DIE FOR<\/strong> (Jan. 23 & 25), THE BITTER TEARS OF PETRA VON KANT<\/strong> (Jan. 30 & Feb. 1), PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE<\/strong> (Feb. 6 & 8), IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE<\/strong> (Feb 13 & 15), SUZHOU RIVER<\/strong> (Feb. 20 & 21), TROPICAL MALADY<\/strong> (Feb. 27 & Mar. 1), BEAU TRAVAIL<\/strong> (Mar. 6 & 8), and TASTE OF CHERRY<\/strong> (Mar. 13 & 15). This is big city-level fare, folks. Why is no<\/em> venue in Champaign-Urbana<\/strong> able to sustain a strength in schedule like this? Certainly, the museum has filled in other dates with famous fare to attract their community-at-large and help pay the bills \u2013 PADDINGTON IN PERU<\/strong>, the original Indiana Jones<\/strong> trilogy, the improbable smash hit LILO & STITCH<\/strong> remake<\/span><\/a> \u2013 but it sure makes us feel a little sheepish. Baa-aa-aa-aah<\/em> humbug.<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n Some of these titles have played the C-U in the past, of course, whether in first run, revival, or both. We\u2019re just marveling at the absolute strength in numbers of well-regarded films made by world-class filmmakers. Not that we have no unique options closer to home. The Chambana Film Society<\/strong>, which operates on a different wavelength with content unique from what the Peoria Film Society is programming and our own community is the better for it, resumes in 2026 on Sunday, January 11<\/strong>, with the documentary AIN\u2019T NO BACK TO A MERRY-GO-ROUND<\/strong> about a Civil Rights Movement<\/strong> sit-in with a unique spin on fostering better relations. The next and final downstate \u201cEbertfest<\/strong>\u201d will do what \u201cEbertfest\u201d does, present thought-provoking and life-affirming films from the past and present. Contemporary \u201cart house\u201d cinema receives a boost in Springfield<\/strong> when the 34th annual Molly Schlich International\/Independent Film Series<\/strong> opens on Sunday, January 18<\/strong>, with a French comedy, JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE<\/strong>. Hopefully, the Virginia Theatre<\/strong> in Champaign and Fischer Theatre<\/strong> in Danville<\/strong> both continue to increase their showing of repertory classics; we see the Virginia will play CITIZEN KANE<\/strong> on January 17<\/strong> and WHAT\u2019S UP, DOC?<\/strong> on February 7<\/strong> as the latest entries in the News-Gazette<\/span> Film Series<\/strong>. The Normal Theater<\/strong> in Normal<\/strong> also goes retro this weekend with the evergreen, emerald-green WIZARD OF OZ<\/strong>. Take \u2018em in when we get \u2018em, folks.<\/p>\n The real answer in the present tense, we suppose, is one needs to be willing to hit the road sometimes to find one\u2019s cinema nirvana if that involves an auditorium, a giant screen, and a willing audience. It all adds up to a positive in the long run and, if you\u2019ve been reading CUBlog<\/span><\/strong> for any of the last twenty years, then you know the fare is out there somewhere. If not, today is always a good day to start figuring out how to make it happen by the efforts of yourselves and those in your clubhouse. We should know<\/a><\/span>. Cheers.<\/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> Events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Additional \u201cNow Playing\u201d and \u201cComing Soon\u201d listings appear after the jump!<\/em><\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n <\/p>\n NOW PLAYING | The Cities Beyond<\/strong><\/p>\n LAST LISTING! @ Golden Ticket Cinemas Ale House, Bloomington, IL<\/strong> Click this link to keep up with the showtimes for the venue above<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n @ The Lorraine Theatre, Hoopeston, IL<\/strong> @ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL<\/strong> @ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL<\/strong> @ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL<\/strong> \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n NOW PLAYING | Midwest<\/strong><\/p>\n For detailed and curated listings of Chicago-area film presentations and related events, please visit the fine folks at<\/em> Cine-File<\/strong> and subscribe to their definitive \u201cCine-List\u201d weekly blast<\/a><\/span>. And for northern Illinois industry news, be sure to read<\/em> Reel Chicago<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span>,<\/em> Screen Magazine<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span>, and the <\/em>Chicago Reader<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n COMING SOON | Area-wide Events<\/strong><\/p>\n 1\/16-1\/18<\/strong> 4\/3-4\/10<\/strong> 4\/9-4\/12<\/strong> 4\/17-4\/19<\/strong> ~~~~~<\/p>\n Compiled by Jason Pankoke.<\/em><\/p>\n ~~~~~<\/p>\n \u201cCalendar du C-U\u201d Select movie listings for January 2-8, 2026 in Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond! Don\u2019t forget to peruse this week\u2019s Field Report! And, did you take a peek at the Images of the week? Also, have you memorized the BRAND-NEW Confidential Almanac for today?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,869,2125,2144,2489,19,13,18,31,26],"tags":[2466,2995,870,3093,3092,2712,3094],"class_list":["post-16829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-area-festivals","category-calendar-du-c-u","category-cinema-discourse","category-documentary","category-films-in-retrospect","category-images-du-cu","category-public-events","category-student-film","category-the-old-school","category-theatres-venues","tag-alfred-hitchcock","tag-chambana-film-society","tag-cinema-calendar","tag-giant-screen-theater","tag-peoria-film-society","tag-peoria-riverfront-museum","tag-repertory-cinema"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16829"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16829\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16837,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16829\/revisions\/16837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.micro-film-magazine.com\/cublog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/p>\n
\nTHE DUTCHMAN, THE PLAGUE*, WE BURY THE DEAD, ANACONDA, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, DAVID (faith animation), FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY\u2019S 2*, THE HOUSEMAID, MARTY SUPREME, SONG SUNG BLUE, THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS (animation), WICKED: FOR GOOD, ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (1\/2 on), AMC \u201cScream Unseen\u201d (mystery movie) (1\/5, 7 p.m.), GREENLAND 2: MIGRATION, I WAS A STRANGER, PRIMATE (1\/8 on) *single screenings daily<\/p>\n
\nWE BURY THE DEAD, ANACONDA, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, DAVID (faith animation), FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY\u2019S 2, HAMNET, THE HOUSEMAID, MARTY SUPREME, SONG SUNG BLUE, THE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS (animation), WICKED: FOR GOOD, ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (1\/2 on), KIDS BOP LIVE: THE CONCERT MOVIE (1\/2-1\/5), INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM (1\/3, 7 p.m.; 1\/ 4, 3 & 7 p.m.; 1\/7, 7 p.m.), DHURANDHAR (in Hindi with English sub; 1\/ 4-1\/7), LABYRINTH 40th anniversary (1\/8, 7 p.m.), GREENLAND 2: MIGRATION, JANA NAYAGAN (in Tamil with English sub), THE RAJASAAB (in Telugu with English sub), PRIMATE (1\/8 on)<\/p>\n
\nANACONDA, AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH, DAVID (faith animation), THE HOUSEMAID, MARTY SUPREME, SONG SUNG BLUE, ZOOTOPIA 2 (animation) (1\/ 2 on), KIDS BOP LIVE: THE CONCERT MOVIE (1\/2-1\/5), GREENLAND 2: MIGRATION, I WAS A STRANGER, LABYRINTH 40th anniversary (re-release), PRIMATE (1\/8 on)<\/p>\n
\nAVATAR: FIRE AND ASH (1\/ 2-1\/ 4)<\/p>\n
\nTHE WIZARD OF OZ (1 \/2-1\/ 4)<\/p>\n
\nDAVID (animation) (1 \/2-1\/ 4)<\/p>\n
\nTHE SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS (animation) (1 \/2-1\/ 4)<\/p>\n
\nChampaign Movie Makers* \u201c48-Hour Film Competition\u201d
\n@ Lincoln Square, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
\n28th annual Wisconsin Film Festival, Madison, WI<\/p>\n
\n36th Onion City Experimental Film Festival, Chicago, IL<\/p>\n
\n26th Roger Ebert\u2019s Film Festival*
\n@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL<\/p>\n
\n\u00a9 2026 Jason Pankoke\/C-U Blogfidential<\/span>
\n[T \u221285]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"