By M. Faust
(Image above: ‘Naked Gun.’ Photo Credit: Frank Masi/Frank Masi – © 2025 Paramount Pictures)

OPENING THIS WEEK: 

THE BAD GUYS 2 (PG) Animated sequel. With the voices of Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Awkwafina, Colin Jost, Natasha Lyonne, Richard Ayoade, and Alex Borstein. Directed by Pierre Perifel. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Joylan, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, Transit Drive-In 

CATVIDEOFEST (NR) Feature compiling the only remaining saving grace of social media. North Park

CHAL MERA PUTT 4 (NR) In this comic sequel, Punjabi immigrants in the UK find a bag containing a million pounds. Starring Amrinder Gill and Simi Chahal. Directed by Janjot Singh. Regal Elmwood

FOLKTALES (NR) Documentary about city kids spending a year at a remote Norwegian “folk school,” designed to promote indigenous traditions. Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp). North Park (no show Tues) 

KINGDOM (NR) In Sei Lanka, an undercover cop goes up against a gang headed by his brother. Starring Vijay Deverakonda, Bhagyashri Borse and Rukmini Vasanth Regal Elmwood

THE NAKED GUN (PG-13) Slapstick comedy series rebooted to give 73-year-old Liam Neeson a break from having to run around in action movies. With Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser and Danny Huston. Directed by former SNL writer Akiva Schaffer. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Angola (closed Tues-Weds), Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, Transit Drive-In

SAIYAARA (NR) Hindi romantic drama. Starring Ahaan Panday, Aneet Padda and Geeta Agarwal. Directed by Mohit Suri. Regal Elmwood

SHE RIDES SHOTGUN (R) A man whose family has been marked for murder tries to teach survival skills to his 11-year-old daughter. Starring Taron Egerton, Ana Sophia Heger, Rob Yang and John Carroll Lynch. Directed by Nick Rowland. Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

SON OF SARDAAR 2 (NR) It’s a Bollywood comedy set in Scotland, and that’s all I got. Starring Ajay Devgn, Mrunal Thakur and Ravi Kishan. Directed by Vijay Kumar Arora. Regal Elmwood

TOGETHER (R) Horror stuff starring Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple whose troubles get worse when they move to the country. Directed by Michael Shanks. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

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NOW PLAYING:

EDDINGTON (R) Social satire with a small western town as a microcosm of modern America. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, and Austin Butler. Directed by Ari Aster (Beau is Afraid). Regal Elmwood, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

ELIO (PG) An imaginative kid gets to live out his dreams of space exploration in this new Pixar movie. With the voices of Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldaña, Remy Edgerly and Brad Garrett. Regal Transit

F1 THE MOVIE (PG-13) Brad Pitt as a Formula 1 driver. With Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, and Javier Bardem. Directed by Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick). AMC Maple Ridge, Aurora, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS (PG-13) The beginning of Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Which either means something to you or it doesn’t. Starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss‑Bachrach and Julia Garner. Directed by Matt Shakman (WandaVision). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Hamburg Palace, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, Transit Drive-In

THE HOME (R) Sentenced to do community service at an old age home, Max (Pete Davidson) discovers spooky stuff. It is apparently not a comedy. With John Glover, Bruce Altman and Ethan Phillips. Directed by James DeMonaco, who wrote and/or directed most of the The Purge movies. Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (PG) Another live action remake of an animated classic. Starring Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gerald Butler and Nick Frost. Directed by Dean DeBlois, who also did the animated version. Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (R) Remake of the 1997 horror movie, don’t ask me why. Starring Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson. AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH (PG-13) Illustrating Joe Bob Briggs’ law of sequels: When you make a sequel, it should be as much as possible the exact same movie as all the others. Starring Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, and Rupert Friend. Directed by Gareth Edwards (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

LILO & STITCH (PG) Another live-action remake of a Disney animated movie. Didn’t they learn anything from Snow White? Starring Sydney Elizabeth Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Tia Carrere, Courtney B. Vance, and Zach Galifianakis. Directed by Dean Fleischer Camp (Marcel the Shell with Shoes On). Regal Quaker

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING (PG-13) Sequel. Expect Tom Cruise to show off his peculiar running stance a lot. With Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Esai Morales and Angela Bassett. Directed by Christopher McQuarrie. Regal Transit

SMURFS (PG) With the voices of Rihanna, James Corden, Nick Offerman, Natasha Lyonne, Sandra Oh, John Goodman, Kurt Russell and Jimmy Kimmel. Directed by Chris Miller (Shrek the Third). AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Joylan, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

SORRY, BABY (R) Satirical comedy-drama about a literature professor (Eva Victor, who also wrote and directed) attempting to move on with her life after she is sexually assaulted by a colleague. With Naomi Ackie, Louis Cancelmi and John Carroll Lynch. Regal Quaker

SUPERMAN (PG-13) Director James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) takes over the task of trying to turn the original superhero into a studio tentpole. Starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Bradley Cooper, Skyler Gisondo, and Wendell Pierce. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

ETC:

AIRPLANE (PG) and SPACEBALLS (PG)—Slapstick way up high in the sky, courtesy ZAZ and Mel Brooks, in this this week’s retro 80s double feature. Tues at dusk. Transit Drive-In

LAND OF THE DEAD (2005)—Giving George A. Romero a higher budget and more professional crew than usual resulted in the least interesting of his zombie epics. The intriguing social subtext, in which the undead stand in for third-worlders rising up against a mercantile world that either exploits or slaughters them, is underdeveloped in favor of a conventional story. With Simon Baker, John Leguizamo, Asia Argento Eugene Clark and Dennis Hopper. Fri, Tues 7:30 pm. Screening Room

SUNSET BOULEVARD (1951)—Billy Wilder’s black-humored look at the death of the old Hollywood, as embodied by Norma Desmond, one of the great monsters of movie history. William Holden is the struggling scriptwriter who falls into the clutches of the faded movie star who hasn’t dealt with the world outside her mansion since movies started to talk, but who still plots her comeback. Gloria Swanson, whose own career had faded in the years since she was a queen of the silent screen, gives a unique performance in this brilliant and ageless film. Sun 2, 6:30 pm, Mon 7 pm. Spotlight Theater of Warsaw

WHIP IT (2009)—Ellen Page as an aspiring roller derby player. With Kristen Wiig, Juliette Lewis, Eve, former stuntwoman Zoe Bell, and Drew Barrymore, who also directed. Thurs 7 pm. Screening Room

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THEATER LOCATIONS AND WEBSITES

• AMC Maple Ridge, 4276 Maple Road, Amherst www.amctheatres.com
• AMC Market Arcade, 639 Main Street, Buffalo www.amctheatres.com
• Angola Theatre, 72 N. Main St., Angola, NY
• Aurora Theater, 673 Main Street, East Aurora https://theauroratheatre.com/
• Dipson Amherst, 3500 Main Street, Buffalo. www.dipsontheatres.com
• Dipson Capitol Theater, 720 Builders Way, Niagara Falls www.dipsontheatres.com
• Dipson Flix, 4901 Transit Road, Depew www.dipsontheatres.com
• Dipson McKinley, 3701 McKinley Parkway, Hamburg www.dipsontheatres.com CLOSED
• Dunkirk Multiplex, 10520 Bennett Road, Dunkirk https://www.dunkirkmultiplex.com/
• Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center Cinema, 431 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo https://www.hallwalls.org/
• Hamburg Palace, 31 Buffalo Street, Hamburg www.hamburgpalace.com
• Joylan, 11 W. Main Street, Springville https://joylantheater.com/
• North Park, 1428 Hertel Avenue, Buffalo https://northparktheatre.org/
• Regal Elmwood, 2001 Elmwood Avenue., Buffalo https://www.fandango.com/
• Regal Quaker Crossing, 3450 Amelia Drive, Orchard Park https://www.fandango.com/
• Regal Transit, 6707 Transit Road. Williamsville https://www.fandango.com/
• Regal Walden Galleria, Galleria Mall, Cheektowaga https://www.fandango.com/
• The Screening Room, Boulevard Mall Amherst www.screeningroom.net
• Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, 23 S Main Street, Warsaw www.thespotlighttheaters.com/
• Squeaky Wheel, Tri-Main Center, 2495 Main Street, Suite 310, Buffalo https://squeaky.org/
• Transit Drive-In Theatre, 6655 S. Transit Road, Lockport https://www.transitdrivein.com