Film Focus: ‘Bugonia,’ ‘Anniversary,’ ‘Violent Ends’ among film openings
12 mins read

Film Focus: ‘Bugonia,’ ‘Anniversary,’ ‘Violent Ends’ among film openings

The Editor0Tagged ,

WNY Movies: What’s opening and where to find them

By M. Faust
(Image above: “Bugonia,’ photo by Atsushi Nishijima/Focus Features/Atsushi Nishijima/Focus Feature – © Focus Features)

OPENING THIS WEEK: 

ANNIVERSARY (R) Political satire about a family whose new daughter-in-law is a leading figure in an authoritarian movement. Starring Diane Lane, Kyle Chandler, Phoebe Dynevor, McKenna Grace and Zoey Deutch. Directed by Jan Komasa (Suicide Room). Dipson Capitol, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

BAAHUBALI: THE EPIC (NR) Re-edited combination of Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017), two of the most successful films in Indian history. Starring Prabhas, Rana Daggubati and Anushka Shetty. Directed by S. S. Rajamouli. Regal Elmwood, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

BUGONIA (R) The new film from Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things) is a comedy about a Big Pharma executive (Emma Stone) kidnapped by a conspiracist (Jesse Plemons) who believes her to be an evil alien. With Aidan Delbis, Stavros Halkias, and Alicia Silverstone. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

IKK KUDI (NR) Comedy about a woman from a family with a history of bad marriages who decides to investigate the man who has been chosen to be her husband. Starring Shehnaaz Gill, Sukhi Chahal and Baljinder Darapuri. Directed by Amarjit Singh Saron. Regal Elmwood

MASS JATHARA (NR) Telugu-language action comedy built around the persona of star Ravi Teja as a cop investigating a pot-smuggling operation. With Sreeleela and Naveen Chandra, Directed by Bhanu Bogavarapu. Regal Elmwood

SELF-HELP (R) A young woman tries to take down a cult that her mother has joined. Starring Landry Bender, Jake Weber and Madison Lintz. Directed by Erik Bloomquist (Intermedium). Regal Transit

SPIKE AND MIKE’S ANIMATION EXTRAVAGANZA 2025 (NR) New edition of the long-running festival of outre cartoons. Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

STITCH HEAD (PG) Family-friendly animated tale about a junior grade Frankenstein-ish monster. With the voices of Asa Butterfield, Rob Brydon and Alison Steadman. Directed by Steve Hudson. Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

THE TAJ STORY (NR) Hindi-language courtroom drama examining the construction of the Taj Mahal. Starring Paresh Rawal, Zakir Hussain, Amruta Khanvilkar and Sneha Wagh. Directed by Tushar Amrish Goel. Regal Elmwood

VIOLENT ENDS (R) Crime drama set in the Ozarks where a young man (Billy Magnussen) tries to break out of the cycle of violence that is his family legacy. With Alexandra Shipp, Kate Burton, Bruce McKinnon, and Nick Stahl. Directed by John-Michael Powell (Dear White People). Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

NOW PLAYING: 

AFTER THE HUNT (R) Julia Roberts as a college professor who worries about her own future when a colleague is accused by a student. With Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Chloë Sevigny. Directed by Luca Guadagnino (Challengers). Regal Quaker, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw

BLACK PHONE 2 (R) Horror sequel. Starring Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw Demián Bichir and Ethan Hawke as The Grabber. Directed by Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

BLUE MOON (R) Ethan Hawke reunites with Before trilogy director Richard Linklater for this biopic of Broadway lyricist Lorenz Hart set primarily on one of the worst nights of his career, the opening of his former partner Richard Rodgers’s huge hit Oklahoma. With Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale and Andrew Scott. Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol

CHAINSAW MAN – THE MOVIE: REZE ARC (R) Feature sequel to the first season of the anime series. Directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

THE CONJURING: LAST RITES (R) Sequel. Starring Vera Farmiga Patrick Wilson and Elliot Cowan. Directed by Michael Chaves (The Nun II). Regal Quaker, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sat only)

DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA INFINITY CASTLE (R) Proof, if there was any doubt, that anime has gone mainstream. Directed by Haruo Sotozaki and Hikaru Kondô. Regal Walden Galleria

FRANKENSTEIN (R) Guillermo del Toro’s take on the Mary Shelly classic. Sorry, none of it was filmed in Buffalo. Starring Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Christoph Waltz and Charles Dance. North Park

GABBY’S DOLLHOUSE: THE MOVIE (G) Feature adaptation of a Netflix series that you’re unlikely ever to have heard of unless you have very young children. Starring Laila Lockhart Kraner, Carla Tassara and Kristen Wiig. Directed by Ryan Crego (Shrek Forever After). Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

GOOD FORTUNE (R) Comedy starring Keanu Reeves as a guardian angel who switches the lives of a struggling gig worker and a venture capitalist to teach them life lessons, but then cannot switch them back. With Seth Rogan, Stephen McKinley Henderson, and Aziz Anzari, who also directed. AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

LAST DAYS (PG-13) Fact-based story set in 2018 about a self-appointed missionary who attempts to convert the natives of a remote Indian island. Starring Sky Yang, Radhika Apte, Ken Leung, Toby Wallace. Directed by Justin Lin (Better Luck Tomorrow). Regal Quaker

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (R) Director Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film, loosely inspired by the Thomas Pynchon novel Vineland, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as a onetime radical who tried to summon up his former fire when his daughter is kidnapped. Co-starring Sean Penn, Benecio del Toro and Regina Hall. Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

PETS ON A TRAIN (PG) From France, an animated comedy about anthropomorphic animals on a runaway train. Directed by Benoît Daffis and Jean-Christian Tassy. Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Regal Transit

REGRETTING YOU (PG-13) Drama about a woman and her teenaged daughter struggling to recover after the death of her husband. Starring Allison Williams, Mckenna Grace, Dave Franco, and Clancy Brown. Directed by Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw (closed Mon), Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sat only)

ROOFMAN (R) Fact-based story of a burglar (Channing Tatum) who escaped prison and hid out in a toy store for six months. Co-starring Kirsten Dunst, LaKeith Stanfield, Juno Temple and Peter Dinklage. Directed by Derek Cianfrance (The Light Between Oceans). Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sat only)

SHELBY OAKS (R) Kickstarter-funded horror movie based on an online found-footage series. Sometimes I miss Louis B. Meyer. Starring Camille Sullivan, Brendan Sexton III, Robin Bartlett, and Keith David, Directed by Chris Stuckmann. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sat only)

SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE (PG-13) Boss biopic centering on the recording of his atypical 1982 album Nebraska. Starring Jeremy Allen White, Jeremy Strong, Paul Walter Hauser, and Stephen Graham. Directed by Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Aurora (closed Tues), Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Hamburg Palace, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw (closed Mon), Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sat only)

THE STRANGERS: CHAPTER 2 (R) Horror sequel. With Madelaine Petsch, Gabriel Basso and Ema Horvath. Directed by Renny Harlin (The Adventures of Ford Fairlaine). Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

TRON: ARES (PG-13) Sequel. Or reboot—so hard to keep these straight. Starring Jared Leto, Greta Lee, Jeff Bridges, Gillian Anderson, and Hasan Minhaj. Directed by Joachim Rønning (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In (Fri-Sat only)

TRUTH & TREASON (PG-13) When even his church tells him that he should be loyal to a political regime he knows to be corrupt, a teenage boy is faced with the costs of speaking the truth at a time when everyone he knows lives in fear. Did I mention that it’s set in Nazi Germany? Starring Ewan Horrocks, Rupert Evans, and Ferdinand McKay. Directed by Matt Whitaker. Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

ETC:

CASPER (1995, PG) and THE CORPSE BRIDE (2005, PG)— Family-friendly Halloween double feature. Fri-Sat at dusk. Transit Drive-In

GASLIGHT (1944)—Classic psychological thriller starring Ingrid Bergman as an innocent heiress whose husband tries to drive her into insanity. With Charles Boyer, Joseph Cotton, Dame May Whitty and Angela Lansbury. Directed by George Cukor (My Fair Lady). Tues 7:30 pm. Screening Room

HALLOWEEN (1978, R)—Despite the hordes of imitators it inspired, John Carpenter’s original slasher movie looks like a small masterpiece of focused independent filmmaking in the wake of so many recent big studio remakes of 70s horror movies. Starring Jamie Lee Curtis, Donald Pleasence and P.J. Soles. Fri 7 pm. Screening Room

HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982, R)—A mad scientist plans to use specially engineered Halloween costumes to take over the children of the world. A moderately entertaining horror movie, co-written by John Carpenter and Nigel Kneale, that never got an audience because viewers hated that it was not, as the title might lead you to suspect, about the further adventures of Michael Myers. Starring Tom Atkins, Stacey Nelkin, and Dan O’Herlihy. Fri 9:15 pm. Screening Room

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984, R) and POLTERGEIST (1982, PG)—Fredy Kruger and the Magic Munchkin invite you to spend Halloween with them. Fri-Sat at dusk. Transit Drive-In

THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975, R)—Because it just wouldn’t be Halloween without Brad, Janet, Riff and Dr. Frank N. Furter prancing about somewhere. Do the Time Warp again! Fri 10 pm. Hamburg Palace

THEATER LOCATIONS AND WEBSITES

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Posts