Film Focus: ‘Eden,’ ‘Shadow’s Edge’ and the return of Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Throne of Blood’
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Film Focus: ‘Eden,’ ‘Shadow’s Edge’ and the return of Akira Kurosawa’s ‘Throne of Blood’

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Buffalo Movies: Week of Aug. 22-28, 2025

By M. Faust

OPENING THIS WEEK: 

EDEN (R) Ron Howard directed this big-budget drama based on a true story from 1929 about Europeans coming to an isolated South Seas island to build a new society only to find themselves fighting each other as well as the elements. Starring Jude Law, Sydney Sweeney, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Daniel Brühl and Richard Roxburgh. Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix

ENNA NU REHNA SEHNA NI AAUNDA (NR) Punjabi culture-clash comedy set in Canada. Starring Jassie Gill, Ranjit Bawa, Mandy Takhar and Imran Ashraf. Directed by Rupan Bal. Regal Elmwood

THE 40-YEAR-OLD VIRGIN (R) Twentieth anniversary rerelease of the debut feature from Judd Apatow, starring Steve Carell in the title role and a cast of improvisatory specialists including Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogan, Jane Lynch and Romany Malco/ Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

HONEY DON’T! (R) Margaret Qualley stars as a private, um, dick in this second part of a loosely woven “lesbian B-movie trilogy” by director Ethan Coen (working without his brother Joel) and writer Tricia Cooke. With Aubrey Plaza, Chris Evans, Charlie Day and Billy Eichner. Dipson Amherst, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal  Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

PARADHA (NR) A rural woman starts to question her traditional beliefs in this Telugu drama. Starring Anupama Parameswaran, Sangeetha Darshana and Rajendran. Directed by Praveen Kandregula. Regal Elmwood

PARIS, TEXAS (1984, R) Wim Wender’s infinitely sad and moving film, from a story by Sam Shepard, starring Harry Dean Stanton as a man struggling to regain the memories of his painful past. The beautiful photography by Robby Müller is as integral to the film as any of the characters or dialogue, making this a movie that you haven’t really seen unless you’ve seen it on the big screen. Co-starring Nastassja Kinski, Dean Stockwell, and Aurore Clément.) North Park

PRIMITIVE WAR (NR) The movie that asks the question, What if there were dinosaurs in the jungle during the Vietnam War? Starring Tricia Helfer, Jeremy Piven and Ryan Kwanten. Directed by Luke Sparke. Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

REBEL WITH A CLAUSE (NR) Documentary about a road trip by professional grammarian Ellen Jovin that sets out to prove that arguing about grammar might be the best way of uniting a divided country. You got a better idea? Directed by Brandt Johnson. North Park

THE SHADOW’S EDGE (NR) Jackie Chan as a retired police surveillance expert brought back to duty to track a gang of high-tech criminals. With Zifeng Zhang and Tony Ka Fai Leung. Directed by Larry Yang. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade

THRONE OF BLOOD (1957, NR) Akira Kurosawa’s reimagining of MacBeth in medieval Japan is universally recognized as one of the best film adaptations of Shakespeare. Starring Toshirô Mifune, Taketoki Washizu and Takashi Shimura.  North Park

TRAINWRECK (R) Tenth anniversary re-release of the comedy written by and starring Amy Schumer as a journalist devoted to one-night stands in order to keep a focus on her career. If that sounds like a gender-reversed Judd Apatow comedy, it may be because Apatow produced and directed it. With Bill Hader, LeBron James, Tilda Swinton and John Cena. Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

TRUST (R) A Hollywood actress (Sophie Turner) looking for peace in a secluded cabin finds that a home invasion is only the beginning of her problems. With Rhys Coiro, Billy Campbell and Katey Sagal. Directed by Carlson Young. Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

NOW PLAYING:

AMERICANA (R) Various contemporary western characters battle for possession of a valuable native artifact in this Tarantino-ish thriller. Starring Sydney Sweeney, Paul Walter Hauser, Halsey, and Eric Dane. Directed by Tony Tost. Transit Drive-In 

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, Angola (closed Tues, Weds), Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In 

COOLIE (NR) Indian gangster adventure. With Rajinikanth, Nagarjuna Akkineni, Aamir Khan, and Soubin Shahir. Directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj. Regal Elmwood

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). 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 Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

FREAKIER FRIDAY (PG) Sequel to the 2003 remake of the 1976 Disney comedy. Reportedly the cast all play age-appropriate roles. Starring Lindsay Lohan, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chad Michael Murray, and Mark Harmon. Directed by Nisha Ganatra (Late Night). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

HIGHEST 2 LOWEST (R) Spike Lee’s remake of the Akira Kurosawa police drama High to Low, starring Denzel Washington as a businessman facing a moral dilemma when kidnappers mistakenly take a friend’s child instead of his own. With Ilfenesh Hadera and Jeffrey Wright. Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol

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 Quaker, 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. 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 Market Arcade, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

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, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Joylan, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

NE ZHA 2 (NR) If you can believe what you read on imdb.com, this Chinese animated fantasy is the first non-American film to earn more than a billion dollars at the box office. Which I guess guarantees there will be a Ne Zha 3. Directed by Yu Yang. AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dunkirk, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Regal Transit

NOBODY 2 (R) The return of Bob Odenkirk as an assassin turned suburban dad. Remember when they only made sequels to hit movies? With Christopher Lloyd, Connie Nielsen, Sharon Stone and RZA. Directed by Timo Tjahjanto (The Shadow Strays). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

SHIN GODZILLA (2016, PG-13) Re-release of what fans consider one of the better of the zillion recent Godzilla movies. Starring Hiroki Hasegawa, Yutaka Takenouchi and Satomi Ishihara. Directed by Shinji Higuchi and Hideaki Anno. Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

SKETCH (PG) The grotesque drawings made by a child grieving for her dead mother come to life in this family adventure that every review seems compelled to compare to the films of Steven Spielberg. Starring Tony Hale, D’Arcy Carden, and Bianca Berry Tarantino. Directed by Seth Worley. Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw

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, Aurora, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

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. Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw

WAR 2 (NR) Over the top action sequel from India. It’s a long way from Satyajit Ray. Starring Hrithik Roshan, N.T. Rama Rao Jr. and Kiara Advani. Directed by Ayan Mukerji. Regal Elmwood

WEAPONS (R) A community slowly unravels after all of the local third graders except one disappear overnight. Starring Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, and Alden Ehrenreich. Directed by Zach Cregger (Barbarian). AMC Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, Transit Drive In

ETC:

BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS (1980, PG) A script by a young John Sayles (borrowing more from The Magnificent Seven than the movie Roger Corman was looking to rip off, Star Wars) and some better than you would expect special effects help make this a B movie classic. Starring Richard Thomas, Robert Vaughn, John Saxon, George Peppard, Darlanne Fluegel, Sybil Danning, Sam Jaffe, Jeff Corey and Julia Duffy. Directed by Jimmy T. Murakami (When the Wind Blows). Tues-Thurs 9:50 pm. North Park

DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)—Perhaps the quintessential film noir, with Fred MacMurray as an insurance salesman who gets talked into murder by scheming Barbara Stanwyck. With Edward G. Robinson. The script (by director Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler, loosely adapting the novel by James M. Cain) is chock full of the most quotable dialogue you’ll ever hear. Fri 7:30 pm. Screening Room

GREASE (1978, PG)—The 1950s as they were re-imagined in the 1970s. Starring John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, and cameos from a host of classic film faces including Eve Arden, Sid Caesar, Joan Blondell, and Eddie Deezen. Directed by Randal Kleiser (Summer Lovers). Sat 8 pm, Tues 7:30 pm. Screening Room

HAPPY GILMORE (1996, PG-13) and BILLY MADISON (1995, PG-13)—A full night of Adam Sandler, if that’s your idea of a good time, in this year’s last Drive-In Retro Double Feature. Tues at dusk. Transit Drive-In

THE SWAN PRINCESS (1994, G) Former Disney animator Richard Rich (The Black Cauldron) made his independent debut with this elaborate fantasy based on Swan Lake. With the voices of Jack Palance, Howard McGillin, Michelle Nicastro, John Cleese and Steven Wright. Sat-Sun 11:30 am. North Park

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