July 18-24, 2025

By M. Faust

(Above: “Smurfs.” Via rewards.regmovies.com).

OPENING THIS WEEK: 

BAD SHABBOS (NR) Bad Santa was over 20 years ago—why did this take so long? Starring Milana Vayntrub, Kyra Sedgwick, Method Man, David Paymer and Josh Mostel. Directed by Daniel Robbins (Citizen Weiner). Dipson Amherst, Regal Quaker

DON’T LET’S GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT (R) Adaptation of Alexandra Fuller’s memoir of her childhood on her family farm in Zimbabwe at the end of the long-running war for independence in 1980. Starring Lexi Venter, Zikhona Bali and Embeth Davidtz, who also directed. Regal Transit

EDDINGTON (R) Social satire with a small western town as a microcosm of modern America. Before you get your hopes up, it was directed by Ari Aster (Beau is Afraid). Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, Emma Stone, and Austin Butler. AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

EKKA (NR) In the Indian city of Bengaluru, a young man from the country becomes entangled in the criminal underworld. Starring Yuva Rajkumar, Sampada Hulivana and Atul Kulkarni. Directed by Rohith Padaki and Venu. Regal Elmwood

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 Maple Ridge, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dipson McKinley, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive In

JUJUTSU KAISEN: HIDDEN INVENTORY / PREMATURE DEATH – THE MOVIE (NR) Theatrical release of episodes of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime series focusing on the early lives of Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto. North Park

JUNIOR (NR) Indian drama about a young man researching his family history who discovers something unexpected about his father. Starring Genelia Deshmukh, Sreeleela and Kireeti Reddy. Directed by Radhakrishna Reddy. Regal Elmwood

KOTHAPALLILO… OKAPPUDU (NR) Telugu rural rom-çom. Starring Ravindra Vijay, Manoj Chandra and Usha Bonela. Directed by Praveena Paruchuri. Regal Elmwood

KILL THE JOCKEY (NR) A jockey at the nadir of his career finds his life changed after suffering brain damage in an accident in this sureal comedy-drama from Argentina. Starring Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Úrsula Corberó and Daniel Giménez Cacho. Directed by Luis Otega (El Angel). North Park

SARBALA JI (NR) Punjabi-language comedy set during a wedding that goes awry. Starring Gippy Grewal and Gajjan. Directed by Mandeep Kumar. Regal Elmwood

SMURFS (PG) Making the likely death of PBS all the more painful. 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, AMC Market Arcade, Aurora, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dipson McKinley, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, Transit Drive-In

TANVI: THE GREAT (NR) Hindi-language drama starring Shubhangi Dutt as a young woman on the autism spectrum whose condition becomes an impediment when she tries to join the military. Directed by Anupam Kher. Regal Elmwood

NOW PLAYING:

28 YEARS LATER (R) Director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland are both back for this sequel to 28 Days Later in which a survivor of the plague journeys from his safe island to the mainland to see what has become of humanity. Starring Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Ralph Fiennes. Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

ABRAHAM’S BOYS: A DRACULA STORY (R) Psychological horror story set in the old west circa 1914, where Abraham van Helsing takes his family to get away from the traumas caused by his encounters with Dracula. Starring Titus Welliver, Brady Hepner, Judah Mackey and Jocelin Donahue. Directed by Natasha Kermani (Lucky). Regal Transit 

BALLERINA (R) Ana de Armas as a trainee assassin in this John Wick spin-off. With Anjelica Houston, Gabriel Byrne, Ian McShane, Norman Reedus, Catalina Sandino Moreno and Keanu Reeves. Directed by Len Wiseman. Regal Transit

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. AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

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, AMC Market Arcade, Dipson Capitol, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive In

FINAL DESTINATION BLOODLINES (R) Horror sequel. Starring Tony Todd, Brec Bassinger, and Richard Harmon. Directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein. Regal Walden Galleria 

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (PG) Another live action remake of an animated classic. See Lilo & Stitch for relevant snarky comment. Starring Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gerald Butler and Nick Frost. Directed by Dean DeBlois, who also did the animated version. AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, 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, Dipson McKinley, Dunkirk Multiplex, Hamburg Palace, Joylan, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, Transit Drive In

LILO & STITCH (PG) Another live-action remake of a Disney animated. 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). AMC Maple Ridge, Dipson Capitol, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Transit Drive-In

M3GAN 2.0 (PG-13) Sequel to the 2023 film about a robot AI that goes out of control, here resurrected to combat a military clone. Starring Allison Williams, Jemaine Clement, and Violet McGraw. Directed by Gerard Johnstone (Housebound). Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit

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 Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria

SARDAAR JI 3 (NR) Punjabi horror‑comedy sequel putting ghostbuster Jaggi (Diljit Dosanjh) to work in an ancient British castle. With Neeru Bajwa and Hania Aamir. Directed by Amar Hundal. Regal Elmwood

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, Angola (closed Tues-Weds), Dipson Amherst, Dipson Capitol, Dipson Flix, Dipson McKinley, Dunkirk Multiplex, Regal Elmwood, Regal Quaker, Regal Transit, Regal Walden Galleria, Spotlight Theater of Warsaw, Transit Drive In

ETC.

AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)—George Lucas’ heartfelt tribute to his high school days didn’t so much invent 1950s nostalgia as capitalize on it, so he’s not entirely to blame for “Happy Days.” The intervening histories of the film’s once-fresh cast (including Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul LeMat, Charles Martin Smith, Cindy Williams, Suzanne Somers and, if you can spot him, Harrison Ford) makes it look rather different than it did fifty years ago. Sat 7:30 pm Screening Room

THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION (1981)—Penelope Spheeris’s rarely-screened documentary captures the rawness of the LA punk scene, with bands like the Circle Jerks, X, The Germs, and Black Flag. Sat 7:30 pm. Screening Room

RAGDOLL ASSASSIN (2024)—A henchwoman’s brain matter brings her favorite doll to life, and they both end up on the run from other incompetent criminals, in this absurd ensemble comedy filmed in WNY that won awards for best WNY feature screenplay and best ensemble cast at last year’s Amazing Fantasy Fest. The screening includes a Q&A with director Curt Markham. Tues 7:30 pm. Screening Room

STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997, R) and TOTAL RECALL (1990, PG)—Two science-fiction blunderbusses from director Paul Verhoeven in this week’s drive-in retro double feature. Tues 9:15 pm. Transit-Drive-In

VERTIGO (1958)—Guilt ridden over the death of a policeman and a woman he was hired to watch, James Stewart falls madly (literally) in love with a shopgirl (Kim Novak) who resembles the dead woman. With Barbara Bel Geddes, Henry Jones and Raymond Bailey. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Fri 7:30 pm Screening Room

THE WILD ROBOT (2024,   PG) Pixar animation adapted from the popular children’s books about a robot stranded on an island and the animals it befriends. Of course they are talking animals, providing voice work for Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal, Catherine O’Hara, Bill Nighy and Stephanie Hsu. Directed by Chris Sanders (The Croods). Sat-Sun 11:30 am. North Park

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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

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