Calendar: May 7-13, 2021
Our movie and media Calendar appears every Friday/Saturday on C-U Blogfidential and caters to the downstate region anchored by Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, USA.
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CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History
25 Years Ago … Friday, May 10, 1996: Warner Bros. releases the action film TWISTER, directed by Jan de Bont and starring Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt, which becomes the second highest grossing release of that year in the United States and Canada after INDEPENDENCE DAY. Many communities across the nation probably did not feel so enthusiastic about the movie because, less than a month before on the evening of Friday, April 19, an extremely volatile storm system produced dozens of tornadoes in the central Midwest and the South. More than 30 funnel clouds were reported in Illinois alone and two of the strongest, rated at the “F3” category, caused serious damage in southwest Urbana and nearly destroyed the small town of Ogden. Amazingly, the only person killed in those Champaign County incidents was a Missouri woman traveling on I-74 near Ogden, according to a CNN report at the time. A chronological chart of the unfolding weather disaster from that night can be found on Wikipedia, an illustrated analysis of why the storm behaved as it did can be reviewed in this report filed by the UIUC Department of Atmospheric Sciences, a compilation of police and storm chaser video that depicts the tornadoes and aftermath can be viewed at The News-Gazette, and storm-by-storm information can be studied at The Tornado History Project, an on-line database of confirmed sightings in the United States that was designed and maintained by Joshua Lietz of Urbana. In the present, dearest readers should refresh themselves on tornado safety every spring by consulting the National Weather Service and other trusted agencies; informed protocol will help save lives way more readily than quoting dialogue from TWISTER while on the run, we imagine. [R] [Rev. 5/7/21]
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
FATIMA, WRATH OF MAN, CLIFF WALKERS, DEMON SLAYER THE MOVIE: MUGEN TRAIN, GODZILLA VS. KONG, MORTAL KOMBAT, NOBODY, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, SEPARATION (5/7 on), TROLLS WORLD TOUR (5/7-5/9), SHREK FOREVER AFTER (5/7, 3:45 p.m.), JURASSIC WORLD (5/7, 4 p.m.), FINDING YOU, PROFILE, SPIRAL: FROM THE BOOK OF SAW (5/13 on)
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
THE COURIER, DEMON SLAYER THE MOVIE: MUGEN TRAIN, GODZILLA VS. KONG, MINARI, MORTAL KOMBAT, NOBODY, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, SEPARATION, THE UNHOLY (5/7 on), DAZN boxing: Canelo Alvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders (5/8, 9 p.m., simulcast), SPIRAL: FROM THE BOOK OF SAW (5/13 on)
@ Redbox, Champaign-Urbana, IL
EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE, JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH, THE LITTLE THINGS, THE VIRTUOSO, more! (5/4 on) Online rentals
Events featuring locally produced movies are marked with an asterisk (*). Additional “Now Playing” and “Coming Soon” listings appear after the jump!
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NOW PLAYING | The Cities Beyond
@ AMC Classic Village Mall 6, Danville, IL
WRATH OF MAN, GODZILLA VS. KONG, MORTAL KOMBAT, NOBODY, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON (5/7-5/9), NOMADLAND
@ AMC Peru Mall 8, Peru, IL
WRATH OF MAN, DEMON SLAYER THE MOVIE: MUGEN TRAIN, GODZILLA VS. KONG, MORTAL KOMBAT, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON, SEPARATION (5/7-5/9)
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL
STEEL MAGNOLIAS, WRATH OF MAN, GODZILLA VS. KONG (5/7-5/9)
@ The Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL
No movies this week!
@ The Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in, Gibson City, IL
TWISTER (Screen 1), JAWS (Screen 2) (5/7-5/9)
@ The Little Lorraine, Hoopeston, IL
Private rentals for the week.
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
MAINSTREAM (5/7-5/9), “Living Room Film Festival” virtual screenings: WET SEASON (4/30-5/20), The Oscar Nominated Short Films 2021 (through 5/14, all three programs) Purchase
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL
Closed for the week.
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
Closed for the week.
@ Route 34 Drive-in, Earlville, IL
WEIRD SCIENCE, UNCLE BUCK (5/7-5/9)
@ Route 66 Twin Drive-in, Springfield, IL
WRATH OF MAN, THE MARKSMAN (Screen 1), THE WIZARD OF OZ, TWISTER (Screen 2) (5/7-5/8)
@ Roxy Cinemas, Ottawa, IL
SILO, WALKING WITH HERB, THE FATHER, THE GIRL WHO BELIEVES IN MIRACLES, GODZILLA VS. KONG, MORTAL KOMBAT, NOMADLAND, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON (5/7 on)
@ Streator Eagle 6, Streator, IL
FOUR GOOD DAYS, WALKING WITH HERB, WRATH OF MAN, THE GIRL WHO BELIEVES IN MIRACLES, MORTAL KOMBAT, THE RESORT, THE UNHOLY (5/7 on)
NOW PLAYING | Midwest
@ online Eventive, Madison, WI
University of Wisconsin-Madison presents 22nd Wisconsin Film Festival (5/13-5/20) Passes and tickets
For detailed and curated listings of Chicago-area film presentations and related events, as well as cancellations and postponements due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, please visit the fine folks at Cine-File and subscribe to their definitive “Cine-List” weekly blast.
COMING SOON | Area-wide Events
6/10-6/13
31st Onion City Experimental Film + Video Festival
@ Chicago Filmmakers, Chicago, IL
9/8-9/11
22nd Roger Ebert’s Film Festival
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
10/22-10/23
Dark History and Horror Convention’s Screaming Mad Film Festival 2.1
@ I Hotel and Conference Center, UIUC, Champaign, IL
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Compiled by Jason Pankoke.
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