Calendar: October 25-31, 2024
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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FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said
Given this week is suddenly over and your humble editor is swamped after a brief and impromptu tip to Champaign to participate in one of several recent not-the-usual activities that will be revealed at a later time, we’re going to pass on a full-blooded Report. Our dearest creatures know well enough to research their Halloween delights – well, the public-facing delights, anyway – in the Calendar below, and we’ll get back to it on the flip side. A big “boo!” to all of you as the creepy season winds down!
IMAGERY DU C-U | Picturing Our Scene on the Screen
So, we’ve learned about a couple of indie frights recently that are tangential to the C-U. One is HAUNT SEASON, a slasher set in a haunted house that apparently is an atypical take on the scenario that emphasizes characterization and drama over the visceral. Directed by Jake Jarvi and filmed in the real-life Realm of Terrors attraction in the north Chicago suburb of Round Lake Beach, HAUNT SEASON was released to VOD by Dread/Epic Pictures on October 8 and will be given a rare theatrical screening this Sunday, October 27, 4 p.m., at the Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX by the Chambana Film Festival, who plan to have participants from the film in attendance. This will be the last CFF show before their annual Lake County Film Festival takes over the College of Lake County campus in Grayslake, their opening night set for this coming Thursday, October 31, and runs for two consecutive weekends. You can peruse their impressively loaded program right here and should consider a trip to check it out in person.
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The other is CURSE OF THE SIN EATER, which to our C-U trained eyes was a surprise inclusion in a “suggested Halloween viewing” bit carried by WCIA-TV and other media outlets in the region. All the other films in the piece, offered up by the Champaign County Film Office and Flyover Film Studios with the intention of promoting local production, have been talked about to some degree on CUBlog: BLACK MOLD, FINAL SUMMER, REVEALER, BROOKLYN 45, and SLICE. The distinction to be made here is the latter two, along with SIN EATER, are really Chicago/land productions in which industry talents from central Illinois took part. We looked into it and SIN EATER is a recent VOD release from Samuel Goldwyn Films filmed in Chicago and Barrington Hills with an assist from Hoke Construction of Paxton; it involves a young construction worker (Carter Shrimp) who unwittingly inherits the manifestations of sins from a wealthy businessman (Larry Yando) after the latter passes; Elizabeth Laidlaw, Marcelo Wright, and REVEALER’s Shaina Schrooten also star in the tense-looking film, which was directed by Justin Denton.
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Finally, to fall back with reason on our long-standing “set but not filmed in Illinois” hang-up, we suggest to you one of the original and ultimate “gateway horror” classics, however flawed it seems in retrospect. In the next few weeks, we’ll tell you how this movie and its source material contributed to the foundation of the study of the movies of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond. It may surprise you, or even shock you. Feel that chilly air? Not a coincidence at all. For, by the pricking of Ye Ed’s thumbs…
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A bonus for everyone who kept reading: WCIA also aired a short interview early Friday, October 25, with veteran film director Dwight H. Little (HALLOWEEN 4, MARKED FOR DEATH), and we can only presume that it was intended to promote his memoir, Still Rolling (McFarland & Co.), even though the book was published more than a year ago. Still, seems like a friendly chap with a wealth of knowledge to impart; a more in-depth discussion with Bee Delores of Bloody Disgusting from the beginning of the year will give you a better idea about Little’s late-career outlook and ideals. He is still active in the industry; a new action film is in pre-production and a horror tale, NATTY KNOCKS, arrived last year via Vertical Entertainment.
CONFIDENTIAL ALMANAC | Dates in Film Culture History
10 Years Ago … Friday, October 31, 2014: Thanks to a resolution sponsored by representative Kay Hatcher, the Illinois General Assembly has decreed today “Svengoolie/Rich Koz Day” in the state of Illinois. The veteran entertainer will make several media and personal appearances in celebration, while his (presumably prerecorded) alter ego appears all day long on national cable network MeTV. Also, props and ephemera from his long-running B-movie program (1979-1986 on WFLD-TV 32, 1995-present on WCIU-TV 26/MeTV) recently went on display in Chicago’s Museum of Broadcast Communications. [R]
LOCAL FILMS & EVENTS | Support Your Media Storytellers
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL, 4 p.m.
Chambana Film Festival* screening series feat. HAUNT SEASON* w/filmmakers (10/27, 4 p.m.)
@ Lincoln Hall, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Film & Video* meeting (10/28, 7 p.m., Room 1002)
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
CONCLAVE, LONGLEGS w/THE MONKEY sneak preview, VENOM: THE LAST DANCE, WE LIVE IN TIME, BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE, JOKER: FOILE À DEUX, THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS* (animation) (re-release), PIECE BY PIECE (documentary/animation), SATURDAY NIGHT, SMILE 2, TERRIFIER 3, TRANSFORMERS ONE (animation), THE WILD ROBOT (animation) (10/25 on), Studio Ghibli Fest: KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE 35th anniversary (animé) (10/26, 3 p.m.; 10/27, 3 & 7 p.m.; 10/29-10/30, 7 p.m., in Japanese with English sub or English dub), Brandon Lake and Phil Wickham present “For the One” (worship concert film) (10/27, 4 p.m.), MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM III: ENCOUNTERS IN SPACE (animé) (10/27, 4:30 p.m., in Japanese with English sub), HERE (10/31 on)
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
CONCLAVE, VENOM: THE LAST DANCE, WE LIVE IN TIME, THE APPRENTICE, BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE, EXHIBITING FORGIVENESS*, GOODRICH, GRACIE & PEDRO: PETS TO THE RESCUE!* (animation), HOCUS POCUS* (re-release), JOKER: FOILE À DEUX, THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS* (animation) (re-release), PIECE BY PIECE (documentary/animation), RUMORS*, SATURDAY NIGHT, SMILE 2, THE SUBSTANCE, TERRIFIER 3, THE WILD ROBOT (animation) (10/25 on), Studio Ghibli Fest: KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE 35th anniversary (animé) (10/26, 3 p.m.; 10/27, 3 & 7 p.m.; 10/28-10/30, 7 p.m., in Japanese with English sub or English dub), THE EXORCIST (10/27, 3 & 7 p.m.; 10/30-10/31, 7 p.m.), Brandon Lake and Phil Wickham present “For the One” (worship concert film) (10/27, 4 p.m.; 10/28-10/29, 7 p.m.), CORALINE (animation) (re-release) (10/31, 12:45 & 6:15 p.m. standard, 3:30 & 9 p.m. 3-D), HERE (10/31 on) *single screenings daily
@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL
Illini Union Board presents HOCUS POCUS (10/25-10/26, 7 p.m., free w/i-card)
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
No movies this week!
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
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE, CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON (3-D), SMILE 2, THE WILD ROBOT (animation) (10/25-10/27), EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN (10/24, 7 p.m., free), TRICK ‘R TREAT (10/25, 7 p.m., free), HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA (animation) (10/26, 7 p.m., free)
@ Clintonia Eagle Theater, Clinton, IL
VENOM: THE LAST DANCE, HOCUS POCUS (re-release), SMILE 2, THE WILD ROBOT (animation) (10/25 on)
@ Crescent Cinemas, Pontiac, IL
VENOM: THE LAST DANCE, AM I RACIST? (op-ed/documentary), GRACIE & PEDRO: PETS TO THE RESCUE!* (animation) (10/25 on)
@ The Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL
No movies this week!
@ The Harvest Moon Twin Drive-in, Gibson City, IL
Closed for the regular season.
@ Marcus Bloomington Cinema + IMAX, Bloomington, IL
CONCLAVE, VENOM: THE LAST DANCE, WE LIVE IN TIME, YOUR MONSTER, BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE, HOCUS POCUS* (re-release), JOKER: FOILE À DEUX, PIECE BY PIECE (documentary/animation), SATURDAY NIGHT, SMILE 2, SPEAK NO EVIL, TERRIFIER 3, THE WILD ROBOT (animation) (10/25 on), SCREAM (1996) (10/25-10/26, 9:30 p.m.), Indian cinema: LAGGAM* (Telugu w/Eng sub) and POTTEL* (Telugu w/Eng sub), Studio Ghibli Fest: KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE 35th anniversary (animé) (10/26, 3 p.m.; 10/27, 3 & 7 p.m.; 10/28-10/30, 7 p.m., in Japanese with English sub or English dub), HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 1 (10/27, 4 p.m.; 10/28, 6 p.m.), Brandon Lake and Phil Wickham present “For the One” (worship concert film) (10/27, 4 p.m.; 10/28, 7 p.m.), SABATON: THE TOUR TO END ALL TOURS (concert film) (10/30, 7:30 p.m.), GODZILLA MINUS ONE (re-release) (10/31, 6 p.m.; in Japanese with English sub), GODZILLA MINUS ONE “MINUS COLOR” (re-release) (10/31, 9:20 p.m.; in Japanese with English sub), HALLOWEEN (1978) (10/31, 9:30 p.m.), HERE, HITPIG! (animation) (10/31 on) *single screenings daily
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW w/shadow cast (10/25-10/26, 7 & 10:30 p.m.), THE BLACK CAULDRON (animation), THE WITCHES (1990), HOCUS POCUS (10/27), ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (10/28), THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (animation) (10/29), THE CROW (1994) (10/30), HOCUS POCUS (10/31), Severin Films presents … “Post Apocalyptic Triple Feature” feat. ACCIÓN MUTANTE, WARRIORS OF THE YEAR 2072, OK TO RUN* (short film) (11/1, 6 p.m. doors, 7 p.m. program)
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL
Closed until November.
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE (10/25-10/27)
@ The Route 66 Drive-in Theater, Springfield, IL
THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (animation), HOCUS POCUS (Screen 1), THE SHINING (1980), SMILE 2 (Screen 2) (10/25-10/26)
@ VIP Lincoln Grand 6, Lincoln, IL
GOODRICH*, SMILE 2, VENOM: THE LAST DANCE, WE LIVE IN TIME, BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE, TERRIFIER 3, TRANSFORMERS ONE* (animation), THE WILD ROBOT (animation) (10/25 on) *single screenings daily
NOW PLAYING | Midwest
@ AMC Newcity 14/Music Box Theatre, etc., Chicago, IL
60th Chicago International Film Festival, Chicago, IL (through 10/27)
@ College of Lake County, Grayslake, IL
14th Lake County Film Festival (10/31-11/3, 11/8-11/11) Information
For detailed and curated listings of Chicago-area film presentations and related events, please visit the fine folks at Cine-File and subscribe to their definitive “Cine-List” weekly blast.
COMING SOON | Area-wide Events
11/1-11/2
23rd Route 66 Film Festival*
@ Hoogland Center for the Arts, Springfield, IL
11/7-11/17
33rd St. Louis International Film Festival
@ The Hi-Pointe Theatre, St. Louis, MO
2/15/25
3rd annual CU International Film Festival*
@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
3/27-3/29/25
2025 Big Muddy Film Festival*
@ The Varsity Center, Carbondale, IL
4/23/-4/25/25
25th Roger Ebert’s Film Festival*
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
5/29-6/2/25
The Chambana Film Festival
@ TBA, Champaign-Urbana, IL
COMMUNITY & CAMPUS SERIES | Champaign-Urbana area
Chambana Film Festival* screening series
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL, 4 p.m.
11/17: THE PROBLEM OF THE HERO; 11/24: THE HOBBY; 12/29: documentary shorts incl. FACING THE FALLS
Illini Radio Group presents “Rewind 92.5 Movie Series”/“Mix 94.5 Throwback Thursdays”*
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
11/20: THE BOY AND THE HERON (animé); 12/5: FRIDAY*
Illini Union Board presents “Fall 2024 Weekend Films”
@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m. Fri. & Sat, free w/i-card
11/1-11/2: FLY ME TO THE MOON; 11/8-11/9: IT ENDS WITH US; 11/15-11/16: SCREAM (1996); 11/22-11/23: BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE; 12/6-12/7: HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS
UPDATE! Illinois Public Media presents “The Arthouse Experience Film Series”
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 7 p.m.
11/22: RUSHMORE; 12/14: ROBOT DREAMS (animation)
The News-Gazette Film Series
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL, 1 & 7 p.m.
11/30: THE WIZARD OF OZ; 12/7: IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE
Roger Ebert Center for Film Studies* event series
@ Knight Auditorium, Spurlock Center for World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
11/14: ALIEN: ROMULUS screening; 12/5: GREMLINS screening
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Compiled by Jason Pankoke.
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“Calendar du C-U”
© 2024 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential
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