Calendar: January 10-16, 2025
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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MILESTONES | Happy Birthday to You!
1/12: Damian Duffy (co-adapter, Octavia E. Butler’s Parable of the Talents, Abrams ComicArts, New York, NY)
PASSINGS | You Will Be Missed
12/24: Barbara Evans, 72 (actor, BUCKY McSNEAD, Shut Up and Do It Productions, Champaign, IL)
FIELD REPORT DU HQ | From Wherever It May Be Said
The New Year is as good as time as any for a link dump in our Report to share what our online media friends and neighbors are thinking and doing, so, by all means wander a little closer and click away!
Some folks want to foster the funny via their videos. Camp Nostalgic Studios posted a big conclusion to their production season last month, first with the last episode of SATURDAY MORNING for 2024 wherein hosts Alex Duquette and Dave Rediger attempt to make it to the end credits with the heat turned off in order to save money; they remember the reason for a different season and share an on-the-street update from Vadim Nuebeck (looks familiar…) as he searches for an elusive toy doll with a certain je ne sais quoi that is flying off the shelves. Across the creek at Rubber Chicken Films, versatile impressionist Andy Due (looks familiar…) finished the year with Episode 27 of THE ANY DUE SHOW and his patented take on Golden Age and retro Brit humour, this time involving an Irish pastor’s service, a pair of strangers at a park bench, and a surf rock band eulogizing their jalopy. A-hem. (Let’s not forget The Andy Due Book, a print expansion of the programme that is now available on Amazon.) And floating back down to Camp Nostalgic, we have the finale of LATE NIGHT URGE in which host Ariel Julie (looks loverly…) ruminates about Jewish holidays and the seeming lack of sexy in the belief’s public-facing patina.
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Other folks have opinions on the movies. Our man Colin Gabriel Price goes over his primary picks for the best releases of 2024 in the most recent episode of Priceless B Movies and, to no one’s surprise, it’s ladled liberally with horror. Over at Mashley at the Movies, Matt and Ashley dropped a couple of episodes for Xmas-time where they discuss the Bob Dylan picture A COMPLETE UNKNOWN with fellow C-U podcaster Elizabeth Hess and NOSFERATU with local writer Aaron Polk. A few steps in the other direction, Chase Todd of Chase & Shep fame has a new talker through their Earth-217 shingle that is called Phil & Chase Watch Everything with co-host Phillip Hazen and, in their newest recording, Shep and Bel join them to discuss more than twenty cinematic “slays” for the holidays. And, although their time at WCIA-TV is complete, professional critics Chuck Koplinski and Pam Powell continue their work as Reel Talk with Chuck and Pam through their own podcast, where they took on THE FIRE INSIDE, BABYGIRL, and more just before 2025 chimed in, and still appear together or solo in various outlets like CBS Channel 58 in Milwaukee, The Daily Journal of Kankakee, and The Illinois Times of Springfield.
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Even more folks are making the movies. Thomas Nicol went behind the camera for his first short in a few years, THE VENUS GAMBIT, in which a date goes charmingly between a duo played by Mindy Smith and Matthew Green as they enjoy a chess game; filmed and premiered at the Analog Wine Library in downtown Urbana, the piece has appeared in a handful of regional festivals. Also returning to filmic business are The Andrews (Andrew Stengele and Andrew Nygard), who made a quickie short named SANTA DOESN’T EXIST on behalf of Champaign Movie Makers and for the newest iteration of the annual cable-access tradition du C-U, THE TRAVIS WAYNE HURT CHRISTMAS SPECIAL. Their ditty is pure wryness, a Nygard specialty, and depicts the tragedy encountered by a young girl (Logan Tarr) who can’t sleep on Christmas Eve; the witty that surrounds it is merely AWOL at the moment, for Hurt elected to premiere the sketch comedy at the Channing-Murray Foundation last month instead of on Urbana Public Television where all the prior specials reside. Behind the scenes, local filmmaker John Isberg (FINAL SUMMER) concluded the first season of his talk-shop podcast, Shudder to Think, with Episode 13 where he was joined by a fellow horror storyteller from Britain, Jonathan Straiton (JOHNNY Z).
Finally, certain individuals want to discuss the movies of Champaign, Urbana, and the cities beyond for the record and on the regular like … oof. That doesn’t exist in C-U recorded media, does it? No radio show, no podcast, no livestream, no vlogcast, no cable access show to cover the cinema creation and culture of our own making? Oh, don’t do that. Stop looking in your humble editor’s direction from a long distance. He can only do so much from here in the Illinois Valley, other than offering up good ideas.
That said, freely return the favor if we forgot to include any similar and relevant outlets for arts and entertainment discourse in the C-U area by writing cuconfidential [at] gmail [dot] com with a tip. Thanks!
IMAGERY DU C-U | Picturing Our Scene on the Screen
We needed an easy one this week, folks, and a lo-fi photo gallery from THE TRAVIS WAYNE HURT CHRISTMAS SPECIAL is it. All the shows to date that were aired by UPTV 6 are available on YouTube, with the latest one (apart from the brand-new one we talked about above) being THE TRAVIS WAYNE HURT CHRISTMAS SPECIAL VS. THE NOG MONSTER from 2023. You can find out who’s in which ones at a glance on the Internet Movie Database and learn about the making of most episodes with this podcast series hosted by Erin Gillis and TWH. As our dearest readers should know by now, movies are not just for careers, resumes, or artistic statements. These folks want to get weird and that’s just ducky with us.
If a few pictures of friendly and game townies (and animated friends) paint a thousand words…
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Happy National Peculiar People Day, C-U! Stay reliably offbeat!
NOW PLAYING | Champaign-Urbana Area
@ AMC Champaign 13, Champaign, IL
DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA, FROM GROUND ZERO: STORIES FROM GAZA (documentary; in Arabic with English sub), GAME CHANGER (in Telugu with English sub), THE LAST SHOWGIRL, OCTOPUS WITH BROKEN ARMS (in Mandarin with English sub), A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, THE DAMNED, THE FIRE INSIDE*, HOMESTEAD (faith film), KRAVEN THE HUNTER*, MOANA 2 (animation), MUFASA: THE LION KING, NOSFERATU, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3, WICKED (1/10 on), AX Cinema Nights: PAPRIKA 15th anniversary (animé) (1/12, 4:30 p.m., in Japanese with English sub; 1/8, 7:30 p.m., English dub), PETER PAN’S NEVERLAND NIGHTMARE (1/14-1/15, 7:30 p.m.), ONE OF THEM DAYS THE ROOM NEXT DOOR, WOLF MAN (1/16 on) *single screenings daily
@ Phoenix Savoy 16 + IMAX, Savoy, IL
BETTER MAN, DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA, THE LAST SHOWGIRL, BABYGIRL, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, THE FIRE INSIDE, HOMESTEAD (faith film), MOANA 2 (animation), MUFASA: THE LION KING, NOSFERATU, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3, WICKED (1/10 on), INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (1/12, 3 & 7 p.m.; 1/15, 7 p.m.), WOLF MAN (1/16 on)
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 Springfield 12, Springfield, IL
Springfield Art Association presents the 31st annual Molly Schlich Independent | International Film Series feat. ONE LIFE (1/12, 1 & 4 p.m.; 1/14, 7 p.m.)
@ The Avon Theater, Decatur, IL
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, NOSFERATU, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 (1/9-1/12)
@ Clintonia Eagle Theater, Clinton, IL
A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, MUFASA: THE LION KING, NOSFERATU, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3, WICKED (1/10 on)
@ Crescent Cinemas, Pontiac, IL
HOMESTEAD (faith film), SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 (1/10 on)
@ The Fischer Theatre, Danville, IL
INSIDE OUT 2 (animation) (1/11, 2 p.m.), Danville Public Library presents “A Novel Idea…” feat. THE COLOR PURPLE (1985) (1/16, 7 p.m.)
@ Marcus Bloomington Cinema + IMAX, Bloomington, IL
DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA, GAME CHANGER (in Telugu with English sub), A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, THE FIRE INSIDE, MOANA 2 (animation), MUFASA: THE LION KING, NOSFERATU, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3, WICKED (1/10 on), DAAKU MAHARAAJ (in Telugu with English sub) (1/11 on), SANKRATHIKI VASTHUNAM (in Telugu with English sub) (1/13 on), PETER PAN’S NEVERLAND NIGHTMARE (1/13-1/15, 7 p.m.), TRAILER PARK BOYS: STANDING ON THE SHOULDERS OF KITTIES (1/15, 7 p.m.), AUTUMN AND THE BLACK JAGUAR, ONE OF THEM DAYS, SING SING (1/16 on)
@ The Normal Theater, Normal, IL
FLOW (animation) (1/10-1/12), THE SUBSTANCE (1/10-1/11)
@ The Onarga Theatre, Onarga, IL
THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER (faith film) (1/10-1/12)
@ The Princess Theatre, Leroy, IL
MUFASA: THE LION KING (1/10-1/12)
@ VIP Lincoln Grand 6, Lincoln, IL
DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, MOANA 2 (animation), MUFASA: THE LION KING, NOSFERATU, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 (1/10 on)
NOW PLAYING | Midwest
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. And for northern Illinois industry news, be sure to read Reel Chicago and Screen Magazine.
COMING SOON | Area-wide Events
1/24
Flatlands Dance Film Festival* Short Film Competition 2025
@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m.
1/31-2/1
B-Fest 2025
@ Norris University Center, NU, Evanston, IL, 6 p.m.-6 p.m.
2/15
3rd annual CU International Film Festival*
@ Spurlock Museum of World Cultures, UIUC, Urbana, IL
3/27-3/29
2025 Big Muddy Film Festival*
@ The Varsity Center, Carbondale, IL
4/3-4/13
35th Onion City Experimental Film Festival, Chicago, IL
4/3-4/10
27th annual Wisconsin Film Festival, Madison, WI
4/23/-4/25
25th Roger Ebert’s Film Festival*
@ The Virginia Theatre, Champaign, IL
5/29-6/2
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.
1/26: AFTER THE FALL: TWO GENERATIONS OF THE VIETNAM CONFLICT; 2/2: The IRLMovieClub Screening feat. THE THINKING GAME; 2/9-2/23: The Oscar Nominated Shorts 2025 – Live Action (2/9), Animation (2/16), and Documentary (2/23)
NEW! Illini Union Board presents “Spring 2024 Weekend Films”
@ Pine Lounge, 1st floor, Illini Union, UIUC, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m. Fri. & Sat, free w/i-card
1/24-1/25 SMILE 2; 1/31-2/1: VENOM: THE LAST DANCE; 2/7-2/8: CONCLAVE; 2/14-2/15: THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (animation); 2/21-2/22: GLADIATOR II: 2/28-3/1: SEPTEMBER 5; 3/7-3/8: WICKED; 3/14-3/15: MUFASA: THE LION KING; 3/21-3/22: THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM (animation); 3/28-3/29: PITCH PERFECT; 4/4-4/5: NOSFERATU; 4/11-4/12: WALL-E (animation); 4/18-4/19: SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3; 4/25-4/26: THE WILD ROBOT (animation); 5/2-5/3: CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD; 5/4: STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
NEW! Springfield Art Association presents the 31st annual Molly Schlich Independent | International Film Series
@ AMC Classic Springfield 12, Springfield, IL, 1 & 4 p.m. Sunday + 7 p.m. Tuesday
1/12, 1/14: ONE LIFE; 1/19, 1/21: TAKING VENICE; 1/26, 1/28: NOWHERE SPECIAL; 2/2, 2/4: CROSSING; 2/9, 2/11: THELMA; 2/16, 2/18: TOUCH; 2/23, 2/25: THE LAST OF THE SEA WOMEN; 3/2, 3/ 4: THE TASTE OF THINGS
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Compiled by Jason Pankoke.
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“Calendar du C-U”
© 2025 Jason Pankoke/C-U Blogfidential
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