The Movie Nerd Report: 1st weekend of November screenings in Northeast Ohio

After an eventful October, November is here and we are moving towards award season! Here is your #movienerdreport ! 

The Greater Cleveland Film Commission (aka my employer) will be having their annual fundraiser titled “Behind The Camera” on Friday at the Cleveland History Center (10825 East Blvd, Cleveland 44106). New York Times best-selling author and film historian Scott Eyman will be the featured guest as he will discuss Ohio’s role in the birth of the motion picture industry and WKYC’s Betsy Kling will be moderator. Proceeds benefit the film commission’s “Reel Education, Real Jobs, For All” workforce training programs. 

Tickets and more information are available here: https://www.clevelandfilm.com/events/2026/11/06/behind-the-camera-the-golden-age-of-hollywood-with-film-biographer-scott-eyman

Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Atlas Barrington 10 (140 Barrington Town Sq Dr., Aurora 44202) brings the world premiere of a locally produced horror film from filmmaker Eddie Lengyel titled “It Awakens.” The story follows a ruthless group of gangsters whose paths cross with ancient, predatory monsters, unleashing a relentless darkness when their two violent worlds collide. 

Tickets and more information are available here: https://tickets.fandango.com/mobileexpress/seatselection?row_count=567979721&mid=248081&chainCode=ATLS&sdate=2026-11-05+19%3A30&tid=AATYD&route=map-seat-map

This weekend offers a few new titles including the one expected to be the big winner of the weekend in “Godzilla Minus Zero.” This is the follow-up to the Oscar-winning “Godzilla Minus One.” The story for this film takes place two years after the initial film within the still-rebuilding nation as a returning Godzilla and the alien dragon King Ghidorah clash, forcing traumatized survivors to band together once again.

Director Martin McDonagh(“The Banshees of Inisherin” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”) is back with another highly acclaimed dark comedy about a dying, veteran CIA operative and his loyal partner who travel to Easter Island in 1973, just before the Chilean military coup. John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Parker Posey and Steve Buscemi star. 

Opening at the Cedar Lee (2163 Lee Rd, Cleveland Heights 44118), Capitol Theatre (1390 W. 65^th, Cleveland 44102) and Cinemark Valley View is another highly-acclaimed Spanish-language film titled “La Bola Negra.” It is described as a sweeping historical epic that connects the lives of three queer men across nearly a century of Spanish history — 1932, 1937 and 2017. The film features Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close. 

One of the largest budgeted films in Bollywood history “Ramayana” opens this week as well. It tells the tale of the exiled Indian prince Rama as he embarks on a high-stakes quest to rescue his wife, Sita, after she is abducted by the demon king Ravan. There are two versions of the film playing locally, the dubbed version and the Hindi version which clocks in at 3 hours and 15 minutes.  

Then, for families, there is a new animated version of Dr. Seuss’s classic “The Cat in the Hat.” The star-studded voice cast includes Bill Hader, Quinta Brunson and Xochitl Gómez. 

Over at the Cleveland Cinematheque (11610 Euclid Ave, Cleveland 44106):

Thursday at 6:45 p.m. and Sunday at 4:30 p.m. they will present the new drama “Atonement,”  which is about a troubled U.S. Marine haunted by combat guilt who attempts to seek forgiveness and reconciliation years after a tragic incident in the Iraq War. Boyd Holbrook and Kenneth Branagh star. 

Thursday at 9:15 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m. they will kick off a new series called Shades of Noir, and they are starting with a great example of modern noir with Nicolas Winding Refn’s “Drive.” It stars Ryan Gosling as an ex-stunt driver in Hollywood who gets enlisted as a getaway driver in a heist. The excellent cast is rounded out with Albert Brooks, Bryan Cranston and Carey Mulligan. 

Friday at at 6:45 p.m. and Saturday at 4:15 p.m. they will present “Queen At Sea” which tells the story of a family in London who face a devastating moral and legal crisis when a daughter calls the police after discovering her aging stepfather having sex with her mother, who is suffering from advanced dementia. The cast includes Juliette Binoche. 

Friday at 9:15 p.m. and Saturday at 6:50 p.m. they will present the 4k restoration of Ken Russell’s 1971 historical drama “The Devils.” The film, with its rare NC-17 rating, has been quite successful pulling in approximately $4 million dollars since it started playing in theaters last month. 

On Saturday at 9:15 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. they will present the second film in the Shades of Noir series with one of the classics of the genre in “The Postman Always Rings Twice.” It is about a drifter and a married diner owner who begin a passionate, destructive affair and murder the woman’s husband for insurance money, only to be undone by guilt, betrayal and inescapable fate. 

More film information and tickets are available here: https://cinematheque.cia.edu/

Over at The Nightlight Cinema (30 N High St, Akron 44308):

They will be opening the Cannes Palm d’Or winner in “Fjord.” It tells the story of a devout Romanian-Norwegian couple that resettles in a remote fjord village and forms a close relationship with their neighbors. When their teenage daughter arrives at school with bruises, the community questions whether the family’s traditional upbringing is responsible. Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve star. 

They also will be opening “The Only Living Pickpocket In New York,” which your resident movie nerd forgot to mention last week (d’oh!). But we’re rectifying that now. The film is about an aging, old-school pickpocket named Harry Lehman as he tries to survive a cashless, modern New York City while caring for his disabled wife, only to find himself in a race against time to return a stolen USB drive after he accidentally lifts it from a dangerous crime family. John Tuturro, Giancarlo Esposito and Tatiana Maslany star. 

“Possible Love” is the latest film from Lee Chang-dong, whose previous film was “Burning.” This film tells the story of a laid-off worker and his wife as they cross paths with a documentary filmmaker and her spouse and confront their hidden desires. 

The other film they will be opening is the documentary “Soul Patrol.” It tells the story of the Vietnam War’s first all-Black special operations long-range reconnaissance patrol unit as the surviving veterans reunite 50 years later to share their hidden history.

More film information and tickets are available here: https://nightlightcinema.com/

Over at the Case Western Reserve Film Society (Strosacker Auditorium on the Case Campus):

It’s a Jim Henson weekend as on Friday at 7 p.m., 9 p.m., and 11 p.m. they will present “Muppet Treasure Island” and on Saturday at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. they will present “The Dark Crystal.” 

More film and ticket information is available here: https://films.cwru.edu/

Lastly, starting on Saturday a number of theaters will be playing one of my all-time favorite films – “Rocky” – for its 50^th anniversary in a new 4k restoration. This comes just ahead of the new film that looks at the making of this American classic called “I Play Rocky,” which will hit Cleveland theaters later this month. 

So there you have it, another exciting week. Until next time we’ll see you at the movies!