The Cinematheque celebrates its 40th anniversary and more! Here is your #movienerdreport.
The first thing I have to mention is there are some special advanced screenings happening at The Nightlight Cinema on Thursday (four screenings) and Friday evening at the Cleveland Cinematheque for the film “Union County” which was filmed in Logan County, Ohio. Director Adam Meeks and star Will Poulter will be in attendance for the screenings, which are all sold out. You might ask yourself why am I mentioning it, well, fear not dear readers, the film will be coming out starting August 14. So if you didn’t snag a ticket, you can catch it then!
Currently the box office is seeing record breaking runs from both “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and “The Odyssey” but there are some new offerings that will hope to get you to the theater.
First one up is “One Night Only” which stars Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner. The film is about two strangers who try to find love on the one night of the year when pre-marital sex is allowed. It sounds kind of like “The Purge” but as a romantic comedy.
Next the comedians from Broken Lizard are back for “Super Troopers 3.” This one sees Farva (Kevin Heffernan) engaged to be married to the sister of his disapproving co-worker Thorny (Jay Chandrasekhar, who also directed the film) all while the team tries to crack a new drug ring. Mrs. Movie Nerd and I got to meet the Broken Lizard guys at an event at Music Box Supper Club a few weeks ago and they couldn’t have been nicer!
The other wide release this weekend is the latest horror flick from Eli Roth called “Ice Cream Man.” It follows an idyllic summer town’s descent into madness when an ice cream man serves kids sweet treats with horrifying results.
Opening at both Cedar Lee (2163 Lee Rd, Cleveland Heights, OH 44118) and The Nightlight Cinema (30 N High St, Akron, OH 44308) and a few other locations is the documentary “Cookie Queens.” It looks at the joys, pressures and tensions woven into one of America’s most cherished rituals: Girl Scout Cookie season.
Opening at The Nightlight and Cinemark Valley View is the latest from the acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda in the film “Sheep in the Box.” It is a film about a couple that welcomes a humanoid robot, following the death of their son.
Over at the Cinematheque (11610 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106) :
They will kick off their 40th Anniversary weekend Thursday evening at 6:30 p.m. with “Westhampton” which stars Finn Whitrock. It looks at a filmmaker who, haunted by an accident he caused in high school, is forced to go back to the scene of the tragedy and face the friends whose lives he ruined and the town that disdains him.
Thursday at 8:30 p.m. and Friday at 9:10 p.m. they will show the new 4K restoration of Michael Mann’s “Manhunter: The Final Cut.” For those who have never seen this it follows former FBI profiler Will Graham (William Peterson) who returns to service to pursue a deranged serial killer dubbed “The Tooth Fairy” by the media. This film features the first film appearance of Hannibal Lector on screen, played by the great Brian Cox.
Saturday at 5 p.m. is the official 40th anniversary screening celebration of the Cinematheque and they are presenting a 50th anniversary showing of Mel Brooks’ “Silent Movie.” Mel just recently celebrated his 100th birthday. So lots of celebrations are going on here. The first 40 attendees will receive a free Cinematheque anniversary cupcake!
Saturday at 7:10 p.m. and Sunday at 7:40 p.m. they will be showing Bob Rafelson’s “Five Easy Pieces.” The film features Jack Nicholson in an Academy Award-nominated performance and it will play from a 35mm print!
Sunday the Andrzej Wajda series continues with his 1988 film “The Possessed” at 3 p.m. and his 1990 film “Korczak” at 5:20 p.m.
Additionally at The Nightlight they will be opening the film “Olmo,” which is a coming of age story that sees Olmo getting invited to a party by his beautiful neighbor, for which he embarks on a night of laughs and chaos.
They also will be opening the documentary “Wild Inside,” which looks at a captive-raised Eurasian eagle-owl that escaped NYC’s Central Park Zoo in 2023.
Saturday and Sunday they will show the wildly popular “Cat Video Fest,” which features the best cat videos compiled from the internet! Every ticket benefits local cats in need.
Saturday at 3 p.m. is the latest film presented by the Cleveland Silent Film Festival and Colloquium at the Main Branch of the Cleveland Public Library (525 Superior Ave E, Cleveland, OH) in 1922’s “Blood and Sand.” The film features Rudolph Valentino and will be accompanied by a piano score by local musician Rob Kovscs! It is FREE!
Lastly at a number of local theaters on Saturday and Monday is “Grateful Dead Meet-Up At The Movies 2026” which features a live performance by The Dead from Giants Stadium in 1991!
So there you have it, until next time we’ll see you at the movies!
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