Dir: Joe Johnston, US, 1991, Adventure/Science Fiction. Billy Campbell, Jennifer Connelly, Alan Arkin, Timothy Dalton. Presented in memory of our friend and long-time volunteer Veronica Hicks. It's the 35th anniversary year for this classic! "A most entertaining escapist adventure about a gee-whiz 1938 American pilot who finds a rocket backpack designed by Howard Hughes and uses it to foil undercover Nazis. Directed by Joe Johnston (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids), this picture rips along with cascading energy and ends up being more entertaining than the last Indiana Jones film... Timothy Dalton steals the show as a Hollywood actor who wants the rocket pack for his own reasons... Set designs are top-notch, and the smart dialogue had my preview audience hissing and cheering at appropriate moments." - Gene Siskel, The Chicago Tribune

Dir: Steven Spielberg, US, 2026, Thriller/Science Fiction. Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Eve Hewson, Colin Firth. “Armed with a spectacular cast Spielberg takes an imaginative look at what it would look like if humanity actually found out it wasn’t alone in the universe, and the efforts by some to keep that information hidden… The action-packed cold open, though, is right out of an Indiana Jones flick, where Daniel Kellner has to rescue his girlfriend Jane from a governmental goon squad… Daniel is among a group of whistleblowers from the shady agency WARDEX who nabbed evidence of a massive, nearly 80-year cover-up that, if revealed, would be a turning point for civilization… Meanwhile, in Kansas City, TV meteorologist Margaret… suddenly starts speaking in an alien language on the air... Daniel and Jane go on the run… And Margaret finds herself strangely driven toward this guy Daniel she’s never met… The wholly riveting climax is among the best in Spielberg's legendary career – which is truly saying something. Past and present are utilized in such a fascinating way as the filmmaker takes his premise to a logical, honest and heartfelt conclusion.” - Brian Truitt, USA Today

Dir: David Wain, US, 2026, Comedy. Zoey Deutch, Jon Hamm, Ken Marino, John Slattery. “Gail Daughtry is a supremely goofy delight. The kind of comedy that throws out gags with the force and speed of a batting cage gone haywire… It’s not a question of whether you will laugh or not, but how often… Gail is engaged to an extreme dolt named Tom. The couple eventually concoct a ‘hall pass’ system, in which the two agree on celebrities that they could have affairs with, would the unlikely opportunity ever come to pass. Well, it isn’t long before Tom hooks up with his… which leads Zoey to travel to L.A. to fulfill her own sexual conquest: Mad Men star Jon Hamm… The story is peppered with dubious Hollywood power players, Italian gangsters, past-their-prime paparazzi photographers, and even Hamm’s old Mad Men co-star John Slattery, playing an extremely disheveled version of himself. It is all delightfully nonsensical stuff… Every other line of dialogue is at once ridiculous and brilliant, the sheer irrationality of the material looping back into the most perfect punchline. Critic’s Pick.” – Barry Hertz, The Globe and Mail

Dir: Rachel Chavkin/Brett Sullivan, UK/US, 2026, Musical. Reeve Carney, Eva Noblezada, Patrick Page, André De Shields. Winner of 8 Tony Awards. “Hadestown: The Musical comes to the silver screen as the five principal members of the original Broadway cast reunite on the West End for this reinterpretation of timeless love stories from Greek mythology. Exploring the iconic Greek myths of Orpheus, Eurydice, Persephone and Hades within the context of an industrial hellscape, Mitchell’s show has become a worldwide cultural phenomenon, traveling across the United States on a national tour with additional productions in London, South Korea, Australia, and the Netherlands. Six years after stepping out on stage together, the original stars reunite, supported by members of the West End cast, for a spellbinding show that reaffirms the magic of musical theater. With gorgeous music, brilliant performances, and a timeless love story at its center, Hadestown: The Musical is for both diehard fans of the musical and newcomers alike.” - Cyrus Cohen, Tribeca Film Festival

Dir: Kent Jones, US, 2026, Drama/Comedy. Willem Dafoe, Greta Lee, Jake Lacy. “Ed Saxberger is an amiable, unassuming New Yorker on the cusp of old age who works at the post office… In his youth, he published an anthology of poetry called Way Past Go, which caused barely a ripple… Then one day he is accosted outside his apartment by an NYU student, who explains that he stumbled across Way Past Go at a secondhand bookstore and was transported, blown away and could scarcely believe what he’d found… Saxberger is portrayed with a loose, warm-leather ease by Willem Dafoe… It’s a performance so natural it barely looks like acting at all… Meyers runs a salon of sorts, the Enthusiasm Society, and cajoles his idol into writing a piece to be performed at the group’s first public show. Saxberger hasn’t written in decades, doesn’t even see himself as a writer, but he is flattered by the attention and faintly dazzled by Gloria, who is a club singer by night and a resting actor by day… This one has stayed with me. It’s a lovely slice of life, a heartfelt New York story… Saxberger’s poetry is ecstatic and gritty in the style of Frank O’Hara, conjuring the sounds and flavours of the old New York, and the authentically voracious hunger of youth.” – Xan Brooks, The Guardian (UK)

Dir: Damiano Michieletto, Italy/France, 2025, Drama, Music. Tecla Insolia, Michele Riondino, Andrea Pennacchi, Fabrizia Sacchi. In Italian and French with English subtitles. Winner of 9 Donatello Awards including Best Music and Best Costumes. “A picturesque backdrop of 18th-century Venice, a beautiful orphan, a baroque classical score featuring the music of Vivaldi – Primavera is a crowd-pleasing, prestige period drama of the kind that has fallen from favour of late. But the appeal of such handsome, romantic productions persists. Primavera tells the story of Cecilia, a spirited foundling raised from infancy at the Pio Ospedale della Pietà orphanage in Venice. The most talented girls are trained in music, and this young violinist is one of the brightest stars of the institution’s chamber orchestra. But it’s not until Antonio Vivaldi joins as the music master that Cecilia, with his encouragement, takes her own potential seriously. Unfortunately, she has been promised as a wife for a raffish nobleman, and for girls like Cecilia, marriage means the end of music. This is a gorgeously designed production, tallow candlelight bringing a velvety quality to the forbidding stone walls of the orphanage. Even the girls' simple dresses – dove grey for everyday wear, deep crimson for performances – are ravishingly lovely... Escapism at its most elegant.” – Wendy Ide, The Observer

Dir: Kevin Claydon/Phil Moniz, Canada, 2026, Comedy. Kevin Claydon, Phil Moniz, Robbie Amell, Greg Bryk, Jess Salgueiro. Winner – Unstoppable Feature Grand Jury Prize, Slamdance, and Fest Fave Award, Blue Mountain Film + Media Festival. “A charming and refreshingly original sports comedy that elevates the overlooked world of racewalking to something both absurd and sweet…. stars Kevin Claydon and Phil Moniz possess impeccable chemistry, with their sharp banter and genuine sincerity grounding the film’s humor in warmth rather than just hilarity… The film is very successful at combining the classic beats of the sports genre (training montages, setbacks, and triumphant moments) with an emotional honesty that adds layers to its characters… Claydon’s Matt, a former baseball pitcher trying to find his footing, and Moniz’s Will, an eccentric coach trying to prove himself, have a complicated dynamic that keeps the film centered. The rivalries, particularly with Ched and his overbearing father Kurt, add plenty of humor, but it’s the film’s sincere exploration of personal growth and friendship that makes it truly special…. The balance of smart writing, strong performances, and well-timed humor makes this not just a sports film, but a feel-good escape, full of laughs and emotional payoff.” - Kristy Strouse, Film Inquiry

Dir: Greg Dale, Japan, 2024, Comedy/Drama. Kaho Minami, Greg Dale, Mayuko Kawakita, Jeffrey Rowe. In Japanese and English with subtitles in both languages. Winner Best Feature Film Comedy, Sedona International Film Festival. “The writer-director (and star), Greg Dale, is a Japan-based New Yorker… The producer, Jeffrey Rowe, is a filmmaker and actor based between Japan and Canada [He grew up in Montague P.E.I.]… Rules of Living stars the always great Kaho Minami as Mikuko Abe, a career woman who’s living alone after her divorce and her mother’s move into hospice care. She’s stuck in a job she doesn’t love and a relationship with an elite businessman that gives her no real pleasure; and she can’t get her irresponsible daughter to listen to her. When Vincent, an American who has met said daughter overseas, shows up on her doorstep and asks to stay ‘just for 3 months,’ she’d like nothing to do with him. But he has money for rent, so Mikuko reluctantly agrees to let him stay in a spare room. After weeks of often hilarious miscommunications, the oddball roommates begin to start talking about themselves. As they navigate cultural differences and discuss societal expectations, each begins to make discoveries that eventually help them find a new sense of purpose.” – Tokyo Filmgoer

Dir: Stephan Elliott, Australia, 1994, Comedy/Drama. Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, Terence Stamp Winner, Academy Award, Best Costumes. "Brilliantly bitchy, fabulously photographed and wonderfully played, this Australian frock opera addresses serious issues with satirical accuracy and profound insight. Tossing the niceties of sexual politics out of the window of a speeding bus, director Stephan Elliott sets about exposing the soft underbelly of the Australian male. Two drag queens and a transgender woman travel across the outback in a dilapidated coach for a gig in that bastion of machismo, Alice Springs, en route finding themselves in all manner of hilarious fish-out-of-water situations. As they gaily bemuse Aborigines, bait vicious homophobes and find kindred spirits among Australia's diverse immigrant communities, they come to terms not only with their own shortcomings, but also with Australia's countless contradictions. Ingeniously cast against type, Terence Stamp is a revelation as the hard-drinking Bernadette, but he's matched all the way by the versatile Hugo Weaving and the dashing Guy Pearce." - David Parkinson, Radio Times (UK)