A Private Life
Jodie Foster plays Lilian, an American expat living in Paris with a high-end practice as a psychiatrist. One of her patients dies, seemingly by her own hand with medication prescribed by Lilian, who starts to unravel mentally and emotionally. She insists she’s acting with professional logic and emotional control but is constantly breaking down and behaving in ways she can’t explain. The film uses the unreliable narrator trope with some Hitchcockian twists and turns. This is a French film with Foster as the lone American. The film resists any rigid traditional genre bounds. Part whodunnit and part character study, it ultimately works as a whole. Also starring Daniel Auteuil and Virginie Efira.
Now playing at the Michigan Theater
Send Help
Detroit’s own Sam Rami goes back to his roots with Send Help, a dark comedy that pivots from gloomy introspectiveness to gleeful diabolical mayhem faster than you can say Army of Darkness. An employee (Rachel McAdams) and her insufferable boss (Dylan O’Brian) survive a plane crash but are stranded on a desert island and must survive together. McAdams’ Linda is a shy, mousey, but diligent worker. She’s been sidelined for a promotion by the boss’s son Bradly. When he invites Linda to join him on a work trip, due to her brilliant corporate strategist skills, they crash land on an island near Thailand. Because it’s a movie, they just happen to be the only survivors. Linda, once a contestant on Survivor, thrives on the island and Bradly winds up needing her more than he’d like. It all gets vicious and over-the-top in a way only Rami can deliver — see Army of Darkness or Drag Me to Hell. McAdams’ last horror film was Wes Craven’s Red Eye (2005) and she gives a strong performance here. The film itself has excellent buzz to beat the winter blahs.
Also starring Edyll Ismail and Dennis Haysbert.
Now playing at the State Theatre.
Wuthering Heights
The latest film adaptation of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights opens in theaters Valentine’s weekend. Director Emerald Fennell, (Promising Young Woman, Saltburn) helms the story of a passionate, tumultuous love affair set in the Yorkshire moors, exploring the intense and destructive relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw. Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi play the star-crossed lovers. The film sparked a bidding war with Warner Brothers winning, in part, because of their promise to give the film a theatrical release. The film opens February 13, just in time to take your sweetheart to the movies.
Also starring Alison Oliver and Hong Chau.
Opens Feb. 13 at the State Theater.
2026 Oscar-Nominated Short Films – Animated
Don’t miss your chance to see the animated short films that are nominated for Oscars this year. There are five representing the latest in animation from across the globe, including France, Ireland, Canada, Russia and the US. Note that some of the films contain mature content and aren’t intended for small children.
Opens Feb. 20 at the Michigan Theater.
Freddy vs. Jason
Ghoulish fun abounds when Freddy enlists Jason to help him stalk his victims, but when Jason won’t stop the two are pitted against each other in an epic battle. Late night movie fun at the Michigan Theater with these killer cult classics.
Playing Feb. 13 at Michigan Theater.
Chungking Express
Every day, Cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) buys a can of pineapple with an expiration date of May 1, symbolizing the day he’ll get over his lost love. He’s also got his eye on a mysterious woman in a blond wig (Brigitte Lin), oblivious of the fact she’s a drug dealer. Cop 663 (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) is distraught with heartbreak over a breakup. But when his ex drops a spare set of his keys at a local cafe, a waitress (Faye Wong) lets herself into his apartment and spruces up his life. Part of Michigan Theater’s Love and Crime series. Don’t miss this visually stunning, highly influential film.
Playing Feb. 19 at Michigan Theater.
Fences
Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington) makes his living as a sanitation worker in 1950s Pittsburgh. Maxson once dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player but was deemed too old when the major leagues began admitting black athletes. Bitter over his missed opportunity, Troy creates further tension in his family when he squashes his son’s (Jovan Adepo) chance to meet a college football recruiter. A great choice for black history month — Fences runs as part of Michigan Theater’s arthouse revival series.
Playing Feb. 19 at Michigan Theater.
