MONDAY 

On Monday, the Iowa City Public Library and the UI Main Library Gallery are volleying events back and forth. Starting at 10:30am, the ICPL will host a Chinese Bilingual Storytime with children’s librarian Fang, before becoming a home for youth events later in the evening with a LEGO League Challenger. It is an opportunity to practice the overlapping world of robotics and LEGO in a competitive format. LEGO League Challenger runs from 4:00pm-5:30pm. 

For a graduate crowd, at 4:00pm the UI Library will be hosting a Curated Guiding Tour of Orchestrating Community: The Public Service of Iowa Coordinator James Dixon. This is a tour hosted by co-curators Sarah Suhadolnik and Kate Buehner to celebrate the man behind the podium who helped create orchestras here in Iowa City and all over the world. 

TUESDAY 

Tuesday has worldly opportunities such as another bilingual reading at the Iowa City Public Library!. This time in Spanish, librarian Miriam brings together singing, dancing, and reading into Iowa City every Tuesday from 10:30am-11:00am. Later on at the library, from 4:00pm-5:00pm, the West High Trojan Lions Dance Group from the Asian Students Union for a Chinese New Year celebration. 

Film Scene will also continue to host their Free Tuesdays and Alley Cat will host its karaoke night (21+) 

WEDNESDAY 

At noon, The Englert will host its building tour, where you can explore the historic venue and enjoy some quieter time in this lively building.  

Public Space One and the IC Press Co-Op will be showcasing the wonders of letterpress and screen printing at Iowa’s only community print shop! This event, where you can print your own design, will take place from 1:00pm-4:30pm. 

Prairie Lights will be hosting their first event of Free Week with a conversation and reading from Jake Fournier and his new collection of poems Punishment Bag. From 7:00pm-8:00pm, the Albuquerque based firefighter will be speaking with Alicia Wright, managing editor of The Iowa Review. 

THURSDAY 

The University of Iowa’s Theatre Building will be putting on a Festival of Ten-Minute Plays starting at 2:00pm. This is the 29^th edition of this celebration of undergraduate students and their work, artistically directed by Tony Meneses. 

On the other side of campus at the Voxman Music Building, Lowell Lieberman and Gabriel Kahane for a conversation with Director of Orchestral Studies Kenny Lee. The two composers will continue their weeklong residencies as a concert showcasing some of their work that will be conducted by Dr Lee will follow the conversation. The event will begin at 6:00pm. 

All skill levels are welcome at The Artifactory for a Life Drawing Class from 6:30pm-8:30pm. An opportunity to focus in on some artistic skills with your non toxic medium of choice. This event is dedicated to University of Iowa graduate Phil Dorothy, who loved art and was a big supporter of the Iowa City scene. 

FRIDAY 

Public Space One Northside will be hosting a wild and exciting immersive experience. Using Isadora technology, Dead or Amazing is unlike anything you’ve experienced before. This interactive visual display, that responds to audience movement and sound to alter its exhibit in a 180 degree immersive field. This optical experience was created with mixed media drawings by Ethan Edvenson and video by Charles Borowicz. 

You can take in the sights from one of the tallest buildings in Iowa City, The Vue Rooftop will be hosting Nebraska based singer-songwriter Dage Lee starting at 8:00pm.This busy musical night continues with Jacoozy playing at Gabe’s, John D Neal at Elrays, and another performance by the symphony orchestra at Voxman. If music is not your entertainment of choice, Studio 13 is hosting a drag performance (10:30pm) and AlleyCat’s Comic Cabin Comedy Show (9:30pm). Both events are 19+. 

SATURDAY  

Saturday will be off to a early start in Iowa City. The Artifactory will be hosting a Basics of Drawing Class at 10:00am while Chauncey and Merge will be putting on One Book Two Book Festival. This celebration of children’s literature aims to connect children to books trhough readings, discussions, and even chracter meet and greets with Clifford and everyone’s favorite amphibious duo, Frog and Toad.  

The UI Museum of Natural History will be anchoring the afternoon silent disco scene from 2:00pm-6:00pm. An unorthodox place to bust a move, the museum strives to make it a place to contemplate, ruminate, and gyrate.  

University of Iowa alumni Elizabeth Moen will be making her grand return to Iowa City headlining The Englert Theatre at 8:00pm. She is no stranger to The Englert as she opened for Bernie Sanders almost a year ago to date on February 22^nd, 2026. Moen blends a lively show with strong and weaving lyrics that feel are ripped straight from a bestselling book of poetry. Influenced by the greats such as Bruce Springsteen and Wilco, she will be opening up for recent Englert players, The Wood Brothers, in March. 

SUNDAY 

The Englert will be hosting the Iowa City Flea Market from 11:00am-5:00pm as Free Week enters its final day. A great place to find new pieces form a variety of local vendors. This flea market spreads across all levels of The Englert, filling up the stage and aisles with countless items.  

Voxman will be busy once again, presenting two events, The Iowa Honor Band Showcase at 1:00pm and the Center For New Music Ensemble Concert III at 7:30. Sandwiched in between those two events is the continuation of the Ten-Minute Play Festival at the UI Theatre Building and One Book Two Book Festival. 

Iowa City Free Week is offering broad and welcoming lineup of events to hop into. Whether it is music, crafting, expanding your love of film, or anything else, there is no shortage of things to do. Take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to experience what makes Iowa City so special! More information about each event can be found from Think Iowa City.

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The Wailing, a Korean film clocking in at over two and a half hours is not homework. I have been meaning to watch this film since its release last year and brief run at Film Scene downtown. Now that it has been staring me in the face on my Netflix que for a week, I knew the time had come.

I watched it twice in a row, back to back. Not because I wanted to write about it. It is just that engrossing. The Wailing, directed by Na Hong-jin, is most easily defined as a horror film. But like many successful films in the genre, it is great at bending and twisting itself to fit many different labels.

At its heart, The Wailing is a terrifying thriller following a small town policeman, Jong-goo. He investigates a series of mysterious crimes that all seem connected in the form of a strange illness that all of the perpetrators share. All of these incidents begin happening after an enigmatic Japanese man moves into the village, and become more personal once Jong-goo’s daughter appears to become infected with this dark malady.

Horror is hard to sustain for a long period of time however, and the movie is well served by an injection of other genre influences. The first forty-five minutes take on a very comedic tone, bolstered by Do-wan Kwak‘s performance as Jong-goo.

Jong-goo may be a policeman, but he is an everyman in the mold of Homer Simpson more than John McClane. He is constantly late to work, gets berated by his boss, and seems to be quite bad at his job. This performance serves to endear the audience to the character and makes the latter part of the film where his daughter is in danger all the more affecting.

As far as horror goes, The Wailing runs the gamut from body horror to zombie movie to demonic possession. It is amazing that with all of these aspects the film at no point seems overstuffed or jumpy. Many movies try to cross genres but with varying levels of success.

Where the film makes serious gains though, is in the second half revolving around the mysterious Japanese man in the village and a shaman that Jong-goo eventually hires to help cure his daughter. This large portion of the film appropriately dumps most comedic undertones and cuts viewers straight to the bone, in more ways than one.

There are gory scenes that wil strike more sensitive movie goers, while appeasing genre buffs. A constant conversation involving ghosts and whether or not certain characters are actually real also serves to keep the audience on their toes and guessing until, and past the end of the movie. After two viewings, I am still not 100% certain as to the exact sequence of events in the film.

Director Na Hong-jin did purposefully end the film with an air of ambiguity. While I do have a fairly definite structure in my head on what was happening, other viewers will have wildly different interpretations of what was actually going on from the middle of the film to the conclusion.

This uncertainty that the film is willing to plant in the viewer’s mind does not undercut the primary message or theme of the film. Indeed, the film is most powerful when viewed as a parable of faith. There are numerous religious overtones and references in the film, some more obvious than others. The conclusion, while somewhat logically perplexing, takes viewers to the edge of an emotional cliff and dangles them over the abyss.

This question of faith is incredibly powerful, and I am not a religious person in the least. The Wailing is an undeniable triumph of horror, tone, and theme. And now that I think about it, I may need to go watch it again.

The Movie Dude reviews limited release films, smaller movies, and independent releases.

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Movies have a powerful ability to emphasize parts of the world that may not get the most attention. Following this directive, Jackie takes one of the most infamous events in American history and puts a spotlight on an often overlooked figure in the story. Jackie Kennedy was famous for her youth, looks, breathy accent, and seemingly inherent put-togetherness.

Director Pablo Larrain‘s film shows a far more vulnerable humanity that was never seen in the First Lady during her numerous historic television appearances. Natalie Portman, the vehicle through which we experience this contemporary version of Jackie Kennedy, gives a performance that proves to one-up her gonzo effort in Black Swan.

Jackie begins one week after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Jackie Kennedy is giving an interview to a reporter, albeit what she ensures will be a carefully edited one so as to protect both her and her late husband’s public image. The movie switches back and forth between the tense discussion between the two and the events of the tragedy as they relate to Jackie herself.

The film pays due diligence in terms of American iconography; shots include a surprisingly kinetic view of the assassination, little John John during the funeral procession, and of course Jackie’s pink suit. The only difference is we see these in a far more personal light.

We see Kennedy’s injury in grisly detail, we witness the conversation where the children learn about where their father is, the suit is scored with blood marks. Larrain knows the strength of his film lies in showing these recognizable images and casting the stark light of Jackie’s reality over them.

Natalie Portman portrays her character’s struggle with believable agony while the actions she takes to ensure her husband’s legacy elevate the character to near-mythic proportions. We are shown that the First Lady was far more complex than the restrained elegance she was often limited to in her public interactions.

While attempting to ensure her husband will be remembered for more than just being killed, we see Jackie struggle with what even constitutes a legacy. In a moment of bitterness she asks strangers if the names Garfield or McKinley mean anything, referencing previous presidents who were assassinated.

Jackie finds her own legacy in searching for her husband’s. The movie goes to great lengths to ensure our understanding that her efforts to elevate the White House in terms of cultural relevance and style were more than just mere vanity projects.

The film occasionally gets heavy-handed in its delivery with select moments that seem to preach directly at the audience. Those segments do not detract from Portman though, as she is the vehicle through which we experience this affecting struggle for remembrance. While the role certainly delivers some showy moments, Portman shines in the less flashy sections; her portrayal tops mere imitation and seeks to create a wholly new character that had not been discovered until now. The late John Hurt also makes an appearance as a priest close to the family, and it is in their discussions we see Jackie wrestle with many of the the opaque conflicts crashing through her mind.

The film is worth it simply for Portman, who has a legitimate shot at a second Oscar. Its import in strengthened further given that it follows the trend of recent movies that provide insight into lesser seen or understood facets of well-known stories. This is especially important in an America that is finally giving credence to many points of view that were previously ignored, misunderstood, or forgotten entirely.

In Iowa City, Jackie is playing only at Film Scene.

The Movie Dude reviews limited release movies, independent films, and smaller theatrical films. 

The post The Movie Dude: Jackie appeared first on KRUI Radio.

In Craig Johnson’s latest drama ,The Skelton Twins, you will be in an extreme whirlwind of emotions in just 93 minutes. The film might come as quite the shock for fans of Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader who are used to seeing the two on NBC’s late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show Saturday Night Live. Although the movies is separated with comedic relief imposed by quirky jokes and punch lines, it’s got a much darker side than what one would expect from the SNL duo.

The film takes place in small town/ suburban New York. Hader and Wiig play estranged twins Milo and Maggie who are brought together after Milo’s attempted suicide. The story follows the lives of the siblings when Milo goes to live with his sister and her husband Lance (Wilson). Despite them being separated across the country for the past 10 years, their lives are still strangely in sync. Both siblings seem to be fumbling through life depressed and searching for something more. Milo, struggling to become an actor in Hollywood and Maggie stuck in  a marriage slump while working as a dental hygienist, they both reconnect their typical sibling relationship rather quickly.

To break up the intense scenes that show the bitter reality of living a rather normal life, the film incorporates a decent amount laughs. Maggie’s husband, Lance, is somewhat clueless which makes him somehow extremely likeable. He adds the perfect amount of cheerfulness that the film needs. A goofy lip sync session between the twins to Starship’s “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now” will also bring a smile to your face, and quite possibly will get the song stuck in your head for the rest of your day. This scene wonderfully helps to brighten up the film and shows a true bond amongst the two.

The remarkable amount of chemistry between Hader and Wiig is what makes this film so authentic and something I think many siblings can find relatable. Funny yet dramatic, lighthearted yet brutally, The Skeleton Twins shows a new side to these actors that works in a surprisingly magnificent way.

The Skeleton Twins is currently playing at Film Scene in Iowa City

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