New Movies and Events This Weekend in Iowa City & Coralville

What’s new at the movies this weekend in Iowa City and Coralville? Seems my weekly post is gathering quite a following asking that question. Here’s what’s coming out today, February 26, along with a few other ideas of things to do in Iowa City this weekend.

You can check the schedule for movies at the Coral Ridge Mall Movie Theatre in Coralville and the Sycamore Mall Cinema in Iowa City…

And now onto what’s new… Two new releases this week. The first is a Kevin Smith movie, Cop Out starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan. Sounds like a pretty average storyline with two NYPD partners on the trail of a stolen mint condition baseball card. It doesn’t get particularly good reviews, but I’m going to bet that doesn’t mean a thing. This is Bruce Willis – Who cares about good reviews?

The Crazies is the other new movie out today and is loosely based on the book of the same name. It stars Timothy Olyphant and is about what happens to the residents of a small town after toxins infect their water supply – Mayhem ensues as they loose their sanity and start killing each other off. I’m going to reserve opinion on this one, except to say if you’re looking for a feel good movie, this isn’t it!

Looking for live entertainment? The Mill is one of the liveliest places in town and will be especially lively this weekend. Orquesta Alto Maiz, AKA The Salsa Band is performing tonight, (Friday) and it’s the Vagina Monologues on Saturday.

If you like your country music with dance then check out the Wildwood Smokehouse & Saloon. Great music and great food and free wi-fi…They often have specials too like all you can eat ribs on Wednesdays…They’re on Facebook and do a better job than anyone else I’ve seen using that media to give info on specials and upcoming events.

I’m going to round it up this week with The Iowa City Yacht Club. Couldn’t resist telling you that Trampled by Turtles + The Boomchucks will be playing there tonight. (I would have liked to be in the room when they came up with that name!) The fun continues on Saturday with Big Funk Guarantee + Amanda Miller and the Smoking Sextion.

For more ideas on things to do in Iowa City this weekend I’ve written a couple of posts pulling things together making it easier for you to find theaters and live entertainment venues in Iowa City.

New Movies and Events in Iowa City & Coralville This Weekend

Just one new movie release to share with you this weekend as I round up new movies and events in Iowa City and Coralville for this weekend February 19 through February 21.

You can check the schedule for movies at the Coral Ridge Mall Movie Theatre in Coralville and the Sycamore Mall Cinema in Iowa City… So what’s new? Only one new release, but it’s a real humdinger! It’s Shutter Island, a Martin Scorsese movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo. Two US Marshals are called in to investigate the disappearance of a murderess from a high-security hospital for the criminally insane. Sounds very creepy to me! Leonardo DiCaprio gets better and better as an actor and it’s a Scorsese film, so you can’t go wrong…

Moving onto the regular theatre… The Iowa City Community Theatre is taking the stage at The Englert this weekend with performances of Leonard Bernstein’s Musical Wonderful Town.

The Riverside Theater finishes its run of End Days on February 21. If you follow my blog you’ll know this is a play about science, religion and suburbia. (A surprising combination we’re all agreed).

The Mill is one of the liveliest places in town and will deliver it’s usual busy program this weekend.They kick off Friday with Brighton MA - a five piece Chicago rock band and continue through the weekend with a fun packed schedule. You’ll find more info on their website.

If you like your country music with dance then check out the Wildwood Smokehouse & Saloon. Great music and great food and free wi-fi…They often have specials too like all you can eat ribs on Wednesdays…They’re on Facebook and do a great job of keeping fans updated on events and specials on their fan page.

Last, but definitely not least for this week I’m going to round it up again with the Riverside Casino. It’s not all about the casino, they have plenty of live entertainment too. New Odyssey is playing there this weekend – Three guys playing thirty instruments. Impressive!

Plenty to do in Iowa City and Coralville this weekend as you can see – And this only covers things that caught my eye – it’s not an all inclusive list! This is a regular weekly post, so if you have any events to add, just let us know in the comments. I’m sure other readers will appreciate it.

New Movies and Events in Iowa City & Coralville this Weekend

Who knew Valentine’s weekend was such a big weekend for movies? This was news to me until it came time to write my regular post on new movies and events in Iowa City and Coralville for this weekend February 12 through February 14. So much star power out there this weekend… Just keep on reading and you’ll see what I mean...

The first new movie you can catch at the Coral Ridge Mall Movie Theatre in Coralville and the Sycamore Mall Cinema in Iowa City is The Wolfman – This is of course based on the classic Universal film that launched a legacy of horror. It stars Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving and Anthony Hopkins, who I am proud to say comes from the same corner of the world as me. (Wales is a tiny country that most folks not living there have difficulty finding on a map, so I need to give it a special mention every now and then!)

The next new movie is Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightening Thief. Percy is a regular high school student who’s life gets interesting when he finds out his father was Poseiden, the God of the Sea, which naturally makes him a demigod. A bit of a Harry Potter knock-off by all accounts, not that it matters. A good story is a good story. Once again there’s a whole bunch of stars, this time in supporting roles. We’ve got Uma Thurman, Pierce Brosnan and Sean Bean supporting Logan Lerman as Percy.

The last new movie for this week has the give away title of Valentine’s Day. Probably no need to say more… And if you thought the previous two movies were star laden, you ain’t seen nothing yet! It seems there are more than a dozen famous names in this movie. Here are just a few… Julia Roberts, Kathy Bates, Taylor Swift, Ashton Kutcher, Bradley Cooper and George Lopez. Pretty diverse group of actors, don’t you think? Dr McDreamy is in it too and Queen Latifah. Like I said, A LOT of famous names in this movie. Wonder if it will make the box office this weekend…

Moving onto the regular theatre… The Englert has landed itself quite a catch this weekend with two performances by the Peking Acrobats on Saturday. I’m sure that will be a totally awesome show not to be missed by anyone who appreciates acrobatics.

End Days continues its run until February 21 at The Riverside Theater If you follow my blog you’ll know this is a play about science, religion and suburbia. (A surprising combination for a comedy for sure).

The Mill will deliver as usual of course. They kick off Friday with the Jazz after Five Concert Series and continue through Valentine’s weekend with other events. You’ll find the schedule on their website.

If you like your country music with dance then check out the Wildwood Smokehouse & Saloon. Great music and great food and free wi-fi…They often have specials too like all you can eat ribs on Wednesdays…They’re on Facebook and do a great job of keeping fans updated on events and specials on their fan page.

Last, but definitely not least for this week I’m going to round it up again with the Riverside Casino. It’s not all about the casino, they have plenty of live entertainment too. This weekend they have landed a special catch too with Kris Kristofferson performing there on Friday. (Now there’s an icon for you!)

Plenty to do in Iowa City and Coralville this weekend as you can see – And this only covers things that caught my eye – it’s not an all inclusive list! This is a regular weekly post, so if you have any events to add, just let us know in the comments. I’m sure other readers would appreciate it.

Things to Do in Iowa City: Movie Theaters & Community Theatres

The perception is that Iowa City is a rural area and maybe has less to offer than other college towns. As someone who relocated to the Iowa City area 10 years ago I have plenty to compare this to and I can tell you it ain’t so! In fact, just to prove my point I thought I’d start a series. My plan is to break down all the good things I can think of in this surprising little town into categories. Today I’m going to start with theaters…

Hopefully this will turn out to be a good resource for you if you’re thinking of relocating to the Iowa City area. As great as the Internet is as a research tool, the information is pretty scattered. My plan is to pull some of it together into one handy little place. It will be a work in progress and I will add links as I come up them, so check back often…

Movie Theaters in the Iowa City Area

Coral Ridge Mall Movie Theatre is, as the name suggests, located at the Mall in Coralville. It’s a pretty big theater with 10 screens and stadium seating. Tel: 319-625-1010

Sycamore Cinema is located on the east side of Iowa City at Sycamore Mall. It has 12 state-of-the-art auditoriums and in addition to movies often shows unique events that include simulcast live concerts, sporting events and the New York Metropolitan Opera, (MET). Tel: 319-351-8383

Bijou Theater is a non-profit student run theater at the Iowa Memorial Union that focuses on independent, art house, foreign and classic movies. They have 1 screen and tickets are available at the box office only on the day of showing. Tel: 319-335-3041.

New Strand Theatre is in West Liberty – a rural area and a surprising one at that. It’s a 15 minute commute east of Iowa City. New Strand is not just a movie theater, it’s also home to wonderful puppet shows from the Eulenspiegel Puppet Theater. (I love puppet shows, they bring back lovely memories with my sons in Germany). 319-627-2014

Theaters & Auditoriums in the Iowa City Area

The Englert Theatre is a Community Arts Theatre in downtown Iowa City. It was built in 1912 by William Englert and his wife Emma who wanted to rival the finest stages and movie houses in the Midwest. The local newspaper at the time wrote that “Iowa had nothing finer.” It is still an impressive building. Well-preserved and adds to the atmosphere of the historic part of downtown Iowa City. In the spirit of Vaudeville, The Englert embraces all the Arts and hosts performances from all over the world. Case in point, The Peking Acrobats will be performing there in February.
319-688-2653

Riverside Theatre is located on Gilbert St and is Iowa City’s resident professional theatre. It was founded in 1981 and strives to offer an artistic home for theatre professionals while entertaining audiences with intimate, engaging productions from the classics to world premieres. 319-338-7672

Hancher Auditorium was damaged in the floods of 2008, so does not have a physical address at present. That doesn’t stop them organizing events though and these take place at a variety of locations, depending on the needs of the performers and ranges from West High School Auditorium to The Englert and The Mill in Iowa City. (Check out the website and you’ll see they have 11 different locations). Tel: 319-335-1160

Iowa City Community Theatre was established in 1956 and dedicated to promoting the dramatic arts in and around Iowa City. They perform at a variety of locations, including Johnson County Fairgrounds and The Englert.