PG
Join the Esquire Theatre and Improv Cincinnati for Wisenheimer LIVE! Laugh along or defend your favs - either way, come witness a night of movie mockery that only Improv Cincinnati can bring with GOONIES (1985)! The pirates map, The villainous crooks, The underground caverns, The booby traps, the skeletons, The monster, the lost treasure, and the magic that is... THE GOONIES Synopsis: In order to save their home from foreclosure, a group of misfits set out to find a pirate's ancient valuable treasure.
Rfor violent content, disturbing/bloody images, suicide, sexual content, graphic nudity, and pervasive language.
A young paramedic makes his way through his first year on the job in New York City.
Rfor strong violence, and for language and some sexuality
Join Brad from the Old Man Brad podcast for our Frightful Fridays - featuring unique horror film offerings on the 3rd Friday each month at the Esquire Theatre. For April, we invite you to enjoy BRAINSCAN (1994)! Synopsis: Horror films and computer games fascinate teenager Michael (Edward Furlong), and a CD-ROM that portrays murder from the killer's point of view combines these interests. The first time Michael plays it, he kills a stranger and cuts off a foot, thinking the events take place in virtual reality. But the next day Michael finds a foot in his refrigerator, and cyber-ghoul Trickster (T. Ryder Smith) emerges from the program and forces him to keep playing -- and to continue committing violent crimes.
NR
Experience the electrifying performance of the GRAMMY-winning Rock band Chicago, at Ovation Hall. Joining them on stage are an impressive lineup of special guests, including GRAMMY-Nominee R&B vocalist Robin Thicke, rock superstar Chris Daughtry, renowned guitar virtuoso Steve Vai, the harmonious a cappella quintet VoicePlay, pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph, GRAMMY-winning songstress Judith Hill, and the acclaimed Blues guitarist & vocalist Christone "KINGFISH" Ingram. Together, they create a sensational musical collaboration that promises an unforgettable night of entertainment.
PG-13for supernatural action/violence, language and suggestive references.
In Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the Spengler family returns to where it all started – the iconic New York City firehouse – to team up with the original Ghostbusters, who’ve developed a top-secret research lab to take busting ghosts to the next level. But when the discovery of an ancient artifact unleashes an evil force, Ghostbusters new and old must join forces to protect their home and save the world from a second Ice Age.
PG-13for creature violence and action.
The epic battle continues! Legendary Pictures’ cinematic Monsterverse follows up the explosive showdown of “Godzilla vs. Kong” with an all-new adventure that pits the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence—and our own. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” delves further into the histories of these Titans and their origins, as well as the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond, while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever.
Rfor violence and language throughout
Ireland, 1970s. Eager to leave his dark past behind, Finbar Murphy (Liam Neeson) leads a quiet life in the remote coastal town of Glencolmcille, far from the political violence that grips the rest of the country. But when a menacing crew of terrorists arrive, led by a ruthless woman named Doirean (Kerry Condon), Finbar is drawn into an increasingly vicious game of cat and mouse, forcing him to choose between exposing his secret identity or defending his friends and neighbors.
NR
The Esquire Theatre is proud to welcome "UC at the Esquire" and their 2024 EU Film Festival showing of LONELY OAKS / Vergiss Meyn Nicht (Directed by Fabiana Fragale, Kilian Kuhlendahl, Jens Mühlhoff, 2023, Germany) A new community has emerged, thirty meters above the ground in the treetops of the Hambach Forest. In 2018, this site becomes the focus of climate policy disputes in Germany on account of a group of people who have got involved by living in self-built tree houses in a bid to prevent the threatened clearance of the forest. Film student Steffen Meyn documented these activists’ partly peaceful, partly radical, partly aggressive struggle against the destruction of nature over a period of two years with a 360-degree helmet camera. But then he fell from a tree during a police eviction and died. This documentary by Meyn’s friends and fellow students Fabiana Fragale, Kilian Kuhlendahl and Jens Mühlhoff is based on his footage. In their film, the protagonist’s doubts come across just as clearly as does his friendly perseverance and his efforts to cope with the more militant aspects of the movement. In addition, the directors conducted interviews with activists on whom the experiences in “Hambi” have left their mark. How far, they ask, does activism need to go? And how far should it go? Followed by a discussion with Evan Torner from the School of Communication, Film, and Media Studies and AGES.
Rfor violence and grisly images, sexual content, nudity, language throughout and drug use.
From Director Rose Glass comes an electric new love story; reclusive gym manager Lou falls hard for Jackie, an ambitious bodybuilder headed through town to Vegas in pursuit of her dream. But their love ignites violence, pulling them deep into the web of Lou’s criminal family.
Rfor sexuality, nudity, language and some disturbing images.
The Esquire Theatre welcomes back Conveyor Belt Books and their film pick for April - MORVERN CALLAR (2002). Synopsis: When her boyfriend commits suicide, unambitious Glasgow clerk Morvern Callar (Samantha Morton) invents various stories to explain his absence. After several days, she chops up and buries the body. She then finds a novel he completed before killing himself and sends it to several publishing houses as her own work. When the book is bought, Morvern uses her first payment to take a Spanish vacation with her best friend, Lana (Kathleen McDermott), which turns out to be a surprising emotional journey.
Rfor some language and sexual content.
Alejandro is an aspiring toy designer from El Salvador, struggling to bring his unusual ideas to life in New York City. As time on his work visa runs out, a job assisting an erratic art-world outcast becomes his only hope to stay in the country and realize his dream.
Rfor graphic sci-fi violence and gore, and for some language and nudity
Secret Base Cinema returns to the Esquire Theatre again. This time in a very special, and highly requested, one night screening we will be presenting director Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 sci-fi masterpiece…STARSHIP TROOPERS! Adapted very loosely from a book written by famed author Robert A. Heinlein, the film boasts an impressive production roster: Director Paul Verhoeven (Showgirls, RoboCop, Total Recall, Basic Instinct), RoboCop’s writer and producer Ed Numeier, cinematography by Jost Volcano (Das Boot, The NeverEnding Story, RoboCop, Total Recall), and a musical score by legendary Basil Poledouris (the Conan The Barbarian movies, The Hunt for Red October, the RoboCop films). And a cast that includes Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, Jake Busey, Neil Patrick Harris, and Michael Ironside. The story follows a young man of the future as he enlists in the military’s brutally violent and unforgiving army unit, the mobile infantry. Our protagonist changes from bright eyed high school enlistee into a battle hardened veteran after alien “bugs” attack earth. The planetary (totalitarian) government deploys its massive military and our hero is sent off to fight. Will he live, and at what cost? 27 years on and Starship Troopers remains a leviathan of the genre and is a MUST SEE film for the big screen. Please be sure to like & follow along with everyone that works hard to make these events possible: Hail Records & Oddities - your spot for all things odd, strange, and intriguing. Taxidermy, rare records, movies, and witchcraft supplies, plus too much more to name. Visit them off of Mainstrasse at 720 Main st in Covington, KY.
PGfor brief suggestive material.
Newly restored in 4K to coincide with its 40th anniversary, the 1984 film was directed by renowned filmmaker Jonathan Demme and is considered by critics as the greatest concert film of all time. Stop Making Sense stars core band members David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, and Jerry Harrison along with Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, Steve Scales, Lynn Mabry and Edna Holt. The live performance was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December of 1983 and features Talking Heads' most memorable songs.
PG-13
The Esquire Theatre is excited to host an encore showing of THE CLOT! SYNOPSIS: Naana needs legal document to stay permanently in America in other to take care of her single mother, in Ghana, West Africa, after coming into the country with non-immigrant visa. In search for help to attain a legal document, she gets pregnant and aborts the baby to continue her quest for the legal document. Judgement then comes in the form of an angry aborted baby on Naana and anyone who contributed to the abortion. Film Directed by Daakyehene Ababio. Daakyehene Ababio known in Cincinnati as Future King or King is a filmmaker from Ghana, West Africa but based in Cincinnati. With his passion and love for storytelling through film medium, Future king has pursuit this filmmaking journey for 15 years now making shorts, features, music videos in Cincinnati, Ohio and in Ghana, West Africa. "THE CLOT" is his first feature film here in Cincinnati and it featured incredible people in the city like Consandra Wright, Christelle Lynette Lee, Angeles Kay Ababio, Sharonda Moore, Jerome Johnson, Philip Latham, Amos FameJuice Goodwin and many more from Cincinnati. https://www.instagram.com/daakyehene_ababio
R
Each screening will be hosted by Denton Affair cast members and include an interactive Shadow Cast performance! Feel free to dress up and join in on the fun - let's do the Time Warp again! About the film: A newly engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must pay a call to the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-N-Furter. Just a few rules: Please don't throw anything in the theater. And do not bring: toiler paper, rice, confetti, or toast (darn!) Feel free to dress up -- and bring flashlights, noisemakers and bells. All age restrictions apply. No One under 17 admitted without an adult guardian.
PG
Join us as we Deep Dive into 3 CORRUPTION CLASSICS with Film Professor Joe Horine! We end the series with Alfred Hitchcock's 1956's THE WRONG MAN starring Henry Fonda SYNOPSIS: Christopher Emmanuel Balestrero, "Manny" to his friends, is a string bassist, a devoted husband and father, and a practicing Catholic. His eighty-five dollar a week gig playing in the jazz combo at the Stork Club is barely enough to make ends meet. The Balestreros' lives will become a little more difficult with the major dental bills his wife Rose will be incurring. As such, Manny decides to see if he can borrow off of Rose's life insurance policy. But when he enters the insurance office, he is identified by some of the clerks as the man that held up the office twice a few months earlier. Manny cooperates with the police, as he has nothing to hide. Manny learns that he is a suspect in not only those hold-ups, but a series of other hold-ups in the same Jackson Heights neighborhood in New York City where they live. The more that Manny cooperates, the more guilty he appears to the police. With the help of Frank O'Connor, the attorney that they hire, they try to prove Manny's innocence. This film will be introduced and followed by an optional Q&A with Film Professor and Hitchcock Scholar Joe Horine! Don't Miss the Rest of the Series! ALL THE KING'S MEN (1949) ESQ 3/18 & MMT 3/20 at 7:30pm BORN YESTERDAY (1950) ESQ 3/25 & MMT 3/27 at 7:30pm THE WRONG MAN (1956) ESQ 4/15 & MMT 4/17 at 7:30pm