KNEECAP capsule review, August 2024 special screenings calendar 

• Sony Pictures Classics
• Kneecap

Kneecap
Writer/director Rich Peppiatt brings a punky, anarchic energy to this fictionalized biography of the Belfast-based hip-hop trio Kneecap, but the fun gets tangled up in the political framework and too many subplots to really keep them all humming. It's set during a contentious battle over legalizing the Irish language in the British-controlled North, as trouble-making, drug-dealing youth Liam (Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh) and Naoise (Naoise Ó Cairealláin) connect with Irish language/music teacher JJ (JJ Ó Dochartaigh) to begin recording and performing rap music in their native tongue. Trainspotting certainly provides the most obvious point of comparison, as Peppiatt seasons his visual filmmaking with animations, funky angles and bits of silliness like an "inside the nostril-cam" during a drug binge. The three leads are all fairly solid for non-professionals, but the liberating nature of their creative work ends up bumping hard against each one's personal conflict: Naoise dealing with the legacy of his activist father (Michael Fassbender); JJ trying to keep his identity secret from his employer and his girlfriend; Liam trying to navigate a romance. Perhaps Peppiatt deserves kudos for trying to bring a weird comic sensibility—including a buffoonish group of anti-drug Irish Republicans—to something that's also dead serious about its anti-colonial message. There's only so far you can take the idea of this music as a "bullet fired for freedom" when it's juxtaposed with an inside-the-nostril-cam. Available Aug. 2 in theaters. (R)

AUGUST SPECIAL SCREENINGS
Silent Fallout special documentary screenings: A 2023 feature documentary by Japanese director Hideaki Itô and narrated by Alec Baldwin, Silent Fallout explores the lingering effects of nuclear testing in the Nevada desert in the 1950s. Two screenings—Thursday, Aug. 1, 7 p.m. @ Broadway Centre Cinemas ($15), and Sunday, Aug. 4, 4 p.m. @ The Leonardo Museum (free)—will both feature Q&A with Itô and Utah writer/downwinder Mary Dickson. us.fallout22.com/tour

Utah Filmmaker Showcase/Local Short Film Collection: The Utah Film Center presents an evening of eight short films by local filmmakers, covering a range of topics including the experience of a closeted trans teenager, an alien invasion and a four-hour dance performance. The event takes place at Liberty Park on Friday, Aug. 2 at 8 p.m., free to the public. utahfilmcenter.org

Everybody's Talking About Jamie: The 2021 feature film adaptation of the 2017 musical by Tom MacRae and Dan Gillespie Sells tells the true story of a 16-year-old British youth trying to overcome prejudice and bullying to become a drag queen. The Utah Film Center offers it as part of the Summer Outdoor Film Series at Liberty Park on Friday, Aug. 9 at 8 p.m., free to the public. utahfilmcenter.org

"Can't Stop the Serenity" @ Brewvies: On Saturday, Aug. 10 @ 5 p.m., the Utah Browncoats Society presents a screening of Serenity, the big-screen feature follow-up to the cult-favorite series Firefly, at Brewvies Cinema Pub. Following the screening, the event will head next-door to Legends for a fund-raiser auction. Tickets are $12.50 in advance online through Aug. 8, $15 at the door. utahbrowncoats.yapsody.com

Utah Dance Film Festival: A program featuring 33 films representing 15 countries comes to the Rose Wagner Center's Leona Wagner Black Box, showcasing the art of dance for the camera. The event includes four individual screenings of the full program—Saturday, Aug. 17 at 6 p.m. & 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 18 at 4:30 p.m. & 7 p.m.—plus filmmaker Q&A sessions and a free filmmaking workshop. General admission tickets are $10. arttix.org

The Maltese Falcon @ Peery's Egyptian Theater: The venerable Ogden venue continues its centennial celebration—including its legacy as a movie palace—with a screening of the 1941 mystery classic The Maltese Falcon. The event takes place on Friday, Aug. 23, with lobby doors 6 p.m., house doors 6:30 p.m., screening at 7 p.m. Tickets are $8 general admission. ogdenpet.com

Harry Potter: Back to Hogwarts @ Megaplex Theatres: As kids get ready to go back to school, Megaplex Theatres invites viewers on a multi-week journey to revisit the Harry Potter films on the big screen. Beginning with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Aug. 30 – Sept. 5, the eight features will each get one-week engagements at Megaplex Jordan Commons, $5 per screening. Megaplextheatres.com/en/back-to-hogwarts