Magic Lantern spotlights lambs, songs and robots

Above : Noomi Rapace stars in the Icelandic film “Lamb,” which opens Friday at the Magic Lantern Theatre. (Photo/A24)

Though movie-going habits continue to change, and people only slowly return to watching movies in theaters, the industry plugs on … releasing and exhibiting films in public settings.

One of the most treasured of all Spokane public movie-exhibition settings is the Magic Lantern Theatre . Though it’s had the occasional tough time over its five decades of existence, the Lantern has endured.

And thanks to the generosity of its sponsors, as well as the fans who refuse to give up on it, the theaters will continue to do so – at least through another week of new releases.

These three new releases are:

“Lamb” : Having lost their daughter, a couple of Icelandic sheep farmers (Noomi Rapace, Hilmer Snær Guðnason) discover a baby lamb and begin to dote on it – maybe a tad too much.

David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter: “ ‘Lamb’ is a disturbing experience but also a highly original take on the anxieties of being a parent, a tale in which nature plus nurture yields a nightmare.”

“Karen Dalton: In My Own Time” : Co-directors Richard Peete and Robert Yapkowitz document the life and times of the late singer Karen Dalton.

Sheri Linden : The Hollywood Reporter: “(The film) introduces a one-of-a-kind artist to the uninitiated and celebrates her for aficionados, above all it listens – and invites us to do the same.”

“I’m Your Man” : A woman scientist (Maren Eggert) agrees to participate in an experiment that requires her to live for three weeks with a humanoid robot (Dan Stevens).

Leah Greenblatt , Entertainment Weekly: “A movie whose bittersweet lessons on life and love feel genuinely, organically earned, even if one half of the couple it centers on was forged from ones and zeroes.”

That’s it for the Magic Lantern. I’ll update as the week progresses.