What’s playing in Madison theaters: March 22-28, 2013

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With Spring Break upon us, the UW Marquee Theater is shut down for the week, which will keep this column a little shorter. Still we’ve got more movies than usual opening around town, including four new ones at Sundance, and the UW Cinematheque has the lights on all weekend as well.

All week

Spring Breakers” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema, Sundance) — If you can’t get away next week, Harmony Korine’s new film will simulate the Spring Break experience — provided that experience includes armed robbery and James Franco wearing cornrows. Korine, the enfant terrible behind “Trash Humpers” and “Kids,” seems to have succeeded in making the most subversive commercial film of the year.

Admission” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema, Sundance) — Couples don’t get much more likable than Tina Fey and Paul Rudd, here playing a college admissions officer and a teacher with a bright kid. It’s directed by Chris Weitz (“About a Boy”), who has a flair mixes comedy and drama, so definitely worth a look.

Olympus Has Fallen” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema, Cinema Cafe) — It’s “Die Hard” in the White House, as a former Presidential guard tries to save the day when terrorist seize the Oval Office. Implausible, sure, but after the disappointment of “A Good Day to Die Hard,” our action-movie standards are pretty low.

The Croods” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema, Cinema Cafe) — This animated film about a family of cavemen looking for a new home looked pretty dumb to me, but reviews have actually been pretty good, with critics say it doesn’t have much depth, but it’s entertaining and eye-poppingly beautiful to look at.

Stoker” (Sundance) — I’ve very excited to see the English-language debut of South Korean director Park Chan-wook (“Oldboy,” “Lady Vengeance”). It’s basically a stylized retelling of Hitchcock’s “Shadow of a Doubt,” with a creepy uncle (Matthew Goode) moving in with his niece (Mia Wasikowska) and grieving sister-in-law (Nicole Kidman). But, man, what style!

Any Day Now” (Sundance) — A gay couple try to adopt a teenage boy with Down syndrome and hit a brick wall of a system in 1970s California in this sensitively-acted drama. I’m doing a post-show chat after the 6:50 p.m. Tuesday show at Sundance — it’s a film with lots to say. My review is here.

InAPPpropriate Comedy” (Eastgate, Point) — Apparently because he couldn’t get a part in “Movie 43,” Adrien Brody makes an appearance in this sketch-comedy film alongside Rob Schneider and Lindsay Lohan. Yeesh.

Friday

The Connection” (7 p.m., UW Cinematheque, 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Ave.) — Filmmaker Shirley Clarke takes a gritty look at the world of heroin addicts in this feature about a group of junkies waiting for their supplier. Free!

Saturday

If You Meet Sartana Pray For Your Death” (7 p.m., UW Cinematheque) — A laconic hero tracks down the mastermind behind a bloody stagecoach robbery in this spaghetti Western with an undeniably awesome title. Free!

Tron” (8 p.m., Majestic Theatre) — This is the original 1982 classic, in which a computer programmer and arcade owner find themselves sucked into the world of computers. Tickets are $5, which is about how much I’d sink into the arcade game on an average Saturday of my youth.

Sunday

Whisper of the Heart” (2 p.m., Chazen Museum of Art, 800 University Ave.) — Two teenagers become friends one summer and have a magical adventure in this charmer from director Yoshifumi Kondo, a protege of legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki who tragically died at the age of 47, leaving this his only feature. Free!

5 thoughts on “What’s playing in Madison theaters: March 22-28, 2013

  1. $5 is about right. One day at the neighborhood arcade, the token girl said she’d give me free tokens if I solved Rubik’s Cube. Which I proceeded to do. That moment was as Totally 80s as Oliver North.

    • I brought no useful skills into the arcade. I wasn’t even good at video games. I would practice playing Burger Time on my Intellivision at home, and then go to the arcade and still be terrible at it.

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