“Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1:30 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, Sundance Cinemas) — Even though Steven Spielberg doesn’t even have a new movie this summer, it just wouldn’t be summer without him. And so, by sheer coincidence, three different venues are showing three different Spielberg classics in the same week. First off is Indiana Jones’ first and indisputably greatest outing, which I saw at Sundance last summer with a sold-out crowd and was a total blast (33 years later, the bit with the swordsman still draws a laugh.)
“Jaws” (8:30 p.m. Friday, Olbrich Park) — Just when you thought it was safe to go near Lake Monona, along comes Madison Parks’ Moonlight Movies series, with the first summer blockbuster of them all, Spielberg’s 1975 suspense classic. And, since I missed a trivia question at Merchant last week about what the name of Quint’s boat is, it’s probably time for me to go see it again. FREE!
“Jurassic Park” (9 p.m. Monday, UW Memorial Union Terrace) — Finally, with “Jurassic World” in pre-production, it’s worth it to go back to the original 1993 dinosaurs on the loose thriller for Lakeside Cinema. I saw the 3D version that came out last year, and while the upgrade was fun and all, the movie works because it WORKS. FREE!
“Jodorowsky’s Dune” (all week, Sundance) — After three blockbusters, it’s time to see the sci-fi blockbuster that never got made. Cult director Alejandro Jodorowsky had big plans for his adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel in the ’70s, but the project got shelved, and all we have are memories and a few sketches. Oh, and all the character designs in subsequent sci-fi movies that apparently ripped him off.
“Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams” (6:30 p.m., Madison Central Library) — One of Kurosawa’s last films is the gorgeous and very personal collection of short films, each dream connecting with a different phase in his life. The one where the man enters the paintings of Vincent Van Gogh would be a visual marvel even if Van Gogh hadn’t turned out to be played by Martin Scorsese. FREE!