Category Archives: Movie Review

“Fort McCoy”: Spending World War II in Wisconsin

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“Fort McCoy” is now playing at Point Cinemas. Not rated, 1 hour 41 minutes, two stars out of four.

The term “labor of love” might normally seem like a cliche, but it applies in spades to Kate Connor’s “Fort McCoy.” Connor, who wrote, co-directed and stars in the film, created the drama out of stories her mother told about living with her family in 1944 on the Fort McCoy military base near Sparta, Wisconsin. Not only were thousands of soldiers stationed there, many on their way overseas into hellish combat, but the base also housed a large number of German and Japanese POWs.

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“Night Moves”: Think globally, bomb locally

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Night Moves” has its Madison premiere Friday at 7 p.m. at the UW-Cinematheque screening room, 4070 Vilas Hall. R, 1:52, three and a half stars out of four.

I would be very surprised if Kelly Reichardt’s “Night Moves” isn’t inspired at least in part by the 1971 Sterling Hall bombing on the UW-Madison campus. Four anti-Vietnam protesters tried to blow up the Army Mathematics Research Center using an Econoline van filled with ammonium nitrate, and a university researcher was accidentally killed in the explosion. Many would call them murderers, but they thought they were saving lives.

A similar moral ambiguity, or at least moral distance, infuses Reichardt’s film, which looks at three eco-terrorists planning a siimlar attack. What they’re doing is a crime, but they speak with the fervent urgency of freedom fighters. (“People are going to start thinking. They have to.”) All the while, the film, co-written by Reichardt and her longtime screenwriting partner Jon Raymond (“Meek’s Cutoff,” “Wendy and Lucy”) prefers to observe rather than judge.

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“Calvary”: Forgive me, Father, for I will sin

CALVARY-starring-Brendan-Gleeson

“Calvary” opens Friday at Sundance Cinemas. R, 1:40, three stars out of four.

John Michael McDonagh’s “Calvary” has a corker of an opening scene. Father James (Brendan Gleeson), a kindly village priest in County Sligo, is in the confession box, and an unseen parishioner walks in. He tells how he was sexual abused by another  priest as a boy. The man then vows to kill the good priest in one week as revenge against the church.

“It’s certainly a startling opening line,” Father James responds drily.

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“The Expendables 3”: I love the smell of Cialis in the morning

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“The Expendables 3” is now playing at Point, Eastgate, and AMC Star Cinemas. PG-13, 2:06, two and a half stars out of four.

Having not seen the first two “Expendables” movies, I found it surprisingly easy to jump straight into the third installment of Sylvester Stallone’s action franchise/jobs program for old action stars. Not a lot of backstory here.

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“Into The Storm”: The weather is coming from inside the house!

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“Into the Storm” opens Friday at Point, Eastgate and Star Cinemas. PG-13, 1 hour 29 minutes, two and a half stars out of four.

Four teenagers are out in their SUV, planning a makeout session on a dark and stormy night. One of them sees something mysterious up ahead, and, over the objections of his friends, decides to investigate. Dumb move, kid — they all get killed.

Not by Freddie Krueger, or by Jason. By weather.

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“The Hundred-Foot Journey”: If only an Indian restaurant was 100 feet away from the theater

THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY

“The Hundred-Foot Journey” opens Friday at Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema and Sundance. PG, 2:02, three stars out of four.

Haveli Restaurant is just a quarter-mile east of Star Cinema on Highway PD. Swagat is about a mile north of Point on High Point Road. Maharana Indian Restaurant is a couple of miles southwest of Eastgate, near East Towne Mall. And Taste of India is about three miles east of Sundance Cinemas on Monroe Street.

Because, let’s face it. As much as you want to know how good “The Hundred-Foot Journey” is, the news you can really use is where to get good Indian food afterwards.

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“Boyhood”: A movie that took 12 years to make, and worth every second

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“Boyhood” opens Friday at Sundance Cinemas. R, 2:45, four stars out of four. Mad Film Forum will host a “Madfilm Meetup” at Sundance at 8 p.m., Tuesday, with a pre-party featuring cocktails and music at 6 p.m. at the theater’s Rooftop Bar.

You could rate Richard Linklater’s new film “Boyhood” strictly on degree of difficulty, like an Olympic dive. Linklater has been making “Boyhood” since 2001, visiting the same group of actors each summer, adding more scenes as they grew older.  Ellar Coltrane was six when he was hired to play young Mason  , Lorelei Linklater (Richard’s daughter) was eight. The film is built around Ellar, and Linklater had no way of knowing what kind of actor he’d grow up to be. Embarking on such a project was a tremendous leap of faith for all parties.

Or you can just look at the finished movie. By that standard, “Boyhood” is one of the best of the year, a funny, moving and realistic look at growing up, looking backwards and looking forward. It’s like a naturalistic, conversation-heavy response to Terence Malick’s ethereal “Tree of Life,” which also dealt with epic themes of childhood and parenthood in Texas.

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“Life Itself”: Roger Ebert goes to the movies one last time

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“Life Itself” has its Madison premiere at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Union South Marquee Theatre, 1208 W. Dayton St., as part of the UW-Cinematheque summer series. PG-13, 2:03, three and a half stars out of four. FREE!

“For me, the movies are like a machine that generates empathy.” — Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was a great film writer for many reasons, but one of them was that he wasn’t just a great film writer, just writing about movies when he was writing about movies. Read through his reviews, and you’ll find political arguments, philosophical musings, remembrances of his boyhood in Champaign-Urbana. He believed that the beauty and the power of a great movie didn’t stop at the concession stand, but extended out the front doors into — life itself.

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