Category Archives: Weekend Preview

What’s playing in Madison theaters, Sept. 20-26, 2013

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All week

“Prisoners” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema, Sundance) — Once I heard that “Incendies” director Denis Villeneuve was directing this thriller, I had a hunch it would be something unusually dark and disturbing. Hugh Jackman and Terence Howard play fathers trying to find their abducted daughters, resorting to unsavory means when the detective (Jake Gyllenhaal) comes up empty-handed.

“Battle of the Year” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — Even by dance-competition movies, this one is supposed to be mighty cheesy, with Josh “Sawyer” Holloway leading a ragtag group of dancers all the way to the top. In 3D.

“Thanks for Sharing” (Sundance) — My full review is here. The ads portray this as some kind of fizzy romantic comedy, but it’s about one-third comedy, two-thirds drama, and all about sex addiction. Still want to take that first date to it? Actually, it’s pretty good, refreshingly grounded for such potentially salacious material.

“Hannah Arendt” (Sundance) — My full review is here. Barbara Sukowa plays the intellectual and New York writer who coined the phrase “banality of evil” to describe the Nazis, and took tremendous flak from fellow Jews as a result.

“The Wizard of Oz IMAX 3D” (Star Cinema) — Remember how you endured “Oz The Great and Powerful” and wished that you were seeing the original Wiz on the big screen. Now you can, and the 3D upgrade is supposed to put you righ there on the yellow brick road.

Friday

“The Punisher” (7 p.m., UW Cinematheque, 4070 Vilas Hall) — Doug Goldblatt knows action. The UW-Madison alum was the editor on such essential ’80s action films as “The Terminator” and “Rambo,” and he’ll present his 1989 version of “The Punisher,” starring Dolph Lundgren as the vengeful anti-superhero. FREE!

“This is the End” (7 p.m, Union South Marquee Theatre, 1208 W. Dayton St.) — My full review is here. Looking back, I think “The World’s End” gets the nod as apocalypse comedy of the summer, but this raunchy and bloody comedy is a close second, as Seth Rogen, James Franco and others play themselves dealing with end times. FREE!

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What’s playing in Madison theaters, September 13-19, 2013

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All week

“The Family” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema, Sundance) — A mob family relocates to the south of France’s in  Luc Besson’s high-concept R-rated comedy, which is not getting very good reviews.

“Insidious: Chapter 2” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — Geez, we’re only on Chapter 2? The PG-13 jump-scare series about spirits haunting ghosts and people continues onward.

“Austenland” (Sundance) — My full review is here. Most critics are panning this Keri Russell film, but I thought it was a refreshingly goofy entry in the increasingly formulaic rom-com genre.

“Crystal Fairy” (Sundance) — My full review is here. Michael Cera and Gaby Hoffmann are two very different Americans lost in Chile and looking for a magical cactus in this shaggy road comedy with surprising bite.

Friday

“The Great Gatsby” (6:30 p.m., Union South Marquee Theatre) — My full review is here. Baz Luhrmann’s attempt to jazz up the Jazz Age classic with hip-hop and 3D didn’t work, although Leonardo DiCaprio is perfectly at ease in the title role. FREE!

“L’Avventura” (7 p.m., UW CInematheque, 4070 Vilas Hall) — The Cinematheque presents a newly struck 35mm print of MIchelangelo Antonioni’s seminal 1960 Italian film. FREE!

“Frances Ha” (9:30 p.m., Union South Marquee Theatre) — My full review is here. Greta Gerwig absolutely sparkles in Noah Baumbach’s French New Wave-inspired comedy about a New York dancer finally moving into adulthood. FREE!

“Spring Breakers” (midnight, Union South Marquee Theatre) — Harmony Korine gives the people what they think they want in this candy-colored tale of guns and bikinis in south Florida. FREE!

Saturday

“The Great Gatsby” (6 p.m. and 9 p.m., Union South Marquee Theatre) — See Friday listing.

“Army of Shadows” (7 p.m., UW Cinematheque) — Jean-Pierre Melville’s grimly unsentimental thriller about the French Resistance only surfaced a few years ago, and it’s a masterpiece, suspenseful but also eloquent in the moral compromises good makes to fight evil. FREE!

“Spring Breakers” (midnight, Union South Marquee Theatre) — See Friday listing.

Sunday

“River of No Return” (2 p.m., Chazen Museum of Art, 800 Langdon St.) — Otto Preminger’s 1954 film follows a river rat (Robert Mitchum) help a saloon singer (Marilyn Monroe) find her husband on the raging rapids in this CinemaScope classic. FREE!

“The Great Gatsby” (3 p.m., Union South Marquee Theatre) — See Friday listing.

Monday

“Between Us” (1:45 and 9:30 p.m., Eastgate, 9:30 p.m. Point) — This lacerating indie film stars Julia Stiles and Taye Diggs in a tale of two couples who reveal secrets over the course of a dinner party.

“Dazed and Confused” (4 p.m. Eastgate and Point) — School’s out for summer in Richard Linklater’s knowing evocation of ’70s high school life. Twenty years after its release, we get older, but it still stays the same.

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“Paul McCartney and Wings — Rockshow” (6:30 p.m. Eastgate and Point) — Did you miss Paul at Miller Park? Catch him in his prime in this concert film, taking during Wings’ 1976 world tour.

Tuesday

“Between Us” (4 p.m. Point and Eastgate) — See Monday listing.

“Paul McCartney and Wings: Rockshow” (6:30 p.m. Point and Eastgate) — See Monday listing.

“Frances Ha” (7 p.m., Union South Marquee Theatre) — See Friday listing.

“Dazed and Confused” (9:30 p.m., Point and Eastgate) — See Monday listing.

Wednesday

“Between Us” (4 p.m., Point and Eastgate) — See Monday listing

“Dazed and Confused” (6:30 p.m, Point and Eastgate) — See Monday listing.

“Frances Ha” (9:30 p.m. Union South Marquee Theatre) — See Friday listing.

“Paul McCartney and Wings: Rockshow” (9:30 p.m. Point and Eastgate) — See Monday listing.

Thursday

“Between Us” (4 p.m., Point and Eastgate) — See Monday listing.

“Dazed and Confused” (6:30 p.m, Point and Eastgate) — See Monday listing.

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“Stoker” (7 p.m., Union South Marquee Theatre) — My full review is here. Park Chan-wook’s American debut is an exercise in style, but what style, a Gothic thriller in which a teenage girl (Mia Wasikowska) contends with a mysterious uncle (Matthew Goode) who arrives after her father’s death. FREE!

“This is the End” (9:30 p.m., Union South Marquee Theatre) — My full review is here. Looking back, I think “The World’s End” gets the nod as apocalypse comedy of the summer, but this raunchy and bloody comedy is a close second, as Seth Rogen, James Franco and others play themselves dealing with end times. FREE!

“Paul McCartney and Wings: Rockshow” (9:30 p.m. Point and Eastgate) — See Monday listing.

What’s playing in Madison theaters: Sept. 6-12, 2013

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All week

“Riddick” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — Vin Diesel somehow keeps his sci-fi franchise going along with “Fast & Furious,” as his super-charged ex-convict deals with aliens and baddies on a hostile planet. Really hoping he manages to pull of “Find Me Guilty 2.”

“Stories We Tell” (Sundance) — My full review is here. Better late than never for Sarah Polley’s wonderful documentary, in which she turns the camera back on her own family to learn some surprising secrets involving her late mother. I’m doing a post-show chat after the 6:55 p.m. Tuesday show at Sundance Cinemas — they’ll be lots to talk about.

“Adore” (Sundance) — My full review is here. Naomi Watts and Robin Wright play middle-aged moms who decide to start affairs with each others’ college-age sons, and if that premise hasn’t already turned you off, perhaps the self-serious boredom of Anne Fontaine’s film will.

“Shuddh Desi Romance” (Star Cinema) — This Bollywood musical comedy looks at the shifting sands of romance.

Friday

“iron Man 3″ (6 p.m. and 9:15 p.m., Union South Marquee Theatre) — I wrote some about the summer’s first blockbuster here, but this film gets right everything that “Iron Man 2” got wrong — it’s much funnier and more surprising, and not afraid to do something unexpected, like keep Robert Downey Jr. out of the suit and send him to Rose Hill, Tennessee for the second act. FREE!

“Eraserhead” (7 p.m. UW Cinematheque, 4070 Vilas Hall) — I was not aware until this week that Jack Nance, who played avuncular types in several later David Lynch projects (he was “She’s dead — wrapped in plastic”), had the title role in Lynch’s 1978 debut, about an unnerving man unnerved by his encounters with the opposite sex. Cinematheque has a newly struck 35mm print to show off. FREE!

“The Room” (midnight, Union South Marquee Theatre) — Tommy Wiseau’s midnight-movie classic is a master class in bad acting, uncomfortable plotting, and random football tossing. FREE!

Saturday

“The United States of Football” (12:30 p.m., Point Cinemas) — Marcus Theatres is starting a new Theatre Entertainment Network that dedicates one screen at Point and Eastgate Cinemas to indie films, classics, live specials and other programming, all for $5. It kicks off with this documentary about the effect of head trauma in football from kids to professionals.

“iron Man 3” (6 p.m., Union South Marquee Theatre) — See Friday listing.

“Le Doulos” (7 p.m., UW Cinematheque, 4070 Vilas Hall) — Is Jean-Paul Belmondo the squealer? He keeps both the cops and his fellow criminals guessing in this stylish thriller from Jean-Pierre Melville. FREE!

“The Place Beyond the Pines” (9:15 p.m., Union South Marquee Theatre) — The lives of a small-time thief (Ryan Gosling), a rookie cop (Bradley Cooper) and their sons intertwine in Derek Cianfrance’s ambitious drama. FREE!

“The Room” (midnight, Union South Marquee Theatre) — See Friday listing.

Sunday

“Contempt” (2 p.m., Chazen Museum of Art, 800 University Ave.) — A Cinematheque at the Chazen series of Cinemascope films kicks off with Jean-Luc Godard’s 1963 classic about the moral corruption of modern cinema, as a writer is lured by a gauche American producer (Jack Palance) to work on a big-budget epic. FREE!

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“Iron Man 3” (3 p.m., Union South Marquee Theatre) — See Friday listing. FREE!

Monday

“Animal House” (4;30 p.m., Point and Eastgate) — With the return of college comes the return of the ultimate college comedy, as the Delta bros drink, drink and be merry.

“LOL Short Film Festival” (12, 2:15 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Eastgate, 9:30 p.m. Point) — The annual series of comic short films returns.

“Starbuck” (7 p.m., Point and Eastgate Cinemas) — My full review is here. n this French-Canadian comedy (which will be remade this fall as “The Delivery Man” with Vince Vaughn), a fortysomething layabout discovers that he has fathered hundreds of children as a sperm donor, and decides to help his offspring out behind the scenes.

Tuesday

“LOL Short Film Festival” (12, 2:15, 4:30 p.m. Eastgate, 9:30 p.m. Point) — See Monday listing.

“Animal House” (7 p.m., Point and Eastgate) — See Monday listing.

“Starbuck” (9:30 p.m. Point and Eastgate) — See Monday listing.

Wednesday 

“LOL Short Film Festival” (12, 2:15, 7 p.m. Eastgate, 7 p.m. Point) — See Monday listing

“Some Like It Hot” (1:25 p.m. and 6:45 p.m, Sundance) — Billy Wilder’s riotous comedy with Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as cross-dressing musicians hiding out from the mob with Marilyn Monroe’s all-girl band is one of the great comedies of all time.

“Starbuck” (4:30 p.m., Point and Eastgate) — See Monday listing.

“Frances Ha” (7 p.m., Union South Marquee Theatre) — My full review is here. Greta Gerwig absolutely sparkles in Noah Baumbach’s New Wave-inspired comedy about a New York dancer finally moving into adulthood. FREE!

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“Animal House” (9:30 p.m., Point and Eastgate Cinemas) — See Monday listing.

Thursday

“LOL Short Film Festival” (12, 2:15, 7 p.m. Eastgate, 7 p.m. Point) — See Monday listing

“Starbuck” (4:30 p.m., Point and Eastgate) — See Monday listing.

“The Great Gatsby” (6:30 p.m., Union South Marquee Theatre) — My full review is here. Baz Luhrmann’s attempt to jazz up the Jazz Age classic with hip-hop and 3D didn’t work, although Leonardo DiCaprio is perfectly at ease in the title role. FREE!

“Frances Ha” (9:30 p.m., Union South Marquee Theatre) — See Wednesday listing.

“Animal House” (9:30 p.m., Point and Eastgate Cinemas) — See Monday listing.

What’s playing in Madison movie theaters, Aug. 31-Sept. 5, 2013

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All week

“The Getaway” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — My full review is here. Late August seems to be a favored spot for lean, no-frills action movies (see last summer’s “Premium Rush”). But this year’s entry is a junky car-chase movie with a slumming Ethan Hawke and an in-way-over-her-head Selena Gomez.

“The Grandmaster” (Star Cinema) — Far more promising an action movie is Wong Kar-Wai (“In the Mood For Love”) moving into martial arts action, with this tale of the martial arts legend who trained Bruce Lee.

“One Direction: This is Us” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — Morgan Spurlock of all people made this concert documentary about the immensely popular teen band. “Don’t Look Back” it ain’t, but it should finance the next five “Greatest Movie Ever Solds.”

“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints” (Sundance) — My full review is here, and my interview with writer-director David Lowery is here. This elegaic crime film starts up after a “Bonnie :& Clyde”-style outlaw couple have been captured, as the husband (Ben Affleck) escapes from prison and tries to rejoin is wife (Rooney Mara). Great performances and a beautiful, sepia-toned cinematography of a fading West.

“In A World. . .” (Sundance) — My full review is here. Actress-writer-director Lake Bell delivers a hilarious comedy as well as a pointed feminist message, as a female voiceover artist tries to make it in an industry full of men (and male chauvinists). Very funny stuff.

“Star Trek Into Darkness”/”World War Z” (Star Cinema) — If you didn’t catch either of these blockbusters this summer, or want to see them again, they’re being offered as a two-for-one double feature this week only. If only they’d show some cartoons and a newsreel and charge a quarter. (Here’s my original reviews of “Star Trek” and “World War Z.”)

Saturday

“Bob Le Flambeur” (7 p.m., UW Cinematheque, 4070 Vilas Hall) — Cinematheque’s fall tribute to master French filmmaker Jean-Pierre Melville begins with this stylish 1956 caper film, as an aging thief assembles a team to rob a casino. (This film was remade as “The Good Thief” with Nick Nolte in 2002, which is also good.) FREE!

“Girl Walk // All Day” (9:30 p.m., Memorial Union Terrace) — Read my preview here. Bring your dancing shoes as the insanely fun dance film, in which dancer Anne Marsen (seen on “The Good Wife”) takes to the streets of New York City for an epic performance choreographed to Girl Talk’s “All Day” album. FREE!

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Monday

“Space Jam” (9:30 p.m., Memorial Union Terrace) — Let’s face it. Deep down, every Lakeside Cinema theme is just an excuse to show “Space Jam.” They did it last year and they’re doing it again this year to close out the season. FREE!

Wednesday

“The French Connection” (1:20 p.m. and 7:10 p.m., Sundance Cinemas) — William Friedkin’s action classic has a fantastic car chase, a cat-and-mouse game on the subway, and an iconic Gene Hackman as hard-nosed, line-crossing detective Popeye Doyle, out to nab a French heroin smuggling ring.

“The Fab Five” (7 p.m., Union South Marquee) — The highest-rated ESPN documentary of all time is this tale of the ups and downs of the legendary 1990s Michigan Wolverines team. FREE!

Thursday

“The Place Beyond The Pines” (6 p.m. and 9:15 p.m., Union South Marquee) — The lives of a small-time thief (Ryan Gosling), a rookie cop (Bradley Cooper) and their sons intertwine in Derek Cianfrance’s ambitious drama. FREE!

What’s playing in Madison theaters, Aug. 23-29, 2013

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Late August is supposed to be kind of a dumping ground for movies, an in-between time straddling the summer blockbuster season and the fall awards season. Yet there are five movies opening in wide release in Madison this week, four of which I’ve reviewed and are really good. And the one I haven’t seen is getting great reviews too. Oh, well — the One Direction documentary is coming next week, so I assume things will even out.

All week

“The World’s End” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — My full review is here. The “Shaun of the Dead” boys return for one (supposedly last?) go-round, this time in a science-fiction comedy about five middle-aged men who go back to their hometown for an epic pub crawl, only to find everything has changed.

“Blue Jasmine” (Point, Star Cinema, Sundance) — My full review is here. Woody Allen’s best drama since “Match Point” tells of a disgraced New York socialite (Cate Blanchett) who retreats to her sister’s home in San Francisco, slowly losing her grip on reality as she attempts to start a new life.

“You’re Next” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — This home-invasion horror film is getting surprisingly great reviews for its mix of indie family drama and terror, as a mysterious houseguest turns the tables on three masked killers menacing a family.

“The Spectacular Now” (Sundance) — My full review is here. Two high school seniors fall in love in a movie that’s not just a great teen romance, but a great romance.

“The Act of Killing” (Sundance) — My full review is here. In this strange and disturbing documentary, men who took part in mass murders during the Indonesian coup of 1966 proudly re-enact their crimes as if they were starring in their favorite movies. I’ll be doing a post-show chat at Sundance after the 6:50 p.m. Tuesday screening.

Friday

“The Producers” (7 p.m., Marquee Theater at Union South) — My review of the Blu-ray edition is here, but to get the full force of Mel Brooks’ cheerfully transgressive comedy, you need to see it with a crowd. FREE!

“Simon of the Desert” (9:30 p.m., Madison Museum of Contemporary Art rooftop) — MMOCA is doing one last Rooftop Cinema screening for the summer in honor of its Los Grandes del Arte Moderno Mexico exhibit with this Luis Bunuel film. FREE for MMOCa members, free for everyone else.

Monday

“Total Recall” (9:30 p.m., UW Memorial Union Terrace) — Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a ordinary guy who discovers that his entire life is a lie,  and that he’s really a trained killer who must go to Mars to lead a revolution. It’s the “ordinary guy” part of that that I don’t buy. FREE!

Wednesday

“Closed Circuit” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — Two lawyers (Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall) find themselves on either side of a terrorism case in this espionage thriller.

“Pulp Fiction” (1:15 p.m. and 6:45 p.m., Sundance) — Quentin Tarantino’s eminently quotable, time-jumping crime film kicks off the next round of Sundance Classics movies.

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What’s playing in Madison theaters, Aug. 16 to 22, 2013

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All week

“Lee Daniels’ The Butler” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema, Sundance) — Daniels’ last film was “The Paperboy,” the worst film of 2012 by a country mile, and seeing him do a name-above-the-title drama about a Presidential butler (Forest Whitaker) working for seven presidential exercises in stunt casting (John Cusack as Nixon?) looked like he was going for a two-fer. But this is getting good reviews!

“Love is All You Need” (Sundance) — My full review is here. After dark dramas like “Things We Lost in the Fire” and “Brothers,” Danish director Susannah Bier lightens her mood considerably with this sweetly sad tale of a cancer survivor (Trine Lyrholm) and a widower (Pierce Brosnan) finding love of their own at their children’s wedding.

“Paranoia” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — My full review is here. Harrison Ford and Gary Oldman are slumming it in this copycat corporate thriller about rival billiionaires trying to destroy each other. While the two old pros are kind of fun, each gets about 20 minutes of screen time, the rest devoted to Liam Hemsworth removing his shirt so many times that it even made Matthew McConaughey uncomfortable.

“Jobs” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema, Sundance) — Amazingly, it sounds like the problem with this biopic about Steve Jobs isn’t the casting of Ashton Kutcher in the title role. It’s that the whole film is the kind of flabby, adoring hagiography that Jobs himself probably would have sent back to the factory.

“Kick-Ass 2” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — Confession: I loathed the original “Kick-Ass,” a mean-spirited, unfunny and unexciting riff on the superhero genre. Subtract Nicolas Cage and add Jim Carrey, and you have not given me a reason to see the sequel.

“Once Upon a Time in Mumbai — Dobarra!” (Star Cinema) — No question that films from India have a hot following in the United States — Star is playing both the box office smash “Chennai Express” and this sequel to a 2010 gangster epic.

Friday

“Kwik Stop” (7 p.m.,, Union South Marquee Theater, 1208 W. Dayton St.) — My interview with Michael Gilio is here. This 2001 indie drama, poignant and hard to pin down, might have vanished without a trace if Roger Ebert hadn’t tirelessly championed it. As part of the UW-Cinematheque’s Ebert tribute, writer-director-star Michael Gilio will screen the film and talk about Ebert’s impact on it. FREE!

Monday

“WALL-E” (9 p.m., Memorial Union Terrace) — Is this the last great Pixar film? Now that the beloved animation house has caught sequelitis, it’s good to see this sci-fi romance, which starts with a masterful, nearly dialogue-free half-hour about the last robot on Earth and evolves into a surprisingly pointed satire of consumer culture. FREE!

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“Oblivion” (10 p.m., Star Cinema) — Tom Cruise plays the last man on Earth, cleaning up — hey, this is “WALL-E” too! Or another recent sci-fi film, which I won’t give away. Anyway, it’s gorgeous on the big screen, and admission is only $3, with proceeds going to autism research.

Tuesday

“Oblivion” (10 p.m. Star Cinema) — See Monday listing.

Wednesday

“Oblivion” (10 p.m. Star Cinema) — See Monday listing.

Thursday

“Smiles of a Summer Night” (7 p.m. 4070 Vilas Hall) — Ingmar Bergman does the unthinkable — and makes a comedy. Lovers criss-cross at a country estate in a romantic farce that Roger Ebert was a big fan of. FREE!

What’s playing in Madison theaters, Aug. 9-15, 2013

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All week

“Elysium” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema, Sundance) — Director Neill Blomkamp proved sci-fi action could be more than just mindless fun with “District 9,” a sly metaphor for racism and prejudice. He does it again with “Elysium,” in which the one-percenters live in a palatial space station high above a ruined Earth.

“Planes” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema, Cinema Cafe) — The weakest of the Pixar franchises gets co-opted by Disney Central in this high-flying “Cars” spinoff. I suppose “Boats” is inevitable at this point?

“Blackfish” (Sundance) — My full review is here. This sobering documentary looks at the way killer whales are treated at SeaWorld, in particular how one male whale has killed three trainers and still performs daily. Not for anyone who sees this film, though, I’ll wager.

“Dirty Wars” (Sundance) — My full review is here, and my interview with Jeremy Scahill is here. This powerful and engrossing documentary follows journalist Jeremy Scahill’s investigation into drone strikes and other covert ops performed in the War on Terror, in the shadows and unaccountable. Scahill will be at the 6:50 p.m. Friday and Saturday screenings.

Friday

“Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” (7 p.m., Marquee Theater at Union South) — There’s one movie in the UW-Cinematheque’s summer-long tribute to Roger Ebert that Ebert didn’t review, and that’s because he wrote it. “Beyond” is a gonzo Russ Meyer film that’s full of sex, drugs, rock ‘n’ roll and the occasional beheading, and has to be seen to be believed. Free!

“The Sandlot” (7 p.m., Duck Pond at Warner Park) — It’s the perfect marriage of movie and location, as Madison Parks and the Mallards screens this delightful ode to neighborhood baseball. Free, and concessions will be sold.

Monday

“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” (9 p.m., Memorial Union Terrace) — The Terrace’s “Out of this World” outdoor movie series wouldn’t be complete without this aliens-among-us classic, and kudos for showing the original ’50s black and white version in all its chilling, Red Scare-metaphorical glory. Free!

“Oblivion” (10 p.m. Star Cinema) — Tom Cruise is WALL-E, the last man on Earth. Or so he thinks in this stylish sci-fi action film. Admission is $3, with proceeds going to autism research.

Tuesday

“Epic” (10 a.m,, Point and Eastgate) — For a movie that features rapper Pitbull as a wisecracking frog, this animated tale of a teenage girl who gets shrunk and conscripted into a micro-battle for the forest ain’t half bad. Just $2.

“Oblivion” (10 p.m., Star Cinema) — See Monday listing.

Wednesday

“Epic” (10 a.m. Point and Eastgate) — See Tuesday listing.

“Dirty Dancing” (1:20 and 6:45 p.m.) — Sundance’s Summer Classics series winds up not putting Baby in a corner, in this beloved 1987 film starring Patrick Swayze at the peak of his open-shirted powers.

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“Oblivion” (10 p.m., Star Cinema) — See Monday listing.

Thursday

“Epic” (10 a.m. Point and Eastgate) — See Tuesday listing.

“The Fury” (7 p.m., 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Ave.) — UW Cinematheque director Jim Healy vividly remembers Roger Ebert raving about this Brian DePalma film about battling psychics on the old Sneak Previews and dying to see it. Now he can screen it, Free!

“Rifftrax: Starship Troopers” (7 p.m., Point Cinemas) — The guys at Rifftrax usually target bad old movies, but for the first time they’re doing a live takedown of a relatively new film, the immensely cheesy and bloody 1997 alien invasion movie starring Neil Patrick Harris and a lot of big bugs.

What’s playing in Madison theaters, Aug. 2-8, 2013

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There’s only two movies opening in Madison this Friday, but I reviewed them both! (“The Smurfs 2,” which opened Wednesday, doesn’t count. “The Smurfs 2” never counts.)

All week

“2 Guns” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — My full review is here. Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg make an appealing duo in this throwback action film that features witty action and even wittier banter.

“At Any Price” (Sundance) — My full review is here. Ramin Bahrani (“Goodbye Solo”) aims for Shakespeare among this soybeans in this tale of a modern farmer (Dennis Quaid) juggling job pressures and a wayward son (Zac Efron).

Friday

“Ran” (7 p.m., Union South Marquee Theater) — Akira Kurosawa’s epic 1985 take on “King Lear” simply has to be seen on the big screen, with truly spectacular battle scenes and sense of tragic grandeur. Free!

Monday

“Little Shop of Horrors” (9 p.m., UW Memorial Union Terrace) — For some reason, lately I’ve been hearing people sing snippets of songs from this killer sci-fi musical about a boy, a girl, and a plant. This is the sing-along version, so I think lyrics will be printed on the screen for you extroverts. Free!

“G.I. Joe: Retaliation” (10 p.m., Star Cinema) — Channing Tatum doesn’t last too long in this cheesy sequel, but Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis pop in to pick up some slack. $3!

Tuesday

“Chimpanzee” (10 a.m., Point and Eastgate Cinemas) — The Kids Dream summer series continues with this cute DisneyNature documentary about a little chimp separated from his mom who gets adopted by an older ape. Tim Allen narrates, and yes, does that ape noise thing. $2!

“G.I. Joe” Retaliation” (10 p.m., Star Cinema) — See Tuesday listing.

Wednesday

“We’re the Millers” (Point, Eastgate, Star CInema) — A pothead (Jason Sudeikis) and a stripper (Jennifer Aniston) impersonate suburban parents in order to transport illegal substances in this raunchy comedy.

“Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — The teen son of Poseidon heads out to retrieve the Golden Fleece in this adaptation from the wildly popular young-adult series. You had me at “and Nathan Fillion as Hermes.”

“Chimpanzee” (10 a.m., Point and Eastgate) — See Tuesday listing.

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“Ghostbusters” (1:45 p.m. and 7:10 p.m., Sundance Cinemas) — Get slimed all over again with the sci-fi comedy classic, and be grateful that Bill Murray has steadfastly refused to back a “Ghostbusters 3.”

“G.I. Joe” Retaliation” (10 p.m., Star Cinema) — See Tuesday listing.

Thursday

“Chimpanzee” (10 a.m., Point and Eastgate) — See Tuesday listing.

“Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia” (7 p.m., 4070 Vilas Hall) — The UW-Cinematheque’s Roger Ebert salute continues with this bloody, seedy Sam Peckinpah classic, starring the great Warren Oates as one of several lowlifes trying to achieve the titular mission of a Mexican warlord. Free!

What’s playing in Madison theaters: July 19-25, 2013

 

R.I.P.D.

All week

“R.I.P.D.” — (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — It’s “Men in Black” meets “Beetlejuice,” as two dead cops (Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges) are resurrected to keep dead souls out of the world of the living. Looks like it has zero scares and tons of ‘splosions.

“The Conjuring” — (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — James Wan of “Saw” fame seems to go in more for PG-13 jump scares than gore lately, between “Insidious” and this period tale of paranormal investigators trying to rid a family of some supernatural squatters.

“RED 2” — (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — The retired spooks of the surprise 2010 action-comedy hit are back, as Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren and John Malkovich track a doomsday device (and its nutty inventor, Anthony Hopkins) across Europe.

“The Way, Way Back” (Sundance) — “Descendants” co-writers Nat Faxon and Jim Rash wrote and directed this coming-of-age tale, in which an awkward teen flees his mother’s domineering boyfriend (Steve Carell) and finds confidence working at the local water park.

“Girl Most Likely” (Sundance) — Kirsten Wiig plays a once-promising playwright who, seeing her career slowly falling apart, retreats back to her old hometown.

Friday

“Infra-Man” and “Kill and Kill Again” (7 p.m., Union South, Marquee Theatre, 1308 W. Dayton St.) — The UW-Cinematheque puts down its marker early that its Roger Ebert tribute won’t just be about great movies like “The Third Man.” Ebert liked his guilty pleasures too, and this should be a fun double feature. The first film is a delightfully cheesy sci-fi martial arts movie from Hong Kong, while the second may be South Africa’s best and only martial arts classic. Free!

Monday

“Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (9 p.m., UW Memorial Union Terrace) — The Terrace’s “Out of this World” series simply had to include Spielberg’s 1977 sci-fi classic about UFOs and the humans that are drawn to them. Highly entertaining, although it’s probably for the best that the Union doesn’t serve mashed potatoes. Free!

“Olympus Has Fallen” (Star Cinema) — If “White House Down” was a little too silly for your terrorist-take-the-White-House tastes, go back to this highly similar and rougher action movie from last spring, in which North Koreans storm 1600 Pennsylvania. It’s only $3, with proceeds going to autism research.

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Tuesday.

“Oceans” (Point, Eastgate) — In this DisneyNature film, underwater cameras capture a spectacular view of undersea life. It’s only $2 as part of the Marcus Kids Dream series.

“Olympus Has Fallen” (Star Cinema) — See Monday listing

Wednesday

“Oceans” (Point, Eastgate) — See Tuesday listing.

“Animal House” (Sundance Cinemas) — John Landis set the gold standard for raunchy teen comedies with this tale of the slobs vs. the snobs, full of quotable lines and, of course, food fights.

“Olympus Has Fallen” (Star Cinema) — See Monday listing.

Thursday

“Oceans” (Point, Eastgate) — See Tuesday listing.

“The Suitor” (4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Ave.) — The UW Cinematheque’s tribute to French comic filmmaker Pierre Etaix continues with his first film, a daffy and heartfelt ode to silent comedians like Buster Keaton, in which Etaix plays  a young man whose obsession with a famous singer derails his chances at a real romance. Free!

What’s playing in Madison theaters: July 12-18, 2013

pacific_rim_2

All week

“Pacific Rim” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema, Cinema Cafe) — Rex Reed sniffily dismissed this as “Godzilla vs. Predator,” which means that a) he thinks the Predator was a robot and b) he doesn’t realize how awesome that concept would be. In fact, reviews are saying that when the robots and aliens are duking it out in Guillermo del Toro’s sci-fi epic, “Rim” is a blast. When humans are talking to each other on screen, not so much.

“Grown Ups 2” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema, Cinema Cafe) — Adam Sandler seems to pushing himself to new depths in his last few movies, and this sequel to one of his most smug films looks like the bottom of the barrel. It makes one hope he actually does do “The Re-Do,” the fake movie-within-a-movie in “Funny People.”

“20 Feet From Stardom” (Sundance) — This enthralling documentary looks at the voices behind some of the biggest hits in rock music — not the lead singers, but the immensely talented backup singers who helped make songs like “Walk on the Wild Side” and “Gimme Shelter” classics, but whose names were never known.

“Bhaag Milkha Bhaag” (Star Cinema) — The inspirational story of the Olympic runner Milkha Singh (“The Flying Sikh”) is told in this Indian-language epic.

Friday

“Kung Fu Panda” (7 p.m, Warner Park) — Madison Parks’ Moonlight Movies series continues with this terrific animated film that’s a great action movie as well as a fine comedy, in which rotund panda Po (Jack Black) pursues his dream of becoming a martial arts warrior. Free!

“The Third Man” (7 p.m., Marquee Theater, 1308 W. Dayton St.) — The Cinematheque’s summer-long tribute to Roger Ebert begins with one of the greatest of the great movies, the twisty, cynical noir starring Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles and set in post-war Vienna. Required viewing on the big screen. Free! My story on the Ebert series in this week’s 77 Square is here.

Saturday

“To the Wonder” (7 p.m., Marquee Theater) — My full review is here. The last film Ebert reviewed before he died was Terrence Malick’s lustrous drama about love and faith, starring Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko and Javier Bardem. Some critics question whether there’s much going on underneath those pretty pictures, but the pictures are indeed pretty, especially on the big screen in a a 35mm print. Free!

Monday

“The Last Starfighter” (9 p.m., Memorial Union Terrace) — Remember the heady ’80s, when being good at an arcade video game was enough to lead to fortune and glory? That’s what happened in this sci-fi hit, in which a teen is conscripted into a war between alien races. If my memories of reading Starlog are correct, I believe this is the first movie to use computer-generated spaceships instead of models, but don’t quote me. Free!

“The Hunger Games” (10 p.m. Star Cinema) — With “Catching Fire” on the horizon, catch up on the massive hit starring Jennifer Lawrence as a teen in a dystopian future, enlisted to fight other teens to the death while the world watches. Only $3.

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Tuesday

“Escape from Planet Earth” (10 a.m., Eastgate and Point) — I saw this animated film, about an alien who has to rescue fellow aliens from Area 51, in the viewing room at Rocky Rococo’s for a child’s birthday party. That’s pretty much the ideal viewing environment for this utterly disposable second-tier kids’ flick. Only $2.

“The Hunger Games” (10 p.m., Star Cinema) — See Monday listing.

Wednesday

“Turbo” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema, Cinema Cafe) — It’s “A Bug’s Life” meets “The Fast and The Furious” (or, more likely, “Cars” meets “Cars 2”), as a snail (Ryan Reynolds) with a need for speed ingests some nitro and becomes fast enough to compete in the Indy 500.

“Escape from Planet Earth” (10 a.m., Eastgate and Point) — See Tuesday listing.

The Hunger Games” (10 p.m., Star Cinema) — See Wednesday listing.

Thursday

“Yoyo” (7 p.m., 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Ave.) — In addition to its fine Ebert series, the UW Cinematheque is also showing the five films of French comic master Pierre Etaix, including this charming family saga which starts as a silent film and evolves into a talkie as the years pass. Free! My story on the Etaix series is here.