Category Archives: Weekend Preview

What’s playing in Madison theaters: March 8-14, 2013

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So I was reading other publications and appreciating how their event listings are broken down day-by-day, so if you were free on a Tuesday night, you could easily see all your options for things to do.

It took me a little while longer before I realized that if I appreciated it so much, I should probably do it too. So I’m tweaking the format of the weekly Friday “What’s Playing” column a little here. This seems to make sense in an especially busy week like this one. Let me know what you think.

All Week

“Oz: The Great And Powerful” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema, Cinema Cafe) — Did you ever wonder how the Wizard of Oz got to be the Wizard? Me neither, but Sam Raimi will tell us with this eye-popping prequel, with James Franco as the Once and Future Wiz. Reviews have been meh, but Raimi is too inventive a filmmaker to count out.

“Dead Man Down” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — Despite the redundant title, I’m interested in this R-rated action film because it’s the English-language debut of Swedish director Niels Ander Oplev,, who did the superbly creepy original “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” (Just watch the underwhelming next two in the trilogy, done by a different director, to properly appreciate it.) So I have high hopes it’ll be stylish and unusual.

“Emperor” (Sundance) — A war drama that takes place after the war is over, “Emperor” stars Tommy Lee Jones as Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who has dispatched subordinate Matthew Fox to investigate whether Emperor Hirohito should be arrested for war crimes or not. It’s a little dry, but illuminates a small but important corner of American history. And Jones as MacArthur is a lot of fun.

“Happy People: A Year in the Taiga” (Sundance) — Read my review here. The happy people in question are a group of Siberian villagers living a harsh but self-sufficient life on the edge of the tundra. In the eyes of documentary filmmaker Werner Herzog, this counts as happiness. Your bliss may vary.

Friday

“The Master” (6 p.m. and 9:15 p.m., Union South Marquee Theatre, 1308 W. Dayton St.) Read my review here.  My favorite movie of 2012 was Paul Thomas Anderson’s cryptic, exquisitely controlled drama about the complicated relationship between an L. Ron Hubbard-like cult leader (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and a troubled acolyte (Joaquin Phoenix) he brings into the fold. Free!

“Edvard Munch” (7 p.m., UW Cinematheque, 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Ave.) The on-campus series concludes its two-night look at the films of Peter Watkins with his highly unorthodox biopic of the notorious painter behind “The Scream.” Free!

“Drunken Master” (midnight, Union South Marquee Theatre) If you only know Jackie Chan from the “Rush Hour” movies, you ought to see him in his prime in this martial arts classic, one of the first to play to Chan’s comedic as well as physical gifts. Free!

Saturday

“The Master” (6 p.m. and 9:15 p.m., Union South Marquee Theatre) See Friday listing.

“The Mercenary” (7 p.m., UW Cinematheque) Remember that scene in “Django Unchained” where a character gets shot above the heart, and the blood turns his white carnation pink? That was a direct homage to this spaghetti Western classic, starring Jack Palance as a ruthless government agent trying to put down a revolution in 1915 Mexico. Free!

“The Host” (midnight, Union South Marquee Theatre) Read my review here. It’s a monster movie, a family drama, a screwball comedy and a political film all rolled up into one wildly entertaining movie from South Korean director Joon-ho Bong. “Packs an emotional kick that we don’t expect from a movie where a giant iguana is running around with human legs dangling out of his mouth like stray pieces of  linguini,” I wrote back in 2007.

Sunday

“Pom Poko: ( 2 p.m., Chazen Museum of Art, 800 University Ave.) The “Cinematheque at the Chazen” Sunday afternoon series of films by the hallowed Studio Ghibli continues with this take of raccoon-like creatures and their war with developers. Free!

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

Monday

No shows

Tuesday

“Girl Rising” (7:30 p.m. Barrymore Theatre, 2090 Atwood Ave.) To underscore the importance of education for girls in developing countries, this project features nine stories of nine young women in nine different countries, each narrated by a different actress, including Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep and Cate Blanchett. Tickets are $10 at the door.

Wednesday

“West Side Story” (1:10 p.m. and 6:40 p.m., Sundance Cinemas, 430 N. Midvale Blvd.) If you enjoyed the reimagined Broadway version that just played at Overture Center, check out the original 1962 film version, that brings the tragic romance of “Romeo & Juliet” to the barrio. Tickets are $7.50 for the 1:10 p.m. show and $12 for the 6:40 p.m.

“Roman Holiday” (7 p.m., Union South Marquee Theatre) Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck star in the 1953 classic romance about a princess and a foreign correspondent who find adventure and love together in Rome. Free!

“True Wolf” (7 p.m., Barrymore Theatre)  The Timber Wolf Alliance is co-sponsoring this documentary about the plight of the wolf in the United States. After the film, a panel of wolf researchers will hold a post-show Q&A. $10 at the door.

Thursday

“Ek Tha Tiger” (7 p.m., Union South Marquee Theatre) Intrigue, romance, action and, of course, dancing collide in this Bollywood thriller about a secret agent and a dancer in a globe-hopping adventure. Free!

The 6th Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival (7 p.m., Barrymore Theatre) This popular series features short films from within and beyond Wisconsin’s borders about the natural world. Tickets are $10 in advance through barrymorelive.com., $13 at the door, or a $25 VIP ticket includes a one-year membership with the sponsor, River Alliance of Wisconsin.

“The President Vanishes” ( 7 p.m. Chazen Museum of Art) In an attempt to thwart warmongers in his cabinet, the President fakes his own disappearance. This film is one of a series of 1934 films screened by the Chazen and UW-Cinematheque in conjunction with the “1934: A New Deal For Artists” exhibit at the museum. Free!

“Brew & View: A Tribute To Leslie Nielsen” (7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Majestic Theatre, 115 King St.) You mean to tell me that the Majestic is honoring the deadpan comic actor by presenting his two iconic movies, “Airplane!” and “The Naked Gun,” in a double feature with a ticket price of $5 for both movies? Surely you can’t be serious!

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What’s playing in Madison movie theaters: March 1-7, 2013

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It may not feel like spring outside, but the calendar does say March 1. And that’s all the excuse Hollywood needs to kick of the spring movie season. So the low-profile dramas and comedies of January and February that the studios had little hope for will start giving way to some semi-blockbusters that the studios hope will generate some big box office.

“Jack the Giant Slayer” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — When “Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters” came out in January, the 77 Square graphic designer Brandon and and I were joking about what fairytale would be next. And I jokingly suggested “Jack and the Beanstalk,” imagining a poster with the tag line “Fee Fi Fo Summer 2013.” They took everything but the tagline.

“The Last Exorcism Part II” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — My favorite movie title in quite some time. If the first movie had the last exorcism, then how can there be a Part II? Unless “last” didn’t refer to “final,” but merely “The Previous Exorcism,” or “The Most Recent Exorcism.” And that didn’t look too good on a poster.

“21 & Over” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — The writers of the “Hangover” movies make a raunchy R-rated comedy about three buddies out on a night of drunken debauchery, in which their straight-laced buddy ends up getting the wildest. But this time, the friends are college-age. So it’s completely different.

“Phantom” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — It’s been ages since we had a good submarine movie, and I had high hopes for this one, in which the great Ed Harris plays a Russian sub captain who takes aboard a covert ops team led by David Duchovny on a mysterious mission during the Cold War. Alas, early reviews have not been kind.

“A Place at the Table” (Sundance) — This revealing documentary looks at the 51 million people (including 1 in 6 children) who live with hunger in America. I’ll be doing a post-show chat after the 7:05 p.m. Tuesday showing, and it looks like, as a very special bonus, I’ll be joined by Capital Times food writer LIndsay Christians, who recently did the Food Stamp Challenge. Come join us! Here’s my review.

“The Frankenstein Theory” (Star Cinema) — Mary Shelley meets “Blair Witch” in this found-footage horror tale of a scientist in the Arctic out to prove Shelley’s tale was non-fiction, and the monster is out there. If handled well, it could be a lot of fun.

“Punishment Park” (UW Cinematheque, 4070 Vilas Hall, 7 p.m. Friday )  — The free on-campus film series presents a pair of films by button-pushing “mockumentary” filmmaker Peter Watkins with this disturbing 1971 film, in which antiwar protesters are rounded up for deadly exercises for the National Guard. It still has the power to shock over 40 years later. FREE!

“Death Rides a Horse” (UW Cinematheque, 7 p.m. Saturday) — Oh yeah. The Cinematheque’s big spring series of spaghetti Westerns (which will spill over into the Wisconsin Film Festival) begins with this violent classic about a teenager (John Phillip Law) searching for his parents’ killers with the help of an outlaw (Sergio Leone favorite Lee Van Cleef.) Free!

“Porco Rosso” (Chazen Museum of Art, 800 University Ave., 2 p.m. Saturday) — In this charming animated film from Studio Ghibli, a flying ace doesn’t let the fact that he’s turned into a pig keep him grounded. Free, but get there early, because the Ghibli series has been selling out every Sunday.

“Middle of Nowhere” (Union South Marquee Theater, 1208 W. Dayton St., 7 p.m. Friday) — In this 2012 Sundance Film Festival award winner, a promising med student sees her life change when her husband is sent to prison for eight years. Free!

“Skyfall” (Union South, 9:30 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday). — I love it. Free!

“Planet Terror” (Union South, midnight Friday and Saturday) — Watch the full version of Robert Rodriguez’s half of “Grindhouse,” in which toxic sludge turns folks into killer zombies. Weird they’re showing the other half, Tarantino’s “Death Proof” as well, no? Free!

“Broken On All Sides” (Union South, 7 p.m. Monday) — Co-sponsored by UW Athletics, this documentary looks at mass incarceration in America and the role that poverty and race play. Free!

“High Ground” (Union South, 7 p.m. Tuesday) — Vets for Vets co-sponsored the screening of this triumphant documentary about 11 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who climb a 20,000-foot peak in the Himalayas. Free!

“Margin Call” (Union South, 7 p.m. Wednesday) — An all-star cast (no, really — Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore and more) turn the 2008 financial meltdown into the stuff of high drama, as we spend one tense night in a Goldman Sachs-like company facing Armageddon. Here’s my review. Free!

What’s playing in Madison theaters, Feb. 22 to 28, 2013

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With the weather still keeping everyone indoors, it’s another good weekend to take advantage of Madison’s busy movie scene. Here’s what’s playing around town:

“Snitch” (Point, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson seems to be in about 15 movies this year, judging by the Super Bowl ads. But reviews say this might be the best, a surprisingly gritty and thoughtful action picture about a dad who tries to save his teenage son from a hefty prison sentence for drug possession by going undercover for the feds.

“Dark Skies”  (Point,, Eastgate, Star Cinema) — Another suburban home, another family under siege by some malevolent force (I’m guessing aliens?) and another movie that apparently wasn’t screened for critics in advance.

“A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III” (Sundance) — Bill Murray. Jason Schwartzman. Writer-director Roman Coppola (“CQ” and co-writer of several of Wes Anderson’s movies. What could possibly go wrong? Oh, pretty much everything.

“My Neighbor Totoro” (2 p.m. Sunday, Chazen Museum of Art, 800 University Ave.) — The UW-Cinematheque’s free Sunday afternoon series of films from the master Japanese animators at Studio Ghibli has been a howling success, with audiences lining up over an hour early. Get there extra early for this charmer from Hayao Miyazaki — I’ll bet the theater will be full by 1:15 p.m.

“The Loneliest Planet” (7 p.m. Friday, UW Cinematheque, 4070 Vilas Hall) The Cinematheque is also hosting the Madison premiere of this lush and unnerving film about a young couple backpacking through the Caucasus mountains, and how one brief incident completely upends their relationship. Here’s my review, and the free screening will be preceded by some trailers for movies coming to the 2013 Wisconsin Film Festival.

“The Lady Eve” (7 p.m. Saturday, UW Cinematheque) — The series of Preston Sturges’ classics as a writer-director concludes with this hilarious but surprisingly elegant 1941 film with Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda as a con artist and her patsy on a luxury ocean liner. Free!

“Argo” (7 p.m. and 9:30 Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, Union South Marquee Theater, 1208 W. Dayton) Catch the frontrunner for Sunday’s Oscars for free at Union South. I’m still rooting for “Silver Linings Playbook” to pull an upset, but “Argo” is terrific filmmaking that shifts from drama to comedy to white-knuckle suspense. Here’s my review from October. Free!

“The Raid: Redemption” (midnight Friday and Saturday, Union South Marquee) — If you like action, stay up late for this nonstop shoot- and punch-em-up from Indonesia, about a team of police officers trapped in a high-rise apartment building full of bad guys. Here’s my review from last April. Free!

“Miami Connection” (7 p.m. Monday, Union South Marquee) — Once a month, UW-Cinematheque programs a “Marquee Monday” film that’s not highfalutin’ enough for the regular series. That’s certainly the case with “Miami Connection,” a joyfully inept ’80s action film featuring tae kwon do master Y.K. Kim that delivers inept action, synth rock, and, in the words of C’tek, “the single greatest scene of somebody checking their mailbox in the history of cinema.” Free!

“Funny Face” (7 p.m. Tuesday, Union South Marquee) — After a pair of documentaries on Diana Vreeland and Bill Cunningham, this series of fashion-related films co-sponsored by the Textile and Apparel Student Association features the darling 1957 film by Stanley Donen, starring Audrey Hepburn as a shopgirl-turned-supermodel. Free!

“Stand Up and Cheer” (7 p.m. Thursday, Chazen Museum) — In conjunction with the Chazen’s new exhibit “1934: A New Deal For Artists,” Cinematheque is presenting a new Thursday night series of films from (or set) in that year. First up is this Depression Era charmer about a government “Secretary of Amusement” trying to cheer up the country with the help of entertainers (including Shirley Temple.) Free!

“Skyfall” (9:30 p.m. Thursday, Union South Marquee) Catch James Bond’s latest outing (and one of his best), as Daniel Craig’s 007 roots out a threat to M (Judi Dench) in a former MI6 agent (a wonderful Javier Bardem). It’s the perfect blend of classic 007 elements with a deeper psychological and emotional undercurrent than we’ve ever seen before. Free, and it’ll play all next weekend at the Marquee too.