“Third Person” opens Friday at Sundance Cinemas. R, 2:17, one and a half stars out of four.
Man, it’s so hard to be a famous writer. Holed up in a swanky Parisian hotel suite, occasionally pecking away at the laptop, with only occasional visits from Olivia Wilde for company. Seriously, I don’t know how I do it.
“Better Living Through Chemistry” opens Friday at Sundance Cinemas. R, 1:31, two stars out of four.
“Better Living Through Chemistry” opens with a clever credits sequence, as the camera glides over a HO-scale model town with every tree, every citizen lovingly reproduced in miniature — right down to the tiny plastic couple having sex by an open window.
Unfortunately, it quickly becomes clear that the characters in the movie aren’t much more realistic than the plastic figurines.
“Drinking Buddies” plays Thursday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, OCt. 5 at 9:30 p.m. at the Marquee Theater in Union South, 1208 W. Dayton St. R, 1:30, three and a half stars out of four. FREE!
While I admire the UW-CInematheque for its mission to bring unusual and challenging films to the big screen, I fear it may have gone too far with “Drinking Buddies.” A romantic comedy set in the world of craft brewing? Who’s going to want to see that in Madison?
The truth is, of course, lots of people, especially since Joe Swanberg’s film is so good, simultaneously grounded in real emotional behavior and effervescent in its comedy. And it doesn’t hurt that the Cinematheque is screening it at the Marquee, where you can bring in a great craft beer purchased downstairs at the Sett.
Madison Movie 