Thursday
The Hunger Games Marathon (2:30p, 5:15p, 8:00p — AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
For $25 and the better half of your day, you can catch the previous two parts in The Hunger Games franchise before the last part, which has coincidentally been broken into two separate parts.
Ninja III: The Domination (6:30p — Central Library, Rm 302)
The spirit of an insidious ninja possesses the body of an innocent telephone linewoman/aerobics instructor (Lucinda Dickey). Her only means of spiritual salvation? Exorcism by ninja battle. Of course this is “Bad Cinema.” And of course it’s FREE.
eXistenZ (7:00p — Chazen Art Museum)
Back in October, Cinematheque presented a 35mm print of Videodrome, David Cronenberg’s visceral warning label against the dangers of pop culture drivel. The unfairly maligned eXistenZ may actually take things one step further in its extension of video games as virtual worlds experienced via spinal tap. For Jennifer Jason Leigh’s game designer, the line between what’s real and what’s synthetic becomes increasingly blurred — and increasingly disgusting. FREE.
All freakin’ weekend
Whiplash (Sundance)
With The Spectacular Now and That Awkward Moment already under his belt and a forthcoming Fantastic Four reboot on the way, Miles Teller’s most definitely blowing up, but even that explosion pales in comparison to the acting clinic J.K. Simmons puts on. As a no bullshit and even abusive leader of a jazz orchestra, Simmons puts Teller’s drumming prodigy through the wringer and makes Buddy Rich look as nice as Questlove.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I (Sundance, AMC Star, Point, Eastgate, Stoughton Cinema Café)
Mini_Indie Film Festival (Thursday – Sunday — Union South Marquee)
With 13 feature films and a student short film showcase to boot, WUD’s Mini_Indie Film Festival is of considerable mass. Listen Up, Philip and God Help the Girl should be on everyone’s radar, but Madison Film Forum and Rob Thomas have gone in depth about some of the forthcoming features, many of which have enjoyed limited to nonexistent runs in Madison. When in doubt, head over to WUDFilm.com for the complete listings. FREE.
Friday
Farmland (6:00p — Union South, Varsity Hall III)
Presented FREE by the Collegiate Farm Bureau, Farmland follows the lives of six farmers and ranchers. Agricultural blogger “Dairy Carrie” Mess will speak afterward, and presumably on more than just her blog which currently has over 22,000 Facebook “Likes.” In other news, I’m considering a change in local coverage.
Appropriate Behavior (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
Wunderkind Desiree Akhavan writes, directs, and stars in this slice of Brooklyn life as a struggling filmmaker working her way through a breakup and a series of mindless hookups all at once. This Sundance selection sounds great, although someone clearly dropped the ball in not programming a triple-feature alongside Obvious Child and See You Next Tuesday. FREE.
Saturday
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
Even with Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, and A Matter of Life and Death all to their name, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger seem like the cinema’s Nikola Tesla, often forgotten and tragically unappreciated. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp , quite possibly their greatest collaboration, is a segmented chronicle of a British military commander (Roger Livesey) and what it’s like to get old. (Spoiler: Life’s really amazing when it’s in TechniColor) FREE.
Sunday
Topaz (3:00p — Chazen Art Museum)
If you attended last weekend’s “Rare Hitchcock!” presentation you’d recognize Frederick Stafford as the receiving end of a series of prying and often crude questions from the director. These questions were in fact part of Hitch’s casting process for Topaz, a Cold War thriller in which Stafford’s French special agent gets caught up in the Cuban Missile Crisis. I guess history really does repeat itself. FREE.
NoBudge shorts showcase (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
Micro-Wave Cinema wraps its FREE fall season with a collection of short films from online indie exhibitor/distributor NoBudge.com and a Google Hangout with directors Robert Barnett (Holy God Holy Immortal Have Mercy Upon Us) and Zach Fleming (We’ll Be Happy Over There). The evening’s entire lineup can be found on Micro-Wave’s Facebook page.
Monday
Wisconsin From The Air (7:00p — Monona Terrace)
Before its Dec 1 broadcast on Wisconsin Public Television, the Monona Terrace is hosting the FREE premiere of Wisconsin From The Air, 60 minutes of bird’s eye views of the state. (I’ll be in the restroom during any snow-covered portions.)
Travel Adventure Series: The Great American Southwest with Dennis Burkhart (7:30p — Union South Marquee)
See the Union Theater’s website for ticket details.
Tuesday
The Ballad of Narayama (2:00 — Alicia Ashman Branch Library)
FREE.
Travel Adventure Series: The Great American Southwest with Dennis Burkhart (7:30p — Union South Marquee)
See the Union Theater’s website for ticket details.
Wednesday
The Theory of Everything (Sundance)
Man on Wire’s James Marsh directs this Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) biopic based in large part on the memoirs of Hawking’s ex-wife, Jane (Felicity Jones). There’s no way that could backfire.
Penguins of Madagascar (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate, Stoughton Cinema Café)
Beating Universal’s Minions to the punch, this Madagascar spin-off joins the likes of Puss in Boots as the animated sequel nobody was really asking for but will make a ton of money anyway.
Horrible Bosses 2 (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate, Stoughton Cinema Café)