Thursday
American Denial (6:30p — Central Library, Rm 302)
Community Cinema has done a stellar job providing Madison audiences with advance screenings of documentaries. This week is no different. American Denial looks at the life of sociologist and free-thinker Gunnar Myrdal, his adoption of America as a second home, and the profound disjunction between freedom and our racial biases. In fact, this disconnect was so profound for Myrdal, it inspired a massive study that would eventually shape the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Both incisive and clinical in its approach, American Denial is presented FREE to the public and will feature a panel discussion afterward with the likes of Rev. Dr. Alex Gee, Jr. and UW-Madison history and politics Professor Stephen Kantrowski.
Print Generation + Wavelength (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
As a proponent of local cinema (duh), I was intrigued by Cinematheque’s inclusion of J.J. Murphy’s Print Generation — a meditation on emulsion’s transformative properties — in their spring calendar. From the way it sounds, Cinematheque’s dose of super-indie film is all it’s cracked up to be. In his voluminous preview of J.J. Murphy and Mark Snow’s avant garde films, Madison Film Forum’s James Kreul recalls some wonderfully moving experiences and memories of Murphy, a respected professor of the Communication Arts Department here at UW-Madison. Just, please save your shouting for after the screening? FREE.
Jurassic Park (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
WUD Film celebrates the birthday of Charles Darwin with a bunch of scientists who gave the finger to natural selection. FREE.
Girlhood (9:45p — Union South Marquee)
Save your Richard Linklater jokes, because Céline Sciamma’s French drama has very little in common with Boyhood. Impressionable teen Marieme (Karidja Touré) tries to put the pressures of the neighborhood, her school, and an abusive family behind her by seeking acceptance from a gang of girls and eventually, a much older man. FREE.
All freakin’ weekend
Hits (Sundance)
David Cross has made a name for himself crafting stand-up jabs about all the ways in which contemporary society sucks. Religion, politicians, or in the case of his writer-director debut, everything else. Cross enlists Matt Walsh (Veep cast member and veritable “that guy”), whose disproportionate outburst at a town hall meeting triggers an arrest and ensuing viral video. An acidic dissertation on the ephemeral ease of internet celebrity, Hits plays like a 90 minute episode of Mr. Show. There’s even a “pay what you want” screening tonight.
Fifty Shades of Grey (Sundance, AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
E.L. James’ S&M novels gave (far too many) readers pleasure from the sexual exploits of a shy journalism student and her subject-turned-lover Christian Grey, yet for all of its typo-riddled ridiculousness, there’s one thing the series has plenty of: sex. For Sam Taylor-Johnson’s sex-positive adaptation with Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan, maybe not so much.
Kingsman: The Secret Service (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
James Bond will return… in November, but for spy enthusiasts who can’t wait for Spectre, Matthew Vaughn and Mark Millar might have a temporary remedy. Kingsman: The Secret Service plucks a scrappy ne’er-do-well (Taron Egerton) and puts him under the perfectly-pressed duster of secret agent Colin Firth. What ensues sounds like a breezy, dynamic riff on the espionage genre. And Adidas product placement. Lots and lots of it.
Somewhere Only We Know (AMC Star)
A Chinese student falls in love with a young man as she retraces the steps of her grandmother’s visit to Prague.
Anegan (Eastgate)
A love story that transcends history.
Temper (Eastgate)
A corrupt police officer (N. T. Rama Rao, Jr.) changes his crooked ways after witnessing a sexual assault at the hands of four brothers.
Friday
The LEGO Movie (10:00a — Point, Eastgate)
$2.
Birdman (6:15p — Union South Marquee)
Former superhero icon Michael Keaton returns to form in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s film about a former superhero icon returning to form. Whether you find it broadly dismissive or sweepingly inclusive, one thing’s for sure about Keaton’s Riggan Thomson and his career resurrection via Raymond Carver: it’s got loads of style. FREE.
Barfly (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
On top of that fantastic last name, author Charles Bukowski was a fantastic drinker. So fantastic in fact, that he wrote a movie about it. Sort of. Cinematheque’s “Cannon Canon” program barrels forward with Mickey Rourke’s poet lush and the soul mate he finds in Faye Dunaway’s kindred spirit. Pun intended. FREE.
Girlhood (9:00p — Union South Marquee)
FREE.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (11:30p — Union South Marquee)
Since his days as a young gun director on the UK series Spaced, Edgar Wright has been telling stories about social misfits and outcasts with breezy, muscular direction and an unparalleled comedic eye. His “Cornetto Trilogy” — with longtime collaborators Simon Pegg and Nick Frost — offers loads of laughs but this port of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s comics to the big screen might be his best work to date. With whip-cracking pans and an editing style that draws attention to its source material’s medium in the best ways, Scott Pilgrim might also be Michael Cera’s career best — and as someone who’s in lesbians with Arrested Development, admitting that hurts. FREE.
Saturday
The LEGO Movie (10:00a — Point, Eastgate)
$2.
“Best Picture Showcase”: Day One (10:00a — AMC Star)
For $30 and the entirety of your Saturday, you can see The Grand Budapest Hotel (10:00a), Whiplash (12:00p), Birdman (2:05p), and Selma (4:55p). To be continued…
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (6:30p, 11:30p — Union South Marquee)
FREE.
The Lady from Shanghai (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
Orson Welles’ sailor gets caught in the feminine wiles of Rita Hayworth. He also gets caught in an attempt to frame him for murdering Hayworth’s husband. Despairingly cynical, Orson Welles’ noir has appreciated like a fine wine — even if the literal film hasn’t. (Don’t worry, there’s a pristine 4k restoration for that). FREE.
Birdman (9:00p — Union South Marquee)
FREE.
Sunday
The LEGO Movie (10:00a — Point, Eastgate)
$2.
The Passionate Thief (2:00p — Chazen Art Museum)
To passionately steal from C’tek: “A handsome American crook (Ben Gazzara) recruits a fame-hungry movie extra (Anna Magnani) and her fellow performer (Totò) in his efforts to pickpocket at a swanky New Year’s Eve party. Soon, the trio are on an all-night odyssey across Rome, encountering ugly Americans, German aristocrats, and assorted other swanky celebrations and celebrants.” FREE.
Birdman (3:00p, 6:30p — Union South Marquee)
FREE.
Lake Los Angeles (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
The third in his purported “Antelope Valley” trilogy, Mike Ott’s film finds a Cuban immigrant (Roberto Sanchez) and a little girl using their imaginations to pass the time in the hopeless desert. Sanchez will join via Skype for a post-screening Q&A. FREE
Tuesday
DamNation (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
You’d never think to have an opinion on dams before seeing this documentary on how America’s dams are shortchanging the vital life force of its rivers. Co-presented FREE by WUD Film and Hoofers Outing Club.
Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (9:30p — Union South Marquee)
When Rob Corddry’s douche bag billionaire from the first one is shot under mysterious circumstances, Craig Robinson and Clark Duke use those magical Jacuzzi bubbles for live-saving, debauchery-inducing purposes and accidentally send themselves to the future with Adam Scott. (Presumably a producer looked into the future and figured John Cusack would want more money.) WUD Film presents this FREE sneak preview.
Wednesday
Giant (1:15p, 7:15p — Sundance)
James Dean’s final role as ranch hand Jett Rink.
The Theory of Everything (6:30p — Pinney Branch Library)
Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne give strong performances in this Stephen Hawking biopic that’s keen on telling adult relationships in a mature way and telling its science-y stuff in a… less mature way. FREE.
Romanzo Criminale (7:00p –UW Sterling Building, Rm 2335)
Inspired by a novel inspired by a real-life Roman gang, this sprawling drama of one family’s descent into the Italian criminal underworld inspired a TV series in 2008. FREE.
The Hand That Feeds (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
Recipient of the Audience Award at the Full Frame Festival (and a standing ovation), The Hand That Feeds follows three undocumented Latino workers’ struggles to make a living in New York City. While I don’t know what a Hot & Crusty franchise is, I do know about unfair labor relations. Co-presented FREE by WUD Film and the Social Cinema Series.