A Rocky Horror “Freakshow,” Beyond Measure and um, well…
Friday
The Rocky Horror Picture Show Black Friday Brew ‘n View (9:30p — Majestic Theatre)
Majestic’s “Brew ‘n Views” can vary in quality or originality but their dedication to annual Big Lebowski and Rocky Horror screenings is unassailable. Now in its fourth year, Majestic is bringing in Madison’s own “Velvet Darkness” cast to partake in the glorious, virgin-shaming re-enactments of the cult classic. (Doors at 8:30p)
Saturday
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2:00p — Hawthorne Library)
You know it’s a light week if we’re giving the nod to a Marvel Studios movie surely everyone’s seen by now. Age of Ultron, featuring James Spader’s creepy, self-aware A.I., doesn’t break new ground like its predecessor. But Joss Whedon’s breezy direction and fast-and-loose pacing still make this MCU entry a solid if not altogether memorable entry. (FREE via “Adult Swim Theater.”)
Sunday
Roman Holiday (2:00p, 7:00p — Point Cinema)
Audrey Hepburn is, understandably, recognized above all else as the icon behind Breakfast at Tiffany’s. William Wyler’s 1953 devil-may-care effort however feels more at home with Hepburn’s persona. Out to see Italy on her own, an intrepid modern day princess (Hepburn) is followed by Gregory Peck’s journalist, who ends up getting more than just a story out of it.
Tuesday
The September Issue (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
Drama in the fashion world doesn’t end with The Devil Wears Prada. R.J. Cutler, who explored campaign machinations with Bill Clinton campaign doc The War Room and and co-documented Oliver North’s senate race (A Perfect Candidate), looks at the editorial ups-and-downs that led to Vogue‘s September 2007 spread — an issue that weighed in at just under five pounds. (FREE.)
Wednesday
Beyond Measure (7:00p — Barrymore Theatre)
As a classic Calvin & Hobbes strip illustrates, there’s a difference between learning and memorizing. We have no shortage of opinions on what’s wrong with the American educational system, as any number of documentaries from Waiting for “Superman” to Amanda Rose Wilder’s excellent Approaching the Elephant can attest. Screening for FREE at the Barrymore’s area premiere, this sounds like it’s in the latter camp of looking at constructive, reform-based approaches. Sampling innovative and “outside the box” thinking, first-time director Vicki Abeles looks at the various small “revolutions” taking place in school systems as geographically and economically different as Kentucky and New York City. The Progressive‘s Ruth Caniff will moderate a discussion after the screening.
Caterina in the Big City (7:00p — Helen C. White Building, Rm 4281)
“La Cineteca” screens this 2003 rollercoaster of an Italian language comedy in which its titular teenager (Alice Teghil) endures her domineering struggling writer of a father (Sergio Castellitto) and a move from the countryside to Rome. At her new school, Caterina is torn between two politically-opposed social factions, relationships which Caterina’s father is eager to exploit for the chance of finding success. (FREE.)
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
With the wide release of this cheeky twist on Jane Austen’s Victorian classic still months away, WUD Film has announced a FREE advance screening of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Seth Grahame-Smith’s pulp mashup is exactly what it sounds like, retooling the biographies of Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley) and Mr. Wickham (Jack Huston) for an alternate literary world where Elizabeth Bennett (Lily James) is trained in hand-to-hand combat. The “stricken” undead are treated as a background presence before things really go off the rails, but hopefully’s this adaptation from Igby Steers (a veteran director of rom-coms) retains the punky, in-your-face rebelliousness of its advertising.