“This isn’t flying… this is falling with style!”
Graduation was last weekend which means you’re all free to gloat about the freed up parking spaces and shorter bar lines. Oh, and best wishes to all those who graduated, too. Something, something leaders of tomorrow.
Thursday
The Hangover Part III (AMC Star, Eastgate, Point, Sundance)
Hoping to get a leg up on this weekend’s ridiculous slew of new releases, The Hangover Part III opens today. Reviews have been negative and its midnight earnings do not bode well, but since when is a trilogy’s strongest installment its third? More importantly, since when is there a “Hangover Trilogy?”
Fast & Furious Mini-Marathon (5:15p, Eastgate)
In anticipation of Fast & Furious 6, Eastgate is running a mini-marathon tonight, screening Justin Lin’s latest car heist blockbuster after back-to-back showings of Fast & Furious and Fast Five. But if six hours of Jordana Brewster’s eyebrows are enough to make you wait for Furious 6 to open wide tomorrow, we’ve whipped up a spiffy cheat sheet of the franchise’s best and worst entries. As a quick preview, you will never have a good reason to watch 2 Fast 2 Furious again.
Friday
The Reluctant Fundamentalist (Sundance)
Sundance adds The Reluctant Fundamentalist to its Screening Room Calendar, a story of terrorism, corporate intrigue and the American Dream. Rob Thomas over at his “Madison Movie” blog says director Mira Nair’s post-9/11 film benefits from some distance and perspective on the subjects it tackles, even if things get off to a hokey start.
If that don’t suit your fancy, Free the Mind is apparently sticking around for another week at Sundance. Mostly made right here in Madison, Rob says this is “a compassionate and curious film about the real-world implications of some fascinating research happening right in our backyard.” We just pimp his reviews now.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show + The Human Aftertaste (Doors at 7:00p, Majestic Theatre)
What could be a more appropriate followup to the Majestic’s costumed, liquored up presentation of Rocky Horror Picture Show than a performance art group of musicians with song titles like “Gay Satanic Sex Orgy?” No, seriously. What could be more appropriate? Tickets are $5, costumes are encouraged, and virgins are welcome.
All weekend
Drive-In triple feature (Highway 18 Drive-In, Fri, Sat, Sun)
If you’re up for a little travel, Jefferson’s Highway 18 Drive-In has a triple feature this Friday, Saturday and Sunday with Star Trek Into Darkness, G.I. JOE: Retaliation, and an added bonus in Christopher Mihm’s The Giant Spider. The box office opens at 7:30p and the fun starts at dusk at the corner of Highway 18 and 89.
Epic (AMC Star, Eastgate, Point)
For an animated release that looks so very blah, 20th Century Fox really whiffed on naming this thing. Still, the story of a girl who magically shrinks only to discover a second world that’s been right in front her the entire time (!) might appeal to the family crowd. At least until Monsters University destroys everything in its adorable little path.
The Iceman (Eastgate, Point)
While working for various New York crime syndicates, Richard “The Iceman” Kuklinski may have killed up to 250 people by his own estimates, though many of his victims were simply people who rubbed him the wrong way. Naturally, Ariel Vroman and Millennium Films thought this would make for an entertaining story. Michael Shannon will surely amaze in the title role. This will not appeal to the family crowd.
Monday
E.T. the Extra Terrestrial (9:00p, Memorial Union Terrace)
This summer’s “Lakeside Cinema” series, aptly titled “Outta This World,” kicks off with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin classic, E.T. the Extra Terrestrial. Along with a “cornfield scene” that scared the bajeezus out of all the children, Spielberg captured the imaginations of audiences everywhere with this heart-warming tale of friendship, loss, and family, and all with the help of a cuddly little alien. My chest hurts. By no right should E.T. have turned out as well as it did, but Spielberg’s home run is one of the many reasons the summer of ’82 is considered one of cinema’s greatest. I want to go to there.
For a complete rundown of the summer series, check out WUD Film’s schedule