Miranda July, whose short films grace MMoCA’s Rooftop Cinema this week, is a cold-blooded monster who must be stopped at all costs.
Friday
Rooftop Cinema: The Films of Miranda July (9:30p — MMoCA Rooftop’s Garden)
This week’s programming on the MMoCA rooftop, located outside Fresco on State Street, features the short films of writer-turned-performance artist-turned-musician-turned-filmmaker Miranda July. Union Film Program Advisor and UW Film Studies PhD candidate extraordinaire Tom Yoshikami has selected five of July’s short films from 1996 to 2003, widely ranging in length, subject matter and degree of optimism. Head on over to MMoCA’s Facebook page for details and the charming atmosphere. As usual, admission is free for MMoCA members and $7 for the general public and anyone wearing plaid.
Moonlight Movie Series: How to Train Your Dragon (7:00p — Duck Pond at Warner Park)
Madison Parks’ Moonlight Movies series continues this Friday with a free screening of Dreamworks’ 2010 hit How to Train Your Dragon at the Duck Pond. Sit in the park bleachers or frolic in the grassy knolls and watch the story of clumsy Viking “Hiccup” (Jay Baruchel) befriended the fiercest and cutest of all the dragons. Lilo & Stitch co-directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois outdo their previous work with taut storytelling and organic set pieces, and visual consultant Roger Deakins’ involvement shines through in its gorgeous animation. The tale itself is a predictable one, but as A.O. Scott said in his review: “tenderness, beauty and exhilaration are the movie’s great strengths.” There’s also: “John Powell’s music makes for one of the greatest frigging original scores in the past decade, bro.” That second part was said by me.
Before Midnight (Sundance, AMC Star)
Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy seem to have perfected their characters and performances to a stunning level of naturalism. What’s less certain is whether we can expect a Wooderson cameo in Richard Linklater’s latest entry in his Before series. I’ve seen several film writers argue that Before Sunrise, Sunset and now Midnight form the greatest film trilogy ever made, revisiting the changing relationship of this pair every nine years. I just wish I could remember whether this is a Marvel or DC property.
Man of Steel (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate, Sundance)
After Superman Returns’ miraculous plummet from box office success and critical favor, the Man of Steel is back in… Man of Steel. With the combined gloomy presences of director Zack Snyder and Batman scribe Jonathan Nolan, Warner Bros. seems keen on emphasizing a darker and more action-packed iteration of the Last Son of Krypton. Hopefully this one forgets all about Kal-El’s asthmatic bastard child Jason in Bryan Singer’s emo dealio. That was lame.
Monday
Lakeside Cinema: Mars Attacks! (9:00p — Memorial Union Terrace)
Would it blow your mind to know that the last original story Tim Burton told was Edward Scissorhands in 1991? No? Me neither I guess. Burton’s string of big-budget macabre adaptations really took off in 1996 with the darkly comic alien invasion film, Mars Attacks!, originally based on everyone’s favorite collectible card game from the 1960s. Fantastic.
Wednesday
Sundance Classics: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1:15p, 6:50p — Sundance)
First of all, it’s totally not cool that Sundance can rip off WUD’s Lakeside Cinema series. E.T. was already called, you guys. No double picks. Besides, you could’ve totally upgraded and shown the far superior alien buddy movie, Mac and Me. The director of Mannequin Two: On the Move struck a savvy creative partnership with America’s most humanitarian fast food chain to craft a rosy tone poem of friendship and Coca-Cola product placement. Mac and Me gets a bad rap for being an extended McDonald’s commercial, but if this ain’t cinema, I don’t know what be.