Roger Ebert was quite the fan of Akira Kurosawa’s “Ran,” which screens FREE Friday night at Union South.
Thursday
As Long As You’re Healthy, Land of Milk and Honey (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
The UW Cinematheque’s FREE series on French comic and filmmaker Pierre Étaix concludes with this double feature. The first, As Long As You’re Healthy, is a four-part meditation on mishaps and mental farts. That screening is followed up at 8:30p with Land of Milk and Honey, Étaix’s satirical documentary on French vacationers in 1968.
Meet-Up at the Movies: Grateful Dead’s Sunshine Daydream (7:30p — Point, Eastgate)
The third annual edition of “Meet-Up at the Movies” ought to appeal to any film fans with a sudden hankering for Red Rocks, Colorado. Digitally restored from its original 16mm print, Sunshine Daydream presents the Dead’s 1972 concert in all of its jammy, bare-footed glory.
Friday
Ran (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
The fine folks at the Cinematheque are supremely talented at securing 35mm prints of the films they screen, and the latest feature — Akira Kurosawa’s 164 minute interpretation of King Lear — in their Roger Ebert series with WUD Film is no exception. From Ebert’s The Great Movies: “Kurosawa has not told the story of a great man whose sin of pride drives him mad, but the story of a man who has waged war all his life, hopes to impose peace in his old age and unleashes even greater turmoil.”
All freakin’ weekend
At Any Price (Sundance)
The Screening Room Calendar returns to Sundance with Ramin Bahrani’s farm and family drama. Starring Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron, At Any Price details emotional and economical baggage in farming, particularly when it comes to selling land. According to Madison Movie blog’s Rob Thomas, that “unromanticized” depiction is one of the film’s assets, although I may just see it for the Zac Efron.
The Smurfs 2 (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
The evil Gargamel (Hank Azaria) continues his pursuit and capture of the Smurfs by creating evil versions of the creatures. Really, from its trailer alone, it would be easy to poke fun at Sony Pictures Animation’s sequel and its “DMV-level boredom”; for surrounding its message “with groin-smashing and farting”; for turning Brendan Gleeson into an enchanted duck. But this one’s probably for the kiddies anyway.
2 Guns (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg play two corrupt undercover officers who end up investigating each other, presumably finding a minimum of two firearms somewhere along the way.
Sunday
“Best of” the Madison 48 Hour Film Festival (6:00p — High Noon Saloon)
If you missed out on Sundance’s double screenings last week, check out the best films from Madison’s 48 Hour Film Festival Sunday night at the High Noon Saloon. Awards will be presented alongside the winning films. Tickets are $5 and cash only.
Monday
Little Shop of Horrors Sing-Along (9:00p — Memorial Union Terrace)
WUD Film’s FREE screening of this Frank Oz cult classic marks one of the rare exceptions to shutting the heck up during a movie. The comedic horror musical stars Rick Moranis as a nerdy florist who ends up raising a man-eating, blood-thirsty plant.
AMC Summer Nights: G.I. Joe: Retaliation (10:00p — AMC Star)
Monday through Wednesday, all proceeds from the $3 tickets to Jon Chu’s G.I. Joe sequel go towards autism research.
Tuesday
Chimpanzee (10:00a — Point, Eastgate)
Take the kids to see the (real) story of an orphaned baby chimpanzee’s struggle for adoption in the often unforgiving natural world. Narrated by that guy who voiced Buzz Lightyear, Marcus Theaters’ special kids programming takes another entry from the “Disneynature” catalogue.
Wednesday
Ghostbusters (1:45p, 7:10p — Sundance)
I’m assuming Sundance couldn’t help but include Ivan Reitman’s horror comedy in their Summer Classics series. It just popped in there.
We’re the Millers (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
Jennifer Aniston plays a stripper posing as pot dealer Jason Sudeikis’ fake wife, and their fake family smuggles Ed Helms’ marijuana shipment across the US-Mexican border in what looks like a pretty dark comedy. “Jennifer Aniston, stripper” might seem like an uncharacteristically risky move for the actress, but the fact that she’s being forced to strip at gunpoint is kinda messed up any way you spin it.
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
It may disappoint you to learn “Thor Freudenthal” isn’t the name of one of the dozens of monsters Logan Lerman fights in this sequel to The Lightning Thief. It’s the name of the director. Less disappointing is the return of Brandon T. Jackson as Lerman’s satyr best friend. There’s just no topping that.