Back-to-back DePalma, a pun-worthy pairing of wieners, and the “Best of” the 48 Hour Film Project
Friday
Dressed to Kill + Blow Out (7:00p + 9:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
DePalma’s Alfred Hitchcock obsessions are on display early with these back-to-back features. After witnessing one of cinema’s most stylish, shocking murders, Nancy Allen’s sex worker becomes the hunted one in Dressed to Kill. At 9:00p, Cinematheque presents Blow Out, where John Travolta’s sound tech picks up on some juicy assassination details while recording audio for a horror movie. (FREE admission.)
Saturday
“Best of the 48 Hour Film Project” (5:00p — High Noon Saloon)
Banana addictions. Distressed veterans. Time wizards. Rom-com send-ups. There’s a strong chance you’ll see many of Madison’s best 48 Hour Film Projects projected *outside* of YouTube at this “Best Of” screening. Teams will be awarded best use of required criteria as well as an overall “Best of Madison” award and “Audience Favorites” from both screenings at Sundance last month. ($5. Awards begin at 5:30p after drinks and pizza.)
Weiner + Wiener-Dog (6:30p + 8:30p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
What was at first envisioned as a document of Anthony Weiner’s 2013 mayoral run morphed into something weirder altogether, capturing the once-vaunted congressman’s bulge-induced fall from grace. Cinematheque is all but begging for a Rob Thomas pun with this double-feature, which is seemingly the only connection between Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg’s Sundance hit and a Todd Solondz joint. Wiener-Dog tracks its titular dachshund as it intersects with four separate groups. After a hit-or-miss summer schedule, Cinematheque is rebounding big time, and this opening weekend is a reminder of their vital role in bringing that arthouse circuit stuff to the city. (FREE admission.)
Monday
Creed (9:00p — Memorial Union Terrace)
As a series, Rocky lives and dies on its ability to inspire — specifically, with the perennial underdog story and an occasional crossover hit. To borrow from the most notable, “rising up” is what spiritual sequel Creed is all about. Michael B. Jordan as Apollo Creed’s son Adonis fits into that template brilliantly, leaving behind a cushy office job in California for cold, gray Philadelphia and naming Stallone’s old, dying Rocky Balboa as his ostensible “Mickey.” Ryan Coogler, who first teamed with Jordan on the far more relevant, far less successful Fruitvale Station has more room to flex here, playing with chicken chases and Bill Conti themes while managing to craft something that’s more than the sum of its references. Take note, Stranger Things. (FREE admission.)
Tuesday
The Departed (7:30p — Majestic Theatre)
Stylistically, The Departed is all over the place. Howard Shore’s flamenco-styled score is out of place, several metaphors are way too on the nose, and “Shipping Up to Boston” is still a mid-2000s death rattle anywhere outside of Fenway Park. And yet, this slice of lower-tier Scorsese somehow hasn’t shed its raw, foul-mouthed watchability in the decade since picking up its gold-plated apology at the Academy Awards. So thank you, Alec Baldwin. Thank you for everything. (FREE admission.)