“Expedition to the End of the World” is just one of 37 films playing this weekend at The Tales From Planet Earth Film Festival.
Thursday
Plan 9 From Outer Space 3D (12:20p, 10:00p — Point; 12:00p, 10:00p — Eastgate)
Rosemary’s Baby (4:45p — Point, Eastgate)
Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop (2:30p, 7:45p — Point; 2:15p, 7:45p — Eastgate)
The Impossible (7:00p, 9:30p — Union South Marquee)
In 2004, an earthquake and resulting tsunami from the Indian Ocean destroyed several countries with deaths numbering in the hundreds of thousands. J.A. Bayona’s The Impossible attempts to revisit the devastating natural disaster through a combination of digital and real-world special effects. FREE.
Friday
Tales of Manhattan (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
Charles Boyer plays a man who learns his coat has been cursed in Julien Duvivier’s 1942 drama. Also starring Rita Hayworth, Edward G. Robinson, Charles Laughton, Ginger Rogers, and Henry Fonda, Tales of Manhattan is the UW Cinematheque’s sole screening this weekend. FREE.
All freakin’ weekend
Tales from Planet Earth Festival (Union South Marquee, Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 4070 Vilas Hall, Chazen Art Museum)
Thankfully, the absence of regular Cinematheque programming has been filled by the return of the environmentally-minded film festival, Tales from Planet Earth. Co-sponsored by the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, WUD Film, the Cinematheque and the Chazen Museum of Art, this year’s event centers on the theme of “futures” and features 37 separate films, everything from Marie-Hélène Cousineau’s powerful Inuit story Before Tomorrow to a student film workshop. The festival kicks off this Friday at 7:00p with a storytelling roundtable featuring UW artist-in-residence and festival programmer Alex Rivera. FREE. See the festival’s website for complete listings.
12 Years a Slave (Sundance)
Since its premiere at Telluride, film critics have sung the praises of 12 Years a Slave for two whole months. Now, Steve McQueen’s telling of the true story of Solomon Northup, a free man sold into slavery in 1841, comes to Madison.
Big Sur (Sundance)
Featuring Josh Lucas, Kate Bosworth, and Stana Katic (from ABC’s Castle), Big Sur recalls a trio of trips to a remote cabin by beat poet Jack Kerouac (here as alter-ego “Jack Duluoz”).
Last Vegas (Sundance, AMC Star, Point Eastgate)
Robert DeNiro, Kevin Kline, Michael Douglas and Morgan Freeman are four lifelong buddies celebrating the final hurrah of their last remaining bachelor friend. Given the acting talent Jon Turtletaub gets to direct here, I’ll be calling this “National Treasures” from this point forward.
Inequality For All (Point)
Jacob Kornbluth directs this documentary on income equality, largely as filtered through the ideas of American political economist Robert Reich.
Ender’s Game (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
First published in 1985, Orson Scott Card’s massively popular science-fiction novel took nearly 30 years to make it to the big screen. Alongside an over-sized supporting cast including Hailee Steinfeld, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis and Harrison Ford, Hugo’s Asa Butterfield is Ender Wiggin, a genius youth secretly recruited to defend Earth from an impending alien threat.
Arrambam (AMC Star)
Ajith Kumar stars as a man hellbent on exposing dirty cops’ plans to develop flawed bullet proof vests in this Tamil language thriller.
Krissh 3 (AMC Star)
The third film in Bollywood’s superhero sci-fi franchise, Hrithik Roshan is the titular hero who must save the world from destruction at the hands of mutants.
Free Birds (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
Why not a Thanksgiving-themed animated movie? At least, that’s what Relativity Media asks in this animated feature where two turkeys (Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson) vow to take the bird off our holiday menu.
Man of Tai Chi (AMC Star)
Keanu Reeves displayed an impressive understanding of cinema technology in the excellent 2012 documentary Side by Side. But what does Neo he know about being behind the camera? The actor’s directorial debut, Man of Tai Chi blends English and Chinese languages to loosely re-tell the story of stuntman Tiger Chen, Reeves’ friend, as he battles in an underground fight club.
Saturday
How to Train Your Dragon 3D (10:00a — Point, Eastgate)
Marcus’ family film series features the delightful story of clumsy young Viking Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) who befriends a dangerous species of dragon. There’s also the astonishing compositions of John Powell. John Powell. John Powell. John Powell.
Sunday
How to Train Your Dragon 3D (11:00a — Point, Eastgate)
Dirty Harry (1:35p — Sundance)
You probably know Clint Eastwood’s famous lines by now. But do you know much of Dirty Harry’s plot surrounding the “Scorpio Killer” was inspired by the ongoing “Zodiac” investigation sweeping much of California in the 1970s? Sundance’s Classics movie doubles up on night shifts again this week with Don Siegel’s crime thriller.
Monday
Frances Ha (12:00p, 4:50p, 9:40p — Point; 4:50p, 9:40p — Eastgate)
Director Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig follow up Greenberg with this 2012 collaboration, the story of an aimless Brooklynite trying to find her place in a big city.
The Big Lebowski (2:10p, 7:00p — Point, Eastgate)
Jeff Bridges stars as “The Dude,” a lazy Los Angeles stoner who becomes unwittingly a part of a hostage negotiation in the Coens’ masterful neo-noir about nothing. And everything. Wait, what day is this?
Tuesday
Frances Ha (12:00p, 2:10p, 7:00p — Point; 2:10p, 7:00p — Eastgate)
The Big Lebowski (4:20p, 9:00p — Point, Eastgate)
Wednesday
Frances Ha (3:10p, 5:20p — Point, Eastgate)
The Big Lebowski (12:25p, 9:50p — Point; 12:00p, 9:50p — Eastgate)
Dirty Harry (1:50p, 7:05p — Sundance)
More Than Honey (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
Another “Social Cinema” screening, this in-depth documentary takes a measured look at the intricacies of honey bee colonies around the world. Nathan Clarke of “Mad Urban Bees” will host a discussion after the film. Co-presented by WUD Film and the UW Havens Center.