Monica Vitti stars in Antonioni’s Italian classic “L’Avventura,” playing at the Cinematheque this Friday
Thursday
LOL Short Film Festival (12:00p, 2:15p — Point, Eastgate)
Today’s your last chance to see a collection of nine comedic shorts in a Marcus Theatre. There’s even a preview that’s appropriately short, too.
Starbuck (4:30p — Point, Eastgate)
The Great Gatsby (6:30p — Union South Marquee)
Regardless of one’s opinions on adaptations, Baz Luhrmann’s rendition of the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel is a lush, extravagant visual feast, pairing the director once again with Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role. Technically, WUD Film’s FREE Great Gatsby screenings started last night, but who’s counting, old sport?
Frances Ha (9:30p — Union South Marquee)
On Wednesday, WUD Film abruptly canceled their first screening of Frances Ha, where Noah Baumbach directs an aimless Greta Gerwig around New York City. To make up for it, they’ve added two additional ones. Bonuses for everybody!
Animal House (10:15p — Point, Eastgate)
Friday
The Great Gatsby (6:30p — Union South Marquee)
L’Avventura (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
When a woman goes missing in the Mediterranean, her lover and her best friend find themselves suddenly drawn together. Michelangelo Antonioni’s dense, complex Italian classic comes to the Cinematheque for FREE on a fresh 35mm print.
Frances Ha (9:30p — Union South Marquee)
Spring Breakers (Midnight — Union South Marquee)
In Spring Breakers, experimental director Harmony Korine finds a mesmerizing harmony in the vulgar exploits of four spring break-bound college girls and James Franco’s dreadlocked rapper-drug dealer “Alien.” You can look at WUD Film’s sheeyit twice this weekend at no charge.
All freakin’ weekend
Austenland (Sundance)
The wife of Napoleon Dynamite director Jared Hess, Jerusha Hess makes her directorial debut in a romcom about a Jane Austen theme park and the limits of fandom. Keri Russell stars as a Pride and Prejudice obsessive in search of Mr. Darcy. Er, Mr. Right.
Crystal Fairy (Sundance)
Since claiming the Best Directing award at Sundance earlier this year, Sebastian Silva has earned praise for this improvised, drug-fueled journey across Chile in search of a strange hallucinogen. As a wayward foreigner, Michael Cera has also drawn acclaim but the real star looks to be Gaby Hoffman, who plays the titular fairy. And no, Sundance doesn’t have a post-show chat where you take peyote with Cap Times’ Rob Thomas.
The Family (Sundance, AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
It’s been a while since Luc Besson’s scored a hit, but maybe The Family can change all that. Set in Normandy, the crime-comedy stars Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer as mobsters struggling to reform their illicit ways under a witness protection program. Can CIA agent Tommy Lee Jones keep them in line? And can anyone resurrect Robert De Niro’s career?
Insidious: Chapter 2 (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
In his 2011 horror film Insidious, director James Wan created a refreshing horror mythology rife with ghostly possessions and demons who strangely look like Darth Maul. Now, the Conjuring director is back with a followup that looks to further explore why the hell evil spirits are so obsessed with Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson’s kids. Get a life, guys.
Saturday
The Great Gatsby (6:00p, 9:00p — Union South Marquee)
Army of Shadows (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
Jean-Pierre Melville’s Army of Shadows depicts the French Resistance during the final year of Germany’s World War II occupation. Initially scorned by critics for its harsh portrayal of France’s wartime leaders, the film went unreleased in the United States for forty years before the world finally caught up to Melville’s vision. Now you too can catch up for FREE in the Cinematheque’s fall series.
Spring Breakers (Midnight — Union South Marquee)
Sunday
River of No Return (2:00p — Chazen Art Museum)
Otto Preminger directs Marilyn Monroe as a saloon singer in search of her missing husband. Add a hefty helping of Robert Mitchum as a helpful farmer and baby, you’ve got a stew goin! You’ve also got the Cinematheque’s latest in their FREE “Cinemascope” series at the Chazen Art Museum.
The Great Gatsby (3:00p — Union South Marquee)
Monday
Dazed and Confused (4:00p — Point, Eastgate)
A 4:20 screentime might have been more fitting for Richard Linklater’s 70’s throwback to high school nostalgia. On a related note, Madison Movie blog has a great piece on Marcus Theatres’ branching out with their programming.
McCartney & Wings: Rockshow (6:30p — Point, Eastgate)
You can pair this film, compiled from Paul McCartney’s 1976 North American tour, with the free popcorn (Monday through Thursday) Point Cinema is offering to celebrate their newly renovated theater.
Tuesday
McCartney & Wings: Rockshow (6:30p — Point, Eastgate)
Frances Ha (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
Dazed and Confused (9:30p — Point, Eastgate)
Wednesday
To Kill A Mockingbird (1:25p, 7:05p — Sundance)
Did you know a relatively unknown Robert Duvall plays Boo Radley in Robert Mulligan’s classic adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel? To achieve his sickly pale complexion in the film, Duvall allegedly avoided the sun for six weeks. Sixth grade me says that sounds like a mighty fine time.
Dazed and Confused (6:30p — Point, Eastgate)
McCartney & Wings: Rockshow (9:30p — Point, Eastgate)
Don Jon (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
In Don Jon, Joseph Gordon-Levitt only cares about a few things: His family, his boys, his girls, his body, his ride, and his porn. That last one about the porn may affect those other things, including the concerns of his new girl Scarlett Johansson. I only care about one thing: that WUD Film is offering a FREE sneak preview of Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut.
Frances Ha (9:30p — Union South Marquee)