The 1961 Hammer Horror classic “The Curse of the Werewolf” plays this Friday at the Cinematheque. FREE.
Thursday
Dirty Wars (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
Rick Rowley’s documentary, Dirty Wars, is based on Jeremy Scahill’s investigations into overseas U.S. covert operations. Before catching one of WUD Film’s two FREE screenings this week, read 77Square’s August piece on Scahill, a Wisconsin native.
Dislecksia: The Movie (7:00p — Point, Eastgate)
Did you know Billy Bob Thornton and Joe Pantoliano are both dyslexic actors? Award-winning director Harvey Hubbell V’s documentary Dislecksia: The Movie takes an incisive look at the disorder and some of the icons who suffer from it in this exclusive Marcus Theatres event.
Our Children (7:00p — Madison Museum of Contemporary Art)
The Belgian-French psychodrama Our Children, the latest entry in MMoCA’s “Spotlight Cinema,” is drawn from the very real story of a Belgian mother who murdered her five children. Here’s Rob Thomas with a fine advance review over at Madison Movie Blog. Admission is FREE to museum members and $7 for general audiences.
CBGB (7:30p — Point, Eastgate)
A dramatic recreation of the famous punk rock nightclub and its colorful cast of regulars, CBGB features performances from Malin Ackerman, Justin Bartha, and Alan Rickman, as iconic club owner Hilly Kristal.
The Blair Witch Project (10:00p — Union South Marquee)
Using a record-setting low budget to its advantage, The Blair Witch Project’s minimalist approach to horror is what makes it so terrifying. 14 years later, the scares still hold up. Here’s our own Mitchell Brachmann on what WUD Film’s FREE selection has in common with one of 2013’s best.
Friday
Dirty Wars (6:00p — Union South Marquee)
The Curse of the Werewolf (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
Imagine if a freaking werewolf were your career’s first credited onscreen appearance. For Oliver Reed, who plays an 18th century version of creature in The Curse of the Werewolf, he didn’t have to imagine. The Hammer Horror staple screens FREE as part of the UW Cinematheque’s “International Horror Classics” series.
The Shining (8:30p — Union South Marquee)
–Boy… you read my thoughts! You’ve got the Shinning.
–You mean “Shining”.
–Shh! You want to get sued? Now look, boy: if your Dad goes gaga, you just use that… Shin of yours to call me and I’ll come a running. But don’t be reading my mind between four and five. That’s Willy’s time!
Unlike a Simpsons “Treehouse of Horror” episode, there’s no threat of a lawsuit this weekend when WUD Film screens Stanley Kubrick’s classic adaptation of the Stephen King novel on Friday and Saturday. FREE.
The Blair Witch Project (11:59p — Union South Marquee)
All freakin’ weekend
Celtic Film Festival (Union South Marquee)
On Saturday and Sunday, the Celtic Cultural Center, WUD Film and the UW-Madison Celtic Studies program present the Celtic Film Festival. The festival, which is FREE, runs all weekend at the Union South Marquee and features award-winner tragicomedy Garage, animated films, and several collections of shorts.
I Used to Be Darker (Sundance)
An Irish runaway (Deragh Campbell) seeks refuge and lives with her American relatives in Baltimore — only she doesn’t find the perfect escape she was expecting. This family drama is the latest in Sundance’s Screening Room Calendar.
A.C.O.D. (Sundance)
In A.C.O.D. (or “Adult Child of Divorce”), Adam Scott discovers he was an unwilling participant of a divorce study as a child when years later, he’s recruited for the subsequent followup. Amy Poehler, Catherine O’Hara, and Richard Jenkins co-star in Stu Zicherman’s comedy.
Carrie (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
First there was Brian DePalma in 1976. Then David Carson made his much-maligned TV version in 2002. Now, Kimberly Peirce tries her hand at adapting Stephen King’s breakout novel, recruiting the likes of Julianne Moore (as Margaret White) and Chloe Grace-Moretz as the hideous, tortured teen with telekinetic powers. Wait, her?
Escape Plan (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone have already shared screentime in The Expendables movies, but Escape Plan forgoes the distractions of the Stathams and Lis of the world so the pair, playing two inmates in a maximum security prison, can devise the perfect… escape plan. Their advantage? Stallone’s the man who designed the prison in the first place.
Chinese Zodiac (AMC Star)
If National Treasure had a child with The Tuxedo, it would probably resemble something close to Chinese Zodiac. Starring (and directed by!) Jackie Chan, the action adventure film finds Jackie on a worldwide search for 12 ancient animal heads from the Chinese Zodiac. Or roughly the arc of that Jackie Chan Adventures television show.
The Fifth Estate (Sundance, AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
Alex Gibney’s excellent documentary We Steal Secrets may have already come out, but Bill Condon and R.J. Cutler are committed to bringing a more melodramatic account of the rise of WikiLeaks and subsequent controversy over the “War Logs” documents. Featuring Daniel Brühl, Laura Linney and Benedict Cumberbatch, as WikiLeaks founder Khan Noonien Singh. Er, as Julian Assange.
Saturday
Coraline 3D (10:00a — Point, Eastgate)
This weekend, Marcus Theatres’ bargain matinee selection is Henry Selick’s Coraline 3D, an uniquely envisioned family film about learning to appreciate what you have while avoiding horrifying Teri Hatcher spiders.
Stroszek (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
Ex-con Stroszek (Bruno S.) leaves Berlin to live the American dream in smalltown Wisconsin. Well, maybe less than the American dream. This masterwork is the third in the Cinematheque’s FREE “Four From Herzog” series. Unless you’re counting their Nosferatu The Vampyre fundraiser later this month, too. You should probably count that.
The Shining (11:30p — Union South Marquee)
Sunday
Coraline 3D (11:00a — Point, Eastgate)
The Long Gray Line (2:00p — Chazen Art Museum)
For The Long Gray Line, John Ford shot this study of West Point instructor Marty Maher (Tyrone Power) in the CinemaScope format. The film chronicles the amazing life of Maher’s Irish immigrant, who made his way up the American military academy’s ranks from a humble beginning as a dishwasher. The Long Gray Line is the latest film in Cinematheque’s FREE “CinemaScope at 60” series at the Chazen.
Monday
This is Martin Bonner (3:00p, 7:30p — Point, Eastgate)
This festival hit drama stars Paul Eenhoorn as Martin Bonner, a priest-turned-volunteer coordinator of ex-convicts. Richmond Arquette plays Martin’s latest project, Travis Holloway, a man struggling to return to the life, and his now grown daughter, he once left behind.
Searching for Sugar Man (5:15p — Point; 12:30p, 5:15p — Eastgate)
One of 2012’s purest feel-good films, this documentary tracks the brilliant promise and brushing seclusion of unsung musician Rodriguez and his enduring legacy on folk music and the people of South Africa. Len Ziegler reviewed Sugar Man earlier this year.
Gone With the Pope (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
Remaining unfinished for nearly 30 years after director Duke Mitchell’s death, Gone With the Pope has been resurrected from the depths of obscurity with the help of cult film distributor, Grindhouse Releasing. Of course, thanks are also owed to the UW Cinematheque and WUD Film. Marquee Mondays brings this tale of four convicts’ plan to hold the pope for ransom to the Union South Marquee. FREE.
An American Hippie in Israel (8:30p — Union South Marquee)
And it’s a double feature! Following Gone With the Pope, the Cinematheque and WUD Film screen this long-forgotten production. Ahser Tzarfati stars as the “hippie” in question in a bizarre road movie that mixes crime, science-fiction and supreme weirdness in equal measure. FREE.
Friday the 13th (9:30p — Point, Eastgate)
Everyone associates masked killer Jason with the Friday the 13th films, but too many forget that his mother started this whole 12 movie affair back in 1980. All week, Marcus Theatres screens the original, in all of its Pamela Voorhees glory.
Tuesday
Searching for Sugar Man (3:00p — Point, Eastgate)
This is Martin Bonner (5:15p — Point; 12:30p, 5:15p — Eastgate)
Ingredients (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
Co-presented by WUD Film, Slow Food UW, and FH King, this documentary looks at the growing appeal of buying locally-grown produce in the face of America’s over-processed food industries.
CBGB (7:30p — Point, Eastgate)
Friday the 13th (10:00p — Point, Eastgate)
Wednesday
The Matrix (1:35p, 6:55p)
I imagine that, upon learning that the Wachowski’s sci-fi film is Sundance’s featured Classic this week, you’re feeling a bit like Alice, tumbling down the rabbit hole. Hmm? You think that’s air you’re breathing?
Friday the 13th (2:15p — Eastgate)
This is Martin Bonner (4:45p — Point; 12:00p, 4:45p — Eastgate)
Bully (6:30p — Central Public Library, Rm 302)
The library takes a break from its weekly film series with Lee Hirsch’s documentary on the troubling presence of bullying in American classrooms. FREE.
Gasland Part II (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
Filmmaker Josh Fox puts the fossil fuel industry and its claims of natural gas as “clean energy” on trial in this followup to his startling 2010 documentary. Co-presented by WUD Film and the UW Havens Center.
Searching for Sugar Man (10:15p — Point, Eastgate)