“What’s Playing, Madison?” arrives late this week. It may smell a little funky, but rest assured it’s still good for a few days.
Thursday
The Hunt (1:30p, 4:15p, 6:50p, 9:30p — Point; 1:40p, 4:20p, 7:20p, 10:10p — Eastgate)
Guy Maddin on “Loss in Cinema” (6:00p — Conrad A. Elvehjem Building)
Okay, so it’s not a film per se, but this is Guy Maddin, one of documentary film’s prodigal sons. Before he stops by the Cinematheque on Friday, Maddin will deliver a FREE talk on themes of loss in cinema.
The Burning (6:30p — Central Madison Library, Rm 302)
A kitschy-er sendup of Friday the 13th, “Bad Cinema’s” The Burning features a disfigured caretaker taking revenge on the campers who horribly burned him. See it FREE — and quickly, before Jason Alexander and Holly Hunter can prevent you from seeing their big screen debuts.
Inequality for All (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
Il Mostro (7:00p — UW-Madison Education Building, L196)
“La Cineteca” presents this Italian-language comedy about a man who’s mistaken for a rabid serial-killer. Comedy, somehow, ensues. FREE.
The Hunt (9:30p — Union South Marquee)
Friday
My Winnipeg (2:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
Guy Maddin returns on Friday with two more appearances. The first finds the director introducing his 2007 pseudo-documentary, My Winnipeg, a personal ode to Maddin’s home town that cleverly blends archival footage with surreal, fictional re-enactments. FREE.
Heenetiinetoo3eihiiho’ (Language Healers) (6:00p — Upper Carson Gulley center)
The importance of preserving native languages takes precedence in this documentary on linguistic revitalization. Presented FREE by the UW-Madison Languages Institute, the easy part’s getting in. The hard part? Probably pronunciation.
Remember Last Night? (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
A couple wake the morning after a raucous night of partying only to discover their gracious host has been murdered. While James Whale’s Remember Last Night? couldn’t directly be associated with Maddin — the hilarious whodunit was first released in 1935 — Maddin will once again grace the Cinematheque audience with his presence discussing his love of the film and other creative influences. FREE.
The Hunt (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
Gravity (9:30p — Union South Marquee)
Mulholland Drive (11:30p — Union South Marquee)
Ostensibly the story of an aspiring actor (Naomi Watts) desperate to find her big break in Hollywood, Mulholland Drive raises more questions than it cares to answer when it turns in on itself. Is it all a dream? Are these alternate realities? Is David Lynch just plain mean to his audience? Probably a combination of the three. FREE.
All freakin’ weekend
In Secret (Sundance, AMC Star, Point)
Elizabeth Olsen stars as young, sexually-deprived woman who begins a love affair with Oscar Isaac. Based on Émile Zola’s novel Thérèse Raquin, the film also features performances from Jessica Lange and a weirdly brunette Tom Felton.
The Great Beauty (Sundance)
Quietly gracing dozens of critics’ Top Ten lists last year, La grande bellezza finds an Italian journalist re-assessing every facet of his socialite lifestyle. After the February 25th 7:00p screening, you can even stop by the Overflow Bar and chat with the Cap Times’ Rob Thomas about it.
Pompeii (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
Judging from its marketing, Paul W.S. Anderon’s 3D disaster film Pompeii aims to deliver one thing and one thing only: a big ass volcano. Starting this weekend, you can see it in Marcus Point’s new DLX theater with immersive Dolby Atmos sound technology, which ought to help with that big ass volcano.
3 Days to Kill (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
Featuring three of today’s hottest young stars in Amber Heard, Haillee Steinfeld and Kevin Costner, a dying secret agent agrees to one last job in exchange for a potentially life-saving technology.
Saturday
Smurfs 2 (10:00a — Point, Eastgate)
Marcus Theatres’ Smurf-tastic Kids Dream series continues with the Smurf-iest family film to Smurf its way into theaters last year. At $2.00 a ticket, that’s a Smurfin’ good deal. (I have no idea what any of that means, but Smurf it!)
“Best Picture Festival” — Day One (12:00p — AMC Star; 2:35p — Point, Eastgate)
The 86th Academy Awards are less than two weeks away and you’re not prepared. You’ve tried to get a jump on this year’s Oscar fare, but for some reason Gangster Squad didn’t make the cut among the best films of 2013. There’s still time to catch up with the two-day “Best Picture Festival” February 22 and March 1. Day One includes four of 2014’s Best Picture nominees: Nebraska, Captain Phillips, Gravity, and The Wolf of Wall Street. Who ever said cramming is only for college midterms?
Captain Phillips (2:00p — Pinney Branch Library)
Paul Greengrass’s true-to-life thriller of one ship captain taking on Somali pirates begins “Watch the Winners,” the Pinney Branch’s FREE series of awards-worthy films.
Post Mortem, Tony Manero, and No (2:00p, 4:00p, and 7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
It’s a triple feature in the “New Chilean Cinema” series with three films (and an hour-long intermission) by Chile’s very own Pablo Larraín. Arranged in their true historical chronology, Cinematheque and UW LACIS conclude their partnership with Larraín’s triptych of life under dictator Augusto Pinochet. FREE.
Gravity (7:00p, 9:30p — Union South Marquee)
Mulholland Drive (11:30p — Union South Marquee)
Sunday
Smurfs 2 (11:00a — Point, Eastgate)
Notorious (2:00p — Chazen Art Museum)
This isn’t just the latest in Cinematheque’s “Hitchcock Masterworks” series. IT’s also the freaking cover of their gorgeous 2014 spring calendar. That’s as ringing an endorsement as I can see. FREE.
Gravity (3:00p — Union South Marquee)
Micro-Wave Cinema presents Exit Elena and Soft in the Head (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
A double-dose of films from Nathan Silver, the evening’s programming features Exit Elena, a story of an aimless young woman who finds work as a live-in aide for another family, and Soft in the Head, which follows a young woman around the Big Apple after she’s evicted from her apartment. Silver will join via Skype for a post-show Q&A. FREE.
Monday
Oscar-nominated live-action short films (12:00p, 5:10p, 10:15p — Eastgate)
If you live closer to East Towne Mall and the prospect of walking to Sundance during all this snow sounds less than enticing to you, you’re in luck. Marcus Eastgate’s bringing 2014’s nominated animated and live-action short films to your side of town, too.
Oscar-nominated animated short films (2:35p, 7:45p — Eastgate)
God Loves Uganda (6:00p — Union South Marquee)
The political climate in Uganda is pretty frightening right now, especially for the LGBT community. God Loves Uganda argues that the Christian evangelical movement had a great deal of influence on the country today, including a proposed death penalty for homosexuals. Co-presented FREE by WUD Film and Tawi UW.
Tuesday
Oscar-nominated live-action short films (10:45a, 3:50p, 9:45p — Eastgate)
Oscar-nominated animated short films (1:20p — Eastgate)
Zelig (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
Woody Allen’s mockumentary stars himself (of course) as a man out of time, who takes on the qualities and mannerisms of those around him. Could this selection be WUD Film making a sly commentary on Allen’s recent shifting public image? Could it just be a really good movie? We may never know. FREE.
Wednesday
Oscar-nominated animated short films (12:00p, 5:10p, 10:15p — Eastgate)
Oscar-nominated live-action short films (2:35p, 7:45p — Eastgate)
On the Waterfront (1:25p, 7:15p — Sundance)
Some wouldn’t claim Elia Kazan’s legendary drama marks a long-overdue return to form for Sundance Cinemas Madison’s “Classics.” But I would.
Cairo Station (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
Youssef Chahine’s 1958 Egyptian drama finds a disabled paperboy falling in love with a beautiful drink vendor. Co-presented FREE by WUD Film and the Center for Humanities Research Workshop on “New Media and Mass/Popular Culture.”
Shadows of Liberty: The Truth Behind the News Media Cover-ups and Control (7:00p — Barrymore Theater)
Shadows of Liberty looks at the corrupting power of wealth on the modern state of U.S. media. Presented by the Center for Media and Democracy. A $5.00 donation at the door will benefit both WORT FM and the Center.