Thursday
Forward (6:30p — Central Madison Library, Rm 302)
LakeFront Cinema is back for the new year, and LakeFrontRow.com and the Madison Public Library’s Central Cinema program are proud (and a tad late) to ring it in with Forward. As anyone who’s set foot near Hilldale in the last 12 months knows, there are plenty of documentaries on the 2011 Act 10 protests but there aren’t a lot of good ones. Madison’s own Stumptown Media gets it right. Forward looks to the journalists, the protesters, first responder representatives, and the Tom Morellos of the community for a kaleidoscopic oral history of Wisconsin progressives and their response to Governor Walker’s legislation. Co-director Matt Mullins will be on hand to discuss the only Act 10 documentary worth your time. It’s going to be a great, politically-charged time! FREE.
Dear White People (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
If there’s anything recent events have helped to reinforce, it’s the reality that the black experience in America is a decidedly uneven one. But what’s the big deal if my white friends dress up in black face, wear fake dreads, and throw on a rasta hat? Justin Simien’s dramedy, in which racial tensions coming to a frothy head after a white fraternity throws a “black-themed” party, has more questions than answers but they’re still important, if scattered, ones. (And Teyonnah Parris can do no wrong.) There’s even a moderated discussion following Sunday’s presentation. Co-presented FREE by WUD Film, UW Housing, and the Multicultural Center.
Blade Runner: The Director’s Cut (9:30p — Union South Marquee)
Years ago, a machine departed from its master’s orders and went rogue, inciting change and free thinking that greatly diverged from the hegemonic status quo of the time. I’m talking about Ridley Scott re-cutting Blade Runner into a studio-unapproved version, but that also describes Rutger Hauer’s gang of vigilante replicants, who ignore their programming and force Harrison Ford’s Rick Deckard to hunt them down in dystopian Los Angeles. WUD Film is projecting one of the greatest works of modern science-fiction on 35mm in all of its narration-free, alternate ending glory. FREE.
All freakin’ weekend
Oscar Shorts 2015: Animated, Live Action, Documentary (Sundance)
It’s the annual tradition of pretending to care about what the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences thinks. Selection bias aside, the Oscar-nominated short films always offer some surprises and under-seen gems. Friends at Madison Film Forum have lovely previews of the live-action and animated short films (with one on the documentary shorts coming later today), including what sounds like a rather charming piece of animation from the Netherlands.
A Most Violent Year (Sundance, AMC Star, Point)
1981 was a record year for the Big Apple, at least if you’re keeping track of city violence. J.C. Chandor (All is Lost, Margin Call) tracks fuel supplier Oscar Isaac as he attempts to withstand New York City’s corruption and murder in this period crime thriller. Still on the fence? Two words: Jessica Chastain.
Project Almanac (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate, Stoughton Cinema Café)
Young, promising minds discover the power of time travel and use it to try and correct past mistakes which in no way backfires on them.
The Loft (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
A remake of what was once the most successful Flemish movie of all time, The Loft kills Rachael Taylor under mysterious circumstances and then tasks its cast of five leading males to uncover the secret amid their adultering ways. Always pushing the envelope, Hollywood.
Black or White (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
Octavia Spencer (“black”) and Kevin Costner (“white”) engage in a custody battle over their biracial granddaughter (Jillian Estell) in what’s shaping up to be a nifty dissection of “white frustrations.” Always pushing the envelope, Hollywood.
Friday
Dear White People (6:00p — Union South Marquee)
Co-presented FREE by WUD Film, UW Housing, and the Multicultural Center.
The Go-Go Boys: The Inside Story of Cannon Films + Runaway Train (7:00p, 8:45p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
In addition to providing inspiration for a pair of awesome Star Trek names, Israeli-born cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus were also among the most successful independent producers in film history, releasing over 300 features through Cannon Films. As an introductory piece to their Cannon retrospective celebration, Cinematheque will show this insightful documentary on the highest highs and lowliest lows of the studio that brought you Jean-Luc Godard’s King Lear and Breakin’ without batting an eye. FREE.
Cannon was also responsible for Runaway Train, Andrei Konchalovsky’s 1985 action thriller that may or may not have been borrowed from Akira Kurosawa. Whatever the case, this manhunt for two escaped convicts doesn’t need the aura of Kurosawa as it boasts not one but two stellar performances from the convicts in question, Jon Voigt and Eric Roberts. FREE.
Blade Runner: The Director’s Cut (8:45p — Union South Marquee)
FREE.
John Wick (11:30p — Union South Marquee)
FREE.
Saturday
Lucy (2:30p — Hawthorne Branch Library)
Hawthorne Library’s “Adult Swim Theater” presents this Scarlett Johansson piece of ridiculousness in which her titular pushover-turned-action hero learns to use 100% of her brainpower. (I know this is inaccurate brain science because I have a library card.) FREE.
Blade Runner: The Director’s Cut (6:00p — Union South Marquee)
FREE.
The Magnificent Ambersons + The Stranger (7:00p, 8:30p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
We will probably never know what Orson Welles’ original vision for The Magnificent Ambersons looked like, but the RKO version we got was plenty good anyway. At the turn of the century, the Amberson family fortune is in decline just as the automobile industry is on the upswing in this story of industry, pride, and unrequited love. The Cinematheque follows up last weekend’s presentation of Citizen Kane with Orson Welles’ follow-up to Citizen Kane. Hey, wait a minute… FREE.
Not to be outdone by their own Friday night double feature, C’tek is also screening The Stranger, where Welles’ Nazi fugitive evades capture by hiding out in the United States under a false alias and the protection of his wife (Loretta Young) and professorship. FREE.
Dear White People (8:30p — Union South Marquee)
Co-presented FREE by WUD Film, UW Housing, and the Multicultural Center.
John Wick (11:00p — Union South Marquee)
Point Break taught us not to mess with Keanu, and The Matrix taught us not to mess with Keanu’s head. But what happens when a bunch of Russian mobsters mess with Keanu’s dog? A reformed hitman out to avenge his pooch, John Wick is bloody, ridiculous, and fun. No wonder this is playing so late. FREE.
Sunday
Big Deal on Madonna Street (2:00p — Chazen Art Museum)
If you were worried Super Bowl Sunday wouldn’t offer enough scores already, the Chazen’s Mario Monicelli series springs into action with the Italian master’s pawnshop heist gone wrong — so comedically wrong. FREE.
Dear White People (3:00p — Union South Marquee)
Co-presented FREE by WUD Film, UW Housing, and the Multicultural Center.
Monday
Breakin’ (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
A breakdancing movie is either the absolute best or absolute worst idea to pitch to a studio. Unless that studio is Cannon Films, in which case matters of right and wrong bend to profitability. Despite the breakout (sorry) performance of Ice-T and an unfortunately-named sequel, Breakin’s biggest surprise is that it managed to rake in almost $60 million. Co-presented FREE by WUD Film and UW Cinematheque.
Sex and the City (7:00p — Point, Eastgate)
$5.
Wednesday
Funny Girl (1:10p, 6:55p — Sundance)
William Wyler’s musical cycles through Barbara Streisand’s romances and lifetime of regrets as she waits for her husband to return from prison.
Mediterraneo (7:00p — UW Sterling Building, Rm 2335)
A platoon of Italian soldiers are abandoned in Greece during World War II. FREE.