“Mr. Hublot” is one of five films this year to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Short. The Academy’s short film selections in animation and live-action play Sundance Cinemas Madison.
UPDATED 2/10: Trouble the Water screening added to Wednesday evening’s programming.
Thursday
Blue Jasmine (1:40p, 7:00p — Point; 12:00p, 5:00p, 10:00p — Eastgate)
Before Midnight (4:15p, 9:35p — Point; 2:30p, 7:30p — Eastgate)
Blow-Up (6:30p — Central Public Library, Rm 302)
Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni’s first English language film finds a fashion photographer operating under the suspicion that he may have witnessed a murder — and photographed it. It plays FREE as part of Central Cinema’s Classic and Contemporary film series.
The Fly Fishing Film Tour 2014 (7:00p — Barrymore Theatre)
How’s this for most “Wisconsin-themed” film event this week? Self-described as “the original and preeminent exhibition of fly fishing cinema,” fishing folk, fishermen, and the generally curious will gather in the Barrymore Theatre when the tour makes its annual stop. Short film subjects include an in-depth look at king salmon, the Shenandoah Valley and a history of the sport. Tickets are $16.
Hybrid Cinema: Parasites in the Movies (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
In honor of Darwin Day, UW Cinematheque director Jim Healy and Wisconsin Institute for Discovery director David Krakauer lead a discussion of the presence of parasites in popular cinema. FREE to those not already possessed by “real life bodysnatchers.”
Blue is the Warmest Color (9:00p — Union South Marquee)
Friday
Blue Jasmine (6:30p — Union South Marquee)
The Spectacular Now (6:30p — Pinney Branch Library)
Miles Teller is Sutter Keely, a high school senior who would probably tell you he lives “in the now.” I’d probably tell you he’s making questionable life choices as a borderline alcoholic with no direction. He should leave that Aimee Finicky (Shailene Woodley) alone, too. She’s far too nice for him. Pinney Branch’s “First Friday Flick” is FREE.
Wolf Children (6:45p — Alicia Ashman Branch Library)
The Alicia Ashman Anime Club screens Mamoru Hosoda’s Wolf Children, the story of a woman who raises two half-breed children when her Wolf Man husband dies. Featuring characters designed by famed Neon Genesis Evangelion artist Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. FREE.
Hud (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
Martin Ritt’s anti-western stars Paul Newman as the titular anti-hero whose thoughtless wild man antics put the family ranch — and a strained relationship with his father (Melvyn Douglas) — at risk. Co-starring Patricia Neal. FREE.
Rush (9:00p — Union South Marquee)
Formula One drivers James Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Niki Lauda (Daniel Brühl) race through their bitter 1970s rivalry in this 2013 Ron Howard film. No Arrested Development Season 4 jokes, please. FREE.
Bad Boys II (11:30p — Union South Marquee)
“You ain’t seen Bad Boys II?” It’s too bad this isn’t playing in a double-bill with Point Break. Bring the noise! FREE.
All freakin’ weekend
Oscar-Nominated Live-Action and Animated Short Films (Sundance)
Now you’ll have no excuse to plead ignorance when this year’s Oscar-nominated short films are brought up on live television. Sundance Cinemas Madison is offering five animated and live-action short film collections as part of their Screening Room Calendar. What better way to strike up a conversation with Ellen Degeneres than by asking for her thoughts on Get a Horse!?
The Monuments Men (Sundance, AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
George Clooney, Cate Blanchett and a battalion of other A-listers band together to just barely miss awards contention. Oh, and uh, something about rescuing priceless artwork from the destructive grasp of occupied France. You know how that goes.
The LEGO Movie (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
From the guys that brought you Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and 21 Jump Street, Phil Lord and Chris Miller have apparently done the impossible and made a LEGO movie that looks good. Featuring the voice talents of Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Morgan Freeman, and Batman.
Vampire Academy (AMC Star, Point)
There are two kinds of vampires in this world: those who die and those who don’t. A young woman, half-human/half-vampire naturally, must protect the former from the latter in this adaptation of Richelle Mead’s young adult series.
Saturday
Turbo (10:00a — Point, Eastgate)
Marcus Theatres’ Kids Dream series is back again this weekend (through mid-March) for $2 family films and concession specials.
Blue is the Warmest Color (6:00p — Union South Marquee)
Il Futuro and Aftershock (7:00p; 9:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
The UW Department of Latin American, Caribbean and Iberian Studies has once again paired with the Cinematheque for another month-long series. “New Chilean Cinema” begins Saturday with a FREE double-bill. Alicia Scherson’s The Future finds a teenaged orphan who cozies up to a hermit (Rutger Hauer) she first intended on robbing. Nicolás López’s Aftershock puts Eli Roth in front of the camera (and around a destructive earthquake) in this modern take on the disaster film. Madison Film Forum got an early look at both.
Rush (9:30p — Union South Marquee)
Fargo (11:59p — Union South Marquee)
“So that was Mrs. Lundegaard on the floor in there. And I guess that was your accomplice in the wood chipper. And those three people in Brainerd. And for what? For a little bit of money. There’s more to life than a little money, you know. Don’tcha know that? And here ya are, and it’s a beautiful day. Well. I just don’t understand it.” FREE.
Sunday
Turbo (11:00a — Point, Eastgate)
Rebecca (2:00p — Chazen Art Museum)
“Sunday Cinematheque at the Chazen” rolls on with Rebecca, where a young woman must deal with the haunting memory of her widower husband’s first wife. Hitchcock comes to Hollywood — and the Chazen Art Museum! FREE.
Blue Jasmine (3:00p — Union South Marquee)
Micro-Wave Cinema (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
The new Micro-Wave Cinema series got off to a great start last month, and they’re already back to present a new indie filmmaker. Kentucker Audley’s Open Five and Open Five 2 track a pair of “hipsters” as they move from New York to Memphis to Lexington to New Orleans. Audley will appear via Skype for an after-show Q&A. FREE. Details here.
Monday
Cutie and the Boxer (12:10p, 2:20p, 4:30p, 6:40p, 8:50p — Point; 10:55a, 1:00p, 8:25p, 10:30p — Eastgate)
“Boxing” painter Ushio Shinohara, now in his 80s, tries to stage the latest of late career comebacks alongside his wife and confidant “Cutie,” who depicts their eccentric marriage with her stunning illustrations. If you missed the Cinematheque’s screening back in January, now’s the perfect time to catch up on one of 2013’s best documentaries.
I Wanna Hold Your Hand (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
WUD Film and the Cinematheque celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ first appearance on the Ed Sullivan show with this Robert Zemeckis joint. Five New Jersey teens take a road trip to the Big Apple to catch a glimpse of John, Paul, George and heck, maybe even Ringo. It’s another FREE Marquee Monday event!
Tuesday
Cutie and the Boxer (12:10p, 2:20p, 4:30p, 6:40p, 8:50p — Point; 12:00p, 2:05p, 4:10p, 6:15p, 8:20p, 10:25p — Eastgate)
Hannah and Her Sisters (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
Starring Carrie Fisher, Mia Farrow, and Barbara Hershey, Woody Allen’s 1986 dramedy intertwines stories of an extended family between two Thanksgiving dinners. FREE.
Wednesday
RoboCop (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
Joel Kinnaman takes over the suit in this redo of Paul Verhoeven’s brutal action film. Hey, you asked for a Robocop remake, America. Didn’t you? Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, and Abbie Cornish co-star.
Cutie and the Boxer (12:10p 2:20p, 4:30p — Point; 12:00p, 2:05p, 4:10p — Eastgate)
Sleepless in Seattle (1:35p, 6:50p — Sundance)
Nora Ephron’s romantic comedy starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan is apparently a “classic.” It’s also apparently showing twice at Sundance Cinemas Madison.
Trouble the Water (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
Carl Deal and Tia Lessin’s Academy Award-nominated documentary follows the lives of two survivors in the devastating wake of Hurricane Katrina. Co-presented FREE by WUD Film and the Center for the Humanities Research Workshop on “New Media and Mass/Popular Culture.”