Philip Seymour Hoffman in Punch Drunk Love
Monday, Feb. 3-Sunday, Feb. 9: Watch a Philip Seymour Hoffman movie (or
five)
A tremendous blow was delivered to film-lovers at large this
weekend (and most horribly of all, three children have been deprived of their
father) when Philip Seymour Hoffman passed away. A performer of extraordinary
empathy, able to mine genuine feeling from any character he played (such was
his talent that he could oscillate between sad-sack, rage-filled and utterly
cuddly effortlessly in each performance), he leaves behind an immense body of
work that any actor would be proud of. Although it will always feel as though
we were robbed of many more decades of Oscar-worthy performances from Hoffman
(from what I hear, his work in A Most Wanted Man might yet net
him awards in 2014), there’s no better way to pay tribute to the man than by
enjoying his work throughout the week. My personal PSH Rushmore would have to
include Synecdoche, New York, The Master, 25th
Hour and Magnolia. But he really elevated any material he
was given and was as assured a barometer of quality as you’ll ever see in a performer.
Whether you revisit old favorites or treat yourself to work yet unseen, you’re
guaranteed quality no matter what you choose. Rest in peace Philip Seymour
Hoffman.
Monday, Feb. 3 – Thursday, Feb. 6: Before Midnight and
Blue Jasmine
@ Marcus
Majestic, North Shore, South Shore and Ridge Cinemas ($5!)
Marcus theaters bring back two of my favorite movies of last year just in case audiences
missed out on them. Of the two, I’d have to lean strongly toward Before Midnight, a perfect continuation
of Richard Linklater’s collaboration with Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke,
deepening their examination of love’s evolution during the course of a
relationship while fitting into the character they’ve created like a comfy pair
of slippers. It’s a masterpiece. Blue Jasmine is no slouch either, filled to the brim with phenomenal
performances while attempting the type of incisive character study of a
neurotic’s briskly crumbling facade that is unlike anything Woody Allen has
ever attempted before. You can’t wrong with either one.
Wednesday, Feb. 5: Groundhog Day
2 p.m. &
7 p.m. @ AMC Mayfair 18
Even though it’s been proven to be no better an
indicator of weather patterns that our nation’s scourge of meteorologists, our
nation still turns its head toward Punxsutawney Phil and his low-fi recreation
of Plato’s cave experiment to determine whether or not our winter will extend
ever further towards spring. I think this is in no small part due to just how
amazing Harold Ramis’ Groundhog Day proved to be, a near-perfectly structured comedy that
pairs philosophical underpinnings alongside one of Bill Murray’s all-time great
performances.
Friday, Feb. 7: Monuments Men and The LEGO Movie open nationwide
Check local
listings for showtimes
Now that we’ve gotten the toxic waste dump that is January’s release
schedule out of the way, we can slowly wean ourselves back onto quality
mainstream releases with a pair to look forward to this week. George Clooney’s
latest directing effort did curiously move from Oscar season into this release
date, but I’m focusing more on the first part of that than the last and
remembering he’s yet to steer me wrong from the director’s chair. Phil Lord and
Chris Miller, on the other hand, have been staking their careers on taking
premises that seem razor-thin at best (the spare children’s book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and an adaptation of
TV’s 21 Jump
Street) and spinning wonderfully hilarious and heartfelt entertainment out of
them all the same. I would be shocked if The LEGO Movie didn’t continue them on
their path of world domination, but we’ll see this weekend!
Starts Friday, Feb. 7 and runs through Sunday, Feb. 16: The 17th Annual Festival of Films in French
@ UWM Union
Theatre (click here for showtimes and selections)
A chance to get a little bit of culture into what can sometimes become
a slightly xenophobic film diet, UWM’s festival of French films allows for a
whole spate of films both current and classic to get the big-screen treatment
they richly deserve while allowing for audiences to take in cinema they might
otherwise never even think to see. You’ll certainly see a couple more
recommendations that run more specific in next week’s “On the Marquee” but rest
assured if you take a chance on any of the films being showcased over next week
and change expectations will certainly be met!
Saturday, Feb. 8: My Favorite Wife
7 p.m. @ The Church in the City, 2648 N.
Hackett Ave. ($3)
Although other of his screwball collaborations may end up receiving
more critical accolades (work with Rosalind Russell and Katharine Hepburn can
do that sometimes), for my money Cary Grant’s chemistry was never better than
when he was paired with Irene Dunne. Both The
Awful Truth and My Favorite Wife are sterling examples of
just how far we’ve fallen from the sophisticated romantic comedy work of the ’30s
and ’40s to our “brodacious” examinations of modern romance. Randolph Scott
plays the hunkiest Baxter of all-time in this love quadrangle in which Grant
remarries after Dunne is declared dead after her ship went down at sea, only to
find that she survived the shipwreck on an island with Scott’s vitruvian man.
Screwball ensues.
