On the Marquee for the Week of Oct. 13 2014

Tuesday, Oct. 14: Level Five
7 p.m. @ UWM Union Theatre (FREE!)

Although Chris Marker was most well known for his time-travel picture La Jetee, a short film comprised almost entirely of still images, he made many other startling works of originality, one of which plays at the Union Theatre this Tuesday. Level Five blends mystery, documentary and video essay together in the story of a video game programmer whose work on completing a Battle of Okinawa game left behind by her deceased lover leads her on a journey of understanding of the past, present and future. This is a rare opportunity to take in this work on the big screen.

Wednesday, Oct. 15: The Rover & Mothers
4:15 p.m. & 7 p.m. @ UWM Union Theatre (FREE!)

You’ve already seen me being strongly positive toward The Rover, and my opinion of it has only grown stronger over time. Like Mad Max through the prism of character study, both Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson do fine work to keep a movie light on incident compelling throughout. In the case of Mothers, this is a very intriguing documentary that covers a Chinese village in which the women are attempting to circumvent the “one-child policy” in place and the local officials seeking to sterilize them to ensure proper enforcement. Looks to be a good night for free, boldly dramatic cinema at the Union.

Wednesday, Oct. 18: Ruins Beyond Civilization: Basma Alsharif at Microlights
8 p.m. @ Microlights (2541 N. Bremen St.)

Microlights, a Riverwest screening location with an emphasis on screenings of the avant garde/experimental, brings filmmaker Basma Alsharif to town with a host of her short films this Wednesday evening. Born in Kuwait, studied in Chicago, living everywhere, Alsharif’s work is a solid intersection of the experimental and the political, with films scheduled to screen including HOME MOVIES GAZA and O, PERSECUTED. This is an unheralded Milwaukee venue, and another opportunity to take in work unique from the mainstream!

***CRITIC’S CHOICE***

Thursday, Oct. 16 – Sunday, Oct. 26: The Milwaukee LGBT Film Festival begins!
Opening Night: 7:30 p.m. @ Oriental Theatre ($15 general/$10 students/seniors), all other events @ UWM Union Theatre, check http://www4.uwm.edu/psoa/film/lgbtfilmfestival/ for schedule and ticket pricing.

As one festival falls, another rises in its place! Milwaukee’s LGBT festival celebrates its 29^th year of existence in 2014 with 10 days of eclectic programming (documentaries, narrative features and short film programs all comprise the lineup) well worth seeking out. Opening night brings us Blackbird, the story of a closeted young Baptist man whose sexuality only comes out during his dream life, with Mo’Nique’s first film performance since winning an Oscar for Precious. There’s a whole host of options I encourage you to seek out over the course of the festival, and there’ll be more next week as well!

Friday, Oct. 17: Fury and The Book of Life open in wide release
Check local listings for showtimes and pricing.

There are other movies opening this weekend (Men, Women and Children was moved to this week and the Nicholas Sparks adaptation The Best of Me both open), but the two most interesting options in wide release are David Ayer’s WWII drama Fury and the animated kids film The Book of Life. David Ayer already unleashed one film on us this year, the sleazy Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle Sabotage, and Fury looks to carry over his penchant for grit and grime to the field of historical drama. Brad Pitt looks to have brought along his suitcase of wacky accents for this performance, and the rest of the cast (Shia LeBeouf, Logan Lerman, Jon Bernthal, Michael Pena) all appear to up to snuff as well in this tale of the crew of a Sherman tank taking on a deadly mission that places them behind enemy lines. The Book of Life looks visually lush, so even if the story of a love triangle set during Mexico’s Dia De Los Muertos holiday proves lacking, it should remain entertaining. Guillermo Del Toro produced this story, and his love of gothic visual inventiveness seems to have rubbed off on the rest of the production. Both look like solid options this weekend.