Tuesday,
April 29: Escape from Tomorrow released on DVD
Check
local media retailers for availability or purchase
here
While
Escape from Tomorrow unfortunately never made its way to
Milwaukee during its limited theatrical run, the story behind its creation
certainly made its way here. Shot
covertly in Disneyland using hidden microphones and walkie talkies without the
Maushaus’ knowledge, writer/director Randy Moore created a subversive look at
one man’s crumbling psyche over the course of his family vacation at the
happiest place on Earth. There are some who say the film itself doesn’t live up
to the wild story behind its formation, but we now have the chance to be the
judge of that with its DVD release. Fans of surrealist cinema should take note
of this particular release.
Tuesday,
April 29: special NY Film Critics Series screening of Locke
Pre-show:
6:30 p.m., Movie: 7 p.m. @ Fox-Bay Cinema Grill
Speaking
of audacious movie premises, here’s the new film Locke from
Steven Knight (writer of Eastern Promises), starring Tom Hardy.
Taking place inside of a car driving down a dark highway for its entirety, and
featuring only Hardy in conversation with himself and numerous people on
speakerphone, the film has been hailed as an exemplary thriller with a tour de
force performance from its handsome lead. Able to bounce between affable blockbuster
cinema and small experimental works with ease, Hardy is one of the most gifted
actors of this generation. And as a special point of interest, his
well-enunciated Welsh accent here sounds a lot like his Bane character from The
Dark Knight Rises, just with the echo and reverb from the sleep apnea
mask-like contraption he wore there. Any actor capable of making a decision as
resolutely odd as Banevoice is worthy of following anywhere he chooses to go.
As an added bonus, there will be a live Q&A broadcast into the theater
after the screening featuring Hardy and Knight as part of this special NY Film Critics Series screening.
Wednesday,
April 30: Cafe Metropole
7:30 p.m. @ Charles Allis Art Museum ($7/$5/free for adults/seniors
and students/museum members)
Charles
Allis continues their Power-trip with another spring screening of the works of
Tyrone Power, this time the romantic dramedy Cafe Metropole.
Power plays a ne’er-do-well here, a restaurant owner in deep debt who will go
to jail for embezzlement if he doesn’t quickly come up with the money owed. A
plan is hatched. He’ll play the part of a Russian prince and seduce an American
socialite (played by Loretta Young) to get the funds from her wealthy father.
But wouldn’t you know it, actual Russian royalty and true love are just a
couple of the obstacles that get in the way. Power generally wasn’t known for
performing in fare this light, so this is a rare opportunity to take in one of
those performances at the Charles Allis Art Museum.
Wednesday,
April 30: Liv & Ingmar
7:30
p.m. @ UWM Union Theatre (FREE!)
The
Passion of Anna.
Autumn Sonata. Persona.
The collaboration between actress Liv Ullman and director Ingmar Bergman
yielded some of the most indelible filmmaking that history has to offer us, and
this documentary helps to illuminate the relationship at the core of this
artistic entanglement. Combining behind-the-scenes footage alongside film clips
and excerpts from Ullman’s autobiography, alongside a film-long interview with
the acclaimed actress, we get a touching portrait of these two artists and the 12
films that resulted from their 42-year friendship. For students of cinema
history, this is a must see.
Friday,
May 2: The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Opens
nationwide, check local listings for showtimes
It’s
odd that we live in such a boom era for comic-book adaptations, there is a mega-budgeted
Spider-Man film hitting theaters this weekend, and I’m
extraordinarily lukewarm about the entire enterprise. Long my favorite
superhero, Spider-Man has remained one of the richest characters in all comic
mythology – a man continually tasked with doing the right thing despite the
world conspiring against him on a daily basis. He’s the rare hero that was
equally interesting outside of his costume as he was when inside of it.
Unfortunately, Marc Webb’s first film was dreadfully dull and poorly constructed
at that. Beyond good chemistry between leads Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield,
there was literally nothing in that film to recommend. Mixed reviews suggest
there was much more in this adaptation but with many of the same problems that
plagued the previous entry in the series. If anything, the 40-odd minutes of
footage that has played between film clips and trailers over the past few
months suggest a brighter color palette and finely staged action if nothing
else. I still eagerly await a movie more in the line with the brilliant Sam
Raimi films that captures the spirit of the character instead of glibly
capturing its surface value.
***CRITIC’S
CHOICE***
Friday,
May 2: Only Lovers Left Alive
Opens
@ Landmark Oriental (Click
here for showtimes)
Luckily
for us moviegoers, there awaits a far better option opening locally this
weekend. Jim Jarmusch is back after a four year hiatus (his last film was the
tepidly received Limits of Control) and he brings with him one of
the finest works of his entire career. I’ll remain brief (a more full-bodied
review will come later this week), but Only Lovers Left Alive is
a perfect match of director and subject matter. Featuring Tilda Swinton and Tom
Hiddleston as a centuries-old vampire couple navigating the murky waters of
modern life while remaining in the shadows, Jarmusch has made what is easily
one of the coolest and most romantic movies of his storied career here.
Hiddleston and Swinton have immediate and immense chemistry, and supporting
turns from Mia Wasikowska, John Hurt and Anton Yelchin all flesh out and add
color to the periphery of this wonderful film.
