Wednesday, June 17: The Dolly Sisters
7:30 p.m. @ Charles Allis Art Museum ($7/$5/free for seniors/students/museum members)
Unfortunately there was no trailer I could find for the last film in Charles Allis’ “Show Girls” programming online, but when you’ve got Betty Grable co-starring as one half of the famed Dolly Sisters who needs trailers? The film is lousy with musical numbers (different than ‘lousy, with musical numbers’) so anyone who is looking for a little classic Hollywood kick should make their way to Charles Allis this Wednesday.
Thursday, June 18: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory kicks off this year’s “Moonlit Movies” series in Oconomowoc
Dusk @ Fowler Park (Movie starts @ dusk, festivities start @ 6 p.m.) (FREE)
There’s a lot of outdoor movies to choose from this upcoming weekend (as you’re about to see), but only one playing this Thursday. Oconomowoc’s Moonlit Movies series is one of the few locally that brings the pain in terms of extra-curriculars in addition to the screening, so there will be plenty to keep you occupied leading to the screening of the one true Wonka film starring the inimitable Gene Wilder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNarV_3P4oM
***CRITIC’S CHOICE***
Friday, June 19: Dope, When Marnie Was There and Inside Out open in local release
Check local listings for showtimes/pricing
A few options, all of which should hold interest for cinema fans, are dropping locally this weekend. Dope was a Sundance sensation, the fourth feature from director Rick Famuyiwa that follows the misadventures of a young man growing up in Los Angeles who’s equally in love with 90’s hip-hop and modern technology. It’s gotten near-universal acclaim, so I’m excited for it to finally make its way here.
Inside Out is being touted as a return to form for Pixar, after a handful of years making entertaining-yet-uninspired sequels (Only 2012’s Brave broke up a nearly six-year run of sequels), and one can only hope. It sees the return of Up’s Pete Docter to the director’s chair, surely a good sign, and the story about a prepubescent girl’s emotions (voiced by Amy Poehler, Lewis Black and Mindy Kaling, to name a few) running amok inside her seems like a high-concept winner.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZq4uuMP8ss
When Marnie Was There may be your last opportunity for quite some time to take in a new feature from the famed animation company Studio Ghibli in quite some time (they’re in the midst of a ‘restructuring’ break), and given their essentially flawless track record (their films range from all-time classics to pretty good) it would be foolhardy to pass this up. This story of a young girl sent to coalesce in the countryside and the friendship she strikes up with the ethereal blonde girl of the title, Marnie also is getting a general consensus of quality from critics.
Friday, June 19: Annie (2014 edition) kicks off South Milwaukee’s “Dinner and a Movie” program
Dusk @ 11th and Madison in Downtown South Milwaukee (located at their farmer’s market)
I never saw the Annie remake, but reviews suggest it to be far less nightmarish than what the trailers were selling. It has a capable cast to be certain, and is very family-friendly – the perfect fodder for an outdoor movie excursion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6IDBxKbsZU
Friday, June 19: The Boxtrolls kicks off New Berlin’s “Movies in the Park” series
Dusk @ Malone Park (16400 W. Al Stigler Parkway) (Admission = 1 non-perishable food item per attendee)
If you want to strike a nice balance between fun for the kids and humor for the adults, you could do far worse than The Boxtrolls. The latest from stop-motion animation outfit Laika, it tells the story of a young boy raised by the titular cave-dwellers who is forced to come above ground when a despotic exterminator looking to break into the town’s elite aims to eliminate the Boxtrolls from existence. Thrilling, funny, and weird with one of my favorite post-credits sequences in recent memory, The Boxtrolls is a blast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3eHd87dx6M
Saturday, June 20: Divergent continues “Summer Movie Nights” in Veterans Park
Dusk @ Gift of Wings kite store (FREE)
I didn’t like Divergent. Maybe you will. Or maybe your tween will (or does).
