‘Pretty’ puts Schumer back in view ‘I Feel Pretty’ ‘You Were Never Really Here’
Beauty, one of the world’s oldest clichés goes, is in the eye of the beholder. In “I Feel Pretty,” a knock on the head helps, too.
Amy Schumer plays a woman who has let her low self-esteem, stoked by societal perceptions of beauty, hold her back. That is, until a blow to the head leaves her seeing herself as a woman with the body of a supermodel — and convinced others see her that way, too.
Michelle Williams, Rory Scovel, Emily Ratajkowski, Aidy Bryant and Busy Phillips co-star, with actual supermodels Naomi Campbell and Lauren Hutton making cameos. “I Feel Pretty” is rated PG-13 for sexual content, some partial nudity and language. It runs for 110 minutes.
Sometimes, the way out of a dark place is through a darker one. Or, not.
“You Were Never Really Here” stars Joaquin Phoenix as a veteran who, still grappling with the horrors he saw in war, makes his living tracking down missing girls, retrieving them by any means — including violence — necessary.
When he sets out to find and rescue a state senator’s daughter, however, he’s torn at by his own demons as well as the ones of this world.
Written and directed by Lynne Ramsay — whose résumé includes the chilling parental nightmare drama“We Need to Talk About Kevin” — “You Were Never Really Here” took home best screenplay and best actor honors (for Phoenix) at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. Both Ramsay and Phoenix have been getting abundant praise for the movie’s dark, dark journey.
Arizona Republic critic Bill Goodykoontz, in his 4-star (out of 5) review, called the movie “as uncompromising as films get, a kind of concentrated trip through the violent thoughts and actions of a seriously disturbed man who also happens to be the hero.” “You Were Never Really Here” is rated R for violence, gore, language and brief nudity. It runs for 89 minutes.
‘Super Troopers 2’
Bad news: The United States is in a border war. Worse news: The “Super Troopers” guys are being sent in to keep the peace.
The first “Super Troopers” movie, about a group of bungling Vermont state cops, was a bit of a cult hit (especially with a particular stoner crowd — hence the April 20, or 4-20, release date) when it came out in 2002 courtesy the Broken Lizard comedy troupe.
In “Super Troopers 2,” they are drafted to serve in a new unit patrolling a an area that’s caught up in a boundary dispute between the U.S. and Canada. Brian Cox returns as their addled superior; Lynda Carter (yes, Wonder Woman) plays Vermont’s territory-hunger governor.
The early reviews aren’t exactly raves. The Hollywood Reporter’s John DeFore wrote that “the sequel has less absurdist spark than the original.”
language, drug material and some graphic nudity. It runs for 100 minutes.
‘Final Portrait’
A writer walks into a studio in Paris, and an artist says he wants to paint his portrait. No worries — it won’t take long.
What was to be one day’s sitting turned into a seemingly endless study in creativity and friendship, or so it goes in “Final Portrait,” based on a true story of the mid-1960s relationship between writer James Lord and artist Alberto Giacometti.
Armie Hammer plays Lord, and Geofrey Rush is Giacometti. Green Bay native Tony Shalhoub plays Giacometti’s brother and right-hand man, Diego.
Reviews for “Final Portrait,” written and directed by actor Stanley Tucci, have been mixed-positive. “This movie is, literally, about watching paint dry,” Seattle Times critic Moira Macdonald wrote in her 3-star review, “… but Tucci and the cast find a world of detail and nuance.” “Final Portrait” is rated R for language and nudity. It runs for 90 minutes.
‘Traffik’
Another weekend, another trip to an isolated house in the woods where danger awaits.
In “Traffik,” Paula Patton and Omar Epps head off to a romantic weekend getaway in the mountains, where they’re surprised twice: first, when their friends (Laz Alonso, Roselyn Sanchez) show up unexpected; and second, when they cross paths with a biker gang, forcing the couple to fight for their lives.
“Traffik” is rated R for violent and disturbing material, pervasive language throughout, some drug use and sexual content. It runs for 96 minutes. New midnight series at Downer
The Downer Theatre, 2589 N. Downer Ave., kicks off its new midnightmovie series, called Almost Midnight, Friday and Saturday with “The Big Le-
bowski,” the Coen brothers’ stoner classic about the most classic of stoners, The Dude (Jeff Bridges), and his psychedelic pursuit of justice after a case of mistaken identity. The movie starts at 11:59 p.m.; tickets are $8.50.
Other movies in the Almost Midnight series: “The Shining,” April 27-28; “Bottle Rocket,” Wes Anderson’s first movie, May 4-5; Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” May 11-12; “The Room,” the latest worst movie ever made, May 18-19; “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” May 25-26; “Deep Red,” a 1975 horror gem from Italian fright-master Dario Argento, June 1-2; and “Back to the Future,” June 8-9. Info: landmarktheatres.com/milwaukee.
Best off-the-grid movie bets
Milwaukee Muslim Film Festival: The festival, a project of the Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition, begins Sunday with the Oscar-nominated documentary “Last Man in Aleppo,” showing at 2 p.m. at the UWM Union Cinema, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd. Also showing in the festival this week: “By the Dawn’s Early Light,” at 7 p.m. Monday at UWM Union Cinema; “The Judge,” 6 p.m. Tuesday at Alverno College’s Wehr Auditorium in Christopher Hall, 4100 W. Morgan Ave.; and “Victoria & Abdul” at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Schroeder Auditorium at Cardinal Stritch University, 6801 N. Yates Road, Fox Point. Admission to all of the movies in the festival is free. Info: mmwconline.org.
“Belle du Jour”: Luis Buñuel’s 1967 classic with Catherine Deneuve as a young housewife who, bored with her world, begins working weekdays in a bordello. Showing in a new 4K digital restoration, in French with English subtitles, at 7 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday at UWM Union Cinema, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd. $5, free for UWM students and Union Cinema members. Info: cinema.uwm.edu.
“Salesman”: Filmmakers Albert and David Maysles followed four door-to-door Bible salesmen on their rounds, yielding this groundbreaking 1969 documentary, showing in a new 4K restoration. Showing at 7 p.m. Thursday at UWM Union Cinema, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd. $5, free for UWM students and Union Cinema members. Info: cinema.uwm.edu.
Avalon anime: The Avalon Theater, 2473 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., continues its April anime parade with 1988’s life-during-wartime drama “Grave of the Fireflies,” showing at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday; and 2012’s “Wolf Children,” at 9:30 p.m. Thursday (it’s also showing at 11 a.m. April 28). $5. Info: avalonmke.com.
“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”: If anybody can approximate on film the surreal-but-dead-on ramblings of the late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, it’s Terry Gilliam, and the former Monty Python animator turned director very nearly pulls it off in this 1998 fever-dream adaptation. Johnny Depp plays Thompson, with future Oscar winner Benicio Del Toro as his sidekick, Dr. Gonzo. Showing at 9 p.m. Friday at the Times Cinema, 5906 W. Vliet St., with a DJ spin starting at 8 p.m. $5. Info: timescinema.com.
“Main Street Meats”: Think Wisconsin meets “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” and you get a, well, taste of this made-in-Dairyland horror movie, about a struggling family-run meat shop that discovers a secret ingredient for success. Showing at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Avalon Theater, 2473 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. $10. Info: avalonmke.com.