Faith, fighting and bad decisions
While most of this year’s Oscarnominated movies return to Milwaukee theaters this week, so do new movies of faith, fighting and a road trip gone really, really wrong.
Here’s what’s new in Milwaukeearea theaters starting Friday.
‘Drive-Away Dolls’
Short version: A pair of friends (Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan) looking for a fresh start pick up a car for an impromptu road trip, only to end up on the run from a gang of inept crooks. Ethan Coen co-wrote and directed this dark comedy-thriller, with a cast including Beanie Feldstein, Pedro Pascal, Colman Domingo and Matt Damon.
Where you can see it: AMC Mayfair Mall; Marcus Theatres’ Hillside, Majestic, Menomonee Falls, North Shore, Ridge, South Shore cinemas.
‘Ordinary Angels’
Short version: An independentminded hairstylist (Hilary Swank) makes it her mission to help a widower (“Reacher’s” Alan Ritchson) whose daughter needs a liver transplant. Tamala Jones, Skywalker Hughes, Nancy Travis and American Players Theatre alum Amy Acker co-star in this faithfueled, based-on-a-true-story drama.
Where you can see it: ACX Cinema/ Bayshore; AMC Mayfair Mall; Marcus Theatres’ Bistroplex Southridge, Hillside, Majestic, Menomonee Falls, Movie Tavern Brookfield Square, North Shore, Ridge, South Shore cinemas.
‘Perfect Days’
Short version: Wim Wenders’ sliceof-life movie follows a man who finds joy in everyday life (and the rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack he plays on cassette) while working as a toilet-cleaner in Tokyo. This drama from one of filmdom’s acclaimed masters is one of this year’s Oscar nominees for best international film.
Where you can see it: Marcus Theatres’ Majestic Cinema.
‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — To the Hashira Training’
Short version: The latest installments in the popular “Demon Slayer” manga series are showing in theaters, both dubbed and with subtitles.
Where you can see it: AMC Mayfair Mall; Marcus Theatres’ Bistroplex, Hillside, Majestic, Menomonee Falls, Movie Tavern Brookfield Square, North Shore, Ridge, South Shore cinemas; Silverspot Cinema.
‘Stopmotion’
Short version: In this horror thriller, a stop-motion animator has trouble controlling her demons.
Where you can see it: Marcus Theatres’ Menomonee Falls, Ridge cinemas.
Best-picture Oscar nominees
Marcus Theatres is showing nine of this year’s 10 Academy Award nominees for best picture (all but Netflix’s “Maestro”), in screenings from Feb. 23 to March 10 at Hillside, Majestic, Menomonee Falls, North Shore, Ridge and South Shore cinemas.
Tickets are $14. Info: marcustheatres.
‘Scott Pilgrim vs. The World’
Michael Cera takes on Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s seven evil exes in Edgar Wright’s videogame-flavored “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” at 7 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Avalon Theater. Tickets are $11. Info: avalonmke.com.
Black History movies at Marcus Theatres, Oriental Theatre
● Milwaukee-based Marcus Theatres is showing a quartet of movies Feb. 23-29 to mark Black History Month. The movies — “Origin,” the 2023 musical adaptation of “The Color Purple,” “Girls Trip” and “Tyler Perry’s A Madea Family Funeral” — have varying showtimes at Marcus’ Majestic, Menomonee Falls, Ridge and South Shore cinemas. Tickets are $5. Info: marcustheatres.com/BlackHistory.
● Milwaukee Film’s Black History Month programming wraps up at the Oriental Theatre with “Know Your Place,” in which an Eritrean American teenager has to make his way across a gentrifying Seattle, noon Feb. 24; and “Gaining Ground: The Fight for Black Land,” a 2023 documentary exploring why Black-owned farmland is disappearing, 7 p.m. Feb. 29. Tickets are $13. Info: mkefilm.org.
Season 4 of ‘The Chosen’
The fourth season of “The Chosen” — the hit TV series recounting the life of Jesus — is showing in its entirety in theaters, a handful of episodes at a time. The last two episodes have a limited run starting Feb. 29 at AMC Mayfair Mall, Silverspot Cinema and all eight Milwaukee-area Marcus Theatres. Showtimes vary. Info: amctheatres.com, marcustheatres.com, silverspot.net.