Thrillers, romance, motorcycle movies
‘Searching’
In today’s technologysaturated culture, no one has secrets anymore. Right?
Log onto “Searching” for a rebuttal.
In this thriller, John Cho plays a father who, desperate to find his missing 16-year-old daughter, opens up her laptop and discovers, well, that he doesn’t really know her at all.
The movie, told via computer and phone screens, is getting pretty solid reviews.
“If (first-time filmmaker Aneesh) Chaganty can’t help overgilding his final twist, ‘Searching’s’ smart, nimble execution still thrills,” Entertainment Weekly critic Leah Greenblatt wrote in her B-plus review. “Searching” is rated PG-13 for thematic content and for language. It runs for 102 minutes.
‘Juliet, Naked’
Music is the food of love, but sometimes the chord strikes different people differently.
Based on Nick Hornby’s novel, “Juliet, Naked” is the story of a woman (Rose Byrne) whose long-term relationship is stalled with a guy (Chris O’Dowd) who’s obsessed with an obscure rocker. When a demo of said rocker’s old hit record turns up, she gives a listen and reaches out to the musician (Ethan Hawke) — who reaches back.
Critics mostly like “Juliet, Naked,” for Byrne’s performance and for the usual music-centric touches in Hornby’s story. “If you like Hornby’s work, you’ll like ‘Juliet, Naked,’” Arizona Republic critic Bill Goodykoontz wrote in his 31⁄2-star (out of 5) review.
If you don’t? Well, the soundtrack is pretty swell, and it’s really great to see Rose Byrne get a chance to shine.”
‘Kin’
When his adopted brother returns home from prison, a young boy tries to find a way to connect.
Turns out, it takes a powerful alien weapon to do the trick.
In “Kin,” Myles Truitt finds the weapon and, when his brother (Jack Reynor) is threatened by a tough criminal (James Franco), pulls it out to defend his family, attracting the crooks and the aliens. Dennis Quaid plays the
brothers’ father. “Kin” is rated PG-13 for violence, suggestive material, language and thematic elements. It runs for 86 minutes.
‘The Little Stranger’
It’s never a good idea to stir up darkened corners of your past.
In “The Little Stranger,” a doctor (Domhnall Gleeson) is called to tend a patient at a faded English estate — where his mother used to work, by coincidence (or
There’s something in the house that’s got a grip on its remaining inhabitants — and, it turns out, on the good doctor, too.
Ruth Wilson, Charlotte Rampling and Will Poulter play the manor dwellers in this horror tale, written by Lenny Abrahamson (”Room”) and directed by “Crimson Peak” screenwriter Lucinda Coxon. “The Little Stranger” is rated R for gore. It runs for 111 minutes.
The documentary “Maynard” profiles Maynard Jackson, an activist and politician who in 1973 became the first black mayor of Atlanta, guiding the city from its segregationist past to a more inclusive future.
Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Sam Pollard directed the portrait of one of the second-wave civil rights movement’s key figures. “Maynard” is not rated. It runs for 99 minutes.
‘Ya Veremos’
A boy whose parents recently separated learns he has a condition affecting his vision, but the procedure required will either fix the problem or cost him his sight.
His solution: He’ll undergo the surgery, but only if his parents will help him see and do all the things on his list first. (The list’s unspoken item: bring them back together.)
Made in Mexico, “Ya Veremos” (Spanish for “we’ll see”) stars Mauricio Ochmann, Fernanda Castillo and Emiliano Aramayo.
“Ya Veremos” is rated PG-13 for some language and suggestive content. It’s in Spanish with English subtitles. It runs for 80 minutes.
Milwaukee Motorcycle Film Festival
This weekend, you won’t be able to get away from motorcycles — even at the movies.
The Milwaukee Motorcycle Film Festival, Friday and Saturday at the Oriental Theatre, 2230 N. Farwell Ave., is connected to the 115th Harley-Davidson anniversary bash, but has worthy entries in its own right. The movies showing are:
❚ “12 O’Clock Boys”: A documentary about a group of urban dirt-bike riders in Baltimore mastering their world with death- and police-defying riding. Showing at 7 p.m. Friday.
❚ “Psychomania”: Biker drama meets zombie movie in this 1973 British cult favorite. 9:40 p.m. Friday.
❚ “The Wild One”: Moody Marlon Brando leads a biker gang’s takeover of a small town in this iconic 1953 drama. It’s remembered for Brando’s indelible, leather-clad performance (”Hey, Johnny, what are you rebelling against?” “Whadya you got?”), but Lee Marvin’s poetry-spouting rival is pretty great, too. 3 p.m. Saturday.
❚ “Sugar and Spade”: This documentary follows two lifelong friends connected since the late 1960s by their affection for custom-made motorcycles. Showing at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 1, with live musical accompaniment by Rocco Deluca, a Q&A with director Mark MacInnis, and the movie’s subjects, Austin “Brown Sugar” Johnson and “Spade” George Bennett, in attendance.
Tickets are $11, $9 for Milwaukee Film members, $8 for seniors 60 and older, and $6 for kids 11 and younger. Info:
The week’s best off-the-grid movie options
UWM Union Cinema: School’s (almost) back in session, which means the student-centric theater at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee is back in business. Admission is $5, free for UWM students and members of the Union Cinema, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd. The back-to-school offerings include: “Love, Simon,” at 7 p.m. Friday and 6:30 p.m. Sunday; “Black Panther,” 9:15 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Thursday; “Avengers: Infinity War,” 7 p.m. Tuesday and 9 p.m. Thursday; “Gemini,” 5 p.m. Saturday and 7 p.m. Wednesday; “A Quiet Place,” 7 p.m. Saturday; and “Isle of Dogs,” 4 p.m. Sunday. Info:
“The Goonies” and “Jaws”: Marcus Theatres is doing its best to hang onto summer with two of the summer-est movies ever. “The Goonies,” the 1985 kids’ adventure tale, and “Jaws,” Steven Spielberg’s 1976 masterpiece, are showing Friday through Monday at Marcus Theatres’ Bistroplex Southridge and Hillside, Majestic, Menomonee Falls, North Shore, Ridge and South Shore cinemas, with several showtimes daily. Tickets are $5. Info, including showit?).
times: marcustheatres.com.
“Cold Water”: In Olivier Assayas’ rarely shown 1994 drama, teenage lovers rebel against their families and society’s restrictions. Showing, in French with English subtitles, at 4 p.m. Friday; 8 p.m. Saturday; 5:50 p.m. Sunday; 10:20 a.m., 3:05 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. Monday; 8:40 p.m. Wednesday; and 9:20 p.m. Thursday. $11, $9 for Milwaukee Film members, $8 for seniors 60 and older, and $6 for kids 11 and younger. Info: mkefilm.org/oriental-theatre.
“2001: A Space Odyssey”: Here’s another chance to catch Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 inscrutable space saga, this time at 11:59 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Landmark Downer Theatre, 2589 N. Downer Ave. Tickets are $8.50. Info: landmarktheatres.com/milwaukee.
“The Black Swan”: Get your pirate on with one of the 1940s’ better swashbuckler tales, starring Tyrone Power. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Charles Allis Art Museum, 1801 N. Prospect Ave.; free parking is available in a marked lot across Royale Place (see Allis for details). $7, $5 for students and seniors and free for museum members. Info: charlesallis.org.
“Spartacus”: The Stanley Kubrickfest continues at the Oriental Theatre, 2230 N. Farwell Ave., with the 1960 epic that soured the master filmmaker on Hollywood for good. Kirk Douglas plays the title slave-turned-gladiator in this 197-minute opus, showing at 4:45 p.m. Monday. $11, $9 for Milwaukee Film members, $8 for seniors 60 and older, and $6 for kids 11 and younger. Info: mkefilm.org/oriental-theatre.
“Something in the Air”: 1968 was a year of revolution in France, and Olivier Assayas’ 2012 drama about love, identity and art during the upheavals in Paris that summer depicts the time with an unexpected tenderness. Showing in French with English subtitles at 3:05 p.m. Sunday at the Oriental Theatre, 2230 N. Farwell Ave. $11, $9 for Milwaukee Film members, $8 for seniors 60 and older, and $6 for kids 11 and younger. Info: mkefilm.org/oriental-theatre.
More Marvel movies on IMAX: The Marvel-movies-in-IMAX marathon continues at AMC Mayfair Mall 18, 2500 N. Mayfair Road, Wauwatosa, with the superhero oeuvre running in chronological order. Friday, it’s “Captain America: The First Avenger,” noon; “The Avengers,” 3 p.m.; “Iron Man 3,” 6:15 p.m.; “Thor: The Dark World,” 9:15 p.m. Saturday’s lineup includes “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” noon; “Guardians of the Galaxy,” 3:10 p.m.; “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” 6:15 p.m.; “Ant-Man,” 9:30 p.m. Sunday, it’s “Captain America: Civil War,” noon; “Doctor Strange,” 3:20 p.m.; “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” 6:10 p.m.; and “Spider-Man: Homecoming,” 9:20 p.m. And Monday, it’s “Thor: Ragnarok,” noon; “Black Panther,” 3 p.m.; “Avengers: Infinity War,” 6:05 p.m.; and “AntMan and the Wasp,” 9:30 p.m. Info (including ticket prices): amctheatres .com/movie-theatres/milwaukee/ amc-mayfair-mall-18.
This week’s free outdoor movies
“The Karate Kid” and “Spaceballs”: Two unrelated 1980s favorites — the original “Karate Kid,” with Ralph Macchio and Pat Morita, and Mel Brooks’ spoof of the “Star Wars” saga — close out the Summer Nights Movies at the Lakefront series in Veterans Park, 1010 N. Lincoln Memorial Drive. The movies start at dusk Sunday night.
“Thank Your Lucky Stars”: 1943 musical, nominally about a hapless duo’s attempt to put on a wartime charity show, worth seeing alone for the slew of cameos, from Humphrey Bogart to Dinah Shore. 8:15 p.m. Friday at Paul’s Alley Cinema, 170 S. 2nd St. Info: Paul’s Alley Cinema Facebook page.