Milwaukee filmmakers winning applause
‘First Man’
The first lunar landing is seen, today, as a pinnacle of achievement, a heroic moment in history.
For the people who actually lived it, it was something entirely different.
That’s what Oscarwinning director Damien Chazelle explores in “First Man,” which focuses on astronaut Neil Armstrong (Ryan Gosling) and the sacrifices and challenges he and his family faced in the runup to the Apollo 11 moon landing.
Claire Foy plays Janet Armstrong, Corey Stoll and Lukas Haas as fellow Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Colins, and Pablo Schreiber as Milwaukee native and Apollo 8 astronaut Jim Lovell. Justin Hurwitz — the Nicolet High School grad who won two Oscars for writing music for Chazelle’s previous movie, a little thing called “La La Land” — wrote the music for “First Man,” too.
The reviews have been mostly positive, especially for the space stuff in the movie.
“‘First Man’ has its challenges, though you’re apt to forget them once Armstrong reaches the moon, a brilliantly captured movie moment (with a very prominent American flag, in case you were worried) that reminds we can accomplish wonders with our collective gumption,” USA TODAY critic Brian Truitt wrote in his 3-star review. “First Man” is rated PG-13 for some thematic content and brief strong language. It runs for 138 minutes.
‘The Hate U Give’
Starr (Amandla Stenberg) lives between two realities: her lower-middle-class, mostly black neighborhood and her rich, mostly white prep school. But when she witnesses her best childhood friend being killed by a police officer, she’s forced to choose which reality she belongs in.
Based on a bestselling young-adult novel, “The Hate U Give,” directed by Milwaukee native George Tillman Jr., is getting some pretty terrific reviews. The movie’s solid cast includes Russell Hornsby, Regina Hall, Common, Anthony Mackie and Issa Rae.
In her A-minus review for Entertainment Weekly, Leah Greenblatt wrote that Tillman serves up in “The Hate U Give” “a message that feels too fresh and important to dismiss — not of hate but of hope, and faith that even if sharing these stories can’t magically fix what’s broken, telling them still matters.” “The Hate U Give” is rated PG-13 for mature
thematic elements, some violent content, drug material and language. It runs for 132 minutes.
‘The Old Man and the Gun’
Once upon a time, there was an old crook named Forrest Tucker. At the age of 70 — true story — after escaping from San Quentin, he hits the road and begins robbing banks, but in such a courtly way that it endeared him to everyone but the police.
Made in an old-school style by Waukesha native David Lowery, “The Old Man and the Gun” stars Robert Redford as Tucker, in what is being treated as the Hollywood legend’s valedictory since Redford said he was retiring from acting with this movie.
It’s also being treated as a potential Oscar nomination for Redford, whose cast includes fellow Oscar winners Sissy Spacek and Casey Affleck.
“David Lowery’s film is about as quiet and patient as what is ostensibly a caper movie can be,” Arizona Republic critic Bill Goodykoontz wrote in his 4star (out of 5) review. “Yet its engine never idles, in large part because Redford, at 82, remains a movie star, someone to whom we are drawn, even as he is politely robbing a bank with a note, a gun and a smile.” “The Old Man & the Gun” is rated PG-13 for brief language. It runs for 93 minutes.
‘Bad Times at the El Royale’
The El Royale is a rundown hotel split down the middle, straddling the border of Nevada and California. It’s also, in “Bad Times at the El Royale,” on the knife between heaven and, well, hell.
An over-the-top caper/crime/mayhem movie, “Bad Times at the El Royale” stars Jeff Bridges, Jon Hamm, Dakota Johnson, Cynthia Erivo and Chris Hemsworth, and is drawing mixed-positive reviews so far.
In his 3-star review, Washington Post critic Michael O’Sullivan gave it 3 stars, calling “Bad Times at the El Royale” “a schizoid thing: terribly, terribly entertaining, and at times just a wee bit soulless.” “Bad Times at the El Royale” is rated R for violence, language, some drug content and brief nudity. It runs for 141 minutes.
‘Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween’
R.L. Stine’s “Goosebumps” book series made it to the big screen in 2015 and became an unexpected hit (with a little help from Jack Black, as Stine himself). So, naturally, sequel. In “Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween,” Halloween itself comes to life, with a little help from Stine’s creepy ventriloquist Slappy. Black is back, along with Ken Jeong, Wendi McClendon-Covey and Caleel Harris. “Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween” is rated PG for scary content, some thematic elements, rude humor and language. It runs for 90 minutes.
‘Monsters and Men’
Like George Tillman Jr.’s “The Hate U Give,” which also opens in Milwaukee theaters Friday, “Monsters and Men” centers on a white police officer shooting a neighborhood kid of color, and people having to make a choice to do what’s right.
It approaches the story from three perspectives. One young man (Anthony Ramos) shot phone video of the shooting, and is under pressure from the police to not post it online. An AfricanAmerican cop (John David Washington, who played a different kind of police officer in “BlacKkKlansman”) struggles with how to do good in his community amid the escalating racial tension. A star high school athlete (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), energized by what’s happened, risks hurting his future if he takes a stand.
“‘Monsters and Men’s’ floating narrative approach leaves some resolution to be desired, but it gives it a presenttense feeling that ramps up its urgency,” Detroit News film critic Adam Graham wrote, giving the movie a B. “The film seems so freshly ripped from today’s headlines that it feels like there’s still more of the story to be told, which in a sense, there is.” “Monsters and Men” is rated R for language. It runs for 98 minutes.
Film Girl Film Festival
Formerly the Milwaukee Women’s Film Festival, the Film Girls Film Festival, this Friday through Sunday, is a lively and timely collection of works by and about women, including featurelength films and shorts programs as well as panel discussions on the power of women’s stories — and how they get told.
Making its home base at the Underground Collaborative, 161 W. Wisconsin Ave. (lower level of the Shops of Grand Avenue), the festival kicks off Friday at 7 p.m. with the documentary “Seeing Is Believing: Women Direct,” followed by an opening-night party at 9 p.m. Feature-length films and shorts programs fill the day Saturday starting at 10 a.m., capped off with an adult-centric shorts program at 10 p.m. Sunday, the festival kicks in with a workshop starting at 10:30 a.m., with more film programs through the afternoon.
Tickets are $10 per film or shorts program, $50 for a two-day festival pass and $70 for a three-day pass. Tickets are available at the door and online at filmfreeway.com/FilmGirlFilmFesti val/tickets.
For a complete program including filmmaker bios, go to filmgirlfilm.com.
The week’s best off-the-grid options (non-horror division)
❚ “Rear Window”: Alfred Hitchcock’s perfect thriller (no, really — it’s perfect) from 1954 stars James Stewart as a photographer who, while laid up with a broken leg, believes he’s spotted a murder out his back window. Grace Kelly plays his all-in girlfriend. 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Avalon Theater, 2473 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. $5. Info: avalonmke .com.
❚ “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”: Another Jimmy Stewart movie, another classic — this one, Frank Capra’s 1939 protect-your-democracy drama about a young idealist who’s promoted to the U.S. Senate, where he runs into a political machine’s buzzsaw. 2 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. Wednesday at Marcus Theatres’ Majestic, Menomonee Falls, North Shore, Ridge and South Shore cinemas. $12.50. Info:
❚ “Clueless”: Alicia Silverstone plays a teen matchmaker and style-setter in Amy Heckerling’s iconic 1995 Jane Austen-y comedy. 4 and 7 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. Monday at Marcus Theratres’ Bistroplex Southridge and Majestic Cinema. $5. Info:
❚ “Despicable Me 3”: The Minions and Gru are part of the first outdoor “Movie in the Glen” at Maslowski Park, 2200 W. Bender Road, at 7 p.m. Friday. Admission is free; concessions (including $3 Sprecher beer) available. Info: Welcome to Glendale Facebook page.
❚ “Son of Fury”: Tyrone Power plays a to-the-manor-born youth who, when he’s cheated out of his inheritance, heads out to sea and finds his own fortune in this 1942 adventure drama. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Charles Allis Art Museum, 1801 N. Prospect Ave.; free parking is now available in a marked lot across Royale Place (see the Allis for details). $7, $5 for seniors and students, free for museum members. Info: charles allis.org.
This week’s best horror bets
❚ “Halloween”: With the 40-yearssince sequel opening in theaters next Friday, it’s the perfect time to go back to the 1978 original, in which Michael Myers comes back to town and makes Jamie Lee Curtis’ babysitting stint a living hell. It’s showing at 9 p.m. Friday at Times Cinema, 5906 W. Vliet St., with a WMSE-FM DJ spin at 8 p.m. Admission is $5; info at timescinema.com. It’s also showing at 7:30 and 10 p.m. Wednesday, and 4:30 p.m. Thursday, at Marcus Theatres’ Majestic, Menomonee Falls, North Shore, Ridge and South Shore cinemas, for $12.50; info’s at marcus theatres.com.
❚ “The Love Witch”: Anna Biller’s trippy horror gem about a woman who, after landing her men through magic, discards them and collects some more. 7 p.m. Friday in a 35-millimeter print at Oriental Theatre, 2230 N. Farwell Ave. $11, $9 for Milwaukee Film members, $8 for seniors 60 and older, $6 for kids 12 and younger. Info: mkefilm.org/orien tal-theatre.
❚ “The Amityville Horror”: This based-on-a-sorta-true-story horror favorite from 1979 kicked off the new-era haunted house movie. 9:45 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday at Avalon. $5. Info: avalonmke.com.
❚ “Evil Dead 2”: Ash is back, and his chainsaw is ready to kick evil butt in Sam Raimi’s 1987 camp horror classic starring Bruce Campbell. 11:59 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Landmark Downer Theatre, 2589 N. Downer Ave. $8.50. Info: landmarktheatres.com/milwaukee.