A new ‘Girl,’ a new ‘Grinch,’ a new Nazi evil
‘The Girl in the Spider’s Web’
Lisbeth Salander is back, and the queen of England has got her.
Claire Foy, who plays Queen Elizabeth in Netflix’s “The Crown” (and Neil Armstrong’s wife, Janet, in “First Man”), plays the tattooed Swedish hacker with attitude in “The Girl in the Spider’s Web,” the latest attempt to make movies out of the characters created by Stieg Larsson and continued by David Lagercrantz. She’s the third to take on the role; Noomi Rapace played her in three Swedish releases, and Rooney Mara embodied her in the American-made “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”
This time, Salander, part vigilante and part avenger, is recruited to track down a computer program stolen by American intelligence that could, in the wrong hands, rain down World War III. Along the way, she recruits old friends (Sverrir Gudnason), confronts new foes (”Sorry to Bother You’s” Lakeith Stanfield as an NSA operative) and squares off against her long-lost sister (Sylvia Hoeks), who appears to have a score to settle.
USA TODAY critic Brian Truitt gave “The Girl in the Spider’s Web” 21⁄2 stars, saying it “makes for an entertaining dose of international intrigue. But it’s also filled with over-the-top action sequences that even 007 would find bloody ridiculous and a convoluted narrative … that does its enigmatic heroine a disservice by demystifying her.”
“The Girl in the Spider’s Web” is rated R for violence, language, and some sexual content and nudity. It runs for 112 minutes. ‘The Grinch’
Do we really need another Grinch? Guess we’ll find out.
The latest telling of Dr. Seuss’ beloved tale stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the Christmas-season-hating title character in “The Grinch.” There’s Max, Cindy-Lou Who and, for some reason, a fat reindeer named Fred, as the Grinch sets out to steal Christmas from all the Who’s down in Whoville.
On the other hand, it’s made by the people who brought us the Minions, who know something about evil schemes.
“The Grinch” is rated PG for brief rude humor. It runs for 86 minutes.
‘Overlord’
Now, here’s a World War II story they don’t tell you about on the History channel.
In “Overlord,” a team of American soldiers parachutes into Nazi-occupied France just hours before D-Day, to destroy a radio transmitter inside a fortified church. But in the church basement they make a disturbing discovery: a Nazi lab brimming with the results of an experiment gone gruesomely wrong — trying to turn human subjects into supermen, but creating monsters instead.
Produced by J.J. Abrams, “Overlord” stars Jovan Adepo as the soldier who ends up leading the unit and Mathilde Ollivier as the unit’s French Resistance contact.
So far, the movie’s getting mostly good reviews. But don’t count Variety’s Amy Nicholson among them: “‘Overlord’ works best as a patriotism booster shot — it’s ‘Inglourious Basterds” without a swizzle of irony.” “Overlord” is rated R for violence, gore, disturbing images, language and brief sexual content. It runs for 110 minutes.
The week’s best off-the-grid picks
Best of the fest: Milwaukee Film continues its string of “Best of the Fest” screenings of movies that were a hit at this year’s Milwaukee Film Festival at the Oriental Theatre, 2230 N. Farwell Ave. This week’s offerings include:
❚ “The Cakemaker”: Israel’s entry for the foreign-language film Oscar. 1:45 and 4:15 p.m. Friday, and 7 p.m. Monday.
❚ “Science Fair”: The Audience Award winner at this year’s festival. 4:45 p.m. Friday; 1:30 and 3:45 p.m. Saturday; 12:15 and 3:30 p.m. Sunday; and 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
❚ “The Guilty”: The Danish crime thriller — like “The Cakemaker,” Denmark’s
official entry for the Academy Award for best foreign-language film. 7:10 p.m. Friday, and 4:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.
❚ “Hale County, This Morning This
Evening”: The documentary about life in a rural, mostly black community in the South won the Herzfeld Competition Award at this year’s festival. 7 p.m. Wednesday and 9:20 p.m. Thursday.
❚ “Madeline’s Madeline”: This drama about a young actress (Helena Howard) whose personal dramas are tapped by her theater company was nominated for best feature at the IFP Gotham Awards during the Milwaukee Film Festival. 9:20 p.m. Friday, 1 and 9:25 p.m. Sunday, 9:30 p.m. Monday, 9:20 p.m. Tuesday, 9 p.m. Wednesday and 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
❚ “Jinn”: Newcomer Zoe Renee, the daughter of Milwaukee hip-hop stalwart Speech, plays a teenager trying to adjust when her mother converts to Islam. 7 p.m. Thursday.
$11, $9 for Milwaukee Film members, $8 for seniors 60 and older, $6 for kids 12 and younger. Info: mkefilm.org/ oriental-theatre.
“G.I. Blues”: Elvis Presley’s first movie after getting out of the Army after being stationed in Germany was this 1960 musical about … a guy in the Army stationed in Germany. Dancer-actress Juliet Prowse is the object of his inevitable
affection; songs include the title track and “Wooden Heart.” 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Avalon Theater, 2473 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. $5. Info: avalonmke. com.
“Desperately Seeking Susan” and “Smithereens”: One’s a Hollywood hit, the other’s a cutting-edge indie, and they’re both directed by Susan Seidelman, one of the 1980s’ smartest directors.
❚ “Susan,” from 1985, stars Rosanna Arquette as a bored housewife who, after a bout of amnesia, is mistaken for the title scenester, played by the then-onthe-top-of-the-world Madonna. 9 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday at UWM Union Cinema, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd. $5, free for UWM students and Union Cinema members. Info: cinema.uwm. edu.
❚ “Smithereens,” Seidelman’s breakthrough movie from 1982, follows a runaway as she scrambles through the end of the punk era in New York City. 7 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday at UWM Union Cinema. $5, free for UWM students and Union Cinema members. Info: cinema.uwm.edu.
“Die Hard”: The holidays come a little early in the form of a surprising number of people’s favorite Christmas movie — the 1988 smart-alecky action movie starring Bruce Willis taking on terrorists who take over an office tower during a holiday party. 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: marcustheatres.com.
“The Boy With Green Hair”: In this 1948 fable directed by blacklist victim Joseph Losey, Dean Stockwell plays a war orphan who wakes up one morning with green hair, and instantly finds himself the source of abuse and ridicule. Showing as part of the Jewish Museum Milwaukee’s special exhibit “Blacklist: The Hollywood Red Scare.” 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the museum, 1360 N. Prospect Ave. Free with museum admission: $7, $6 for seniors 60 and older, $4 for students, and free for members and children 6 and younger. Info: jewish museummilwaukee.org/blacklist.
“My Best Friend’s Wedding”: Julia Roberts sets out to thwart her longtime friend’s (Dermot Mulroney) impending marriage to a pretty young(er) thing (Cameron Diaz) in this 1997 romantic comedy that turned “Say a Little Prayer” into a singalong song. 4 and 7 p.m. Sunday and 7 p.m. Monday at Marcus Theatres’ Bistroplex-Southridge and Majestic Cinema. $5. Info: marcustheatres. com.
“Liz and the Bluebird”: Japanese animated drama about two friends, high school seniors, whose final music competition together underscores the tensions in their relationship. In Japanese with English subtitles. 7 p.m. Monday at Marcus Theatres’ Majestic and Ridge cinemas. $15. Info: marcustheatres. com.
“Over the Limit”: Documentary portrait of Russian gymnast Margarita Mamun and the pressures she (and athletes like her) face as they battle competition and themselves toward getting into the Olympics. 7 p.m. Wednesday at UWM Union Cinema. $5, free for UWM students and Union Cinema members. Info: cinema.uwm.edu.
“Burn the Stage: The Movie”: Concert documentary offers a behind-thescenes look at the global tour by monster K-pop boy band. 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Marcus Theatres’ Hillside, Majestic, Menomonee Falls, North Shore, Ridge and South Shore cinemas. Info: