“They’re both judges,” explained Peter Goldberg, a retired public defender, as he waved at two filmgoers seated near the front of the Jan Serr Studio Cinema. We were there to see “The Guilty,” a Danish thriller that proved to be one of the most buzzworthy movies at the 10th annual Milwaukee Film Festival, which closed …
Of all the movies I would have guessed “Sicario: Day of the Soldado” to remind me of, “Jackie Brown” wouldn’t have been one of them. Hear me out. The second installment of the “Sircario” series is, underneath its sheen of gun violence and political intrigue, a hangout movie. It takes the two primary supporting characters …
Madeleine Olnek’s latest comedy is about a poet, but it’s not really about poetry. Instead, “Wild Nights with Emily,” which screened last night as the Milwaukee Film Festival’s centerpiece film, revisits the myths surrounding Emily Dickinson to assess how women have been perceived and misrepresented throughout American history. If Walt Whitman is the great extrovert …
Throughout my first year of teaching in West Bend, my paychecks always misspelled my name. Forgiving others for overlooking my surname’s very German second “n” has always been easy—after all, I have more than four decades of practice—but for me that doubled consonant is an unforgettable part of my identity, a family keepsake that, in …
The great French film director François Truffaut had a simple rule: If you want to know what a story’s really about, reflect on what’s changed by the end. By that metric, the story of the Milwaukee Film Festival’s first decade—its 10th edition opens Thursday—has a classic Hollywood theme. It’s the story of ragtag movie enthusiasts who …
Celebrating 10 Years: The 2018 Milwaukee Film Festival Read More »
After a decade in the making, John Travolta’s passion project, a biopic of my lifetime’s most infamous gangster, hits screens with a splat. Already infamous for its 0% Rotten Tomatoes score, “Gotti” is sure to be listed alongside “Battlefield Earth” as an example of Travolta’s lack of cinematic acumen when it comes to flexing his …
It’s a new era for Milwaukee Film, the parent organization for the Milwaukee Film Festival. By taking over the daily operation of the three-screen Oriental Theatre in July, the nonprofit has fortified its position as a major cultural institution and secured a path to long-term sustainability. Right now, it’s the future that’s most exciting about …
15 Great Movies from the Milwaukee Film Festival’s History Read More »
The first time we really see Ted Kennedy in John Curran’s “Chappaquiddick” is during a party at one of his family’s Martha’s Vineyard properties. Face ruddy with Scotch, he convenes his carefully curated crowd of babes and stooges, and gives them a lecture on the importance of family. Notably absent: His actual family, including his …
“Tag” is a comedy with a lot on its mind. That is to say, the movie tries to cram in so many subplots and themes that it bursts at the seams, left with only affable performances and some slick direction to patch the holes. Proudly touting a plot “based on a true story,” “Tag” follows …
“Avengers: Infinity War” is more a piece of connective tissue than a movie. Featuring an expansive collection of cinematic superheroes united in opposition to an intergalactic, genocidal environmentalist, there are enough characters here for ten movies, and enough plot for half of one. A decade in the making, the film features dozens of superheroes, precious …
