Before I Wake PG-13
Following the death of their biological son, married couple Mark and Jessie (Thomas Jane and Kate Bosworth) seek happiness by adopting adorable orphan Cody. Their one concern is that Cody is sleep deprived. Mark and Jessie soon learn the reason. Whatever Cody dreams becomes manifest in our world, a spell that can be broken only by waking up the lad. All's well when Cody dreams happily, but when he has nightmares, Cody conjures beings that attack him and others. While the trailer for this film promises stunning visuals, its release has been a nightmare of its own. Shot in 2013, Before I Wake relinquished multiple release dates while its distributor, Relativity Media, battled bankruptcy. (Lisa Miller)
The Boss R
Melissa McCarthy and her husband, Ben Falcone, co-wrote this story based on McCarthy’s improvisational character, Michelle Darnell. The wealthiest woman in America, Michelle is also its most entitled until she’s convicted of insider trading, goes to prison and loses her fortune. Once released, Michelle moves in with the only person who will have her, Michelle’s former personal assistant Claire (Kristen Bell). A single mother to aspiring Girl Scout Rachel (Ella Anderson), Michelle helps Claire out by babysitting the girl. She teaches Rachel’s Brownie troop fail-proof, take-no-prisoners tactics to sell cookies. Meanwhile, Michelle’s penchant for stepping on and over everyone gets in the way of making her an American Success Story. (L.M.)
Demolition R
Sad-eyed Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Davis, an investment banker-hollow man contending with the aftermath of his wife’s sudden death. The screenplay employs a device better suited to literature than film—a series of autobiographical epistles Davis writes to a vending machine company to complain that he didn’t receive the M&Ms for which he paid. In this unreal scenario, the complaint manager (Naomi Watts) begins calling and strikes up an unprofessional relationship. Demolition tortures its metaphors but is filmed in interesting quick takes, makes a few observations about the distracted emptiness of contemporary life and features a fine performance by Chris Cooper as Davis’ father-in-law and boss. (David Luhrssen)
Opens April 8, Oriental Theatre.
Did an Asteroid Really Kill the Dinosaurs? Not Rated
That’s the title of—and question addressed in digestible detail in—a Milwaukee Public Museum in-house film showing now through May 15 at their Humphrey IMAX Dome Theater. We begin with a middle school teacher and her students examining meteorites in the museum’s dinosaur exhibit. Then comes the inevitable question: “So, what happened to the dinosaurs?” The remainder of this short, kid-friendly documentary answers that intriguing question—with fine, authoritative narration provided by Milwaukee thespian James Pickering. We also learn that descendants of the great “terrible lizards” populate our planet today. (John Jahn)
Hardcore Henry R
Filmed using a GoPro camera mounted on a helmet, Hardcore Henry’s titular hero has eluded death thanks to the application of cybernetic body parts and super strong prosthetics to what’s left of him. The catch is, he’s amnesiac, and because he’s attacked before his speech center can be activated, can’t ask questions. Henry’s wife has been kidnapped, obliging Henry to rely on his super strength and other abilities to dispense with dozens of bad guys in order to effect a rescue. Seeing everything through Henry’s eyes closely mirrors the videogamer’s experience, which is at once jarring and invigorating. (L.M.)
Marguerite R
Baroness Marguerite Dumont performs regularly at salons in her chateau near Paris, singing opera arias accompanied by a well-paid, compliant orchestra. But her voice is so screechy that her husband always arranges excuses for missing the performance. The audience applauds, the servants send flowers as if from adoring fans and no one has the heart to tell her she can’t sing. Catherine Frot plays the title role in this well-performed, beautifully composed period comedy by director Xavier Giannoli. Marguerite gently measures the distance between delusion and reality and asks the question: “Is every truth good to hear?” (D.L.)
Opens April 8, Downer Theatre.
Movie Collectable Show
Memorabilia collectors: fill out your wish lists (and fill up your wallets with cash). The semi-annual Movie Collectable Show, organized by Milwaukee’s genial film historian Dale E. Kuntz, takes place this Sunday, April 10. As curator of the Charles Allis Art Museum’s movie series, Kuntz is steeped in golden age Hollywood (and leans toward musicals), but the dozens of dealers at this event will cover the past century with posters, stills, DVDs, press kits, lobby cards, autographs and more. (D.L.)
10 a.m.-4 p.m., Burnham Bowl Hall, 6016 W. Burnham.
