300: Rise of an Empire R
Leading the charge against invading Persian forces, Greek General Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) pits his ships against vengeful Persian naval commander Artemisia (Eva Green) and the god Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). Filmed with the same slow-mo, stop-motion effects of 300, this Greekquel returns Lena Headey to the role of Queen Gorgo, though she mainly narrates the first act leading up to a string of bloody clashes at sea. Once again, the violence is surreal and gory in the style of a graphic novel, since little pretense is made to make us care about the brave Greeks fighting to save their country and culture. (Lisa Miller)
It Felt like Love Not Rated
In Eliza Hittman’s first feature film, fantasy obscures the fine line between love and obsession. Fourteen-year-old Lila (Gina Piersanti) spends an unremarkable summer at home on the outskirts of Brooklyn searching to find her identity. Caught between adolescence and adulthood, Lila attempts to emulate her promiscuous best friend Chiara (Giovanna Salimeni) after meeting Sammy (Ronen Rubenstein), a street thug notorious for his libertine behaviors. Lila awkwardly endeavors to draw Sammy to her but fails, so she begins fabricating tales about the two of them. Lila’s almost predatory behavior toward Sammy places her in a vulnerable position that could potentially put her in harm’s way. (Jay Peschman)
March 7-9, UW-Milwaukee Union Theatre
Mr. Peabody & Sherman PG
Genius canine Mr. Peabody (voiced by Ty Burrell) adopts orphaned Sherman (Max Charles), teaching history to the lad using his own WABAC time-travel machine. The doggie papa can’t predict Sherman will take pretty classmate Penny (Ariel Winter) on an unchaperoned tour that changes historical events and threatens our current timeline. To save the day, Peabody helps Sherman and Penny retrace their steps and right the wrongs they’ve committed. Meanwhile, the overly proper Peabody learns a thing or two about parenting in this pleasantly animated, overly predictable revival of a series begun in 1959. (L.M.)
