TCD’s Milwaukee Film Fest Picks

Saturday, September 28

Mister (Skylan Brooks, L) and Pete (Ethan Dizon) must fend for themselves when their drug-addled parents abandon them, in Milwaukee-born director George Tillman Jr.’s “The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete.”

TCD Pick: Notorious | The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete

I know what you’re thinking: “Two films in one pick? I don’t get it.” Well, get this: Both come from the directorial mind of George Tillman Jr., a Milwaukee-born filmmaker who first came into the public eye with his second feature film Soul Food, a 1997 box-office smash starring Vanessa Williams, Vivica A. Fox and Mekhi Phifer. Tillman’s star has only risen from there: he subsequently directed Men of Honor, inspired by the first African-American to become a Master Diver in the U.S. Navy, produced the Barbershop film series, and returned to directing with Notorious, a 2009 biopic about the life of the rapper Notorious B.I.G. (aka Chris Wallace). He’ll be returning home for that screening as well as a screening of his newest film: The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete, a movie written by fellow Milwaukeean Michael Starrbury about two brothers trying to survive after their parents abandon them in the middle of a hot Brooklyn summer.

Notorious screens at noon at the Downer Theatre; The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete screens at 7:30 p.m. at the Oriental Theatre. Both films will screen only once.

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In “Blow Out,” a recording artist (John Travolta) seeking backing noise for a B movie stumbles onto what may be a political assassination. The Dissolve writers attending the festival collectively selected the film as one of their favorites.

TCD Pick: Blow Out, selected by The Dissolve

Blow Out is a film worth recommending in and of itself. With John Travolta at the helm as a recording artist who accidentally captures audio evidence of the assassination of a presidential contender, the film is a classic paranoid thriller by Brian De Palma. This is getting to the top of the page with the big picture for an additional important reason, though, it’s the film being screened by the recommendation of this year’s State of Cinema keynote speakers: staff members from the innovative new film criticism site, The Dissolve. Founded by Pitchfork Media Inc., and featuring a group of talented critics who cut their teeth on outlets including NPR, the LA Times, Slate and the A.V. Club, the site seeks to develop a model of criticism with the standards of old media and the accessibility of new media.

Staffers Keith Phipps, Scott Tobias, Tasha Robinson and Nathan Rabin are scheduled to attend the free roundtable discussion moderated by Milwaukee freelance writer Steven Hyden, beginning at 1 p.m. at the East Side Colectivo Coffee (2211 N. Prospect Ave.), around the corner from the Oriental Theatre. Blow Out will be screened subsequently at 4 p.m. at the Oriental Theatre.

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Extended Preview: Enter the Dragon

One of the coolest things about the Milwaukee Film Festival: It’s a time to see old films, as well as new. Sahan Jayasuriya steps out of his music writing bubble to reminisce about one of his favorite films, Enter the Dragon, the classic Bruce Lee kung-fu film that developed the genre in Hollywood and celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. The film will be screened Saturday night only, at a midnight showing at the Oriental Theatre.

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TCD also recommends: Tanta Agua 1:15 p.m., Fox-Bay Cinema; The Institute, 6:30 p.m., Oriental; Oh Boy , 7:15 p.m., Fox-Bay Cinema; This Ain’t California, 10 p.m., Downer

Saturday’s Full Listings:

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