Explosions! Car Chases! Gun Fights! Sex! Corruption! Drug addiction! Today's magic of the movies seems to be defined by these motifs found in America's box office hits. But the Oriental Theatre, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Union Theatre, Downer Theatre, , Times Cinema, and Rosebud Cinema Drafthouse, tell an independent story of movie magic.
Milwaukeeans who seek films with a worldly conscience have found these theaters to serve the greater art of film. These local independent theaters are reporting great business and repay the community with a solid lineup of movie bliss.
The Oriental Theatre, 2230 N. Farwell Ave, is the holy temple of all Milwaukee movie theaters with its ornate architecture resembling an East Indian royal palace. Along with eye candy looks, the theater currently shows the big name independent and limited release films such as "There Will Be Blood," "Juno" and "No Country for Old Men." Smaller films of the like, such as "Persepolis" and "The Savages," are currently featured at its Landmark Theatre sister, the Downer Theatre, 2589 N. Downer Ave.
Eric Levin, general manager of the Oriental Theatre, has been working at there for years and has observed the shifts in movies which grace the coveted screen.
"Originally, the Oriental did the classic double feature," Levin said. "I ran a lot of classics here and did incredibly well with it until VHS came out. Then we changed to more artistic movies in the early 80's. Now everything we run is new and fresh, attracting a younger crowd."
UWM also plays an important role in Milwaukee's independent movie scene with the Union Theatre, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd. It has been in existence since 1972 and like the Oriental Theatre, moved away from second-run films in the early 1980s.
Linda Corbin-Pardee is the programming director and explained why Experimental Tuesdays (free admission to experimental films played on various Tuesdays) isn't the only reason the Union Theatre differs from the rest.
"The Union Theatre is an important outlet for the newest and finest films made around the world and independently in America, including Milwaukee premieres, film restorations, re-releases, and filmmaker visits," Corbin-Pardee said. "I think there's a wonderful audience for film in Milwaukee. Look at our attendance numbers (18,000 over the 2007 school year) and look also at the tremendous success of the Milwaukee International Film Festival."
The Union Theatre is currently in the middle of a French Film Festival featuring over a dozen films in just a week. The festival ends this Sunday. A complete listing of upcoming movies at the Union Theatre can be found at www.aux.uwm.edu/Union/about.html.
Shanti Chu is a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences and a frequenter of the UWM Union Theatre.
"I enjoy that I'm in a different environment with a wider variety of people," Chu said. "They offer foreign, short and independent films that many other movie theaters don't offer. It is also usually cheaper so you're getting better quality and more unique films for a better price."
Other theaters that show big name limited release movies are partners Times Cinema, 5906 W. Vliet St, and Rosebud Cinema Drafthouse, 6823 W. North Ave. Along with movies like "There Will Be Blood," the Times Cinema also shows old movies like the Hitchcock classic "The Man Who Knew Too Much" starting Feb. 23.
Nathan Viehl, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences, admitted that the Oriental Theatre wins the aesthetics category for Milwaukee movie theaters, but a theater's looks aren't what drives him to the movies.
"It's usually all about what's playing," Viehl said. "The Times isn't the nicest when it comes to cleanliness, but it gets old movies a lot, which is fun to see."
And for those who can't enjoy a movie without lounging on the couch sipping a beer, the Rosebud Cinema Drafthouse meets both of those needs. Look for this venue to be a hit when the theater shows the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones series, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," opening May 22.