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‘Challengers,’ ‘Boy Kills World,’ ‘People’s Joker,’ other movies in Milwaukee this week

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‘Challengers,’ ‘Boy Kills World,’ ‘People’s Joker,’ other movies in Milwaukee this week

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Last year, it was Taylor Swift and Beyoncé’s world. Is it Zendaya’s this year?

Here’s what’s new in Milwaukee-area theaters starting Friday, as well as some of the new movies available on streaming and on demand this week.

‘Challengers’

Short version: Just as she did in “Dune: Part Two,” Zendaya plays another force of nature, this time a tennis-star-turned-coach. Her world takes a different kind of bounce when her husband, a former tennis champ himself (Mike Faist), has to play against a washed-up star (Josh O’Connor) who, in addition to being his former best friend is his wife’s ex. Filmmaker Luca Guadagnino (“Call Me By Your Name”) directed this tangled romantic drama.

Where you can see it: ACX Cinema/Bayshore; AMC Mayfair Mall; Marcus Theatres’ Bistroplex Southridge, Hillside, Majestic, Menomonee Falls, Movie Tavern Brookfield Square, North Shore, Ridge, South Shore cinemas; Oriental Theatre; Silverspot Cinema.

‘Boy Kills World’

Short version: A young man seeks revenge against the matriarch of the post-apocalyptic dynasty that is responsible not only for the murder of his family but for leaving him deaf and voiceless. Bill Skarsgård, Famke Janssen, Jessica Rothe, Sharlto Copley, Michelle Dockery and Yayan Ruhia star in this violent sci-fi action movie.

Where you can see it: Marcus Theatres’ Hillside, Majestic, Menomonee Falls, North Shore, Ridge, South Shore cinemas.

‘Unsung Hero’

Short version: For KING + COUNTRY singer Joel Smallbone plays his father, David Smallbone, in this faith-fueled story of his decision, after his business fails, to start over and move his family from Australia to the United States, where two of his kids become Christian music stars.

Where you can see it: AMC Mayfair Mall; Marcus Theatres’ Bistroplex Southridge, Hillside, Majestic, Menomonee Falls, Movie Tavern Brookfield Square, North Shore, Ridge, South Shore cinemas.

‘Chicken for Linda’

Short version: A mother asks her young daughter what she wants more than anything, she replies “chicken with peppers” — a request that sends mother and daughter on a quest that quickly goes out of control in this charming animated French film.

Where you can see it: Oriental Theatre.

‘La Chimera’

Short version: In this drama by writer-director Alice Rohrwacher, a mourning Englishman (Josh O’Connor) digs around Italy with a band of tomb robbers. This movie, which drew near-capacity audiences at this year’s Milwaukee Film Festival, returns for a full week under Milwaukee Film’s “Best of Fest” banner.

Where you can see it: Downer Theatre.

‘The Beast’

Short version: A woman (Lea Seydoux) falls in love with different incarnations of the same man (George MacKay) in three different time periods in Bertrand Bonello’s dreamlike sci-fi romance. Like “La Chimera,” this “Best of Fest” drama, in French and English, returns after a pair of screenings at the Milwaukee Film Festival.

Where you can see it: Oriental Theatre.

‘The People’s Joker’ at Oriental Theatre

“The People’s Joker,” the low-budget parody of the supervillain movie that found a cult following after it was pulled from release over copyright concerns, is back for a handful of screenings at the Oriental Theatre, at 9 p.m. April 26 and May 2 and 7 p.m. April 27-28. Screenwriter Bri LeRose will be on hand for a Q&A at the April 26 screening. Tickets are $13. Info: mkefilm.org/oriental-theatre.

Italian Film Festival at UWM Union Cinema

The 2024 Italian Film Festival USA brings eight recent Italian movies to the UWM Union Cinema, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd., April 26-28. Among the mix of comedy and drama: “Romeo Is Juliet,” a comedy about a young woman who, rejected for the female lead, auditions for Romeo in disguise, at 5 p.m. April 27; the historical drama “Kidnapped,” 7 p.m. April 27; and “A Hundred Sundays,” in which a father’s plans for his daughter’s engagement reception become complicated, 5 p.m. April 28. Admission is free. Info: italianfilmfests.org/milwaukee.html.

‘Cry-Baby’ at Times Cinema

John Waters’ juvenile-delinquent gem “Cry-Baby,” with Johnny Depp, is showing at 7:30 p.m. April 26 at the Times Cinema. Tickets are $11. Info: timescinema.com.

Also showing at UWM Union Theatre this week

This week, the UWM Union Cinema, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd., is also showing: a pair of short documentaries on different aspects of the Black experience, “Ten Five in the Grass” and “Company Line,” starting at 7 p.m. April 30; and Robert Altman’s 1975 classic “Nashville,” 7 p.m. May 1. Admission is free. Info: uwm.edu/studentinvolvement/arts-and-entertainment.

New movies on demand

“Blue Giant”: A student’s world is transformed when his brother gives him a saxophone and he discovers the world of jazz in this Japanese anime drama. Available April 30.

Recent releases newly available on demand: “The Promised Land,” April 30.

New movies on streaming services

“The Idea of You”: A 40-year-old single mom (Anne Hathaway) takes her daughter to a boy band’s concert and has a chance encounter with the band’s leader (Nicholas Galitzine) that leads to romance — and an uncomfortable moment in the spotlight. Former Greendale resident Jim Frohna was cinematographer on the buzzed-about romantic drama. On Prime Video May 2.

“The Contestant”: This new documentary explores one of reality TV’s darkest moments, when in 1998 an unwitting contestant on a Japanese show was left naked in a room for more than a year, only able to get food and clothing by entering magazine contests. On Hulu May 2.

“Turtles All the Way Down”: An obsessive-compulsive teenager lets the questions in her head get in the way of her happiness, but not if her best friend has anything to say about it in this teen romance based on a John Green novel. On Max May 2.

Recent releases newly available on streaming services: “The Holdovers,” Prime Video April 29.

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