Reunited, and it feels so good ...

After taking a breather during the Milwaukee Film Festival (more on that in a moment), Dori and Kpolly got back behind the microphone to talk about the latest Marvel movie, Thunderbolts*. Due in part to the break in recording, this might be the first time in Cinebuds history that a film changed its title between its release and getting discussed on the podcast — nice to know the Marvel Cinematic Universe can still keep us on our toes 36 movies in.

You’ll hear our hosts talk about the focus on mental health that hovers over Thunderbolts*, the ideas about found family (or teammates), David Harbour’s welcome heaping helping of comic relief amid many other brooding characters and Florence Pugh’s commitment to her role that saw her leap off a 2,000-foot skyscraper.

Of course, we couldn’t close the episode with getting a quick Milwaukee Film Festival report from Kpolly, who happily notes the event’s 47% increase in attendance per theater.

On this episode, Dori welcomes some very special guests to talk about a very important film: Cycle.

More than five years in the making, Cycle takes an unflinching look at the patterns behind police violence in America through the story of Ty’rese West, an 18-year-old from Racine who was shot and killed by Mount Pleasant police officer Eric Giese in 2019 after being stopped for riding a bicycle without a headlight.

Joining the podcast to talk about their film — and their deep connections to it — are directors Laura Dyan Kezman and William Howell, both of whom are from Racine. Uniquely Milwaukee host Kim Shine also sits in for this one as the quartet talk about:

• Howell's personal connection to West's family and the Racine community, which helped build trust for the deeply personal footage in the film.
• The challenging process of obtaining public information from authorities.
• How the death of George Floyd in 2020 reframed their work.
• Who holds power in the criminal justice system, particularly the District Attorney.
• The challenges of and potential for filmmaking in Wisconsin.
• The hope that "Cycle" serves as a catalyst and inspires viewers to push social justice forward.

Cinebuds is sponsored by Joe Wilde Co.

Cinebuds is sponsored by Joe Wilde Co.

The Milwaukee Film Festival doesn’t stop after week one, so neither do we!

We’re into the second phase of the annual event, and in the extremely remote chance you thought Dori and Kpolly would run out of films to talk about, rest assured that the folks at Milwaukee Film have provided plenty to cover.

Speaking of those folks, programming director Kerstin Larson is back! If you want to get technical about how we record these things, she actually never left … but still. It’s great to have an insider like Kerstin helping us sort through the 96(!) features and oodles of short programs across five screens at the Oriental and Downer theaters.

On this episode, the trio briefly hit on the unique environment of a film festival, the excitement around seeing these projects that aren’t always what you expect, and how going to a theater will always (always!!!) kick the rear end of watching a movie at home.

Milwaukee Film Festival picks: Week 2

What Happened to Dorothy Bell? 
After uncovering disturbing revelations from her early childhood involving her late grandmother, Ozzie Gray sets out to investigate her past. Desperate for answers, she attempts to communicate with Dorothy's spirit but unwittingly awakens something malevolent.

Midnight Shorts
Who doesn't love a little mayhem? Your inner monster will thank you for this night of kooky comedies, hair-raising horror and cRuNCHy sqUISHYyy battles between flesh and … is that Cate Blanchett?! It's a late-night party so unhinged, you can only see it after midnight. OK, it starts at 10 p.m. … but maybe it’ll go until midnight?

Balomania
The culture and work of Brazilian baloeiros — secret groups of men who craft and launch intricate hot-air balloon art — deserve a place on the big screen. This epic portrayal captures the free-spirited artistry and subculture, showcasing a raw, authentic exploration of Brazilian masculinity.

Harvest
Over seven hallucinatory days, a village with no name, in an undefined time and place, disappears. Tsangari’s follow up to 2015's Chevalier, this tragicomic take on a Western follows townsman-turned-farmer Walter Thirsk (Caleb Landry Jones) and befuddled lord of the manor Charles Kent (Harry Melling), childhood friends who are about to face an invasion from the outside world: the trauma of modernity. 

The Milwaukee Show (One and Two)
Each year, The Milwaukee Show is one of the hottest tickets of the festival — a rare chance to see work from our local best and brightest in the gloriously opulent setting of our beloved Oriental Theatre's Abele Cinema. This collection of stunning shorts allows you to watch locally, yet think globally.

40 Acres
In a post-apocalyptic future where food is scarce, the last descendants of a Black family of farmers who settled in Canada after the American Civil War must protect their homestead from an organized militia hell-bent on taking their land. Structured like a typical apocalypse film, 40 Acres subverts expectations in ways that will leave you breathless. 

Magic Farm
A film crew working for an edgy media company travels to Argentina to profile a local musician, but their ineptitude leads them into the wrong country. As the crew collaborates with locals to fabricate a trend, unexpected connections blossom while a pervasive health crisis looms unacknowledged in the background.

OMilwaukee Film programming director Kerstin Larson joins Dori and Kpolly to talk about the return of the Milwaukee Film Festival, including some of their favorite selections from the two-week event:

• Sally, a documentary about Sally Ride, directed by Milwaukee native Christina Constantini, is the opening night film. Christina Costantini also directed Science Fair, which was an opening night film a few years prior.
• Teaches of Peaches, a documentary about the musician Peaches, will be shown on the first full day of the festival. This film is part of the Sound Vision program and also fits into the genre queer category.
• Desperately Seeking Susan, starring Madonna, will have a screening with Susan Sidleman in attendance for a book signing and talk. This is the film's 40th anniversary.
• Boys Go to Jupiter is an animated film described as goofy and cute with a cast of alternative comedy voice actors.
• Waves is a historical period piece about a rogue radio station in the Czech Republic in the 1960s.
• Art Spiegelman: Disaster Is My Muse, a documentary about the graphic novelist who wrote "Mouse," will be featured.
• Green Blah, The History of Green Bay Punk Rock is a documentary about the punk rock scene in Green Bay.
• Pavements is a documentary about the band Pavement with an experimental twist that includes a fictional movie about the band being filmed simultaneously, starring actors like Joe Keery and Jason Schwartzman.

For more info on this year's film festival, visit the Milwaukee Film website.

Cinebuds is sponsored by Joe Wilde Co.

When you heard the news earlier this month that Val Kilmer died, your mind likely jumped to an image of him from one of his movies. Iceman from Top Gun was no doubt the one that most people conjured. Or was it Doc Holliday from Tombstone? Or Jim Morrison from The Doors? Or Madmartigan from Willow?

If you need evidence of Kilmer’s lasting impact on the film world, that should be enough. Even the most casual of movie-watchers can easily replay a scene in their head from one of his many memorable roles (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang being a personal favorite … if you haven’t seen it, it’s well worth your four bucks to rent).

On this episode of Cinebuds, Dori and Kpolly take a beautifully heartbreaking trip through Val Kilmer’s filmography by sharing their personal connections to his work and delving into his illustrious career — with a slight bias you’d expect from kids of the ’80 and ’90s, as our hosts are.

Was Kilmer the most unsung leading man of his generation? Does that sell him short from a career perspective considering his theater work and Grammy nomination? We start to answer those questions in this episode.

We've got unicorns on the brain! 🦄

On this episode, Dori and Kpolly wrangle their thoughts around the mythically weird and wild recent release, Death of a Unicorn. Forget those glittery gallopers you might be used to. This one from A24 serves up some serious "don't mess with magical creatures" vibes.

Our cinematic duo chat about whether this flick gives them the same excited feeling as those old-school Miramax days (you know, before... that) and even pit it against the legendary Cocaine Bear. High praise or low bar? You gotta listen to find out!

Cinebuds is sponsored by Joe Wilde Co.

We’re a scant two days into April, and Milwaukee Film has lined up a couple series that will keep your eyes glued to the big screen throughout the month — one of which gets all of our attention on this episode of Cinebuds.

Because they’re naturally colorful characters, Dori and Kpolly of course wanted to talk about “Animation April,” which will cover nearly 40 years of the art form that brings the fantastic to life at theaters everywhere. The Milwaukee Film series focuses intently on one particular theater: The Oriental, which will roll out nine selections over the next several weeks.

“Animation can fascinate audiences both young and old,” Milwaukee Film’s Black Lens programmer Ty Williams said in a release. “From painstakingly made claymation to visually mind blowing anime, these films have been made with care from some of the greatest creatives in the industry.”

• April 3 at 7 p.m. — Ghost in the Shell
• April 3-5 at 9 p.m. — Cowboy Bepop: The Movie
• April 5-6 at 3 p.m. — The Land Before Time
• April 10-12 at 9 p.m. — Mindgame
• April 11 at 3 p.m. — Flow
• April 12-13 at 3 p.m. — The Prince of Egypt
• April 13 at noon and 6 p.m. — Flow
• April 17-19 at 9 p.m. — Paprika
• April 18 at 4 p.m. — Memoir of a Snail
• April 19-20 at 3 p.m. — The Last Unicorn
• April 20 at 6 p.m. — Memoir of a Snail

On this episode, we dive into the new concert film Lifers with two of the people who know it best because they lived it: Local H's Scott Lucas and cinematographer Wes Knot.

They talk with Radio Milwaukee's Dori Zori about how the idea for Lifers came about during Local H's COVID-delayed tour and how Lucas wanted to create something beyond a typical concert video, drawing inspiration from movies like Goodbye Dragon Inn and Slacker. What they ended up with is a unique blend of live performance footage from their final tour stop at the Metro in Chicago and narrative vignettes featuring both actors and real concertgoers.

Cinebuds is sponsored by Joe Wilde Co.

We don’t exactly keep rock-solid statistics for this sort of thing, but to the best of our recollection, this episode of Cinebuds sets a new land-speed record for sheer number of movies mentioned in a single episode. Given the topic, that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

In addition to being a Cinebud, Dori Zori is 88Nine’s morning host and — this next one is an unofficial title — queen of the station’s International Women’s Day programming. She got that particular tradition started a decade ago, putting her passion for female, femme and female-identifying artists on the air for all to hear.

So you know we weren’t going to let March pass by without a Cinebuds episode devoted to impactful women in the movie industry. Dori and Kpolly name drop more than 30 films during their chat, in addition to giving general co-signs to the work of Marlene Dietrich and Katharine Hepburn. They also point out a few individuals who may not be quite as well-known to movie lovers, like film editor Thelma Schoonmaker, who has worked alongside director Martin Scorsese for more than five decades.

We did our best to collect all the movies they mentioned and sort them in the lists below. Take a look at your options and host your own screening this March and all year round.


Women’s History Month movies


Starring roles

• 9 to 5, starring Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda
• Coffy, starring Pam Grier (showing at the Oriental Theatre from March 20-22)
• Stormy Weather, starring Lena Horne
• Gaslight, starring Ingrid Bergman
• A League of Their Own, starring Geena Davis
• Private Benjamin, starring Goldie Hawn
• Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, starring Carrie Fisher

Director’s cut

• The Future, directed by Miranda July
• Kajillionaire, directed by Miranda July
• Me and You and Everyone We Know, directed by (and starring) Miranda July
• Certain Women, directed by Kelly Reichardt
• First Cow, directed by Kelly Reichardt
• You Were Never Really Here, directed by Lynne Ramsay
• Lemon, directed by Janicza Bravo
• Zola, directed by Janicza Bravo
• The Hurt Locker, directed by Kathryn Bigelow
• The Fire Inside, directed by Rachel Morrison

Behind the scenes

• The Departed, edited by Thelma Schoonmaker (showing at the Oriental Theatre on March 25)
• Black Panther, cinematography by Rachel Morrison
• Fruitvale Station, cinematography by Rachel Morrison
• Dope, cinematography by Rachel Morrison

CineAre you about to experience the most adorable episode of Cinebuds ever? It’s hard to say definitively, but considering the podcast has somehow never reviewed a film from the Paddington Cinematic Universe, the cute factor will be pretty high for this one.

The latest entry in the series featuring the duffle-coat-wearing ursine, Paddington in Peru, puts the premise right there in the title. Paddington receives some concerning news about his Aunt Lucy from the Home for Retired Bears in and crosses an ocean — with the Brown family in tow — to learn that she’s vanished. So, with help from Antonio Banderas, they set out to find her. And maybe discover an ancient treasure.

In a very on brand sort of way, both of our cuddly hosts came into this episode as fans of the previous Paddington movies. One of them even listens to the voice of Ben Wishaw (as Paddington, of course) at bedtime because it’s “delightful and gentle and kind.”

Not to give too much away, but only two of those adjectives apply to Paddington in Peru. Whether it’s because the previous films set a very high bar or the latest entry didn’t quite coalesce the way those others did, Dori and Kpolly weren’t quite as tickled this time around.


Cinebuds is sponsored by Joe Wilde Garage Door Company.