By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Oct 23, 2019 at 1:46 PM

The 2019 Milwaukee Film Festival is always full of surprises, but today might be the most surprising day of them all – and not just because I had a surprise guest for my daily three-to-see picks Facebook Live video.

Indeed, today is a most unpredictable day at the festival because the Oriental will host two showings of the annual Super Secret Members Only Screening – always a highlight pick, because it's only the best for Milwaukee Film members. (If you're not, what are you doing; fix that.) Of course, half of the fun of this screening is guessing what it might be, so allow me to join in with my own completely uninformed, shot-in-the-complete-dark prediction: "Waves."

The buzzy festival favorite – starring Sterling K. Brown as a family patriarch trying to keep his fracturing family together – comes courtesy of A24, a studio that Milwaukee Film is very familiar with (their gambling drama "Mississippi Grind" was the secret screening a few years ago), and writer-director Trey Edward Shults is no stranger to the festival either as his impressive feature debut "Krisha" was in competition back in 2015. Plus, the film's already played the big festivals and is now in the building buzz phase of its release (coming in November) and awards season rollout, so a Milwaukee Film Festival screening would fit in its schedule. 

But I've also never been right guessing this screening. Maybe it'll be "Cats." Who knows.

All I know is you should check it out – as well as these other two picks and my interview with the terrific Gretchen Hildebran, co-director of Milwaukee Film Festival selection "Decade of Fire," about the fires that scorched the Bronx in the '70s to the indifference of the city's government. Check it all out below:

  • "Cold Case Hammarskjold" screens at 4:30 p.m. at the Oriental Theatre
  • "Mister America" screens at 7 p.m. at the Times Cinema
  • The Super Secret Members Only Screening shows at 4 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at the Oriental Theatre

And a special thanks to Gretchen Hildebran for joining for today's picks! Remember: "Decade of Fire" screens again tomorrow at 6:45 p.m. at the Avalon.

For more of Matt's picks, read his 11 must-sees of the Milwaukee Film Festival. For more festival coverage, click here. And for now, we'll see you at the movies!

Matt Mueller Culture Editor

As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.

When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.