Fall projects: Birthday Subscriptions; Duck Soup Cinema; Film Conversations
Help celebrate the shared birthday of Rob Thomas and James Kreul, September 3, by supporting locally written film Substack newsletters.
Scroll down for Now Showing in Madison, September 1–8, 2025
I’m postponing a review of Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, which I saw last night and liked quite a bit, so that I can bring you updates about some upcoming projects. But as far as I can tell, as I write this there are only three more screenings of Highest 2 Lowest at Marcus Point: Today (Monday) at 5:00pm, and Tuesday at 9:50pm and Wednesday at 1:30pm. So if you have any interest in seeing it on the big screen, don’t wait for my full review.
September Birthday Subscription Drive with Rob Thomas at Not That Rob Thomas
It’s my birthday on Wednesday, September 3. It’s Rob Thomas’s birthday, too! Help us celebrate by subscribing to our Substack newsletters, both of which discuss films and film culture in Madison.
One-year paid subscriptions of Not That Rob Thomas are 30% off through September 15. And monthly or annual paid subscriptions of Moving Image Madison are 20% off through September 30.
I have to tip my hat to Rob Thomas. This Substack stuff is a lot of work! And Rob has posted 176 film reviews and articles over the past 22 months at his Substack, Not That Rob Thomas, much of it about movies in Madison. That’s on top of the great work that he’s doing these days at Madison Minutes and City Cast Madison.
Rob interviewed me in his early days at The Capital Times in 1999 when I had a live video art piece in Wisconsin Triennial. And my scrapbook of early UW-Cinematheque and Wisconsin Film Festival coverage has many Rob Thomas reviews and articles. Rob has been dedicated to covering movies in Madison, and he started his own Substack in November 2023 as a space to write beyond his newspaper coverage.
That’s almost two years of free content for all of us. And it is content that is harder to find these days: local movie coverage. Back in July, Richard Brody at The New Yorker wrote the spirited, “In Defense of the Traditional Review,” insisting on a role for criticism within the current fractured media landscape. Based on the current newspaper and magazine business models, Brody may be charging at windmills, unfortunately.
But even before local arts coverage (and newspapers themselves) began to decline, there has always been this idea that movies are not part of the local arts community. Some of us think otherwise.
Back in January, Grant Phipps at Tone Madison provided an overview of projects that have embraced the local dimension of film culture. The second half of the article recalls projects that eventually ran out of steam, because they were more or less labors of love.
Like my Moving Image Madison, Rob’s Not That Rob Thomas continues to be a labor of love. But now you can show your appreciation with a paid subscription.
If you can’t commit to a paid subscription at this time, help us spread the word by encouraging the film fans in your social circles to try a free subscription to see what they’re missing. Oh, and Happy Birthday, Rob!
Duck Soup Cinema 2025-2026 season announced tomorrow, September 2.
This is going to be a great season for Duck Soup Cinema at the Overture Center. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see the lineup, but here are a few details and hints. The dates to mark in your calendar are:
Saturday, November 22, 2025
Saturday, February 21, 2026
Saturday, June 13, 2026
All three of the features this season will be 35mm prints. One will be a less-frequently screened film with a major silent era comedy star. One will be an adaptation of a famous stage production with charmingly innovative special effects. And one of them provided me with the opportunity to correspond with some well respected silent film historians to secure the print.
Check the Overture Center Duck Soup Cinema page tomorrow (Tuesday, September 1) for more details!
Film Conversations, my online film appreciation class, returns November 4
I’m pleased to announce that I will offer my online film appreciation class, Film Conversations, through the Arts + Literature Laboratory Adult Education program this Fall. The six-session course will meet via Zoom on Tuesday nights at 6:00pm starting November 4, 2025.
Students in Film Conversations will watch feature films on the free streaming service Kanopy before the Tuesday night Zoom sessions. Each session, I will introduce concepts in film style and narrative structure to broaden your movie vocabulary beyond "thumbs up" and "thumbs down."
If you’d like to see what the class experience is like, I can share a link to a sample recorded class from last Fall, on request. For more details and to register, consult the Arts + Literature Laboratory Adult Education page.
Now Playing In Madison: September 1–8, 2025
Please confirm showtimes with the venues (follow venue links where provided). The commercial theaters update their weekend listings on Wednesdays.
Comments here are not reviews of the films, they are usually a response to the trailer, a summary of the buzz I have heard, or just snark.
Wisconsin Union Directorate Film
DIARY OF A WIMPY KID 9/01
DIRTY DANCING 9/5 AND 9/6
September 5 will be an open caption screening.
UW-Cinematheque
PAPER MOON 9/5
COME AND SEE 9/6
I haven’t seen this since I was 15 in 1985 and saw it at the Majestic. Not sure if I was really prepared for it. The film is pretty brutal. It’s one of those films where you can’t remember much of the plot but some images have been burned into your brain.
Cinesthesia, Madison Public Library Central Branch
THE CELL 9/3
Rescheduled screening from August 20. If you missed it, be sure to read the interview with programmer Jason Furhman at the Madison Public Library’s Cinesthesia page.
AMC Theatres, Flix Brewhouse, Marcus Theatres
Always check the respective websites to confirm dates and showtimes. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).
AMC SCREEN UNSEEN: SEPTEMBER 1 at AMC.
BAAGHI-4 (2025) at AMC.
Indian Hindi-language action thriller. Sanjay Dutt is cast as the antagonist in this one.
BAD GUYS 2, THE (2025) at AMC, Point, Palace.
BATMAN BEGINS at Flix.
BLIND: A PHIL ROBERTSON TRIBUTE, THE at Palace.
BREAKFAST CLUB, THE at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
CAUGHT STEALING (2025) at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
The latest from Darren Aronofsky. I have to admit, this Austin Butler guy is growing on me. I’ll give this a chance if I can get to it. Set in New York City, 1998. And we know it is a period piece because Butler walks past Kim’s Video in the trailer.
CLUE (40TH ANNIVERSARY) at Point, Palace.
CONJURING: LAST RITES, THE (2025) at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
EDEN (2025) at AMC, Point, Palace.
F1 MOVIE, THE (2025) at AMC.
FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS, THE (2025) at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
FREAKIER FRIDAY (2025) at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
GUNS & MOSES at Point.
Three-day Fathom re-release of an action thriller about a small town rabbi who fights back against violent crime.
HAMILTON at AMC, Point, Palace.
Theatrical screenings of the Disney+ adaptation of the stage production.
HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE at Point, Palace.
HIGHEST 2 LOWEST at Point.
As I mentioned above, just three screenings of this remain at Point.
HONEY DON'T! (2025) at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
JAWS: 50TH ANNIVERSARY (2025) at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH (2025) at AMC.
LEGEND OF HEI 2, THE (2025) at AMC.
Chinese animated film. A sequel to the 2019 Legend of Hei, and both films are a prequel to the animated television series The Legend of Luo Xiaohei.
LIGHT OF THE WORLD (2025) at AMC, Point, Palace.
Faith-based animated feature. As the promo materials tell us, John, James, Andrew, Peter and their new friends follow Jesus on an unexpected adventure.
LILO & STITCH (2025) at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
LITTLE PRAYER, A (2025) at AMC.
American independent drama, directed by Angus MacLachlan and starring David Strathairn and Jane Levy. Read the Rob Thomas review.
LURKER (2025) at AMC.
This psychological thriller is a Mubi theatrical release which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Alex Russell.
MADHARASI (2025) at AMC.
Indian Tamil-language action thriller directed by A.R. Murugadoss (who has directed successful Tamil, Telugu and Hindi language action films).
MARCUS MYSTERY MOVIE (9/01) at Point, Palace.
NAKED GUN, THE (2025) at AMC, Flix, Point.
NE ZHA II (2025) at AMC, Palace.
NOBODY 2 (2025) at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
RELAY (2025) at AMC, Point, Palace.
Read the Rob Thomas review.
ROSES, THE (2025) at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
RUN (2025) at AMC, Point.
Sketchy sci-fi.
SAUSAGE PARTY at Flix.
SHADOW'S EDGE, THE (2025) at AMC.
A new Chinese action thriller starring Jackie Chan and Tony Leung Ka-fai. Based on the trailer, it looks like the youngsters in the cast actually do most of the leg work, but this still might be fun.
SPLITSVILLE (2025) at AMC.
Ensemble comedy led by Dakota Johnson. A Neon release that premiered at Cannes.
SUPERMAN (2025) at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
THREESOME, THE (2025) at AMC, Point.
TOXIC AVENGER UNRATED, THE (2025) at AMC, Point, Palace.
A review by Nathan Rabin has convinced me that I should probably see this.
TWINLESS (2025) at AMC, Point.
Indie black comedy, written, directed, and co-starring James Sweeney. Winner of the Audience Award at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
WEAPONS (2025) at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
Read my brief review.
Looking Ahead:
Side Room Cinematic at Aftershock Games
Trauma, amnesia, war, and terror program on 9/11, 8:00pm
Mills Folly Microcinema
Blake Barit: Digitalog, Wednesday, September 24, 7pm
Project Projection (Local Film and Video), Wednesday, October 22
Submit your film today, details at Project Projection event page.
TBA, Wednesday, October 29
TBA, Wednesday, November 19
TBA, Wednesday, December 17
Atwood Music Hall
TENANT FILM SERIES, Tuesday, October 21, 7:00pm
Films and discussion, Push (2019) and Not a Penny on the Rents (1969). Presented with Madison Tenant Power.
Bartell Theatre
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, Sunday, October 12, 6:30pm
AGAINST THE WIND, Saturday, October 18, 7:00pm
Thanks for your kind words Jim!