Local animation leads Project Projection screening on January 21
There are too many new and old feature films with short local runs that I will miss this week.
Scroll down for Now Showing in Madison, January 19–26, 2026
Monday posts will now feature some short notes on various cinematic topics, followed by the Now Showing in Madison guide to commercial theaters and alternative venues.
I’m recovering from a medical issue that has kept me out of theaters for the past week, so I missed Jim Jarmusch’s Father Mother Sister Brother. But even as I regain my health, I don’t know if I would ever have as much time as I would need to see the films I hope to see that are in local theaters and alternative venues this week.
My target is going to be at least No Other Choice, later this week. But other strong options are Sirât (who knows if it will come back in February?), Dead Man’s Wire, Hard Boiled, Night Patrol (for reasons stated below), Sentimental Value (I’m late on this one already), The Testament of Ann Lee, and heck even Vertigo and Dune (1984) would be fun to see big. As it happens every once in a while in the Madison film market, when it rains it pours, and it is hard to map out a time to see everything.
Rise of local animation at Project Projection Winter 2026, Wednesday, January 21, 7:00pm
One reason I’m so busy, of course, is that on Wednesday I’ll be hosting the next Project Projection screening of local film and video at Mills Folly Microcinema. By the time you read this Monday morning, I will have appeared on WORT-FM’s 8 O’Clock Buzz with Brian Standing to discuss Wednesday’s screening. When WORT posts the episode to its archive, I will share a link here.
This Wednesday’s screening is the usual wide range of experimental films, short docs, music videos, and animation that we have been screening the past few years. But I’m particularly happy that the amount of animation that we receive through the submission process has slowly increased in recent screenings. Of course, animation is very labor intensive, so I don’t anticipate being overwhelmed with animated shorts every three months. But the animated films (or animation-adjacent films) are particularly interesting this time around.
Just to mention one: Robyn Das-Romain produced their short, Thinking of You (2022) while earning their BFA in character animation at the California Institute of the Arts. They now teach 2D and 3D animation classes at the UW-Madison. Thinking of You had a healthy run on the festival circuit and it is great to have it included in the Project Projection screening.
There are many things I like about Thinking of You. First, is Das-Romain’s attention to gesures and expressions in their character animation. Despite the contemplative tone and theme of the film, Das-Romain allows for a lot of playfulness through the unique expressive qualities of animation. And second, Thinking of You is about something. It’s not just a technical exercise to showcase animation skills. The film quietly allows you to share the character’s grief as well as their joy in having known someone special.
I’m looking forward to meeting Das-Romain, and asking them about their film in the Q & A. Join us if you can, Wednesday, 7:00pm, Mills Folly Microcinema at Arts + Literature Laboratory, 111 South Livingston Street, and also see new work from Gregg Williard, Steve Chappell, and Jon Arnold.
UW-Madison connection to Night Patrol, now in theaters
Just a quick note on the UW-Madison grad-done-good front. The Striped Chair of Vilas Hall (the Instagram account for UW-Madison Com Arts) posted a brief update on 2008 graduate Bradinn French. He’s already an Emmy winning editor (Picture Editing for Variety Programming, 2022) and now he has produced and edited the feature film, Night Patrol, starring Justin Long and Dermot Mulroney. Night Patrol is currently screening at AMC Fitchburg 18 and Marcus Point.
So next time you attend a Com Arts Showcase at the end of a semester, especially if you see films from CA 659, the capstone class that Bradinn took long ago, you might be seeing the work of a future Hollywood producer.
Now Playing In Madison: January 19–26, 2026
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. They are not always particularly accurate, according to reader feedback. I add trailers to new films of interest that you might not know about (American indies, international features, etc.).
Mills Folly Microcinema
PROJECT PROJECTION, WINTER 2026, Wednesday, January 21, 7pm.
Experimental film, short docs, music videos, and animation produced by filmmakers in Madison and Dane County. See note above.
UW Cinematheque
SIRĀT, 4070 Vilas Hall, Thursday, 1/22, 7 p.m.,
Oliver Laxe, France, Spain, 2025, 115 min. General release scheduled for February 6. Ctek starts out blazing with their Thursday Premieres series.
SAFE, 4070 Vilas Hall, Friday, 1/23, 7 p.m.,
Todd Haynes, USA, 1995, 119 min.
AN OFFICER AND A SPY (J’ACCUSE), 4070 Vilas Hall, Saturday, 1/24, 7 p.m.,
Roman Polanski, France, Italy, 2019, 111 min.
DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN, Chazen Museum, Sunday, 1/25, 2 p.m.
Susan Seidelman, USA, 1985, 104 min.
Wisconsin Union Directorate Film
FROZEN (2013), Union South Marquee Theater, Friday, 1/23, 6:30 p.m.
NOSFERATU (2024), Union South Marquee Theater, Friday, 1/23, 9 p.m.
TITANIC (1997), Union South Marquee Theater, Saturday, 1/24, 6:30 p.m.
Bartell Theater Film Series
THE WIZARD OF OZ – Sunday, 01/25, 3:00pm
VERTIGO – Sunday, 01/25, 6:30pm
Cinesthesia Series at Madison Public Library Central Branch
ALTERED STATES (1980) Ken Russell, Wednesday, 01/21, 6:30pm
Four Star Video Pop Up, Nottingham Co-op
FLESH ISN’T WHAT IT SEEMS and SPIRIT RISER, Friday, 1/23, 7:30pm, 146 Langdon Street.
Ska Documentary Night at Muskellounge
Private screening of PICK IT UP! (2019), Sunday, February 22, 5pm–9pm
$35 per person, you’ll get the full rude-boy treatment: All-you-can-eat Fraboni’s Pizza, (2) Half Acre Brews, and a live two-song musical break to keep you skanking between acts.
AMC Theatres, Flix Brewhouse, Marcus Theatres
28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
ALL YOU NEED IS KILL at AMC, Point, Palace.
Anime feature adapted from the same source material as the Tom Cruise vehicle Edge of Tomorrow.
ANACONDA at AMC, Point, Palace.
AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
BORDER 2 at AMC.
Indian Hindi-language action/war film, a sequel almost 30 years after the original Border (J.P. Dutta, 1997), set during the India-Pakistan war of 1971. I keep promising to write about nationalism in current Indian action cinema, I just have to give it some more thought and research.
CHARLIE THE WONDERDOG at AMC, Point, Palace.
Another week for another sketchy low-to-medium-budget family friendly animated feature.
CHORAL, THE at AMC.
Ralph Fiennes stars as a German music teacher leading a choral group in England as young men are enlisting in World War I.
CONTAINMENT, THE at Point.
Indie horror film. Something something takes over a young girl, something something battle evil itself.
DEAD MAN’S WIRE at AMC, Point, Palace.
Latest from director Gus Van Sant. Indianapolis entrepreneur Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgård) stages a hostage standoff, and turns an eccentric outlaw folk hero. Read Rob Thomas’s review.
DUNE (1984) at Flix.
I have to admit, my affection for David Lynch’s Dune has grown over the years, despite not liking it at all when I saw it in the theaters. Too much whispering interior monologues for me. But I would often find myself watching it when it popped up on television over the years. And I think that the key to its appeal is watching it, and letting whatever happens happen. I ended up buying the Arrow Video 4K release. I’m too busy to catch it big this time, but it seems like these screenings will pop up more often as the new Dune franchise continues.
GALAXY QUEST at Flix.
GREENLAND 2: MIGRATION at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
HAMNET at AMC.
Very likely a prominent contender for several Oscars, based on the awards season so far.
HARD BOILED - HONG KONG CINEMA CLASSICS at AMC, Point.
I’ve probably written too much about the Hong Kong action films being re-released to theaters by Shout! Studios and GKIDS. Hard Boiled is a favorite of many, but it is probably my least favorite of the three Woo films returning to screens in 2026. Still, if you’ve never seen it, and you have any interest in action cinema, you should see it big and loud.
H IS FOR HAWK at AMC, Palace.
Helen Foy, Brendan Gleeson, and Lena Heady star in this drama about a woman (Foy) grieving for her father, and turns to falconry to recall her memory of birding and exploring nature together. Adapted from a memoir by Helen McDonald.
HOUSEMAID, THE at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
Sydney Sweeney spars with Amanda Seyfried. I like both actresses, but I would advise going to see Seyfried in The Testament of Ann Lee (see below), if you need to make a choice. (That’s the choice I would make.)
IN COLD LIGHT at AMC.
English language debut for Canadian filmmaker Maxime Giroux. A woman (Maika Monroe) is released from prison, and she plans on resuming her drug dealing operation. But it is never that simple, is it?
IRON GIANT, THE at Flix.
People don’t really talk about The Iron Giant (1999) much anymore, but it is a great traditional 2-D animated feature from Brad Bird, who moved on to computer animation at Pixar with The Incredibles and Ratatouille.
IS THIS THING ON? at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
Another backstage drama from director Bradley Cooper, this time the stage is at a comedy club. Read Rob Thomas’s review.
LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, THE at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING, THE at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS, THE at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
MADAGASCAR 20TH ANNIVERSARY at AMC, Point, Palace.
MANA SHANKARAVARAPRASAD GARU at AMC.
Indian Telugu-language comedy-action-drama about a security officer protecting his estranged wife and kids from a vengeful ex-cop.
MARCUS MYSTERY MOVIE at Point, Palace.
MARTY SUPREME at AMC, Flix, Point.
Until I can finish my review/thoughts, read Rob Thomas’s review.
MEGADETH: BEHIND THE MASK at Point.
“Dave Mustaine pulls back the curtain on 40 years of Megadeth,” if you give a shit.
MERCY at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
I feel bad for Rebecca Ferguson every time I see an ad or trailer for Mercy. I hope she got a big check for this one, at least.
MET OPERA: AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY at Point, Palace.
I was unaware of this operatic adaptation of Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about Jewish cousins who create a comic-book superhero in the late 1930s. The book is pretty great. No way I’m going to find time to see this on Saturday, but it might be worth a look at some point.
MIGRATION at Point, Palace.
MINECRAFT MOVIE, A at Point, Palace.
MONDAY MYSTERY MOVIE at AMC.
NEVERENDING STORY, THE at Flix.
NIGHT PATROL at AMC, Point.
Action drama with Justin Long and Dermot Mulroney. See my note above about about the UW-Madison connection to this film. I have to say, I think I had the wrong impression of the film from my first viewing of the trailer last week. A colleague with knowledge about the film made it sound far more interesting than the trailer suggested on first viewing.
NO OTHER CHOICE at AMC, Point, Palace.
The latest from director Park Chan-wook (Oldboy; Decision to Leave). Golden Globe nominee, and shortlisted for the Best Foreign Film Academy Award nominations. This might be the only film I actually get a chance to see this week, despite a lot of interesting options. Meanwhile, read Rob Thomas’s review.
PRIMATE at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
I saw the trailer. This looks slick but dumb. A family’s adopted chimpanzee (their first mistake) is bitten by a rabid animal and goes, well, apeshit. I’ve skimmed a few reviews that suggest it might be fun, at least.
RETURN TO SILENT HILL at AMC, Point, Palace.
Horror film and adaptation of the video game Silent Hill 2.
SCREEN UNSEEN: JANUARY 26, AMC at AMC.
SEND HELP EARLY ACCESS SCREENING at AMC, Point, Palace.
SENTIMENTAL VALUE at AMC.
This did very well at the European Film Awards this past week, so perhaps we’ll have a bit more time to catch up with it on Madison’s screens during the remaining awards season.
SHEEPDOG at AMC.
Indie drama focusing on the effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome, starring writer/director Steven Grayhm with Vondie Curtis-Hall and Virginia Madsen.
SONG SUNG BLUE at AMC, Point, Palace.
You can see the original documentary titled Song Song Blue on YouTube. Meanwhile, people seem to really enjoy this fictionalization of the story of Lightning and Thunder starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson
SPACEBALLS at Flix.
SPONGEBOB MOVIE: SEARCH FOR SQUAREPANTS, THE at AMC.
TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE, THE at AMC.
A historical musical drama directed by Mona Fastvold, who co-wrote it with Brady Corbet (The Brutalist). This has been getting very good reviews and award season nominations, especially for Amanda Seyfried in the lead role as 18th-century spiritual leader Ann Lee, one of the founders of the Shakers.
WICKED: FOR GOOD at AMC.
ZOMBIELAND SAGA: YUMEGINGA PARADISE (DUBBED) at Point.
One day only, Monday, January 19. Anime horror film.
ZOOTOPIA 2 at AMC, Flix, Point, Palace.
Looking Ahead:
Mills Folly Microcinema
YOU DON’T KNOW ME, 2025 Cosmic Rays Film Festival Tour, Wednesday, January 28, 7pm.
Highlights from the experimental film festival held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Duck Soup Cinema
PETER PAN (1928), Saturday, February 21, 2pm & 7pm.
Side Room Cinematheque
Consult Instagram @sideroomcinematic for upcoming screenings, second Thursday of the month, and last Monday of the month.