Screening Report 4/30/25
Marvel's screen domination exacerbates the summer doldrums.
Hello, and welcome to this week’s screening report! Unfortunately, despite the incredible box office run of Sinners and all the discussion around it, today will be the last chance to see the film at the AMC Fitchburg IMAX before those screenings are turned over to Marvel’s Thunderbolts* for the next two weeks, after which the new Final Destination film will take the screen. People have complained about Disney’s blockbuster screen domination for a decade now, but a visit to AMC’s showtimes page shows somewhat dramatically that nothing has changed.
That screen domination has throttled new releases this week. Outside of Thunderbolts* (which, for what it’s worth, has gotten significantly better reviews than the last few Marvel films, largely owing to Florence Pugh’s performance) the only English language new releases are debut horror film Rosario and gonzo Nic Cage Wisconsin Film Festival entry The Surfer. This isn’t that surprising - the only English language film to open against Captain America: Brave New World this February was Paddington in Peru - but for a movie that is intentionally marketing itself as the off-beat, cineaste-friendly entry in the cinematic universe, its impact on the commercial screens is pretty stark.
Instead, international films are stepping up this week. The newest film from Wong Kar Wai cinematographer and Infernal Affairs director Andrew Lau, The Dumpling Queen, is a biographical drama, his first film since 2021’s COVID drama Chinese Doctors. The Korean satirical drama A Normal Family, the sexy French summer film Bonjour Tristesse, and Bollywood films Raid 2 and Retro fill the remaining gaps in the schedule. They couldn’t come at a better time, as we also will see the end of university programming before graduation with Thursday’s WUD Film screening of The Room and Friday’s UW Cinematheque screening of John Ford silent 3 Bad Men. The last non-mainstream repertory film playing this weekend is Duck Soup Cinema’s programming of silent drama The Dragon Painter.
Next week, it’s a real grab-bag of new releases. Fans of Joe Carnahan’s The Grey, Smokin Aces, and Narc may have missed that he’s directing the upcoming special ops thriller Shadow Force, starring Kerry Washington and Omar Sy. Clown in a Cornfield, a horror movie with a fairly self-evident premise, seems to carry forward the trademark humor of Tucker and Dale vs. Evil director Eli Craig. Then there’s Fight or Flight, the directorial debut of visual effects specialist James Madigan, starring Josh Hartnett as a merc assassin caught between his target and another opposing force on a commercial airliner. Last and maybe least, Juliet & Romeo is a pop musical adaptation of the classic play put together by the two sons of Casablanca Records founder Neil Bogart - songwriter E. Kidd Bogart is probably best known for his contributions to Rihanna’s “SOS,” Beyonce’s “Halo,” and an otherwise unfortunate number of songs I can’t stand.
From the relatively scarce repertory lineup next week, I’m probably most excited to see Mamoru Hosoda’s Wolf Children, a fantasy love storygenerally considered the best film by one of anime’s best directors. Among the many Mother’s Day weekend films, it’s hard to turn down The Wizard of Oz, but I’ll also say I found Crazy Rich Asians very moving when I saw it shortly after release. While we wait for the summer to really start, the week of 5/15 will see the releases of Final Destination: Bloodlines and The Weeknd’s Hurry Up Tomorrow.
PLUG ZONE
-Rob Thomas has reviews of On Swift Horses, Last Breath, and The Legend of Ochi [excerpted below.]
-Tone has a video roundtable discussion of the Wisconsin Film Festival between Oregon Community Access Media and Tone’s Grant Phipps and Sara Batkie.
-James Kreul focused this week’s write-up with some thoughts to share about the Duck Soup Cinema series including Saturday’s exhibition of The Dragon Painter, the Mills Folly Microcinema Project Projection screening tonight, and a brief in memoriam for experimental filmmaker Tomonari Nishikawa.
Want to see your film writing or short film here in The Horizon Line? Send a link to your work to horizonlinemadison@gmail.com.
THIS WEEK (5/1/25-5/7/25)
New Releases
-Thunderbolts* - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace, Flix Brewhouse
-The Surfer - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace, Flix Brewhouse
-A Normal Family - AMC
-Bonjour Tristesse - AMC
-The Dumpling Queen - Marcus Point
-Raid 2 - AMC
-Retro - Marcus Point
-Rosario - AMC, Marcus Point
-Communication Arts Showcase - 7p 5/3 at UW Cinematheque
-Clown in a Cornfield [Early Access] - 6:30p 5/7 at AMC
-The Legend of Ochi - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace, Flix Brewhouse
”It’s that there’s a tinge of wildness to it, an anything-can-happen quality, that will keep audiences young and old mesmerized and enjoyably off-balance.” - Rob Thomas
-A Minecraft Movie - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace, Flix Brewhouse
-The Accountant 2 - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace, Flix Brewhouse
-The Amateur - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace, Flix Brewhouse
-Hit: The Third Case - Marcus Point
-The King of Kings - AMC, Marcus Palace
-On Swift Horses - AMC
-Sinners - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace, Flix Brewhouse
-The Shrouds - AMC
-Until Dawn - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace, Flix Brewhouse
-Warfare - AMC
Repertory
-The Room - 7p 5/1 at The Marquee Union South
-3 Bad Men - 7pm 5/2 at UW Cinematheque
-The Dragon Painter - 2p, 7p 5/3 at The Overture Center
-Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii - 2p 5/4 at Marcus Point
-Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory - Marcus Point, Marcus Palace
-Goldfinger - 6:30p 5/6 at Flix Brewhouse
-Annabelle - 5/7 at AMC and Marcus Palace
-Pride & Prejudice - AMC
-Monty Python and the Holy Grail - Marcus Point, Marcus Palace, Flix Brewhouse
NEXT WEEK (5/8/25-5/14/25)
New Releases
-Clown in a Cornfield - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace
-Fight or Flight - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace
-Juliet & Romeo - AMC
-Shadow Force - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace
-Hurry Up Tomorrow [Fan Event Preview] - 6p 5/14 at AMC and Marcus Point, 7p 5/14 at Marcus Palace
-Thunderbolts* - AMC
Repertory
-Footloose - 7p 5/9 at Flix Brewhouse
-Crazy Rich Asians - 7p 5/10 at Flix Brewhouse
-The Hunger Games Marathon - 12p 5/10 at Marcus Point and Marcus Palace
-The Karate Kid (1984) - 3p 5/10 at Marcus Palace
-The Karate Kid (2010) - 6p 5/10 at Marcus Palace
-Pretty in Pink - 11:30a 5/11 at Flix Brewhouse
-The Fast & The Furious - 6:45p 5/13 at Flix Brewhouse
-Ma - 5/14 at AMC and Marcus Palace
-Demon Slayer: Mugen Train - 6p subbed, 9p dubbed 5/14 at Marcus Point
-The Wizard of Oz - Marcus Point, Marcus Palace
-Wolf Children - Marcus Point
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Karthik Subbaraj's "Retro", the best of the Indian film offerings currently (well, up through last night) screening in the Madison area, is in Tamil, not Hindi, and is therefore a Kollywood film, not a Bollywood film. Also in our theatres (specifically, Point) for the last week (though it seems to have exhausted its showtimes by today) is a Tollywood (Telugu language) film, "HIT: The Third Case".
"Subham", opening at Point and AMC today (though forthcoming screenings at Point seem spotty), is also Tollywood film. May 9th-ish releases include more Indian films at the AMC and "Hung Up on a Dream: The Zombies Documentary".
Also, if you're going to discuss Joe Carnahan's oeuvre, 2021's "Copshop" is probably among the more watchable.
Regards,
JoAnne