Screening Report 7/29/2026
A WFF film premieres wide against your friendly neighborhood superhero sequel.
Hello, and welcome to this week’s screening report! As with every other event in Madison, event announcements are tentative due to response to the police killing of Corey Ruiz. I join the protestors at Williamson in calling for the arrest of the killer cop and strengthening of independent oversight over the department, including a faster timeline for action rather than the current arcane process for investigation and detainment of officers rather than “paid administrative leave.”
There are two new releases this week. There’s the already divisive 4th entry in the Tom Holland Spider-Man saga Brand New Day, filling half the screens not playing The Odyssey. There’s also the surprisingly crowdpleasing new film from Gregg Araki, I Want Your Sex. Licorice Pizza and The Long Walk star Cooper Hoffman plays an intern for hypersexual artist Erica Tracy (Olivia Wilde,) and the film plays as a riff on cancel culture placed against the joys of sex and transgression. The film played at the Wisconsin Film Festival, where I had a good time - the film is definitely worth seeing, but if you’re looking for a starting place with Araki, I recommend Nowhere. Next week’s slate spreads wide, but only the divisive Kore-eda sci-fi Sheep in the Box has screened for enough critics to tell what to recommend. (Still no word on when we’ll be getting Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, but sometimes A24 films announce their screenings the same week they premiere. The wide release is supposed to be 8/7.)
The rep slate is relatively thick with nostalgic and child-friendly favorites, but if you’re available, the MMOCA Rooftop series has begun with two short film anthologies on Thursdays. And between the two Ghibli-fest films, Only Yesterday is a masterpiece and Tales from Earthsea, despite being based on the wonderful series by Ursula K. Le Guin, is universally considered one of the only bad films Studio Ghibli ever produced. Looking ahead to the weekend of August 14th, we’ll see the release of dino-thriller film The End of Oak Street, modern western The Rivals of Amziah King, Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie, and Green Day themed music comedy Nimrods.
PLUG ZONE
-Freedom Inc. is one of the most reliable places to follow accurate updates on protests and memorial gatherings for Corey Ruiz.
-Rob Thomas reviews both Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex (excerpted below) and Bob Uecker documentery Ueck.
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 (7/30/2026-8/5/2026)
New Releases
-I Want Your Sex - AMC, Marcus Point
”’I Want Your Sex’ is meant to be a fun, candy-coated comedy, with Araki and co-writer Karley Sciortino satirizing the avant-garde art world, but also being rather sweet towards the BDSM community. Elliott didn’t know what he was looking for, but he certainly found it in Erika.” - Rob Thomas
-Spider-Man: Brand New Day - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace, Flix Brewhouse
-Hadestown: The Musical - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace
-Her Private Hell - Flix Brewhouse
-The Invite - AMC, Flix Brewhouse
-Minions & Monsters - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace, Flix Brewhouse
-Moana - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace
-Motor City - AMC, Marcus Point
-The Odyssey - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace, Flix Brewhouse
-The Spongebob Movie: Search for Squarepants - AMC
-Toy Story 5 - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace, Flix Brewhouse
-Ueck - Marcus Point, Marcus Palace
Repertory
-Curious George - 12p 7/30 at Marcus Point, 11a 7/30 at Marcus Palace
-Girl Internet Show: A Kati Kelli Mixtape - 9p 7/30 at Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
-Back to the Future - 9p 8/3 at Memorial Union Terrace
-Trolls World Tour - 12p, 2:45p 8/4 at Flix Brewhouse
-Pandas 3D - 10a 8/5 at AMC
-Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird! - Marcus Point, Marcus Palace
-Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace Flix Brewhouse
NEXT WEEK (8/6/2026-8/12/2026)
New Releases
-Cookie Queens - AMC, Marcus Point
-Ice Cream Man - AMC, Marcus Point
-One Night Only - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace, Flix Brewhouse
-Sheep in the Box - AMC
-Super Troopers 3 - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace
-Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie (Early Access) - 2p 8/8 at AMC/Marcus Point/Marcus Palace
-Nimrods (Early Access) - 7p 8/11 at AMC
-Spider-Man: Brand New Day - AMC, Marcus Palace
Repertory
-America: Everything You’ve Ever Dreamed Of - 8:30p 8/6 at Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
-School of Rock - 10a 8/8 at Flix Brewhouse
-National Lampoon’s Animal House - 1p 8/9 at Flix Brewhouse
-Tales from Earthsea - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace
-Only Yesterday - AMC, Marcus Point, Marcus Palace
-Muppet Treasure Island - AMC
-The Princess Bride - 9p 8/10 at Memorial Union Terrace
-The Karate Kid - 6p 8/11 at Flix Brewhouse
-Practical Magic - 8/11 at AMC/Marcus Point/Marcus Palace
-The Muppet Movie - Marcus Point, Marcus Palace
-Space Station 3D - 10a 8/12 at AMC
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