Thursday
Crash (6:30p — Central Library, Rm 302)
There’s just something so raw and sexually liberating about a car crash, you know? No? Despite its premise, David Cronenberg’s exceedingly divisive romp about a couple that uses accidents to spice up their sex life isn’t a “Bad Cinema” presentation. And rightfully so. FREE.
Big Hero 6 (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
An engineering whiz kid and his marshmallow of a robot Baymax discover a diabolical plot, forming a rag-tag group of heroes in the process. Adapted from an original Marvel Comics series and then family-friendly’ed up. FREE.
Majestic Brew ‘n View: The Room (9:30p — Majestic Theatre)
Beer in hand, you are free to enjoy Tommy Wiseau’s trashterpiece — ironically or otherwise. (Doors at 7:30p. Trivia at 8:30p. $5.)
The Babadook (9:30p — Union South Marquee)
A mother (Essie Davis) and her troublesome son (the young and surprisingly talented Noah Wiseman) are tormented by an unwanted visitor in this exquisitely chilling meditation on grief from Australia’s Jennifer Kent. Whether in a “book” or a “look,” The Babadook took horror fans by surprise last year — just not me. Definitely wasn’t afraid of it. No way. FREE.
All freakin’ weekend
Two Days, One Night (Sundance)
If your coworkers surrendering their bonuses were the only thing standing in the way of you getting your job back, would you spend your weekend convincing them to do just that? Marion Cotillard would. And the Dardennes brothers. They all would.
Jupiter Ascending (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
Russian-American Mila Kunis stars as Russian-American Jupiter Jones, who learns that despite her humble living as a humble gorgeous house cleaner, she’s actually heir to an ancient alien throne. Someway, somehow, that dovetails into Channing Tatum as a half-wolf, half-human albino bounty hunter. The story on the Wachowskis’ latest is that it’s big, bloated and really, really weird. In other words, it’s the best thing February’s got right now.
Yennai Arindhaal (Point)
25 years in the life of one man (Ajith Kumar).
Seventh Son (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)
In this latest young adult reworking, Ben Barnes plays the seventh son of a seventh son, which means he’s able to see ghosts and other spooky stuff. I dunno. He gets to apprentice for The Dude himself, and Julianne Moore is an evil witch. There’s your hook.
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge out of Water (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate, Stoughton Cinema Café)
SpongeBob, Squidward, Krusty Krab, and Plankton all escape the two-dimensional world of their 2004 movie for Antonio Banderas’ Pirate Burger Beard, the third and (presumably) fourth dimensions of our own and more money at the box office. Presumably. You asked for this… didn’t you?
Friday
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (10:00a — Point, Eastgate)
Kids Dream begins their discount $2 family film series.
Gone Girl (6:15p — Pinney Branch Library)
The Madison Public Library’s “First Friday Flicks” series is dead. Long live “Nominee Nights.” FREE.
The Babadook (6:30p — Union South Marquee)
FREE.
Salvo (6:45p — Alicia Ashman Branch Library)
“Best of the Fests” screens this existential thriller in which a mafia hitman is confronted by the blind sister of the man he’s just assassinated. FREE.
Love Streams (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
Sad and alone, siblings John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands begin looking after one another in Cinematheque’s latest “Cannon Canon” presentation. And don’t worry Cassavetes enthusiasts: there’s promise of plenty of appendage-waving and melodramatics. FREE.
Big Hero 6 (8:45p — Union South Marquee)
FREE.
Batman: The Movie (11:00p — Union South Marquee)
Neighbors taught us that Batman is generational. Christian Bale is Zac Efron’s Batman. Michael Keaton is Seth Rogen’s. So who has Adam West? Together with the Boy Wonder, West’s Caped Crusader must foil a plot for inevitable domination involving a dehydration machine. This is Batman ’66, which means 007-styled opening titles, terribly cheesy voiceover, and gloriously cheesy Adam West. Atomic batteries to power. Turbines to speed. Your father’s Batman is playing FREE.
Saturday
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (10:00a — Point, Eastgate)
$2.
Big Hero 6 (6:00p — Union South Marquee)
FREE.
Othello (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
Dubbed by C’tek’s Mike King as “hands down the greatest filmed adaptation of any Shakespeare play,” Kenosha’s number one son has certainly produced one of the shortest. Clocking in at a mere 90 minutes, Welles (also in the title role) directs the tragedy of a Moorish general duped into believing his wife’s infidelity with aplomb and (judging from Othello‘s three-year production schedule) plenty of time. FREE.
The Babadook (8:30p — Union South Marquee)
FREE.
Ghost World (11:00p — Union South Marquee)
Have the years been kind to this sardonic look at social outcasts and hopeless futures? Well, kinder than Thora Bitch and Scarlett Johansson at least? Relatively speaking. FREE.
Sunday
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (10:00a — Point, Eastgate)
$2.
For Love and Gold (2:00p — Chazen Art Museum)
Vittorio Gassman stars as a pompous cavalier who enlists the services of peasants to take over a small Italian village. Sound familiar? The Cinematheque was keen to draw comparisons to Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which wouldn’t come out for another nine years after Monicelli’s knight’s quest absurdity. FREE.
Big Hero 6 (3:00p — Union South Marquee)
FREE.
“M3 Soirée” (4:00p — High Noon Saloon)
Featuring a variety of local music and (more importantly) movies. Admission is $10.
The Babadook (6:30p — Union South Marquee)
FREE.
Butter on the Latch + Thou Wast Mild and Lovely (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)
Did you hear Micro-Wave Cinema is back? Because it’s back, with a double-bill from performance artist-turned-director Josephine Decker. Thou Wast Mild and Lovely is a variation on East of Eden, but the real attraction sounds like it’s Decker’s debut feature. After fleeing to a folk music camp, a young woman (Sarah Small) reconnects with an old friend. Following the films, series programmer Brandon Colvin will lead a discussion with cinematographer Ashley Connor via Skype. Can’t wait until then? Madison Film Forum has the skinny. FREE.
Monday
Jersey Boys (2:00p — Alicia Ashman Branch Library)
FREE.
Magic Mike (7:00p — Point, Eastgate)
(In the event that you’re in the mood for Channing Tatum sans goatee and wolf ears) $5.
Tuesday
Lies My Father Told Me (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
Ted Allan’s tearjerker of a Golden Globe winner follows a young boy on the streets of Montreal as he helps his grandfather collect the neighborhood ghetto’s refuse. Co-presented FREE by WUD Film and the UW Lubar Institute and featuring a Q&A with UW Philosophy professor Steven Nadler.
Wednesday
Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Sundance — 1:15p, 8:00p)
I’m hearing word that Sundance is willing to bar anyone who sings Deep Blue Something while waiting for tickets. (citation needed)
If You Build It (7:00p — Union South Marquee)
An architect and a designer head to Bertie County, North Carolina to spread the virtues of civil engineering to one of America’s poorest communities. Co-presented FREE by Sector67, Madison’s chapter of the American Institute of Architects, and WUD Film. Featuring a post-screening discussion with Operation Fresh Start’s Brian McMahon.
Life is Beautiful (7:00p –UW Sterling Building, Rm 2335)
La Cineteca italiana presents Life is Beautiful, Roberto Benigni’s harrowing tale of a Jewish father who finds creative ways to prevent his young son from realizing the both of them are imprisoned in a concentration camp. FREE.