What’s Playing, Madison?

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Thursday

The New Black (6:30p — Central Library, Rm 302)

Community Cinema presents this look at the experiences of black members of the LGBT community and explores whether there exists a contradiction in the once oppressed becoming oppressors. Community and religious leaders are scheduled to lead a post-screening discussion of the film and its issues. Here’s an advance preview. FREE.

Glass Lips (7:00p — Union South Marquee)

Director/composer Lech Majewski presents this wordless collection of 33 avant-garde shors that feature a woman giving birth to a rock and a man eating dog food. That escalated quickly. FREE.

Notte prima degli esami (7:00p — UW Education Building, L196)

A high school senior does battle with a disreputable literature professor as well asĀ his own feelings for the girl of his dreams in this Italian-language comedy. FREE.

Inside Llewyn Davis (9:30p — Union South Marquee)

FREE.

Friday

The Best of the 48 Hour Film FestivalĀ (5:30p — High Noon Saloon)

Last week, Sundance screened all 29 short films from Madison’s 48 Hour Film Project. One week later, only the best have survived for this presentation/awards show. Admission is $5.

Ride Along (6:00p — Hawthorne Branch Library)

Kevin Hart attempts to win the respect of his soon-to-be brother-in-law (Ice Cube) by shadowing him on a 24-hour Atlanta police patrol. Hawthorne’s “Free Friday Feature” is FREE of course.

Synecdoche, New York (6:00p — Union South Marquee)

In honor of Charlie Kaufman’s intensely reflexive drama — in which a playwright (Philip Seymour Hoffman) envisions the grandest and personal of fictional stage plays — I briefly considered writing a blurbĀ aboutĀ a blurb aboutĀ Synecdoche, New York.Ā Or maybe it would haveĀ to be a blurbĀ aboutĀ a blurbĀ about a blurb aboutĀ Synecdoche, New York.Ā Yeah, that’s it. FREE.

It Felt Like Love (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)

The directorial debut of Eliza Hittman finds a young girl (Gina Piersanti) who lusts after the older bad boy. FREE.

Tanta Agua (7:00p — Alicia Ashman Branch Library)

A divorced father’s vacation with his children is put to a halt when torrential rains force them to stay inside. “Too much water” indeed. FREE.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (8:30p — Union South Marquee)

To paraphrase Gandalf the Grey: Hobbits really are remarkable creatures. When their stories are told correctly, that is. WUD Film’s final screening of the Spring semester is Peter Jackson’s second installment of the completely unnecessary trilogy. Admission is FREE, but only to those who can correctly pronounce “Smaug” at the door.

Paprika (11:59p — Union South Marquee)

Dearly departed director Satoshi Kon imagines a world in which therapists can enter their own patients’ dreams in gorgeously animated 2006 film. One of two FREE midnight screenings.

All freakin’ weekend

Le Week-End (Sundance)

Missed it at the Wisconsin Film Festival? Sundance gives you a chance to relive Lindsay Duncan and Jim Broadbent’s “honeymoon redux” in Paris as the British couple tries to spice up a very long marriage.

Fading Gigolo (Sundance)

Deuce Bigalow bring a date to the arthouse? John Turturro directs and stars as a gigolo desperate to rustle up cash for a friend (Woody Allen).

Mom’s Night Out (Eastgate)

In dire need of a much-deserved break, a group of mothers entrust their husbands with taking care of their kids in exchange for a night on the town.

Neighbors (Sundance, AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)

A young father (Seth Rogen) and a rowdy frat rat (Zac Efron) find their boundaries as uncomfortable neighbors. Apparently those boundaries spill over into Funny or Die videos, too.

Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return (AMC Star, Point, Eastgate)

Its poster has teased (or terrified)Ā Wizard of OzĀ fans for months in the lobby of Fitchburg’s AMC Star. Now, you can finally see Dorothy return to Oz to save the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion and undo the bittersweet ending of the original movie.Ā It’s the Sequel of a Different Color you’ve heard tell about.

Saturday

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (6:00p — Union South Marquee)

FREE.

UW Communication Arts Showcase (7:00p — 4070 Vilas Hall)

Everything from narrative and documentary shorts to two (!) thirty-minute capstone projects will be on display from UW’s best and brightest video production students. FREE.

Inside Llewyn Davis (9:30p — Union South Marquee)

FREE.

Paprika (11:59p — Union South Marquee)

FREE.

Sunday

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (3:00p — Union South Marquee)

FREE.

Inside Llewyn Davis (6:00p — Union South Marquee)

FREE.

Wednesday

Titanic (1:00p, 6:40p — Sundance)

Near, far, wherever you are, you can still drive to Sundance and see James Cameron’s Academy Award-winning juggernaut.