Limited runs and special events:
@ Big Wig, 1551 W Division, 773-235-9100: Pleasure Play Party hosted by local independent queer filmmaker Edith Edit. The
event benefits Edit's 'sci-fi, musical, queer sex romp' Dominatrix Waitrix, which is set to premiere on Valentine's Day 2004. In addition
to appearances by Edith Edit and the cast and crew of the video, entertainment will be provided by Mistress Minax, Angelina, The
Sissy Butch Brothers, DJ Mini Mart and many others. - July 27
@ Butler Field/Grant Park, Lake Shore Drive and Monroe:
Chicago Outdoor Film Festival -
A Night At The Opera - July 22
On The Town - July 29
In The Heat of The Night - Aug. 5
Only Angels Have Wings - Aug.12
Pillow Talk - Aug. 19
Rear Window - Aug. 26
@ Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State, 312/846-2600: Horns And Halos—Celebrity biographer and science-fiction writer J. H.
(James) Hatfield set out to write a 'horns and halos' biography of George W. Bush and got much more than he bargained for.
Recalled in 1999, shortly after it was first published by St. Martin's Press, Hatfield's contentious book Fortunate Son, which revealed
scandalous information about its subject, and featured questionable sources, received a second chance from 'left of center, punk
rock' publishing house Soft Skull Press in 2001. By that time, the damage to Hatfield had already been done. Lawsuits and
newspaper stories about his felonious past began to take its toll, resulting in Hatfield's suicide in July of that year, leaving behind his
wife and young daughter. In addition to Hatfield, Horns And Halos also profiles publisher/musician/janitor Sander Hicks, founder of
Soft Skull Press and his political crusade. This controversial and fascinating documentary was co-directed by Michael Galinsky and
Suki Hawley. (B-) - July 16 & 17
Films by the late, gay director Pier Paolo Pasolini: The Canterbury Tales (I Racconti Di Canterbury) - July 16; Arabian Nights
(Il Fiore Delle Mille E Una Notte) - July 18 and 21; Salo, Or The 120 Days Of Sodom (Salo O Le 120 Giornate Di Sodoma) July 25-31
Special benefit screening of Sam Green and Bill Siegel's documentary The Weather Underground for the 10th Annual Chicago
Underground Film Festival. Co-Director Bill Siegel will be present for Q&A following the screening. - July 20
@ Music Box Theater, 3733 N. Southport, 773-871-6604: What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? - July 19 & 20 (late show); Auntie
Mame - Aug. 30 & 31 (late show)
@ Navy Pier IMAX Theatre, 312/595-5MAX (5629): The Matrix Reloaded: The IMAX Experience
In theaters:
How To Deal (New Line Cinema) - Teen sensation Mandy Moore follows up her forgettable big-screen starring vehicle A Walk To
Remember with the only slightly more memorable How To Deal. Her high school girl Halley is like totally down on love. Unfortunately,
she has no choice but to learn how to deal with the divorce of her parents (played by Allison Janney and Peter Gallagher), her
father's impending marriage to his home-wrecker/bimbo girlfriend, the upcoming wedding of her older sister Ashley (Mary Catherine
Garrison) to Lewis (Mackenzie Astin), the sudden death of the boyfriend of her best friend Scarlett (Alexandra Holden), Scarlett's
unplanned pregnancy (with her dead boyfriend's child), and being pursued by foxy classmate Macon (Trent Ford). Like, oh my God!
Even though she appeared to be out of place at times, it came as no surprise that Janney's portrayal of a mother on the verge was the
only reason for watching this teen trifle. Also of note is cinema grand dame Nina Foch's clever and comedic performance as Halley's
pot-smoking granny. (C-)
Km. 0 - Two kinds of heat, temperature and sexual, cause an assortment of characters in Madrid to behave badly very well, in this
hot and bothered comedy with dramatic twists. A neglected middle-aged woman, a gigolo, a frustrated actress, a groom to be with
cold feet, a prostitute, a theater director, a wanna-be filmmaker, a gay flamenco dancer, an unlucky bride to be and the manager of a
café (where most of the characters wind up by the end of the movie), are among the people who meet at the Km. 0 marker, for sex and
companionship. With so many different kinds of personalities coming together, there are plenty of opportunities for the mishaps that
occur, involving mistaken identities and kooky coincidences, as well as laughter and tears. In Spanish, with subtitles. (B+)
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (20th Century Fox) - This shockingly un-extraordinary big screen, live-action adaptation
of the comic book series by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill is a good example of everything wrong with comic book movies. Set in
1899, at the dawn of a new age, with the world on the brink of war, an unlikely group of literary characters, including crotchety old
adventurer Allan Quartermain (Sean Connery), pirate Captain Nemo (Naseeruddin Shah), bloodsucking vampire hunter Wilhelmina
Harker (Peta Wilson), invisible man Rodney Skinner (Tony Curran), ageless Oscar Wilde creation Dorian Gray (Stuart Townshend),
and super-buff split personality Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde (Jason Flemyng, who played a gay dancer in the movie Alive and Kicking), is
gathered together to save mankind. The often laughable, less than extraordinary special effects, the hammy acting, and the nearly
incomprehensible story all contributed to making this a movie that is simply out of its own league. (D)
On_Line (Indican/Wolfe Video) - The web-cam meets the digital camera in Jed Weintrob's explicit, if predictable, tale of love and
lust on-line. A year after splitting up with his girlfriend, John (Josh Hamilton of Urbania) and his roommate Moe (Harold Perrineau Jr),
are running a successful adult Web site. Among their clients are sex kitten Jordan (Vanessa Ferlito) and gay role player Al (artist John
Fleck). In addition to being electronic erotica entrepreneurs, John and Moe find the time to fall in love—John with Jordan, Moe with
suicidal bartender Moira (Isabel Gillies)—and change partners for a different dance. The most fascinating internet infatuation occurs
between Al and gay college student Ed (played by openly gay actor Eric Millegan), making On_Line a movie worth logging on to. (C)
Swimming Pool (Focus) - Openly gay French filmmaker Francois Ozon's latest film, which stars Charlotte Rampling, Charles Dance
and Ludivine Sagnier, plays out like a crime novel written by Rampling's character Sarah Morton. Stuffy, British and monochromatic,
the stifled Sarah goes to the vacation of home of her publisher John (Dance), in the south of France, for a rest and, she hopes, some
inspiration. Much to her surprise, the muse arrives in the shape of John's illegitimate, young, sexually active daughter Julie (Sagnier).
At first, Sarah and Julie clash, and Julie describes Sarah to a friend as uptight, with a 'broomstick up her butt.' The women attempt
to go about their business without getting in the way of the other. However, voyeuristic Sarah, who loathes swimming pools, is soon
observing Julie's daily swimming routine and is so intrigued by her that she begins to write about her. After making piece over dinner
in a restaurant, the pair puts their bad start behind them and begins anew. However, when Julie discovers Sarah's motivation for the
friendship, things take a twisted and sordid turn. Sexy and suspenseful, fans of psychological thrillers are certain to lap up Swimming
Pool. (B-)
On TV
The Sundance Channel (www. Sundancechannel.com for complete schedule): E Minha Cara (That's My Face) - Gay African-
American filmmaker Thomas Allen Harris captures his personal journey of identity and spirituality on film in this cinematic journey of
self-discovery. Harris, who grew up in the Bronx, got his love of photography and making movies from his grandfather, a man who
had a dream of going to Africa, the 'mythic homeland.' As a child, Harris lived briefly in Tanzania with his mother, while she worked in
Africa, and then returned to the U.S. in 1976. As an adult, on a 'one-way track to medical school,' Harris took a detour and went to
Brazil, to 'find what he was looking for,' which, among other things, included the 'African face of Brazil.' (B) - July 16, 28
Also -
American Fabulous - July 18
Herr Schmidt and Herr Friedrich - July 18, 21, 29
The Rainbow - July 16, 29
