THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

@ Big Wig, 1551 W. Division, (773) 235-9100: Ho'ly Night at the 4th monthly Pleasure Play Party to benefit Dominatrix Waitrix – Dec. 14

@ Chicago Filmmakers, 5243 N. Clark, (773) 293-1447: Chicago Filmmakers' 30th Anniversary Extravaganza feat. Tatsu Aoki and Jonathan Chen, Ten Tongues, and short films and videos by Animal Charm, Adele Friedman, Chris Sullivan, Heather McAdams, Thomas Comerford, Cindy Moran, Tom Palazzolo, Eric Scholl, Kartemquin Films, Bill Stamets, and Deborah Stratman, among others. The program will also include film/video installations by Sandra Binion, Carolyn Faber, and Ines Sommer; and live performances by Lou Mallozzi and Robert Metrick. – Dec. 13

@ Facets Multi-Media, 1517 W Fullerton, (800) 532-2387: Facets Film School winter courses on the films of Pedro Almodovar (through Dec. 17) and Marlene Dietrich (through Dec. 18)

@ Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State Street, (312) 846-2800: Venus Boyz: Written and directed by Gabriel Baur, Venus Boys is a documentary about drag king culture in New York, which is portrayed as a 'journey in search of women who live in between for a night or for a lifetime.' Tracing the rise of the drag king scene beginning in 1996 when the young king movement was getting on its feet through the Club Casanova night started by Mo B. Dick (a.k.a. Mo Fischer) as well as the significant contributions of Diane Torr and her drag king workshops through present-day issues of transgender identity. Via revealing and emotional interviews, the documentary gives the viewer a first-hand look at the friendships and bonds that develop across drag communities. I also got the impression that Baur would like Venus Boyz to be the Paris Is Burning of its time. As one drag king 'televangelist' declared, 'Drag kingdom come, thy will be done.' – Dec. 3 & 4

The AIDS Crisis Is Still Beginning: Four Video Works: Gregg Bordowitz, a PWA as well as a leading figure in AIDS activist media, introduces the video works which address the now 20-year-old AIDS crisis. Bordowitz will lead a discussion about the works and current AIDS issues after the screenings of Danny, They Are Lost To Vision Altogether, Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien and A Luta Continua.

Danny – Filmmaker Stashu Kybartas met Danny, the subject of this short documentary, in 1985 when they were both active in the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force. Danny, who died in late March of 1986, agreed to let Kybartas make a movie about him in which he speaks candidly about his family life in Steubenville, Ohio, his adult life in Miami during which time he fueled his sexual activity with drug abuse and his subsequent HIV diagnosis. Interspersed with his interviews with Danny, Kybartas, who early in the film asks, 'What do you say to a person with AIDS?,' finds plenty of things to say to and about Danny.

They Are Lost To Vision Altogether – Tom Kalin's 1989 short traces the beginnings of AIDS (back when it was still referred to as GRID) through period broadcast news items, and includes positive gay images alongside AIDS research facts, a glimpse at the 'profit side of AIDS economics,' and ends with the political activism of ACT UP.

Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (No Regrets) – The late, gay, African-American filmmaker Marlon Riggs is the man behind this revealing documentary short that features interviews with Assoto Saint, Joseph Long, Michael Lee, Donald Woods and Reggie Williams, five Black gay men who speak openly about their experiences of living with HIV/AIDS. Made more than 10 years ago, this film's powerful message about making a difference and broadening awareness by being open and honest with family, friends and society about their HIV status, examines how a difference was made in their individual and collective worlds. - Dec. 4

Girl With A Pearl Earring (Lion's Gate) – Griet (Scarlett Johansson in another notable performance), a teenage girl, living with her family in Delft, Holland in 1665 is sent off to work as a maid for the painter Johannes Vermeer (Colin Firth), when her parents are no longer able to support her, in the movie adaptation of Tracy Chevalier's novel of the same name. Griet walks into a virtual hornets' nest where Vermeer's jealous and suspicious wife Catharina (Essie Davis), Catharina's mother Maria (Judy Parfitt) and the Vermeer's daughter Cornelia (Alakina Mann), conspire to make life extremely difficult for the dutiful maid. Griet does form a tenuous friendship with maid Tanneke (Judith Scanlan) and is courted rigorously by the butcher's handsome son Pieter (Cillian Murphy), but her life is further complicated by Vermeer's sexually aggressive and despicable patron Van Ruijven (Tom Wilkinson). The most radiant moments occur during the interactions between Griet and Vermeer, leading her to become the subject of one of the painter's most famous works. Director Peter Webber takes careful pains to make the movie, a fictionalized imagining of the origin of the titular painting, look like a live action canvas and the film is a visual delight. (B) – Dec. 10

First A Girl - 1935 British film directed by Victor Saville based on the 1933 German film Viktor und Viktoria (later remade by Blake Edwards in 1982 as Victor/Victoria). - Dec. 28 & 29

@ Gerber/Hart Library, 1127 W. Granville, (773) 381-8030: Queersploitation - monthly film series viewing and examining the treatment of homosexuality in some exploitation films of the '70s and '80s. Score – Dec. 11; Vampyr Lesbos – Jan. 8; Thundercrack – Feb. 12; Satan's Children – Mar. 11; Nightmare on Elm Street 2 – Apr. 8; City in Panic – May 13

@ Navy Pier IMAX Theatre, (312) 595-5MAX (5629): Santa vs. the Snowman 3D – LGBT moms, dads, aunts, uncles and others looking for a holiday movie experience that can be enjoyed by viewers young and old, need look no further than the clever and colorful Santa Vs. The Snowman. Santa (voiced by Jonathan Winters) tells the story of the Christmas that almost wasn't which involves a lonely snowman, a stolen flute, and a newfound friendship. The 3D effects are spectacular, particularly in the scenes in the elves' workshop and also in the Star Wars-like battle scenes (really!). This collaboration between writer/director John Davis and the multi-talented Steve Oedekerk has the potential to become a holiday classic for all sorts of families. (B) – Through Jan. 4 In theaters:

Dr. Seuss's The Cat In The Hat (Universal) – Check the litter box, something stinks. This hateful Hollywood bastardization of the children's classic is Dr. Seuss in name only. Writers Alec Berg, David Mandel and Jeff Schaffer's clawless adaptation is cluttered with a fully realized real estate-selling single mother named Joan (Kelly Preston); Quinn (Alec Baldwin), her psycho boyfriend next door; Mrs. Kwan (Amy Hill), a dozing babysitter; and Mr. Humberfloob (Sean Hayes), Joan's fanatically clean boss. It's as if the writers (and director Bo Welch) didn't have enough faith in the original material. The Cat (Mike Meyers) appears to be possessed by Robin Williams as it winks and mugs and struts through impersonations of gay interior decorators, old men with Yiddish accents, Carmen Miranda and Ralph Kramden, to mention a few. The children, Sally (the increasingly annoying Dakota Fanning) and Conrad (Spencer Breslin), essential components of the book, appear to merely be afterthoughts. By the time The Cat In The Hat sluggishly arrives at its movie lesson (learning from one's mistakes), one can only hope that the writers and director were paying close attention. (F)

The Haunted Mansion (Disney) – Truer words were never spoken than—'Welcome foolish mortals'—the words that appear on screen at the beginning of The Haunted Mansion, the latest Disney theme ride turned cinematic catastrophe. When Master Gracey (Nathaniel Parker), one of the ghosts that inhabit the haunted mansion of the title, sees a picture of real estate agent Sara Evers (Marsh Thomason), he summons her to his home because of her resemblance to his late love Elizabeth. If Gracey can get Sara to marry him, the curse of the castle will be broken and he can ascend heavenward. Unfortunately, Sara brings her bumbling husband Jim (Eddie Murphy on a further downhill slide) and two children Michael (Marc John Jefferies) and Megan (Aree Davis) with her, complicating the plans of Gracey, manservant Ramsley (Priscilla's Terence Stamp) and house staff Ezra (Wallace Shawn) and Emma (Dina Waters). The one bright (if somewhat greenish) spot is provided by Jennifer Tilly who plays a disembodied gypsy named Madame Leota living in a crystal ball. She provides the much-needed comedic relief with which Murphy, busy goofing and grinning for the camera, apparently couldn't be bothered. (D)

The Last Samurai – Director Edward Zwick continues his historical epic fascination with his latest film which raises questions about the cultural costs of the modernization of Japan. Set a few years after the end of the American Civil War, The Last Samurai finds war hero Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), drunk, adrift and making money demonstrating his impeccable firearm skills at fairs and such. Algren is recruited by fellow soldier Gant (Billy Connolly) leading to an introduction to Westernized Japanese businessman Omura (Masato Harada). After reaching a financial agreement, Algren heads to Japan to train Japanese soldiers in the art of American warfare so that they can wipe out the remaining Samurai warriors, led by Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), who believe that the culture is modernizing too quickly. Even though the regiment is not prepared for battle, they are forced into a showdown with the Samurai, in which Algren is captured. Of course, his time with the Samurai transforms Algren in the true Hollywood tradition. (B+)

The Missing (Columbia/ Revolution/ Imagine) – Maggie (Cate Blanchett), a single mother with two daughters—Lilly (Thirteen's Evan Rachel Wood) and Dot (Jenna Boyd)—runs a ranch and makes extra money as a healer in 1885 New Mexico. The arrival of her estranged father Samuel (Tommy Lee Jones), who abandoned his family when Maggie was a child, upsets her peaceful world, but that is nothing compared to what happens next. Her lover, Brake (Aaron Eckhart), is murdered and Lilly is abducted by Apache hostiles who intend to sell her, along with other young women they have kidnapped, for profit in Mexico. Samuel, who lived among the Indians after leaving Maggie's mother, offers to assist Maggie in tracking down Lilly and her captors and young Dot, who witnessed the murder and abduction, accompanies them. The Missing is essentially the story of a chase (which goes on about 20 minutes too long), with Maggie, Samuel and Dot in pursuit of the evil witch Chidin (Big Eden's Eric Schweig) and his ruthless renegades. But at its heart, The Missing is about repairing the nearly irreparable damage done to a father/daughter relationship, and that is what makes it worth watching. (B)

Girls Will Be Girls (IFC/SRO) – Girls will be girls, but sadly, drag queens won't. Gay Hollywood continues its fascination with washed-up starlets (see Die, Mommie, Die!) in writer/director Richard Day's parody homage Girls Will Be Girls, which attempts to skewer almost everything from All About Eve to Joey Heatherton. The ironically named has-been Evie (Jack Plotnick) and indentured housemate Coco (Clinton Leupp) are preparing for the arrival of new roomie, the unspoiled (or is she?) Varla (Jeffery Roberson). Also tangled in Evie's sloppy, gin-soaked web is her gorgeous but diminutively hung son Stevie (Ron Mathews), the director of her speci-mercial comeback vehicle (Dennis Hensley), and Varla's late mother Marla (also played by Roberson). Day hauls out tasteless rape and abortion jokes, a festival of flatulence (it's good to know the fart is no longer the sole domain of the straight male), and more pratfalls than the average Sandra Bullock comedy, as if he didn't have enough confidence in his writing and directing skills. Plotnick, Leupp and Roberson inhabit their human cartoon characters as best they can, and look as though they are relieved to have the drag to hide behind. On TV:

WCIU/Channel 26: Kevin's Room 2 – Featuring a Chicago-area cast and crew, Kevin's Room 2 follows Kevin (Keith Butler) and his leadership of a support group for gay men of color who examine and deal with such issues as honesty, fidelity, sexual practices that carry increased risk of HIV transmission, living with HIV, and more.' – Dec. 14

Chicago Black Lesbians and Gays presents their 9th Annual Free Breakfast Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 'In Times Like These We Need a King,' Monday, Jan. 19, 10 a.m., Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox Avenue, Chicago 60630. Also, CBLG invites you to join them for the viewing of Kevin's Room 2, Sunday, Dec. 14, at 6:30 p.m., Taskforce, 1130 S. Wabash, Suite 404. Kevin's Room 1 at 7 p.m. (video), Refreshments & Food, and Kevin's Room 2 (broadcast live on WCIU Ch. 26) at 9 p.m. Contact CBLG: (312) 409-4917 or www.CBLG2K2@AOL.COM

here! Pay-Per-View (now available): P.S. Your Cat Is Dead, Watching You, Friends & Family, When Boys Fly. ---------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------