Limited runs and special events:
@ Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, 312-744-6630: International Dinner and A Movie - Taste of Cherry (Iranian cuisine served) - Mar. 18; M (German cuisine served) - Apr. 15; Rififi (French cuisine served) - May 20 & 21
@ DOC Films @ U of C/Max Palevsky Cinema, 1212 E. 59th St, 773-702.8574: Queer Heroes - Wilde - Feb. 20; Southern Comfort and My Left Breast - Feb. 27; The Man Who Drove With Mandela & Tongues Untied - Mar. 6
@ Facets Cinematheque, 1517 W. Fullerton, 773-281-4114: MC5*A True Testimonial - Feb. 19; Dead Alive: Final - Feb. 28, Mar. 1 - 6
@ Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State, 312-846-2600: ABBA: The Movie - Feb. 20; Drugstore Cowboy, Mala Noche + shorts - all directed by Gus Van Sant - Feb. 21 Drugstore Cowboy - Feb. 22; A Skin Too Few - Feb. 22, 23, 27; My Own Private Idaho - Feb. 23, 25; Mala Noche - Feb. 25; Gerry - new Van Sant film w/Matt Damon - Feb. 26 The Producers - Feb. 28, Mar. 1-6; Converging With Angels - Feb. 28, Mar. 1-3, 5; Ray Charles: The Genius Of Soul Music - Mar. 2, 6
@ The Renaissance Society at University of Chicago (5811 S Ellis Ave., 773-702-8670): War and Peace - documentary chronicling nuclear weapons programs in India and Pakistan, dir. by Anand Patwardhan - Feb. 20
In theaters:
Lost In LaMancha—Directed by Louis Pepe and Keith Fulton, two gay men who are also life partners, this documentary about a failed Terry (12 Monkeys, Brazil, Time Bandits) Gilliam film project called The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, co-starring Johnny Depp, occasionally gets bogged down in the details, but is entertaining overall. According to Gilliam, the film has already been made in his head and it is just a question of getting it onto film. That is where the eccentric director runs into trouble. Everything that can go wrong does, including the loss of leading man Jean Rochefort (health reasons), natural disasters (weather), and financial woes (uneasy foreign investors), to mention a few. Narrated by Jeff Bridges (who worked with Gilliam on The Fisher King), the documentary comes complete with Monty Python-esque animation and an honest look at filmmaking run wild. (B)
The Life of David Gale (Universal)—British director Alan Parker has gone back to prison. No, he's not working with Madonna again. As in 1978's Midnight Express, Parker's new movie, The Life of David Gale, looks at the efforts made to get a man out of prison. Death Row inmate Dr. David Gale (Kevin Spacey), summons journalist Bitsey Bloom (Kate Winslet) to the Texas prison where he is set to be executed, so that he can tell his story in hopes of getting a stay of execution. Gale, a Harvard educated, flaming liberal philosophy professor with an alcohol abuse problem and a history of female trouble is accused of murdering Constance (Tales of the City's Laura Linney), a close friend and compatriot in the anti-death penalty movement. With only three-days before Gale's scheduled execution and insurmountable odds, the pressure on Bitsey to make sense of the mysterious videotape of Constance's murder seems almost unbearable. As the suspense mounts to a shocking and heart-pounding conclusion, it was hard to find compassion for any of the characters with the exception of Constance. (C+)
Daredevil (20th Century Fox)—I wouldn't have cast Ben Affleck as blind (vision lost during horrific childhood accident) and misunderstood masked righter of wrongs Matt Murdock, whose remaining senses are heightened to the extreme, but they didn't ask me. As it is, he does a passable job, although he's somewhat less believable as a romantic lead. Hell-bent on avenging the death of his boxer father Jack (David Keith, whose prosthetic nose makes Nicole Kidman's nose in The Hours look like a masterpiece), he divides his time protecting the downtrodden as a lawyer (with law partner Franklin, played by an out-of-his league Jon Favreau) and as a super-hero. Affleck is, however, not as miscast as behemoth Michael Clarke Duncan as uber-villain Kingpin. The good news is that, as urban Greek goddess Elektra Natchios, rising lesbian icon Jennifer Garner goes from a damsel in distress to a babe with blades in no time. Irish import, and hot man of the moment, Colin Farrell practically steals the show as contracted killer Bullseye, whose aim is truly deadly. B-
The Guru (Universal)—You probably won't believe it, but The Guru director Daisy von Scherler Mayer is the same woman who helmed the Parker Posey breakthrough comedy Party Girl, but it's true. Sharonna (Heather Graham, who appears to be doomed to playing porn stars with soft spots) takes newly arrived-from-India Ramu Gupta (Jimi Mistry) under wing to groom him in the American ways of love and honesty, on and off-screen. Sharonna is really no expert considering that her hot, but naive, fire-fighting fiancée Rusty (Dash Mihok) doesn't have a clue about her real occupation. In the meantime, Rusty is hiding a special secret of his own. Marisa Tomei, Christine Baranski and Michael McKean are tossed in for less than comic effect. The 'gay punchline' at the end of this lame exercise was as insulting to me as the 'Indian punchlines' throughout the movie probably will be to audience members with of Indian ethnicity. D+
On TV:
PBS (check local listings to confirm time) - In The Life: Poet Staceyann Chin hosts the February edition of In The Life, featuring 'post-riot grrrls' (such as JD Samson of Le Tigre, and others), a significant leader in the civil-rights movement (Bayard Rustin), and 'a Native American who makes art out of his AZT,' in a program focusing on 'gays and lesbians who struggle to create voices for themselves and for the movement.' Other ITL profiles include The Advocate on it's 35th anniversary and openly gay NYPD Blue actor Bill Brochtrup. Feb. 23 @ midnight
Sundance Channel highlights (check local listings for times) - Amargosa - Feb. 19, 27
Benjamin Smoke - Feb. 24; The Blank Generation - Feb. 20, 24; Downtown 81 - Feb. 20, 25; The House of Mirth - Feb. 19, 22, 28
The Night Porter - Feb. 20; Sweetie - Feb. 25
Won't Anybody Listen - Feb. 19, 24. Shorts Programs: An Early Frost (aka Gelée précoce) - Feb. 26 Taste - Feb. 27.
