Limited runs and special events:
—Adler Planetarium – (312) 322-0548: SonicVision – open-ended run.
—Beverly Arts Center Cinema, 2407 W. 111th, (773) 445-3838: 2004 Irish Film Festival – Mystics – Mar. 5; On The Nose, In America and Intermission – Mar. 6; Rising Of The Moon, Photos To Send and Goldfish Memory – Mar. 7.
—Chicago Filmmakers, 5243 N. Clark, (773) 293-1447: Star Spangled To Death – Mar. 6, 7; Third Party: Political Alternatives in the Age of Duopoly - Mar. 13; Speaking Of...: Recent Video by Jacqueline Goss (Jacqueline Goss in person) – Mar. 27.
—Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State Street, (312) 846-2800: Seventh Annual European Union Film Festival – highlights include: Intermission + The Last: Mar. 5 & 6
Low-Flying Aircraft: Mar. 6 & 9; Bright Young Things: Mar. 13 & 18; Haute Tension: Mar. 13 & 18; Free Radicals: Mar. 14; Twentynine Palms: Mar. 20 & 22; Dogville: Mar. 20 & 24; The Galindez File: Mar. 20 & 25; Song For A Raggy Boy: Mar. 20 & 25; Thirteen - Special benefit screening and reception for Women in the Director?s Chair with writer/director Catherine Hardwicke in person. – Mar. 13; Wrigley Field: Beyond The Ivy – Mar. 26 – 30; Maestro - Josell Ramos's documentary about 'the roots of the underground dance/music culture, centered in New York from 1960s through the 1980s' features footage of and interviews with Francis Grasso, Larry Levan, Frankie Knuckles, David Mancuso and others, as well as location shots of clubs such as Paradise Garage, The Loft and The Gallery. – Mar. 28, 29, 31 and Apr. 1.
—Horticultural Hall (Lake Geneva) – (262) 740-BPFF: Black Point Film Festival - Apr. 21-25.
—Leather Archives and Museum, 6418 N. Greenview, (773) 761-9200: Dominatrix Waitrix – Edith Edit's 'sci-fi musical queer sex romp.' – Apr. 9 & 10.
—Navy Pier IMAX Theatre, (312) 595-5MAX (5629): Nascar: The IMAX Experience 3D – opens Mar. 12.
—Women In the Director's Chair, 941 W. Lawrence, 5th floor, (773) 907-0610: The 23rd Annual Women In The Director's Chair International Film & Video Festival 3.17 - 21.
In theaters:
The Passion of The Christ (Icon/NewMarket) – In terms of sheer spectacle and epic filmmaking, religious zealot Mel Gibson has created a motion picture Bible story that rivals Cecil B. DeMille. Taking the viewer back many centuries to the hours before the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (a stoic and beatific Jim Caviezel), Gibson brings the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John to the silver screen in vivid and graphic detail. Brief flashbacks (to the last supper, to an intimate mother/son moment) and the profound struggle of Pontius Pilate (Hristo Naumov Shopov) provide the only respites from the unrelenting, brutal violence inflicted on the Jewish carpenter and would-be rabbi whose claim to be the son of God caused him such horrific suffering and inspired worldwide devotion. Concerns about anti-Semitic portrayals of Jews haunt the movie like a holy ghost. The holy men, including high priest Caiphas (Mattia Sbragia), who accuse Christ of blasphemy and demand his crucifixion, are portrayed like the holy men of any faith who believe that they are acting in the best interests of the God that they serve. Parents and religious leaders would be wise not to subject any child under 18 to the gut-wrenching depictions of Christ's flesh-scoring beatings and eventual crucifixion, which unflinchingly portrays the driving of considerably sized spikes through Christ's hands and feet. In Aramaic and Latin, with English subtitles. (C-)
Starsky & Hutch (Warner Brothers/ Dimension) – Bay City in the '70s. A pair of rebellious and somewhat incompetent cops, David Starsky (Ben Stiller) and Ken Hutchinson (Owen Wilson) are teamed up as a last-ditch effort to save their careers in this humorous parody of the inexplicably popular Aaron Spelling TV series. Hot-head Starsky's late mother was one of the finest cops that Bay City had ever seen, while Hutch has been reduced to robbing bookies under the guise of trying to infiltrate a crime ring. Meanwhile, Starsky and Hutch's ever faithful informant Huggy Bear (a genuinely funny Snoop Dogg), gives them a lead on a massive cocaine deal being organized by sleazy drug lord Reese (Vince Vaughn) and his business associate Friday (Jason Bateman). Seventies fashion, music and cars abound in obvious ways, and are also enhanced by the presence of '70s stars such as Fred Williamson (Black Caesar, Three The Hard Way, and other period blaxploitation movies), as well as the original Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) and Hutch (David Soul). A handful of gay jokes didn't register all that high on my insult-meter and the sophomoric humor provided more than a few laughs (C)
Twisted (Paramount) – This lackluster thriller, set in San Francisco, stars Ashley Judd as Jessica, a recently promoted homicide inspector. Following the deaths of her parents when she was a child, Jessica was raised by police commissioner Johnson (Samuel L. Jackson), who was once her father's police partner. As an adult, Jessica has more than her share of troubles, including a severe drinking problem that often ends in blackouts and a proclivity for anonymous sex. A bit on the butch side, Jessica is also being stalked by an ex-boyfriend, and discovers while investigating a series of homicides, that he has had sex with all of the murder victims. Twisted twists and turns, by the time the murderer's motives and identity is revealed, I still hadn't figured out why it was that all the men in the movie were tripping over themselves to fondle Jessica. (D+)
On DVD:
Km. 0 (TLA Releasing) - 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 Mar.ker, 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+)
On TV:
here! Pay-Per-View – showing in March: Luster; Coming Out Party; Happy Birthday
Sundance Channel (check local listings for times) – Highlights include: 156 Rivington - Mar. 1, 4, 9, 17, 22; 24 Hour Party People - Mar. 1, 6, 18, 30; Herr Schmidt and Herr Friedrich - Mar. 1, 15, 19, 28; Lisa Picard Is Famous - Mar. 2, 6, 12, 21, 25; Won't Anybody Listen - Mar. 2, 15, 24, 29; Fire - Mar. 3, 23; Last Dance - Mar. 5, 11, 15, 27; The Mar.riage of Mar.ia Braun (aka Die Ehe der Mar.ia Braun) - Mar. 7, 12, 15, 20; The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (Die Bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant) - Mar. 9, 25; Bhaji on the Beach - Mar. 11, 15, 24, 30; Karmen Geï - Mar. 14, 18, 27, 31; The Fancy - Mar. 15, 29; Swimming - Mar. 18, 21; Carrington - Mar. 20, 25, 30; Daughters of the Dust - Mar. 27, 30.
