Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

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

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Movie Maven
by Gregg Shapiro
2004-03-24

This article shared 2899 times since Wed Mar 24, 2004
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


Limited runs and special events:

— Adler Planetarium – (312) 322-0548: SonicVision – open-ended run

— Chicago Filmmakers, 5243 N. Clark, (773) 293-1447: 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: Dogville: Mar. 24; The Galindez File: Mar. 25; Song For A Raggy Boy: Mar. 25; Late Breaking News – Documentary by openly gay filmmaker Jon Martin Knoll 'explores the little known world of television stringers.' – Mar. 26 – Apr. 1; 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

— Leather Archives and Museum, 6418 N. Greenview, (773) 761-9200: Dominatrix Waitrix – Edith Edit's 'sci-fi musical queer sex romp.' – Apr. 9 & 10

In theaters:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Focus Features) – A substantial improvement over Human Nature, the previous collaboration by director Michel Gondry and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is the most memorable movie about memory erasure ever made. Those who prefer their storytelling to be of a linear nature would be better off seeing something less audacious or stimulating than this spellbinding film. Joel (Jim Carrey) is genuinely hurt and distraught when he finds out that Clementine (Kate Winslet), his carefree girlfriend with a dark side, has had a procedure to erase him and their relationship from her memory. At wit's end, he decides to also have the procedure. After meeting with Dr. Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson), he begins the necessary course of action, which involves gathering up the material things that symbolize the relationship and removing them from his residence. Decisive about going forward with the procedure, Joel puts his memory in the hands of technicians Stan (Mark Ruffalo) and Patrick (Elijah Wood). To complicate matters, Joel has a change of heart well into the process and wants to bring it to a stop. Unfortunately, due to his unconscious state, he is unable to communicate his wishes. Both funny and scary, the series of events that follow, including the revelation of Patrick's obsession with Clementine, as well as Dr. Mierzwiak's extra-marital affair, are the kinds of twists we have come to expect from the mind of Charlie Kaufman. It is to director Gondry's credit that he is able to bring them so naturally to the screen. (A-)

Yossi & Jagger - Directed by Eytan Fox, Yossi & Jagger sensitively tells the uncommon story of company commander Yossi (Ohad Knoller) and Lior (Yehuda Levi) two Israeli soldiers who conduct a clandestine romance in the macho environment of the Israeli army. Lior, who is nicknamed Jagger because he is like a 'rock star,' is told by one male soldier that he is 'pretty as a girl,' and is also the object of the affections of a female soldier named Yaeli (Aya Steinovitz). Yossi and Lior's interactions are intimate one moment and concealed the next, leading Lior to declare that he no longer wants to be in the closet and is prepared to come out to his family and introduce them to Yossi. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes before Lior has the opportunity. At turns erotic and frightening, Yossi & Jagger is a touching and well-acted movie. (B+)

Jersey Girl (Miramax) - Not to be confused with the 1992 Jami Gertz/Dylan McDermott flick of the same name, this unexpectedly touching movie is a vast improvement over other recent high-profile Ben Affleck (Gigli) and Kevin Smith (Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back) vehicles. High-maintenance workaholic music industry publicist Ollie (Affleck) is devastated following the death of his cherished young wife Gertrude (Jennifer Lopez) during childbirth. He is so distraught that he snaps during a press conference, defaming both the gathered members of the media and client Will Smith. Jobless, with an infant daughter to raise, Ollie leaves his beloved Manhattan home and moves in with his widowed father Bart (George Carlin) in the New Jersey home in which he was raised. Seven years later, Ollie is working as a street sweeper alongside his father and Gertie (Raquel Castro, who is like a miniature version of Jennifer Lopez) is enrolled in school. Ollie has turned out to be a decent father, but he still dreams of returning to his old line of work and living in Manhattan. Therein lies the conflict, as Gertie loves living with her grandfather and going to school in suburban New Jersey. Matters are further complicated when Ollie meets and is pursued by Maya (Liv Tyler), a video store clerk. Smith does a good job of dramatizing the scenario, and then lightening it with little comic flourishes. This is, however, a dramatic comedy, and Smith and the entire cast are surprisingly adept at rising to the challenge. (B)

Spartan (Warner Brothers) – David Mamet's latest film is full of the plot twists and surprises that have made his previous efforts, such as Heist, The Spanish Prisoner and House of Games, so engaging. Secret service agent Scott (Val Kilmer) joins the search for Laura (Kristen Bell), the abducted President's daughter and uncovers something even more heinous. The agent assigned to her was taken off post so that he could accompany the president while he went 'catting around.' While the rest of the country is embroiled in the cover up, Scott takes his own path, and is soon a target himself. (B)

Taking Lives (Warner Brothers) – Bisexual icon Angelina Jolie plays tough, but quirky FBI agent Ileana Scott who is summoned north of the border to Montreal to apply her unusual investigative skills to the search for a ruthless Canadian serial killer. While there she must deal with serial killer's fidgety mother (Gena Rowlands), grief from chauvinistic Detective Paquette (the always smoldering Olivier Martinez) and her unexpected attraction to artist and gallery owner Costa (Ethan Hawke), who witnessed one of the killer's attacks. Of course, nothing is as it seems, and after the identity of the serial killer is revealed, the movie leads viewers off in another direction, only to have Scott and her nemesis share a violent reunion. Director D.J. Caruso appears to have set out to make movie that is a combination of Silence of The Lambs and Seven, but his reach exceeds his grasp. (C)

On TV:

here! Pay-Per-View – showing in March: Luster, Coming Out Party, Happy Birthday

PBS (check local listings for time) - In The Life: 'The TV newsmagazine of record on gay and lesbian America explores bullying, gay/straight student clubs, and the murder of a lesbian teen' in an episode titled 'The Latest Trend.' – Mar. 29


This article shared 2899 times since Wed Mar 24, 2004
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

SHOWBIZ Dionne Warwick, OUTshine, Ariana DeBose, 'Showgirls,' 'Harlem' 2024-03-29
Video below - Iconic singer Dionne Warwick was honored for her decades-long advocacy work for people living with HIV/AIDS at a star-studded amfAR fundraising gala in Palm Beach, per the Palm Beach Daily News. Warwick received the "Award of ...


Gay News

WORLD Israel court, conversion therapy, death sentences, Georgia bill, fashion items 2024-03-29
- Israel's Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Population Authority must register female couples as mothers on the birth certificates of their children they have together, The Washington Blade reported. The decision was made following a petition ...


Gay News

JP Karliak morphs into non-binary character for Disney+'s X-Men '97 2024-03-22
- series X-Men '97, a revival of the popular X-men: The Animated Series that's both continuing the ongoing mutant storyline and breaking new ground along the way. The character of Morph now looks more like the comic ...


Gay News

WORLD Uganda items, HIV report, Mandela, Liechtenstein, foreign minister weds 2024-03-21
- It turned out that U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator Jay Gilliam traveled to Uganda on Feb. 19-27, per The Washington Blade. He visited the capital of Kampala and the nearby city of ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21
- Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Lady Gaga, 'P-Valley,' Wendy Williams, Luke Evans, 'Queer Eye,' 'Transition' 2024-03-15
- Lady Gaga came to the defense of Dylan Mulvaney after a post with the trans influencer/activist for International Women's Day received hateful responses, People Magazine noted. On Instagram, Gaga stated, "It's appalling to me that a ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Jinkx Monsoon, Xavier Dolan, 'Frida,' Lena Waithe, out singer 2024-03-08
- Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon is headed back to the New York stage, joining off-Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey beginning April 2, according to Playbill. The casting makes Monsoon the first drag ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer actors, icons duet, Hunter Schafer, Oscars, Elizabeth Taylor 2024-03-01
- Queer actor Kal Penn is set to star in Trust Me, I'm a Doctor—a film that chronicles the final days of actress/model Anna Nicole Smith, whose overdose death in 2007 at age 39 sparked a tabloid ...


Gay News

Dorian Film Awards: 'All of Us Strangers' takes top prizes 2024-02-27
- February 26, 2024 - Los Angeles, Ca. - For its 15th Dorian Film Awards, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics fully embraced All of Us Strangers, writer-director Andrew Haigh's fantastical and tear-inducing tale of two ...


Gay News

SAG Awards honor Streisand, few LGBTQ+ actors 2024-02-25
- Queer entertainers made their mark—although not a major one—at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, held Feb. 24 in Los Angeles. The event was live-streamed on Netflix for the first time. Indigenous and Two-Spirit actor ...


Gay News

WORLD Caribbean ruling, Pussy Riot, Russian raid, Canadian warning, anti-trans bar 2024-02-23
- The top court in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines dismissed a challenge to colonial-era anti-gay laws, Reuters reported. Javin Johnson and Sean Macleish—two gay men who had pushed to decriminalize ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Kristen Stewart, Rock Hudson, Talia Keys, 'True Detective,' Marvel comic 2024-02-23
- At the Berlin Film Festival, Kristen Stewart defended her photo shoot for a Rolling Stone magazine cover that went viral and divided audiences on social-media platforms, per The Hollywood Reporter. "The existence of a female body ...


Gay News

Second Glance Productions hosts LGBTQupid Soiree 2024-02-16
- In celebration of Valentine's Day, Chicago based film and media production company Second Glance hosted The LBGTQupid Soiree. The event, which was focused on spinning attitudes on this particular day, was presented at The iO ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Elton John, Hannah Gadsby, video game, Jennifer Lopez, queer thriller 2024-02-16
Video below - Sir Elton John has sold his Atlanta home and is now auctioning off more than 900 of his personal items that were kept in the 13,500-square-foot condo, The Daily Mail noted. The massive collection includes rare ...


Gay News

GALECA announces nominees for the Dorian Film Awards 2024-02-07
--From a press release - Feb. 5, 2024 - GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, consisting of over 500 entertainment critics, journalists and media icons, today announced the group's democratically chosen nominees for its 15th Dorian Film Awards. All of ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.