Every man, woman and child in the Chicago-area will probably either go see Public Enemies (and watch for our review tomorrow) or Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen at the movies this weekend, but there are a ton of cinematic alternatives available. Because, you know, there's more to America than murderous gangsters and robots. Such as: more ›

That's the colorful description UIC professor/filmmaker Ben Russell gives this program of his work. It's a juicy and often assaultive performance combining documentary images with handmade electronics and manipulated film projections. His "Trypps" series consists of several short films (the longest is 12 minutes) exploring how the juxtaposition of relatively benign sounds and images can create charged, terrifying fusions. Trippy, indeed. For example, in Black and White Trypps Number Three, footage of a concert audience is layered with different soundtracks. The switches in music create the impression that the audience's mood has changed. more ›

Give the man some props: even after three installments of the Ocean's series of uberglossy heist capers, Steven Soderbergh isn't afraid to be audacious. In an interview with the Onion AV Club, Soderbergh declared, "The time to do the trickiest shit is when you're sitting pretty. When I've been on an upswing, I've tried as much as possible to start pulling out the stuff that's tricky." A 257-minute long movie about Che Guevara, almost entirely in Spanish, showing in two parts with an intermission, is tricky. more ›

• Steven Soderbergh's new film Che rolls into town tomorrow with an exclusive engagement at the Landmark Century. Starring Benicio Del Toro as the revolutionary leader, it was shot digitally by Soderbergh himself, under his usual pseudonym Peter Andrews. The "roadshow" version of the film, 263 minutes long plus an intermission, will screen twice daily (1:30pm and 7:15pm). Epic! So is the film "an immersion in the frontline existence of its subject's life" or "utterly lazy"? Check back here on Monday, when I'll be duking it out with fellow Chicagoist Samantha Abernethy in a point/counterpoint post.
• If epic Westerns are more your thing (or if you want a fresh look at someone Tarantino's been ripping off all these years) then you won't want to miss the Music Box's week-long Sergio Leone series. Once Upon A Time in the West, which has one of the all-time coolest opening sequences in movie history, will be shown in a restored 35mm print. Also featured is the Clint Eastwood "Man With No Name" Trilogy: A Fistful of Dollars; For a Few Dollars More; and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. These movies were all specifically designed for widescreen and sport chill-inducing Ennio Morricone soundtracks. Solid.
• Bank of America Cinema and its programmer Mike Phillips launched its new season earlier this month, an ambitious and playful series titled "Hollywood A-Z." The first title was The Awful Truth, which was followed by The Black Book. Get the idea? This Saturday's feature is the rarely-seen comedic drama Claudia from 1943, starring Dorothy McGuire. The epic series will conclude with the June 27th screening of Zoo in Budapest. Bank of America Cinema is at 4901 W. Irving Park Rd.; screenings are every Saturday at 8pm.

Movies in the summertime. Comic book heroes? Check. Cuddly computer animation? Check. Bloated running times? Check. MOTS? SOS? Double-check. With scads of movie franchises so stale yet so expensive they give McDonald's a bad name, it's no wonder that we'd rather catch up on our reading than check out what Hollywood has deigned to fob off on us this season. (We do confess to being excited about Ocean's Thirteen however; director Steven Soderbergh always keeps... more ›

Folks, it’s going to be hot out there this weekend. If you’re out and about, drink water. Take breaks. Wear loose-fitting natural fabrics for God’s sake. You do not want to end up having to check yourself into the hospital, what with some people going out of their way to give “heat exhaustion” a bad name. Much of Chicagoist will be braving the elements out at Union Park this weekend, but the siren call of... more ›

It’s Friday night and you’re facing the cinephile’s dilemma: do you brave the crowds and head out to the theater to see a new release or do you just wait four days and rent it on DVD instead? In the year 2035, this may be a common scenario. But this weekend, only those interested in seeing Steven Soderbergh’s Bubble will have this problem. The Tribune ran this piece from the L.A. Times about the film’s marketing strategy. more ›