Movies: Second Chance & Last Chance

By Rob Christopher in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 29, 2008 4:36PM

• Quirky workplace comedy The Promotion came and went earlier this year without getting the attention it deserved, but courtesy of First Tuesdays with the Midwest Independent Film Festival you'll get a second chance to see it on the big screen. Starring Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly as two employees jockeying for the store manager position of a supermarket, it was directed by Steve Conrad (The Pursuit of Happyness, The Weather Man) and shot right here in Chicago. Fred Armisen is also in the cast. The screening is Tuesday night at 7:30 at the Landmark Century. Conrad and producer Steve James are also scheduled to appear for a Q & A.

  

• If you're an apocalypse junkie (and these days, it's hard not to be) you'll definitely want to check out the film/video program "Perpetual Ends," Tuesday night at 7 at the Elastic Arts Foundation, 2830 N. Milwaukee Ave. Programmer Colin Palombi describes it thusly: "The first half is paranoid, showing visions [of] apocalyptic futures and altered landscapes, while the second half contemplates more personal ends. An underlying theme of the work also comments on the shifting use of technologies used in filmmaking. VHS, Nintendo, and found film are used and prove that they too can endure the end of their time." Incidentally, for a great bite to eat before the show check out Friendship Chinese Restaurant on the first floor of the building (all entrées are $8.95 on Tuesdays).

Still from And We All Shine On by Michael Robinson, showing as part of "Perpetual Ends"