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Pride2026: Three Audio LGBTQ+ Film Reviews to Celebrate PRIDE

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Wed, 24 Jun 2026 20:54:35 +0000

CHICAGO – Happy Pride Week 2026! To celebrate Pride and the community, HollywoodChicago.com presents three reviews of LGBTQ+ themed films, with audio overviews from Editor/Writer Patrick McDonald, in addition to guest contributors actor/filmmaker Mary Tilden and Hugo Do Nascimento.

The three films are WHO’LL STOP THE RAIN (2023), reviewed by Mary; PARIS IS BURNING (1990), reviewed by Hugo; and SKIN OF YOUTH (2025), reviewed by Patrick. Click the names below for more highlights and info regarding each of the reviewers.

Three by Three: WHO’LL STOP THE RAIN, PARIS IS BURNING and SKIN OF YOUTH
Photo credit: FilmMovementPlus.com and The Criterion Collection

Mary Tilden is a Chicago actor and filmmaker, performing on stage for the Writer’s Theatre and the Goodman, among others. She’s directed several short films, including the award-winning ROUGH RIVER LAKE and recently appeared in the locally-filmed HEKLA. Patrick McDonald is Editor and Entertainment Reporter for HollywoodChicago.com. Hugo Do Nascimento is Brazilian born, Paris bred, and resides in Chicago with his husband “Red” Mark McLaughlin.

WHO’LL STOP THE RAIN by Mary Tilden

PARIS IS BURNING (2001) by Hugo Do Nascimento

SKIN OF YOUTH (2025) by Patrick McDonald

PARIS IS BURNING is available for digital download. WHO’LL STOP THE RAIN and SKIN OF YOUTH are available on Film Movement+, click FilmMovmentPlus.com HAPPY PRIDE WEEK!

By PATRICK McDONALD
Editor and Film Critic/Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Pride2026: Silas Howard & Harry Dodge on ‘By Hook or By Crook’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 14:13:37 +0000

CHICAGO – Happy Pride Week 2026! There were several breakthrough films in the LGBTQ+ genre, and one that stood out in the early millennium is BY HOOK OR BY CROOK (2001), co-directed/featuring Silas Howard and Harry Dodge. The Gene Siskel Film Center will screen the film, click HOOK/CROOK for details.

Silas Howard (left) and Harry Dodge in BY HOOK OR BY CROOK
Photo credit: Altered Innocence

Rating: 4.0/5.0

BY HOOK OR BY CROOK chronicles three weeks in the life of a gender-bending small town dreamer with a nagging messiah complex. Emotionally defeated after the death of his father, Shy (Silas Howard) heads to the big city to sink himself into a "life of crime." He is quickly distracted by Valentine (Harry Dodge), a deliriously expressive, wise-acre adoptee on a misguided search for her birth mother. The two freaky grifters join forces and learn the true meaning of "poise under pressure,” in an anti-authoritarian tale of friendship, trust and redemption.

Like MIDNIGHT COWBOY before it, the film at the core relies on the relationship of Shy and Valentine, and their personalities clashing within a survival mode and empathy for their situations. The secret of Valentine is a tenuous mental health, and Shy creates a buffer zone of delusional fantasy that keeps his partner on an “even keel.” Filled with funky beginning-of-millennia San Francisco fringes, the film has an authenticity about the moment, but still manages a truth that is right at home today. Two renegades are off to create their own world, and end up saving themselves. Howard and Dodge are on-point in creating a queer dynamic duo that understands the need for each other, in an early mumblecore classic.

Harry Dodge, Stanya Khan & Silas Howard in BY HOOK OR BY CROOK
Photo credit: Altered Innocence

Silas Howard (he/him) is an award-winning director, writer, and producer, and set an historic landmark as one of the first studio-made films directed by an out trans masculine LGBTQ+ filmmaker when he directed DARBY AND THE DEAD. Other credits include directing Netflix’s BOOTS, FX’s POSE (also exec producer), EP/director for Apple TV’s DICKINSON, and director for multiple seasons on the Emmy-award winning TRANSPARENT.

Harry Dodge (he/him) is a writer, director, actor and visual artist, and his book of literary nonfiction, MY METEORITE: OR, WITH THE RANDOM THERE CAN BE NO NEW THING (2020) was named an Editor’s Choice by the New York Times. Dodge’s sculpture, drawing, and video work has been exhibited in venues nationally and internationally.

In Part One of a Podtalk interview with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, co-directors/feature actors Silas Howard and Harry Dodge reflect on BY HOOK OR BY CROOK, which includes a Madonna dream …

In Part Two, Silas and Harry talk backgrounds, pride and what if Shy and Valentine met today …

Trailer, BY HOOK OR BY CROOK …

BY HOOK OR BY CROOK will screen at The Gene Siskel Film Center – 164 North State Street, Chicago – from June 26th-July 2nd, 2026. Featuring Silas Howard, Harry Dodge, Stanya Kahn and Joan Jett. Written by Silas Howard, Harry Dodge and Stanya Kahn. Directed by Silas Howard and Harry Dodge. Not Rated. For more information on the Siskel Center, click here. Happy Pride Week!

By PATRICK McDONALD
Editor and Film Critic/Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Audio Film Review: Mother & Daughter Dueling in ‘Honeyjoon’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 13:36:38 +0000

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review for the new release HONEYJOON, a writer/director debut by Lilian T. Mehrel, a story with themes involving loss, grief, parental relations, feminism and subsequent identity. In select theaters since June 19th. See local listings.

On the first anniversary of her husband’s death, Lela (Amira Cesar) takes a vacation with her adult daughter June (Ayden Mayeri) to the Azores Islands of Portugal – which is a romantic getaway for honeymooners – because it was their husband and father’s favorite place. Mother and daughter have different agendas in life, and often clash, but vow to have a good time and find a place to spread their loved one’s ashes. When they take a private tour of the islands given by João (José Condessa), the attention the tour guide gives to both Lela and June open up new feelings associated with their mourning period, and together they begin to find their own truth associated with recuperation.

HONEYJOON is in select theaters since June 19th. See local listings. Featuring Amira Cesar, Ayden Mayeri and José Condessa. Written and directed by Lilian T. Mehrel. Not Rated.

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s Audio Film Review of HONEYJOON

HONEYJOON
Photo credit: Utopia

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s Audio Film Review of HONEYJOON

Pride2026: Gary G. Chichester on Lessons in Chicago LGBTQ+ History

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Sun, 21 Jun 2026 14:08:45 +0000

CHICAGO – Happy Pride Week 2026! HollywoodChicago.com celebrates with a Podtalk with LGBTQ+ activist Gary G. Chichester, recognized historically as one of the most prominent advocates for rights in the gay community. He will be part of a celebration for the upcoming 56th Anniversary of the first Gay Pride March in World History … June 27th, 1970, in Chicago, Illinois.

Gary G. Chichester (the CHI in his last name is pronounced like CHI-Town) helped organize Chicago’s first Gay Liberation March on June 27th, 1970, and followed that up the next year by helping to organize the first Pride Parade. Chichester has seen it grow to be the most popular parade event in Chicago, drawing one million people to Uptown and Chicago’s Proudest Neighborhood. The 2026 parade will kick off at 11am on Sunday, June 28th.

Gary G. CHI-Chester (lower left) Wants You at the 56th Anniversary
Photo credit: Gary G. Chichester

The gay scene of 1970 in Chicago was underground, with the riots and uprising of New York City’s Stonewall Inn only one year old. To honor that event, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago were the first cities to have gay pride marches in 1970 … with Chicago leading the way on June 27th, a couple hours before the San Francisco march, and a day before the others.

As the march became a parade in 1971, Gary Chichester became involved by co-founding the Chicago Gay Alliance that same year, which created the first gay and lesbian community center in the Windy City. Also on his resume is practicing activism through The Chicago Gay Health Project, the Gay Rights National Lobby, the NAMES Project, Strike Against AIDS and the City of Chicago’s Advisory Council on Gay and Lesbian Issues, among so much more. He was inducted into the Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame in 1992. Chichester was the Grand Marshal of the Pride Parade in 2022.

In a Podtalk interview by Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, Gary Chichester reveals plans to designate Bughouse Square a National Historical site …

In a Video Pitch, Gary G. Chichester invites you to the Anniversary Celebration …

Gary’s YouTube overview of his personal TOP Chicago LBGTQ+ historical sites in Chicago. …

The 56th Anniversary Celebration of the first PRIDE March in World History will be Saturday, June 28th, 2025, at Bughouse Square (Washington Square Park), 901 North Clark Street, Chicago.The 2025 Chicago Pride Parade is Sunday, June 28th, 2025, beginning at 11am. For details on the June 28th Pride Parade, go to PrideChicago.org. To access the Facebook Page of Gary G. Chichester, click here. Happy Pride Week!

By PATRICK McDONALD
Editor and Film Critic/Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

On-Air Film Review: Director Hayley Kiyoko Adapts Her Own Novel for ‘Girls Like Girls’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 17:25:49 +0000

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Jason Makos for WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on June 18th, 2026, reviewing the new film GIRLS LIKE GIRLS. The story is from a novel by Hayley Kiyoko, who also co-adapts and directs. In theaters June 19th, check listings.

Maya da Costa is Coley, the new teen in town, moving in with her estranged father Curtis (Zach Braff) after her mother dies. As she mixes into the new town, she meets Sonya (Myra Molloy) and sparks start to fly. After an awkward first visit to Sonya’s house, the pair begin the dance of romance. Even in the perfect coo-some twosome world that Coley and Sonya create, the outside forces of society, other crushes, and their own differences conspire against them.

GIRLS LIKE GIRLS is in select theaters on June 19th, see local listings. Featuring Maya da Costa, Myra Malloy, Levon Hawke and Zach Braff. Screenplay adapted by Hayley Kiyoko and Stefanie Scott. Directed by Hayley Kiyoko. Rated “R”

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s on-air review of GIRLS LIKE GIRLS

GIRLS LIKE GIRLS
Photo credit: Focus Features

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s on-air review of GIRLS LIKE GIRLS

On-Air Film Review: Woody & Buzz are Back in ‘Toy Story 5’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 13:12:25 +0000

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on Eddie Volkman & Friends on THE 9-6-7 WSSR-FM Joliet (IL) on June 19th, 2026, reviewing the new release TOY STORY 5, the latest in the mega-popular animated film series from Pixar Studios. In theaters on June 19th.

Bonnie (voice of Scarlett Spears) is the current child possessor of the Toy Story gang, and despite having a wild imagination playing with them she cannot seem to make real friends. Her parents decide to get her a kids-style tablet, the Lilypad (Greta Lee) and suddenly Bonnie becomes connected. This concerns cowgirl Jessie (Joan Cusack) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), as not only their play lives as toys threatened, but they are still determined to find Bonnie a friend. For this, they seek the help of Woody (Tom Hanks), who now fosters lost toys, and together they have adventures on the way to fulfilling their goal, which includes an army of Buzz Lightyears.

TOY STORY 5 is in theaters on June 19th. Featuring the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Conan O’Brien, Bad Bunny, Keanu Reeves, Greta Lee, Tony Hale, Scarlett Spear and Wallace Shawn. Written by Andrew Stanton and Kenna Harris. Directed by Andrew Stanton. Rated “PG”

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s on-air review of TOY STORY 5

TOY STORY 5
Photo credit: Walt Disney Pictures

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s on-air review of TOY STORY 5

On-Air Film Review: Director & Animator Ryuya Suzuki Creates ‘Jinsei’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 15:28:15 +0000

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Jason Makos for WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on June 11th, 2026, reviewing the new animated film release JINSEI, a solo creation by director Ryuya Suzuki. In theaters June 12th, check listings.

An unnamed boy growing to manhood (eventual voice of Asian rapper Ace Cool) is orphaned by a runaway father and dead mother, raised by his stepfather. The shy boy meets a kindred spirit named Kin (Taketo Tanaka) and the two set out to develop a boy band. They are adopted by a famous record producer for training because the boy’s father was a pop idol. As fame develops, the boy continues to be a mostly silent brooder, even as he reaches the same idol status as his father. As he evolves, he’s thrown out of his fame, is mistook for a new leader and even given god status. And he has many days to go in his hundred year life.

JINSEI is in select theaters on June 12th, see local listings. Featuring the voices of Ace Cool and Taketo Tanaka. Written, animated and directed by Ryuya Suzuki. Not Rated.

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s on-air review of JINSEI

JINSEI
Photo credit: Greenwich Entertainment

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s on-air review of JINSEI

On-Air Film Review: Steven Spielberg Tells All on ‘Disclosure Day’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Fri, 12 Jun 2026 14:56:19 +0000

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on Eddie Volkman & Friends on THE 9-6-7 WSSR-FM Joliet (IL) on June 12th, 2026, reviewing the new release DISCLOSURE DAY, the latest directorial effort from the now legendary Steven Spielberg. In theaters on June 12th.

Josh O’Connor is Daniel, a tech nerd who is on the run, the possessor of an item stolen from the Wardex Corporation, run by Noah (Colin Firth). Daniel’s girlfriend Jane (Eve Hewson) has joined his escape, which is aided by a former Wardex employee Hugo (Colman Domingo). Meanwhile, Kansas City TV weather gal Margaret (Emily Blunt) encounters a force that makes her speak in different languages and a strange clicking sound. Once Daniel sees her viral video, it’s apparent that she is part of the secret that needs to be told on “Disclosure Day.”

DISCLOSURE DAY is in theaters on June 12th. Featuring Emily Blunt, Josh O’Connor, Colin Firth, Eve Hewson, Colman Domingo and Wyatt Russell. Written by David Koepp. Directed by Steven Spielberg. Rated “PG-13”

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s on-air review of DISCLOSURE DAY

DISCLOSURE DAY
Photo credit: Universal Pictures

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s on-air review of DISCLOSURE DAY

Podtalk: Exec Producer Arnie Holland on Re-Release of ‘Heaven’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 15:13:58 +0000

CHICAGO – In 1987, actor Diane Keaton set out to make her debut as a writer and director. The genre she chose was documentary, and the result was HEAVEN, a funky and eclectic film with different viewpoints regarding the afterlife. Representing the initial release was Lightyear Entertainment, and the Exec Producer is Arnie Holland, then and now.

Though Diane Keaton appeared in over 60 movies and produced nearly a dozen, her writer/director debut was based on a topic Ms. Keaton had a long preoccupation with, the afterlife and what people thought it was. HEAVEN, the result of her inquiry, is a free-wheeling and off-beat pastiche of interviews, clips from films such as METROPOLIS, GREEN PASTURES and STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN, in addition to songs that explore different ideas of what paradise may have to offer. Earlier this year, Lightyear Entertainment presented Diana Keaton’s acclaimed feature-length documentary, which had been meticulously remastered in HD and released it as a limited-edition Blu-ray, as well as on VOD and all leading digital platforms.

HEAVEN, Directed by Diane Keaton. Arnie Holland, Exec Producer
Photo credit: Lightyear Entertainment

Arnie Holland has had an extraordinary journey with the film, beginning with his role as Executive Producer at the time of the film’s release and in its 2026 re-release. He is owner and President of Lightyear Entertainment, a film and music distribution company which has released more than 120 films and 100 albums. Lightyear spun off of RCA, and their involvement with HEAVEN was based on finding movies that would look great on the 1987 tech of LASERDISC.

After producing and releasing a variety of feature films, children’s programs, concert films, and co-producing the legendary Jane Fonda Workout series, Holland and Lightyear found its focus on the distribution side. After many years with Warner Home Video and Warner Music Group, Lightyear’s films and music are distributed through The Orchard (for films) and Caroline/Universal Music Group (for music). Arnie Holland has 15 Executive Producer credits and Lightyear has distributed 120 films.

Diane Keaton During Editing, Her Heaven as Described
Photo credit: Lightyear Entertainment

In a Podtalk, Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com talks to Executive Producer Arnie Holland of Lightyear Entertainment about HEAVEN …

Trailer, HEAVEN…

HEAVEN is available on PLEX, TUBI and subscription streamers PRIME VIDEO and SLING TV, and is available on Blu-Ray wherever DVDs are sold. For more information on the film at Lightyear Entertainment, click HEAVEN. Written and directed by Diane Keaton. Rated “PG-13”

By PATRICK McDONALD
Editor and Film Critic/Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

On-Air Film Review: He-Man is Back in ‘Masters of the Universe’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 02:26:58 +0000

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on Eddie Volkman & Friends on THE 9-6-7 WSSR-FM Joliet (IL) on June 5th, 2026, reviewing the new release MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, based on the animated origins that began on TV in 1983. In theaters June 5th.

Nicholas Galitzine is Adam Glenn/He-Man, a disposed prince from the planet Eternia, who is exiled to Oklahoma during a planetary takeover by Skeletor (Jared Leto), where as an adult he works in human resources. Earth-bound Adam is obsessed with finding the “Sword of Power” which he grabbed as the left Eternia. When a comic book store has the sword, it begins Adam’s adventure back to Eternia, where he is reunited with warrior goddess Teela (Camila Mendes), his mentor Duncan (Idris Elba) and a series of weird allies and enemies, including Skeletor’s sorceress Evil-Lyn (Alison Brie). Can this master save the universe?

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE is in theaters on June 5th. Featuring Nicholas Galitzine, Jared Leto, Camila Mendes, Idris Elba, Alison Brie and Kristen Wiig. Screenplay adapted by Chris Butler, David Callaham and Aaron&Adam Nee. Directed by Travis Knight. Rated “PG-13”

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s on-air review of MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE
Photo credit: Amazon MGM Studios

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s on-air review of MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE