⢠âBelovedâ (Sept. 14, Landmark Midtown Art Cinemas) â Chiara Mastroianni falls in love with a gay American (Paul Schneider) in Paris while her mother (Catherine Deneuve), long since remarried, carries on an affair with her first husband. Itâs written and directed by gay Christophe HonorĂŠ. Also opening today are âResident Evil: Retribution,â with Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez kicking butt, and âFinding Nemoâ (now in 3D) with Ellen DeGeneres talking fishy.
⢠âHow to Survive a Plagueâ (Sept. 28, Landmark Midtown Art Cinemas) â I was in San Francisco for the first decade-plus of the AIDS crisis and wasnât aware of how much my fellow activists accomplished, as detailed and shown in this documentary by David France, one of the few such films to receive theatrical distribution.
www.surviveaplague.com.
⢠âPitch Perfectâ (Sept. 28) â The first feature by out director Jason Moore (Broadwayâs âAvenue Qâ) looks like âGlee Goes to College,â as Anna Kendrick makes the girls more competitive in a singing competition. Ester Dean plays a lesbian and Rebel Wilson gets most of the laughs as âFat Amy.â www.pitchperfectmovie.com.
⢠Out on Film (Oct. 4-11, Landmark Midtown Art Cinemas) â 25 years old and still growing! Over 40 film programs, including the titles youâve been reading about from the big LGBT summer festivals; parties, and appearances by Miss Coco Peru, direct from Gay Days at Disneyland. www.outonfilm.org.
⢠âThe Paperboyâ (Oct. 12, Landmark Midtown Art Cinemas) â Gay director Lee Daniels follows âPreciousâ with a thriller loaded with over-the-top, sun-baked Southern sexuality, most of it hetero. Thereâs Matthew McConaughey and a scantily clad Zac Efron for the boys and Nicole Kidman as an aging sexpot for the girls.
www.thepaperboy-movie.com.
⢠âKeep the Lights Onâ (Oct. 19, Landmark Midtown Art Cinemas, after premiering in Out on Film) â Gay writer-director Ira Sachs (âThe Deltaâ) follows a documentary filmmaker (Thure Lindhardt) and a closeted lawyer (Zachary Booth) for nearly a decade as their relationship faces various challenges, including addiction. www.keepthelightsonfilm.com.
⢠âCloud Atlasâ (Oct. 26) â A complex story features an all-star cast, some playing multiple ages, races and genders in the past, present and future, under a trio of writer-directors: Lana (formerly Larry) Wachowski, Tom Tykwer and Andy Wachowski. www.cloudatlasmovie.com.
⢠âWreck-It Ralphâ (Nov. 2) â Yeah, this Disneymation is mostly for kids, but with Jane Lynch, Jack McBrayer and Sarah Silverman in the voice cast (plus John C. Reilly in the title role), somebodyâs got to slip in a line or two for us.
⢠âLincolnâ (Nov. 16) â Steven Spielberg directs Daniel Day-Lewis as our favorite Republican president. Even with Tony Kushner (âAngels in Americaâ) writing the screenplay the possibility of exploring the gay rumors about Lincoln is as unlikely as that of showing Eleanor Rooseveltâs (Olivia Williams) lesbian side in âHyde Park on Hudsonâ (Dec. 7).
⢠âThe Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2â (Nov. 16) â Gay director Bill Condon (who also made Part 1, âDreamgirls,â âKinseyâ and âGods and Monstersâ) wraps things up. In my dreams Jacob gets over Bella and realizes he really loves me, but I think the movieâs going to go a different way.
⢠âThe Hobbit: An Unexpected Journeyâ (Dec. 14) â Sir Ian McKellen dons the Gandalf beard again for the start of another Tolkien trilogy.
⢠âLes MisĂŠrablesâ (Dec. 14) â If the thought of a big-screen Broadway musical isnât enough, think of Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried. www.lesmiserablesfilm.com.
⢠âThe Guilt Tripâ and âParental Guidanceâ (Dec. 25) â Itâs Barbra vs. Bette in the battle of the Christmas comedies. Though their children are about the same age, La Streisand is mothering Seth Rogen on the road in âThe Guilt Tripâ while the Divine Miss Mâs focus is on grandmothering when she and husband Billy Crystal are called on to be housesitters in the Atlanta-filmed âParental Guidance.â
⢠âGaybyâ (TBA) â I canât imagine Jonathan Liseckiâs wonderful comedy not opening theatrically after debuting at Out on Film. Matthew Wilkas plays a gay man whose best friend (Jenn Harris) asks him to father her baby â old school. www.gaybyfilm.com.
Top photo: The first feature by out director Jason Moore, âPitch Perfectâ includes a lesbian character and could be seen as âGlee Goes to College.â (Publicity photo via Facebook)