Down with bigotry!

Dann: How bold of you to print Ken Libowicz's comments about "A Single Man." I hope everyone reads your full response. Spot On!

We will never rid our world of homophobic bigotry. When it comes to movies and other entertainment modes people need to learn to voice their opinions by not buying a ticket or changing the channel.

Mr. Libowicz needs to learn that there were just as many gays in the 1950s and 1960s, times of more "traditional values and mores" as there are now. The gay population has just become mainstream. Good for them.

Mr. Libowicz should move to the world that has zero effect by the gay population if he has a problem with them. Oh, that's right, that world no longer exists.

For the record: straight, married, an old dude with nine grandchildren. (Hoping "Up In the Air" makes a big sweep on Oscar night!)

-- Steve Calcari

Dear Steve: I have good news and some bad news.

The Good: More and more people are willing to step out of their sociocultural boxes and actually expose themselves to movies and stories they don't necessarily agree with. This is a healthy thing for all American moviegoers.

The Bad: The only thing "Up in the Air" will be sweeping might be the theater stage after all the big awards go to other nominees. (Cross your fingers it at least nabs best adapted screenplay.)

-- Dann

Free film on ex-loversCollin Souter has a deal for you.The Arlington Heights native (and graduate of Hersey High School and Chicago's Columbia College) is making his 2008 documentary "Break-Up Date" available for viewing at no charge during February.His movie is a collection of first-person tales told by people who've been dumped by their significant others. Included is a poignant interview with WGN radio personality Nick Digilio.To see "Break-Up Date," go to the Internet Movie Database at imdb.com. Type in the title and hit the "Watch It" box on the left. No MPAA rating. 90 minutes.'Creation'In John Amiel's oh-so-serious fact-inspired drama "Creation," Paul Bettany portrays evolution guru Charles Darwin as a morose and sickly scientist who sees visions of his dead 10-year-old daughter Annie (Martha West) while he struggles to write his seminal challenge to how humankind came to be in "The Origin of Species."Amiel, directing from John Collee's screenplay, is less interested in the obvious conflict between Darwin's belief in evolution and the faith of his religious wife Emma (Jennifer Connelly, aka Mrs. Bettany) than in Darwin's inner conflict: Can he morally release a ticking bomb on the world knowing that it might "kill God" for people who have been civilized and bettered by belief in Him?"Creation" offers plenty of material to mine for dramatic tension, but Amiel piddles it away with long segments of an anguished Darwin chatting with a professorial Annie, who speaks like a screenwriter's device rather than a real child."Creation" also bears too many uncomfortable similarities to Ron Howard's Oscar-winning "A Beautiful Mind." Connelly plays the same role as a rock-solid wife of a sick genius who sees people who aren't really there. (Bettany played one of them in "A Beautiful Mind." The other was a little girl.) At least the ending offers some touching, reasoned optimism that people on both sides of the evolution issue can live in peace."Creation" opens today at the Renaissance Place in Highland Park. Rated PG-13 (for reasons I don't get). 108 minutes.'Blood Done'Like many low-budget, overtly Christian message films, Jeb Stuart's ambitious and impressive civil rights drama "Blood Done Sign My Name" gets a little hokey.The characters, without layers or dimensions, act less like real people than symbols or stick figures. They don't converse as normal people do. Instead, they somberly announce, persuade, explain, summarize and move the plot along as needed.Yet, "Blood Done" is an obvious labor of love from dedicated filmmakers who mount a costly (relatively speaking) fact-based drama set in 1970 with a surprisingly large cast requiring plenty of period costumes and automobiles.A Methodist minister named Vernon Tyson (Rick Schroder) moves his family into a North Carolina town where he instantly preaches equality and integration to his all-white church. (His son Tim, played by Gattlin Griffith, grew up to become a scholar who wrote the book upon which this movie is based.)After a local white businessman and his sons execute a black Vietnam War veteran in the street, an all-white jury exonerates them, setting in motion violent responses of vandalism, looting and rioting.Thousands of outraged citizens walk to the state capitol, and the sheer numbers of extras in these scenes (they don't look digitally enhanced) inspire a bit of awe.The story in "Blood Done" honorably promotes equality, tolerance and belief in virtues beyond the self. Still, most people might like its message tapped lightly home rather than robustly hammered.(Look for Chicago's Michael Rooker playing a local redneck, not too far from the character he portrayed in 1988's "Mississippi Burning.")"Blood Done Sign My Name" opens today at select theaters in Chicago, Cicero and Country Club Hills. Rated PG-13 for language and violence. 123 minutes.'Broken Embraces'The After Hours Film Society presents Pedro Almodovar's "Broken Embraces," a story about a blind movie director whose past comes alive through flashbacks. General admission costs $9. It will be screened at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Tivoli Theatre, 5021 Highland Ave., Downers Grove. Go to afterhoursfilmsociety.com or call (630) 534-4528.'Edge' is 'garbage'Dann: Couldn't wait to get back from my business trip during which I and the entire audience had a huge laugh watching one of the worst movies, with the poorest acting I've ever seen: "Edge of Darkness." I looked forward to seeing your review, knowing you would give it a well-deserved ripping.Three stars!You must have been in a very good mood or on something. The scene in the car, prior to the lady getting hit by the car, combined with the bad guy who got shot in the throat (how does it feel to be one of the worst actors ever?) got the biggest laughs. Unbelievable that you liked that piece of garbage. You are way better than that. - Steve RodheimDear Steve: As I said in my review, "Edge of Darkness" is an homage to the cheap, classic film noir potboilers of the 1940s and 1950s, specifically "D.O.A." (1950) with Edmund O'Brien as a poisoned man attempting to find his killer before he expires. It would not be fair to hold "Edge" to the same standards as, say Michael Mann's 2009 "Public Enemies," when it obviously has been designed to imitate a film style from the past. -- Dann