Review: With Bad Special Effects and a Pointless Script, Maneater Barely Qualifies as a Movie

What the hell is this? Let me ask this very serious question: Does all special effects software just come with a bad CG shark as part of its package of […]

Steve Prokopy /

Review: Though Slightly Underdeveloped, Samaritan Sees Stallone Get Back Into Action

Putting a somewhat fresh spin on the superhero movie, director Julius Avery (Overlord) delivers Samaritan, the story of young Sam Cleary (real-life kid boxer Javon “Wanna” Walton) who grows up […]

Steve Prokopy /

Review: George Miller Tells—and Shows—Incredible Stories in Three Thousand Years of Longing

Over the years, I’ve discovered that I have a soft spot for films about the magic powers that spoken-word storytelling can conjure, whether it’s simply a filmed performance of, for […]

Steve Prokopy /

Your Chicago Curated Weekend: 8/25 and Beyond

It’s the final weekend of August and there are so many fun things going on this weekend! It’s feeling a little more normal to go out since Chicago dropped the […]

Julian Ramirez /

Preview: Workshopped Play Rectitude Shows a Glimmer of Brilliance in Its Character Study of Two Catholics

In the talkback after watching a workshopped version of a new play titled Rectitude, I heard a term—cradle Catholic—that was new to me. It’s a person baptized as an infant into […]

Kathy D. Hey /
Lit,

Review: Lynn Sloan’s Midstream Carries Readers on a Cinematic Tour de Force

Unlike the turbulent 1970s she lives in, Polly Wainwright is determined to be calm, competent, and professional. She’s got a boyfriend making a name for himself as a war correspondent […]

Caitlin Archer-Helke /

Review: Grant Park Festival Closes with a Great Performance of Haydn’s The Creation

There are few pieces of music that satisfy me more thoroughly than Franz Josef Haydn’s oratorio, The Creation. Grant Park Orchestra and Chorus performed it for a rousing sendoff to […]

Louis Harris /

Review: Saints Row Introduces Us to the New Saints, Who Are Just Like the Old Saints—Mostly

I know not everyone is going to welcome the new Saint’s Crew. In fact, I wasn’t sure I was going to welcome the new Saints after the rebooted Saints Row […]

Antal Bokor /

Interview: Volition’s Brian Traficante on an All New Saints Row and What to Expect

It’s been a while since Champaign-based developers Volition have been in the final countdown to a big release. After all, Saints Row IV released all the way back in 2013. […]

Antal Bokor /

Dialogs: Two Artists Discuss Developing The Notebook for Chicago Shakespeare in American Writers Museum Event

It may seem a daunting task to take on developing the stage version of a beloved book and film, with thousands of fans. Singer/songwriter Ingrid Michaelson and playwright/screenwriter Bekah Brunstetter […]

Nancy S Bishop /

Review: The Salt Shed Hits a New High with Courtney Barnett’s Here and There Festival

The past couple of weeks the Salt Shed has been hitting on all cylinders. They attracted a phenomenal lineup of acts for their first month of shows and have been […]

Julian Ramirez /

Review: Straight Outta Harvey: Kellye Howard’s Crazy or Nah?! Is a Perfect Storm of in Your Face Grief and Comedy

There have been some really great one-woman performances and standup comics over the years. My favorite ones have told stories that are personal and off-kilter funny. Kellye Howard is yet […]

Kathy D. Hey /