Review: Something Gets Lost Between the Songs in Teen Spirit
For reasons I’m not sure I explain, we are in a cinematic era of fake female rock/pop singers. Gone is the fascination with biopics of real singers (with the exception […]
Review: Gugu Mbatha-Raw Leads the Wholly Original, Wildly Watchable Fast Color
Filmmaker Julia Hart has a knack for casting. Three years ago at SXSW, I got to see her directorial debut, Miss Stevens, a surprisingly poignant road comedy about a high […]
Review: A Love Poem to Emily Dickinson in Wild Nights With Emily
Hoping to dispel the long-held belief that the late poet Emily Dickinson was a recluse who didn’t want a relationship or anyone to ever read her work (a mythology still […]
Review: Just Enough Scares in an Otherwise Weak The Curse of La Llorona
The greatest crime that the new James Wan-produced horror film The Curse of La Llorona commits is trying to link itself unnecessary to the universe of The Conjuring/Annabelle. Outside of […]
Review: The Second City e.t.c.’s Grinning From Fear to Fear Delivers From Start to Finish
The Second City e.t.c.’s revue is a big deal–for actors and with any luck, its attendees. For the cast of comedians, the revue represents anywhere from 8 to 10 weeks […]
Review: Impressive Footage Chronicles Daily Life in Disneynature’s Penguins
People made a big deal about Marvel Studio’s 10-year anniversary recently, but another Disney imprint is also celebrating a decade of quality filmmaking this year. Granted, the stories that comprise […]
Your Chicago Curated Weekend: 4/18 – 4/21
Snow at the start of the week, then beautiful warm sunshine , now back to cool rainy days. The weather may be erratic but the events are just as great […]
Review: I Just Wanna Bang on the Djembe! All Day
Djembe! is a Disney-like journey through the history of the West African drum, a kind of “Around the Drum in 80 Minutes” diorama, and that’s OK. The intermission-less musical, in […]
Giveaway: Spring Awakening Music Festival 2019
The weather has been absolutely crazy this week, from snow to temps in the 70s! No matter how crazy things get, you know that festival season is fast approaching. We’re […]
Review: The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt by Ken Krimstein
The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt: A Tyranny of Truth By Ken Krimstein Bloomsbury Publishing Am I intelligent enough to critique the life’s work of philosopher and political theorist Hannah […]
Restore to Factory Settings – An Evening with Wax Trax Records
This past Saturday was Record Store Day. I don’t own vinyl or a record player but the excitement of the day and the celebration of music and the frustration towards […]
Review: Shattered Globe’s Hannah and Martin, an Intellectual Romance and Ideological Battle
Hannah Arendt is having a moment. There’s renewed interest in this brilliant 20th century political philosopher, probably best known for her writing on the Adolf Eichmann trial in Israel, published […]