In the nearly 20 years I’ve been a part of Ain’t It Cool News, I’ve been very fortunate to be a part of some truly great events. But never in my time […]
A Complete Guide to the 5th Annual Chicago Critics Film Festival
Chicago Shakes’ Shakespeare in Love A Charming and Clever Love Story
The Oscar-winning film, Shakespeare in Love, has been adapted for the stage, and what better company to present its Chicago premiere than Chicago Shakespeare Theater, whose lush costumes and dynamic scenery frequently […]
Fresh Start to Your Week: 5/8 – 5/10
It’s the beginning of most people’s work schedule, but that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying a good night out. Take a look at the cool events happening during the first half of […]
Hookman at Steep Theatre Succeeds in Being Terrifying and Hilarious
Playwright Lauren Yee calls her play Hookman an “existential slasher comedy.” And Steep Theatre’s new production takes her up on that with creative staging, solid performances, especially by the three female leads—and […]
Laurie Anderson Returns Home to Quell My Political PTSD in The Language of the Future
Photo by Ebru Yildiz Glen Ellyn native and iconoclast Laurie Anderson returns home for a lovely, lyrical and melancholy meditation on the current state of affairs in her ongoing exploration, “The Language of […]
Film Review: The Dinner, A Junk Movie with Garbage Characters
Oh, how I loathed this movie. And it’s not just that I hated the characters in the film—I’m certainly capable of liking a work with bad people at its center—I just really […]
Film Review – Risk: An Astonishing Look into the Worldview of Julian Assange
If I’ve got my timelines correct, when Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras (CitizenFour), was holed up in a Hong Kong hotel room with Edward Snowden and a pair of journalists, she was […]
Film Review – My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea: A Perfect Blend of Sly, Cynical, and Silly
I feel that John Hughes would approve. From noted graphic novelist Dash Shaw (“New School,” “Cosplayers”) comes an animation experience that combines a high school comedy with a disaster movie and a […]
Film Review – David Lynch: The Art Life, A Portrait of a Cinematic Mastermind
In this strangely organic and homey approach to a biography documentary, David Lynch: The Art Life concentrates exclusively on the filmmaker’s early years, leading up to and concluding with the making of […]
Film Review: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Marvel’s Latest Cosmic Adventure is a Blast
Just when I think I have figured out what writer-director James Gunn is capable of, he goes and makes Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and shows me he’s capable of so […]
Aimee Mann and Jonathan Coulton Shared the Stage and Delighted Park West
There is no doubt that a show headlined by Aimee Mann and featuring Jonathan Coulton as the opener is going to be a good time, but as Mann told the crowd, you […]
Competition Kitchen: It’s the Nerdologues’ New Party Game
It’s an odd recipe: a comedy and storytelling group mixed with a cooking game, simmered together to create a dish suitable for any gathering. In this case, it’s a winner: the Nerdologues’ […]