Review: Outshine Is What Mavis Beacon Taught Me to Type For
Back when I was in middle school, computers were becoming essential. AOL brought us the internet, Compton brought us the depth of knowledge of encyclopedias without the need for a […]
Review: Pond Brings Their Soaring Psychedelia to the Metro
Review by guest author Patrick Daul. With nine records in the bank and almost 15 years of touring under their belts, Pond is a veteran outfit with a firm identity […]
Review: A Man with Something Important To Say, Loudmouth Gives Rev. Al Sharpton His Due
The legacy of the Rev. Al Sharpton is complicated, one that is still being written and re-evaluated by films like Loudmouth, from actor-turned-director Josh Alexander (Prescription Thugs). The filmmaker presents […]
Review: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio Features Stunning Animation, Plenty of Humanity and Just a Bit of Terror
If you had told me earlier this year that I would see a film version of Pinocchio that featured a cameo by Mussolini, I probably would have guessed that filmmaker […]
Review: Itzhak Perlman and Klezmer Fill Symphony Center with Tradition and Joy
Bands playing klezmer, the distinctly Jewish and mostly joyous music genre, get to play on many stages. Add Itzhak Perlman—one of the great concert violinists of our era—and you get […]
Review: Two Winners in the Nutcracker Ballet Relay
My interest in classical music was weaned on Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker ballet. So I leapt at the opportunity to do a Nutcracker relay last Saturday: the matinee opening […]
Review: Hot Handel Kicks Off the Holidays at the Auditorium Theatre
I heard that there was some Grinch behavior spreading around Chicago. Even I have mandated that my office shalt not play that one station that starts with the fa-la-la business […]
Review: Noah Baumbach Embraces Absurdity, Uncertainty in Weird, Interesting White Noise
Filmmaker Noah Baumbach has made a career out of films that explore the absurdity of humanity, the seemingly arbitrary connections we forge and the ways we exhaust ourselves trying to […]
Review: Family Drama Memories of My Father Channels A Deep Father/Son Relationship Alongside Shallow Colombian Politics
After truly enjoying his previous few films (The Queen of Spain, The Artist and the Model, and the Oscar-nominated animated feature Chico & Rita), director Fernando Trueba’s latest, Memories of […]
Review: In Its 45th Christmas Carol, Goodman Theatre Roasts an Old Chestnut with New Seasoning and Traditional Charm
A fair number of children and teens attended opening night of Goodman Theatre’s A Christmas Carol. Director Jessica Thebus and her creative team brought new life to this 45th edition […]
Review: Exhibits at Wrightwood 659 Portray The First Homosexuals Along with Michiko Itatani’s Celestial Stages
Two compelling exhibits are on display at Wrightwood 659, the Lincoln Park gallery dedicated to exhibiting socially engaged art and architecture. Michiko Itatani: Celestial Stage celebrates the work of the […]
Review: In Glass Onion, Detective Benoit Blanc Returns for a Burn-the-Rich Murder Mystery
As much as I enjoyed writer/director Rian Johnson’s Knives Out, nothing quite prepared me for how much I laughed during the follow-up Glass Onion, the mystery-solving adventure of the world’s […]