Review: Director Neil Jordan Models Marlowe on the Masters of Noir Storytelling
A key element to most film noir crime dramas is that the plot is almost always impossible to follow (at least upon a single viewing), and in the end, it […]
Review: Winspear Perfectly Presents Their Diverse Roster at Thalia Hall “In the Round”
Winspear Records showcased a substantial roster of artists Saturday night at Thalia Hall including Brenda’s Friend, Lutalo, Video Age, and Chicago’s own Divino Niño. Performing In the Round, this was […]
Review: A Beloved Classic Returns With Pharaoh: A New Era
They don’t make them like they used to—and developer and publisher Dotemu is well aware of this. That’s why they’ve made a name for themselves by revitalizing old games either […]
Review: En Pointe and En Travesti With Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
Brave drag queens and cowardly Russian oligarchs dominate the news these days. These fabulous queens are often incorrectly labeled as subversive while the Slavic autocrats aren’t receiving enough comeuppance for […]
Review: Ten Dates Is a Fun, Stress-Free Way to Enjoy Valentine’s Day from Your Couch
It’s Valentine’s Day and no matter where you fall on the spectrum from “absolutely against” to “bring on the glittery hearts,” it’s unavoidable. All around us strawberries are being dipped, […]
Interview: Spouses and Creative Collaborators Dave Franco and Alison Brie on Somebody I Used to Know, Coming-of-Age Films and the Freedom in Streaking
I have a long history with Dave Franco that goes back to a time when I was invited to visit the New Orleans set of 21 Jump Street. The invite […]
Review: Let It Be Morning Creates a Poignant, Quietly Devastating Story of Home, Family and the Walls that Keep Us Apart
Based on Palestinian-born author Sayed Kashua’s book of the same name, Let It Be Morning tells the story of Sami (Alex Bakri), a Palestinian-born Israeli citizen living in Jerusalem who […]
Review: The Marshal Who “Could Spit and Bust a Brick in Two,” Black Gun, Silver Star, by Art T. Burton
It is important that there is a book such as Art T. Burton’s Black Gun, Silver Star: The Life and Legend of Frontier Marshall Bass Reeves to ensure the memory […]
Review: CSO Celebrates Rachmaninoff With Conductor Lahav Shani and Pianist Beatrice Rana Making Debuts
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra kicked off its weekend celebration of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s 150th birthday in a fantastic fashion at Symphony Center on Thursday night. In his CSO conducting debut, Lahav […]
Review: Somebody I Used to Know Channels Classic Rom-Coms for an Art House Crowd
Co-written by spouses and frequent collaborators Dave Franco and Alison Brie (and directed by Franco), Somebody I Used to Know is essentially an art-house adaptation of My Best Friend’s Wedding, […]
Review: Lacking Momentum and Charisma, Rom-Com Your Place or Mine Squanders the Best of the Genre
As has been proven time and time again, making a contemporary rom-com that both entertains and endears itself onto its audiences is tricky business. All too often, recent entries into […]
Review: Sharper Uses a Flexible Storytelling Structure and Strong Cast to Create a Gripping Neo-Noir
In a slight twist in the recent trend in movies to stick it to the rich, first-time director Benjamin Caron’s Sharper has nearly every character trying to stick it to […]