Review: Rainforest Thriller Quicksand Offers Just Enough Tension, Believability to be Entertaining
‘I’m just now realizing that I kind of adore horror films in which the main threat to human life is in the title of the film. Why bother with a […]
Review: Tall Towers as Tools of Profit and Racism, Chicago Skyscrapers, 1934–1986, by Thomas Leslie
Thomas Leslie’s Chicago Skyscrapers, 1934-1986 is an impressive and important book that ranks with other works providing the deepest insights into what makes Chicago, Chicago: Nature’s Metropolis by William Cronon, […]
Preview: Yellowcard Shows Us What It Means to “Grow Up” in Their Latest EP, Childhood Eyes
Every musical era has its masters, Elvis, who pioneered rock and roll; Prince who led pop into a new era throughout the 1980s and 1990s; and Johnny Cash, Country Music […]
Review: Revelatory New Documentary The League Chronicles Baseball’s Negro League and Its Deep Impact on the Sport, the Country and Chicago
One of the most insightful and talented documentary filmmakers producing works on the Black experience in America, Sam Pollard (Citizen Ashe, MLK/FBI), brings us The League, an in-depth journey through […]
Review: Loosely Tied to the 2018 Film, Bird Box Barcelona Revisits a Compelling Premise in Tense, Interesting New Ways
One of the first event movies in the relatively brief history of Netflix was 2018’s sci-fi adventure film Bird Box, starring Sandra Bullock, in which a presumably alien force comes […]
Review: Japanese Breakfast Returns to Chicago with One More Celebration of Jubilee
This is now the third year in a row that indie-pop band Japanese Breakfast graces Chicago with their invigorating live sets, and this past Sunday’s show was more than special. […]
Your Chicago Curated Weekend: 7/13 and Beyond
Its gonna be a rainy weekend but don’t let that stop you from enjoying everything that Chicago has to offer! From markets to concerts, movies to festivals, and so much […]
Review: Jenny Lewis Brings a Whole Lot of Joy’All to the Salt Shed
Coming off the heels of her latest album Joy’All and a set at Summerfest, Jenny Lewis was more than prepared to impress at the Salt Shed. Despite that aforementioned festival […]
Toya Wolfe’s Last Summer on State Street Wins $25,000 Pattis Family Foundation Chicago Book Award
Most readers are familiar with the more prestigious annual book prizes out there, among them the National Book Award, the Pulitzer Prize, and the PEN America Literary Awards. A new […]
Review: A Father and Daughter Navigate the Passage of Time in Classical Fable Scarlet
Originally titled “L’Envol” (or, Flight), the more ravishingly named (for English audiences) Scarlet is a sweeping, romantic story of the passage of time, a young woman’s coming of age and […]
Review: Tom Cruise Returns with More Action, Heart and Humor in Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One
In the two weeks leading up to my screening of Mission: Impossible—Dead Reckoning Part One, I did something I rarely do leading up to seeing a sequel of a long-running […]
Review: Midsommer Flight Sorts Out Cymbeline‘s Screwball Plot for a Charming Theater Experience in the Park
Cymbeline is one of Shakespeare’s late and rarely performed plays. but with a trimmed-down script and engaging movement and music, Midsommer Flight overcomes the Bard’s many plot complications and creates a […]