Review: Super Magbot Is a Platformer That Challenges You to Push and Pull Yourself to Win
I think I used to stay away from platformers when I was a kid. I got sick of side scrollers with fat, slow bullets or plumbers jumping on the heads […]
Riot Fest 2021: Friday in Review
Riot Fest Friday attendees experienced an epic display of scorching sun, dramatic lightning, and rain shower to close the night. Entering the gates around 1 p.m. I noticed that the crowds […]
Review: Mannequin Pussy Captivated Lincoln Hall for Two Sold-Out Nights
After their sold out Schubas show, Philadelphia indie punk rock trio Mannequin Pussy returned to Chicago and sold out Lincoln Hall Wednesday and Thursday night! It’s both overwhelming and very […]
Review: Chicago Philharmonic’s Simple Gifts
Chicago Philharmonic isn’t as much of a household name on the city’s classical scene as Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Music of the Baroque. Yet the company […]
Review: The Adventures of an Urbex Photographer in Abandoned Chicagoland: Rust on the Prairies
Abandoned Chicagoland: Rust on the Prairies By Jerry Olejniczak Arcadia Publishing I’ve always been drawn to—and repelled by—demolition sites. Crumbling walls, shattered by a wrecking ball and revealing shards of […]
Preview: Ear Taxi Festival Is Baaaaack!!!
The long-anticipated return of the Ear Taxi Festival started this week with a series of concerts and happenings at several venues around Chicago. The first festival in October 2016 showcased […]
Riot Fest 2021: Preview Party in Review
It felt good to riot again. I’ll admit it, after two years away I wasn’t sure my rusty festival skills and pandemic jitters could handle a fourth day of Riot Fest. The […]
Review: As Much a Battle of Wits as Weapons, Copshop Leans Into Its Murderous Mayhem
Filmmaker Joe Carnahan is a man of action. Or more specifically, he’s a man who makes action happen in his movies. I wouldn’t necessarily say there’s anything unique or special […]
Review: Emotional, Beautifully Filmed Blue Bayou Centers on Family, Immigration and Overcoming the Past
Something of a spiritual companion piece to last year’s immigrant story Minari, writer/director/star Justin Chon’s Blue Bayou is the story of a Korean-born man, Antonio LeBlanc (Chon), living in Louisiana […]
Review: The Eyes of Tammy Faye Explores Price of Faith and One Couple’s Rapid Ascension and Devastating Descent
In the opening moments of the new biopic directed by Michael Showalter (The Big Sick), The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Tammy Faye Bakker (played flawlessly by Jessica Chastain) is being […]
Review: Soulslike Tails of Iron Offers Brutal Difficulty and Gameplay
While some people don’t like “soulslike” as a genre descriptor, I have no problems using it. Sure, soulslike is just another name for action role-playing game, but there are just […]
Review: Gamedec Puts You in the Shoes of a Virtual Investigator
I remember when I first started to play World of Warcraft, way back during its alpha phase, and there would be Game Masters physically manifesting in their GM robes to […]