Your Chicago Curated Weekend: 1/8 and Beyond
WE’RE BACK! After a quick hibernation for all the year-end holidays the Curated Weekend returns for another year of fantastic event roundups! There are plenty of winter festivities still going […]
Review: Lincoln Park’s Ox Bar & Hearth and Butcher & the Bear Offer Cozy Fine Dining
When Chicago gets cold outside, head inside to these two northside eateries offering warm interiors for both body and belly, featuring Midwestern regional fare and curated cocktails. Ox Bar & […]
Review: State of the Fine Arts: Chicago’s Fine Arts Building, by Keir Graff
How does an old Chicago building survive? Public outcry and organized protest have saved a few, yes, but it usually comes down to owners and occupants continuing to give a […]
2025 in Review: Best Narrative Films of the Year
2025 is finally over, so it’s time to reveal my Best Narrative Films of the Year list. As always, I was able to squeeze in a couple dozen additional films […]
2025 in Review: Best Documentary Films of the Year
As I do every year, I separate documentaries into their own Best of the Year list, not because I feel they should be judged any differently than narrative films, but […]
2025 Theater in Review: Our Writers Remember Their Favorite Plays of the Year
During 2025 our theater team wrote almost 200 articles for our Stages page, which included opera, dance, comedy, magic, children’s theater and the occasional interview and theater book review. That […]
Review: Two MCA Exhibitions—Firelei Báez and Yoko Ono—Greet the New Year with Flair and Distinction
F. Baez – The trace
Preview: The Twin Peaks Reunion Just Got Better
For over half a decade, fans of Chicago indie institution Twin Peaks have been treated to radio silence rather than radio-friendly garage rock jams. The last we heard from the […]
Review: Pink Martini Stirs Up a Sparkling Seasonal Cocktail of Multicultural Music
Founded as a progressive funky little fundraiser orchestra in 1994, Pink Martini is currently touring with a lively holiday concert called All-Stars: A Season of Stars, which stopped at the Auditorium […]
Dialogs: Cultural Icon Margaret Atwood on The Handmaid’s Tale, ICE Raids, and Her New Book of Lives
“There are many ways to do the work in this moment,” Women & Children First Co-Owner Lynn Mooney said by way of introducing prolific novelist and poet Margaret Atwood at […]
Review: Kate Winslet Makes Her Directorial Debut with Goodbye June, a Heartfelt if Sometimes Clunky Family Holiday Drama
With a cast like this, how can you resist taking a peak at this Christmastime film that’s also a dying-elderly-mother piece? Featuring four of the most reliable actors of their […]
Review: Cover-Up Is a Compelling New Documentary About History-Making Investigative Journalism
According to the legend established in this film, director Laura Poitras (an Oscar winner for Citizenfour and All the Beauty and the Bloodshed) asked Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Seymour Hersh […]