Review: A Concert to Remember by Bella Voce and the Madison Bach Musicians
Some of the best Christmas music I have ever heard has come from churches of every denomination. On December 14, I ventured out on a frigid 5° afternoon to St. […]
Review: Paul Feig Directs The Housemaid, a Twisting Tale of Two Women and Their Very Different Experiences in the Same House
Based on the best-selling 2022 book by Freida McFadden and adapted by Rebecca Sonnenshine, The Housemaid is something of a wild-ride thriller about Millie (Sydney Sweeney), a young woman with […]
Review: James Cameron Returns with Avatar: Fire and Ash, but Revisiting the Na’vi Feels More Like Well-Worn Sci-Fi Territory
For reasons that are beyond my comprehension, James Cameron’s Avatar films continue to land with mass, global audiences in an unexpected way. To be clear, I’m not someone who dislikes […]
Review: Starring a Captivating Wagner Moura, The Secret Agent Offers Political Thrills with a Humanizing (and Sometimes Fantastical) Touch
Though his name might not be familiar to most, my ears always perk up when I hear Wagner Moura is in something new. He’s been acting since the late ’90s, […]
Your Chicago Curated Weekend: 12/18 and Beyond
We’re going back and forth between warmer winter and freezing cold December days.Add in some random rain that will turn into flurries and you have your typical vacillating Chicago wintertime […]
Review: Prisoner Wine and a Winter Floral Workshop Bring Holiday Cheer to the Gwen
Upstairs at the Gwen, past complimentary hot cider just off of the elevator and an opulently decorated Christmas tree, my partner and I attended the hotel’s twelfth “Spirited Affairs” event […]
Review: The Patron Saints of Politics, Clout City: The Rise and Fall of the Chicago Political Machine, by Dominic A. Pacyga
Two-thirds of the way through his history of the Democratic political machine in Chicago, Clout City, Dominic A. Pacyga gives a handful of examples of the requests for favors that […]
Review: Manual Cinema’s Christmas Carol Is Hilarious, Brilliant and Moving
I was not quite sure what to expect from the Manual Cinema adaptation of A Christmas Carol. I have seen countless versions, including one rated TV-MA on cable television that […]
Review: Filmmaker Bradley Cooper Gets Intimate with Is This Thing On? About Stand-Up Comedy and a Marriage at a Crossroads
With a successful acting career under his belt, including two Oscar nominations, Bradley Cooper set his sights on filmmaking—and not in a small way. Cooper launched out of the gate […]
Review: Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair Restores Tarantino’s Epic to Full Strength
The theatrical release of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair justifies its own existence within moments, as the tremolo guitar of Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang Bang” sends tremors through our seat […]
Review: Megan Hilty at Steppenwolf Theatre—Broadway Glamour but Seasonal Struggles
Megan Hilty’s shows at Steppenwolf Theatre this last weekend were the kind of event that draws a crowd before the first note is played. With Tony-nominated credentials from Death Becomes […]
Review: A Day in St. Charles Is Only Completed By a Night at The Lewis
St. Charles is about 75 minutes from the north side of Chicago. My partner and I were thrilled to receive an invitation to a “Hallmark-worthy day trip” to the riverside […]