Ithaki Is Greektown’s Latest Odyssey
Ithaki Estiatorio, Greektown’s newest eatery, had a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 314 S. Halsted at Jackson on Wednesday, August 27, complete with local dignitaries, passed noshes and sips, and a “good […]
Dispatch: Day Three of the Chicago Jazz Festival—Jazz Classics and New Orleans in Chicago
It was another fabulous summer day in Chicago with some familiar names on the Pritzker Pavilion stage. First up was Ava Logan, who has been in at least two productions […]
Review: Strawdog Theatre’s The F*ck House Explores the Hazards and Absurdity of Being 13-Year-Old Girls
The F*ck House, now being staged by Strawdog Theatre, is a comic coming-of-age story about two 13-year old girls. The world premiere by playwright Susan H. Pak brings us a […]
Bites: What Author and Musician Eiren Caffall Eats in a Day
Eiren Caffall, a Chicago-based author (and musician), had a novel hit bookshelves this year. All the Water in the World was released on January 7, and is the story of […]
Dispatch: Day Two of the Chicago Jazz Festival Features Music from Brazil, Jamaica and Chicago Favorite Patricia Barber
The second day of the Chicago Jazz Festival veered into the unexpected for me. The Pritzker Pavilion stage featured an international roster of musicians and singers. Opener Sarah Marie Young […]
The Journey Isn’t About the Destination for Lindsay Welbers’ Chicago Transit Hikes
I own a car (don’t tell anyone). I live a very car-free life and promote a car-free existence to the point that my children at the age of two were […]
Dispatch: Chicago Jazz Festival #46 Lights Up the Last Days of Summer at Millennium Park
As the summer days begin to cool, there is still the heat from jazz bubbling in Millennium Park. The Chicago Jazz Festival is in its 46th year and is still […]
Review: Lurker Paints a Chilling, Tense Portrait of Modern Celebrity and Those Attracted To It
Marking his feature filmmaking debut, writer/director Alex Russell delivers a fine-tuned examination of ego, stardom and entitlement in Lurker, a thriller where the scariest moments are the ones that ring […]
Review: Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch Are the Best Part of Mean-Spirited, Cringy Adaptation, The Roses
Based on the 1981 novel The War of the Roses by Warren Adler, The Roses is a new adaptation that moves the action from Washington D.C. to the west coast […]
Interview: Splitsville Filmmakers Discuss Their Unique Take on Marriage, Fight Scenes and Filming Without Pants
On the eve of chatting with Splitsville co-writers Kyle Marvin and Michael Angelo Covino (Covino also directed the film), it occurred to me that my last sit-down with them was […]
Review: Filmmaking Duo Offers One of the Funniest, Most Real Takes on Modern Relationships in Comedy Splitsville
When writers Michael Angelo Covino and Kyle Marvin wrote their first feature, The Climb, some 5-6 years ago, they ended up making one of the definitive works about modern friendship […]
Review: Austin Butler Impresses in Darren Aronofsky’s Gangster Comedy with a Body Count, Caught Stealing
With each new movie, Austin Butler continues to impress and surprise me a little bit more, and in the hands of Darren Aronofsky (The Whale, Black Swan, The Wrestler) and […]