Results tagged “amcrivereast”

With the countdown clock getting very near to the nationwide release of the Chicago-centric summer blockbuster "Public Enemies," the Chicago media landscape has been diligently tracking down Dillinger info en masse. Earlier this week, the morbid habit of collecting blood back in the 20's is given a modern day connection in Mark Brown's column on Tuesday. Charley Johnson of the City News Bureau recieved a square of bloodstained newsprint from a reporter who was on the scene at Dillinger's slaying. Charley pasted that piece of bloodied paper into his diary, and then passed the book onto his son, who grew up to be WLS news anchor Jim Johnson.

Two stories have us thinking about the continuing evolution of the cinematic experience and the differences between going to see a movie and just watching one. First off, "boutique" theater chain Muvico has signed a letter of intent to occupy two floors of the Block 37 development. The proposed multiplex would have only seven screens, much smaller than the AMC RIver East 21 for example. But (to quote Seinfeld) they'd be draped in velvet, so...

A freshman at Corliss High School on the South Side says his school's security guards assualted him--and a student has the incident on tape. According to the Sun-Times, the tape shows an officer wrapping his arm around the student's neck and pining him to the floor. RIP, Betsy the harbor seal. The 36-year-old resident of the Lincoln Park Zoo was quite old for a harbor seal. The City Council's finance committee approved the Mayor's...

It's been three long years between features for Wes Anderson. But the wait is almost over—The Darjeeling Limited comes out next Friday. But, if you're lucky, you might get to see it early. This Saturday at TeaGschwendner in Lincoln Park The Darjeeling Limited is throwing a tea party. A $5 cover gets you access to "Darjeeling tea-tasting stations, petite Indian delectables, raffle prizes and trailer sneak peeks." And a pass to a free screening to...

Phase one: Acquire somewhere between $480,000 and $2.78 million. Phase two: Develop desire to live right around the corner from the AMC River East 21. Phase three: Patience until 2010. Maybe you've accomplished these goals already, and if you have, this is your lucky day: Developers revealed plans for a new downtown high rise today that meets your criteria exactly. The Peshtigo (we can't stop saying it ...), which would be located at 515 N....

Crime Fiction started life in 2005 as a modestly-budgeted project by some University of Chicago students. It's a sly dark comedy of artistic ambition, deceit and murder (no, it is not based on the day-to-day workings of Chicagoist). When we last chatted with associate producer Marc DeMoss in January, it had just gotten into the Slamdance Film Festival. That screening seems to have been some kind of golden ticket, because since then it's played at...

Chicagoist woke up this morning and thought to ourself, "If only we could think of something, anything, to do with this extra $500 in our pocket. Something glamorous, and possibly involving a Brangelina sighting." And then we read the Sun-Times, and all of our questions were answered. Ocean's Thirteen will have its premiere in Chicago at the AMC River East 21 on June 7, followed by a $500-a-head gala at the soon-to-be-opened Room 21. What...

Perhaps it is the image of Jennifer Hudson walking down the red carpet at the Academy Awards, but we've been getting inundated with talk of the event. The barrage has had its affect though, we have some Oscar related events for you this weekend, well except for one that involves vintage beer drinking, but we all need a break some time. We are all about gluttony and package deals this weekend, enjoy! We would suggest...

Interesting things going on this weekend, time to brush up sewing and get in a movie! As always feel free to add more events in the comments section. Hurry over to the Chicago Academy of the Arts, 1010 W. Chicago for the casting call for Fred Claus. This movie, starring Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, and Kevin Spacey, will be filming in January 2007 in Chicago. Make sure to bring a color photograph and a pen...

Even though we are to have remnants of a typhoon today, it looks pretty decent out. We know, since there is no Bears game you will be watching the Chicago Marathon online (we clicked on one of the video links, pretty boring stuff.) Those things will be winding down early enough in the day to catch some of these events. As always, feel free to add events in the comments section.

In Chicago, summer film viewing usually means … whatever’s air-conditioned. The Outdoor Film Festival is a notable exception, but generally speaking, summertime is an annual famine where interesting film choices are few and far between. But autumn is a horse of a different color. Suddenly (due in part to the Oscar race) it's time to bulk up. No sooner does the Chicago International Film Festival draw to a close (winners were announced this week) than...

This weekend, soccer legends like Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer will be in Berlin to see the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final featuring France vs. Italy. On Monday, Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer will be on the big screen for the Chicago premiere of Miramax's documentary, "Once in a Lifetime - The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos." FireWorks for Kids Foundation, the Chicago Fire's charitable arm is hosting the event at 6:30pm at AMC River...

If you’re a regular reader of this site (thanks, Dad!), you’ll know that Chicagoist http://www.chicagoist.com/archives/2005/06/21/the_great_debate.php">is really looking forward to Superman Returns. But more than one commenter has challenged our enthusiasm for what will surely be the definitive movie blockbuster of the summer of 2006. We understand that kind of skepticism. After all, isn’t this really just another attempt at creating yet another big media superhero franchise (one whose last outing brought us Jon Cryer and...

Though it makes the rest of the Chicago International Film Festival seem sort of anti-climactic, awards were handed out last week to some of the festival films. The big winner of the Gold Hugo for best film? My Nikifor/Moj Nikifor from Poland. Paczkis for everybody! The film won the award, in part, because of a “cinematographic form that creates a dialogue between art and compassion.” We bet that dialogue contains a lot of words like...

We’ve been alluding to it all week, but tomorrow marks the beginning of the Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF)! In a city with no shortage of film fests, the CIFF is considered the gold standard. Now in its 41st year, the CIFF brings us new and classic films, documentaries, critic’s favorites, locally produced films and even the occasional splatter film. Running through October 20th, the fest kicks off tomorrow with Cameron Crowe’s Elizabethtown and a...

Just a quick reminder that today’s the last day to enter The Baxter giveaway. We’re giving away three prize packs that include a Baxter t-shirt and Baxter soundtrack. Click here for more details on the movie and for your chance to win. And don’t forget that The Baxter opens today at the AMC River East. Click here to view show times. Not since Ducky in Pretty In Pink have the socially awkward and slightly spazzy...

Even if Bill Murray wasn’t originally from the Chicago area, we’d still plan on seeing his latest collaboration with Jim Jarmusch, Broken Flowers, which hits Piper’s Alley and the AMC River East this weekend. Chicagoist has long believed that the way to tell the really compelling actors from the lousy ones is with The Phone Book Test. That is, if an actor is really good then listening to them read the phone book will still...

The films that make up the Star Wars franchise have never been the “sleeper hit” of any summer. But we were still surprised to see Hayden Christansen’s pouty face adorning the front page of the Sun-Times this morning. Man, that Revenge of the Sith hype machine is something. Ebert gave it a rave review as did Michael Wilmington in the Tribune. Their accolades aren’t entirely surprising. Reviews of early screenings (most notably Kevin Smith’s review...

Every subculture has its own subculture of people who take their geek love to the extreme. These people are the ones the other geeks point to and say, “Well, I’m bad but I’m not as bad as THAT guy.” Chicagoist counts itself among those that scrounge for free movie passes through radio station websites and mail-in offers to local TV stations. But…well we’re not as bad as the guys in this story about the...

Now that the Oscar nominations have been announced, Chicagoist plans on spending the weekend catching up on the films it’s missed so far this season. The Landmark (at Clark and Diversey) is making it real easy too; half of the films playing there are nominated for an Oscar: Being Julia, Hotel Rwanda, A Very Long Engagement, and Sideways. AMC River East has a bunch too: Being Julia; Hotel Rwanda; Closer; Phantom of the Opera;...

Often assailed as a huge megaplex with no soul, the AMC River East does have the occasional free screening that makes it worth braving the crowds who are all amped up to see National Treasure. Tomorrow night they’ll be showing The White Stripes – Under Blackpool Lights, which was released this week on DVD. Documenting a January 2004 show at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool England, the Detroit duo pulls out their own “hits”...

Today marks the halfway point of the Chicago International Film Festival. So now’s as good a time as any to catch up with what’s playing in the next week and how you can catch all the films you want to see. If you haven’t seen anything yet, consider this your wake-up call. First, start with the official site. Under Films and Events, you can search for films by category, date or even country. As you’re...

It’s the event that Chicago film geeks and star watchers wait all year for: The Chicago International Film Festival. This year the fest celebrates its 40th Anniversary with an expanded program featuring more galas and historical retrospectives as well as films that please both your mom and your college film professor. Opening Night is this Thursday, October 7th as the film Kinsey starring Liam Neeson lights up across the Chicago Theatre. Screenings are held at...

It�s a good week to be a movie geek. Tickets went on sale at 9 AM today for Spamalot, �the musical lovingly ripped off� from one of the movies most-quoted by guys you went to high school with: Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Chicagoist covered the 411 on this back in July but it�s worth noting here that the opening of the box office featured an appearance by the Spammobile along with free cans...

Did you know that the Chicago International Film Festival is the oldest competitive film festival in North America? Chicagoist didn't, but it's in a press release, so it must be true. (Plus, we'll take any excuse we can get for hometown bragging rights.) Celebrating its 40th year (the celluloid anniversary?), the fest will screen over 100 features and 40 shorts from over 40 countries between October 7th and 21st. (That was definitely too many...