Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ, based on Nikos Kazantzakis's novel of the same name, looked at the life of Christ from the main character's perspective and posited that, although Christ was without sin, he wasn't immune to temptation. The film was met with a flurry of protests when it was released in 1988 because it depicted Christ imagining himself engaged in sexual activity, which naturally outraged more than a few Christians. The film's release in 1988 sparked a rash of protests across the country. Chicago was no exception. more ›

Once upon a time there was an outlaw named John Dillinger. While the country was in the depths of the Great Depression, he robbed a lot of banks. In fact he robbed so many that the FBI made him Public Enemy No. 1. One by one all his cronies were killed, and his moll Billie Frechette was captured and put in jail. On a hot summer evening Dillinger made the mistake of going to the air-conditioned Biograph Theater to see Manhattan Melodrama, starring Clark Gable and Myrna Loy. As he left the show he was gunned down in an alley and died. more ›

With all the hype over this week's opening of the new John Dillinger film Public Enemies, filmed here in Chicago, starring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale and directed by Michael Mann, the Associated Press dug up this old file photo of the Biograph Theater as it originally appeared in July 1934, the night after Dillinger was shot (the second shot above is of a woman from the original pic holding a newspaper that says "Dillinger Slain"). Also check out shots taken by readers as the Biograph appeared last summer as the crew filmed. more ›

One of the few summer blockbusters we're genuinely interested in seeing this year is Michael Mann's Public Enemies, starring Johnny Depp as infamous gangster John Dillinger. The movie opens nationwide on July 1. more ›

Gorilla Tango Theatre, 1919 N. Milwaukee Ave., Fridays and Saturdays through 12/20, 11:30 p.m., $16 more ›

“Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.” more ›

Select Media Fest 6 (warning: flashy link) kicks off tonight and runs through November 17. Public Media Institute’s celebration goes sci-fi, transforming their exhibition space into the CPS1 space colony. This year’s interstellar gatherings include a Saturday night film screening at the Hideout, the SANDWITCH zine’s Sunday night launch, and weeklong discussions of democracy at Loyola. A festival pass is $25 and no program costs more than $10. Dance Chicago continues through early December at... more ›

Did everyone have a great time at our birthday party last night? It sure is great to be three! There are a lot of great shows going on sale this weekend. We decided to focus on shows that are happening in venues one might not normally associate with music. more ›

Victory Gardens Theater is shedding its identity crisis. Up until now, it was entirely possible to see show after show by the Lincoln Avenue hub’s resident companies without ever discovering a VG original. That’s too bad, since they’ve been breaking Chicago playwrights like Charles Smith and James Sherman for over 30 years. They also cast that guy from CSI years before he was popular and that guy from The Cosby Show years after he sported that Gordon Gartrelle knockoff. more ›

These are days of rage for Tribune architecture critics and their readers. Today, Blair Kamen and Patrick T. Reardon released their list of candidates for Ugliest Building in Chicagoland (Outside the Loop) and have asked readers to vote for the region’s all-out fugliest. They admit the list is unscientific and there’s much more bad design to go around. Thanks to masses of commuters, the rickety Roosevelt Road Metra station seemed destined to be the reader... more ›