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... more ›

With everyone here at the Chicagoist offices still feeling a bit hungover from the holidays, we’re not quite ready to return to work. The people at Schubas’ are of the same mindset. Tomorrow they’re hosting their Fifth Annual New Year’s Rehab Night with free DVD screenings of Wedding Crashers and The Aristocrats. While we didn’t think Crashers held up as well on a second viewing, The Aristocrats is worth seeing again if only to decide... more ›

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... more ›