Karl Rove, former senior adviser to President George W. Bush, says he was offended by Chrysler's "Halftime in America" Super Bowl ad starring Clint Eastwood, and he claims the ad is "Chicago-style politics." more ›

• Steven Soderbergh's new film Che rolls into town tomorrow with an exclusive engagement at the Landmark Century. Starring Benicio Del Toro as the revolutionary leader, it was shot digitally by Soderbergh himself, under his usual pseudonym Peter Andrews. The "roadshow" version of the film, 263 minutes long plus an intermission, will screen twice daily (1:30pm and 7:15pm). Epic! So is the film "an immersion in the frontline existence of its subject's life" or "utterly lazy"? Check back here on Monday, when I'll be duking it out with fellow Chicagoist Samantha Abernethy in a point/counterpoint post.
• If epic Westerns are more your thing (or if you want a fresh look at someone Tarantino's been ripping off all these years) then you won't want to miss the Music Box's week-long Sergio Leone series. Once Upon A Time in the West, which has one of the all-time coolest opening sequences in movie history, will be shown in a restored 35mm print. Also featured is the Clint Eastwood "Man With No Name" Trilogy: A Fistful of Dollars; For a Few Dollars More; and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. These movies were all specifically designed for widescreen and sport chill-inducing Ennio Morricone soundtracks. Solid.
• Bank of America Cinema and its programmer Mike Phillips launched its new season earlier this month, an ambitious and playful series titled "Hollywood A-Z." The first title was The Awful Truth, which was followed by The Black Book. Get the idea? This Saturday's feature is the rarely-seen comedic drama Claudia from 1943, starring Dorothy McGuire. The epic series will conclude with the June 27th screening of Zoo in Budapest. Bank of America Cinema is at 4901 W. Irving Park Rd.; screenings are every Saturday at 8pm.

Oscar nominations are out, and for the second year in a row, there were few surprises save for one notable exception. Confounding the experts and flying in the face of several critics’ awards, Dreamgirls did not pick up nominations for either best picture or best director. The film was a victim of an underdog victory by Clint Eastwood’s film Letters from Iwo Jima. It may also have been a pre-emptive strike on the kind of... more ›

This week, the Chicago Film Critics announced its nominations for the best films and cinematic performances of the past year. Babel picked up nine nominations, while The Departed and The Queen followed with six. As usual, the CFCA made some unconventional choices: Maggie Gyllenhaal picked up a nod for her work in the largely ignored Sherrybaby, and an adapted screenplay nomination went to A Prairie Home Companion. The CFCA also fueled the comebacks of Ben... more ›

Well, it’s official. The start of the Christmas season is underway as workers have begun erecting the city’s official tree in Daley Plaza. You can’t fight City Hall and those who do get bulldozed so it’s time to wave the white flag in the fight against the encroachment of the holidays. more ›