Since retiring from the Reader earlier this year, Jonathan Rosenbaum has been as busy as ever. He's finishing up his film lecture series at the Siskel, which includes the upcoming screenings of Play Time, his all-time favorite movie. (For a great list, check out his Alternate Top 100 Films/Movies). And his website is now up and running. It's bulging with content dating back to 1987 and also features a Publications and Events section. You......

Courtesy of the TOC blog, we've learned that on February 27 (his 65th birthday) Jonathan Rosenbaum will retire as senior film reviewer at the Reader. Blogger Hank Sartin swears that it's not "one more sign of new Reader owners Creative Loafing trimming the budget. In fact, Rosenbaum tells us that his new bosses at Creative Loafing will be setting him up with a website of his own so that even in 'retirement' his writings on......

We're calling it a day a little early today--and something tells us you are, too. Police arrested four men and six women today for their involvement with a prostitution ring. The men were charged with involuntary servitude of a minor for pimping girls as young as 14, and the women were charged with prostitution. The charges are the culmination of a three-month investigation in which the police monitored Craigslist. [Tribune.] Jonathan Rosenbaum, head film......

We're embarrassed to admit that when it comes to Korean culture, beyond bulgoki and kimchi we sort of draw a blank. (But oh how we love bulgoki!) So it's great to know that DOC Films at U of C is on the job: this week they're hosting the Korean Film Festival, a traveling tour of contemporary and classic cinema. 1958's A Flower in Hell is described by Jonathan Rosenbaum as "potent and grim," but......

Thinking about going to the movies tonight? Looks like everyone in town is warning you against Good Luck Chuck, the Dane Cook/Jessica Alba rom-com whose plot keywords on IMDb are ... wow. Inspired by Matthew Baldwin's genius Bad Review Reviews, we present highlights from Chicago media's terrible reviews of GLC. Scott Tobias, AV Club: "Proof that a million MySpace users can be wrong." Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: "The film is some sort of humor-deprivation......

- In case you've missed the previous screenings of local film Crime Fiction, produced by former U of C students, you've got another chance to see it this evening at this month's edition of the Midwest Independent Film Festival. That's at the Landmark Century. There'll be an afterparty just around the corner at Cousin's. - Starting this Wednesday night at 6, Jonathan Rosenbaum presents a weekly series of film screenings and lectures at the Siskel......

Who was Ingmar Bergman? You probably heard the news that he died last week, at age 89, and somewhere you mostly likely read Woody Allen’s pronouncement that he was, “probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion-picture camera.” But you shouldn’t feel ashamed if you don’t really know who he is. For example, he was not the father of Ingrid Bergman (although they did make one film together, Autumn......

Because of the weather it's a little hard for it sink in: spring is coming. And with spring (for us, anyway) comes an overwhelming wanderlust, not just the desire to get out of our coats and gloves but also to see somewhere new. While you could be a bachelor in Paris or take a romantic snorkel for two someplace, you could just as easily stay in town and still see 24 countries that span Europe.......

The Chicago Film Critics Association announced its awards for best films and performances of the year with The Departed picking up three awards for best picture, best director and best adapted screenplay. You can view the full slate of winners here. While we enjoyed The Departed, it felt too much like a mix tape of Scorcsese’s previous films with the themes of corruption and redemption set against urban grit with yet another use of “Gimme......

"... when people ask me today where I live, I am often tempted to say instead of Chicago, I live on the Internet." That quote is from a new interview with Jonathan Rosenbaum that we came across at one of our very favorite film/TV blogs, The House Next Door. There are two giants of film criticism in Chicago, and we're talking of course about Roger Ebert and Jonathan Rosenbaum. Ebert has the TV show and......

Romantic misunderstandings? Class issues? Dudes named Thierry? Why, it must be the Ninth Annual Festival of New French Cinema at Facets! All the films in this year’s fest, which runs from December 2nd through the 11th, make their U.S. or Chicago premieres here. Opening the fest is Let’s Be Friends, starring Gerard Depardieu. The French actor made headlines in early November over a prom…er, desire to quit acting entirely. Having been at it since 1967,......

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......

Unlike chocolate and peanut butter, politics and art are rarely two great tastes that taste great together. Witness Robert Mapplethorpe’s troubles with the NEA, the painting of former Chicago mayor Harold Washington in women’s underwear and this weekend’s Team America: World Police which is at the top of Chicagoist’s must-see list this weekend. Social commentary with puppets from the makers of South Park? Yes! And yet this only proves the above thesis as none other......

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......

A number of the most important figures in the world graphic novels (a more artsy and less-juvenile way of saying �comic books�) are hometown boys. Dan Clowes � author of the Eightball series and the Ghost World comic and screenplay � and Chris Ware � who has a weekly strip in the Reader and just edited McSweeney�s comics-only issue (oh, Dave Eggers, you so crazy!) � are two of the most prominent examples. And......