This Bollywood action sequence puts our own summer blockbusters to shame. This shows that over the top originality and ingenuity will beat an over-budgeted Hollywood movie any day. You probably can't remember a single scene from a transformers movie but we guarantee this clip will stick in your brain for years to come. more ›

Alex Kotlowitz speaks about his years looking into the city's most vexing problems, the differences between writing and making movies, the neighborhoods President Obama's message of hope and change never seem to impact, and more. more ›

The story of a year in the life of three "violence interrupters" as they step into confrontations at the moment they are about to turn into violent altercations in Chicago's toughest neighborhoods, the film's thoughtful and jarringly intimate look at a new approach to dealing with the persistent violence has struck a chord with audiences everywhere it's been shown, and we expect this will shortly be the movie everybody's talking about here. We sat down with Steve James, who is also known for other documentaries such as Stevie and features such as Prefontaine in addition to the legendary Hoop Dreams, at the offices of Kartemquin Films on the north side last week. Our interview with Kotlowitz will run separately. more ›

Urbana native Nina Paley's animated feature Sita Sings the Blues found heaps of praise when it appeared in 2008, winning the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and garnering lots of Big Apple love upon its U.S. debut at the Tribeca Film Festival. Eventually the quirky labor of love found its most eloquent and highest profile champion in Roger Ebert, who penned a virtual love letter to the film. The reception has not been as warm this month in Queens, where a planned screening has run into protests from some in the Hindu community. more ›

More than a few blockbuster movies that have been filmed in Chicago. Last summer, Transformers invaded the Loop, but the new Superman movie will stay largely in the burbs when filming starts later this summer in and around the Chicago area. more ›

When a Kickstarter project that is as dear to our hearts as a documentary about Nelson Algren pops up, we are bound to tell you about it. more ›

Sons and daughters of the world, this Sunday is the time when the institutional forces of card companies, restaurants and FTD join up to force you to worship your moms. Know what? Even the most cynical of us knows that she deserves it. So take her out somewhere nice on Sunday! Here's a list of some great mother's day dining events - and best of all, they all still have space. Make your reservations now. A great tip: If you can't find something you like, drop the idea of brunch. Mom can stay up a little later, and there are still PLENTY of reservations to be had for dinner at all of your favorite spots. more ›

Well, we honestly had no idea ex-Chicagoista Marcus Gilmer had gone into acting. Or is this a home movie? more ›

Rob covered School of the Art Institute alum Apichatpong Weerasethakul‘s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives when it was awarded the Palme d'Or for his new film at Cannes last year, and he reviewed it when it finally came to town as part of the Chicago International Film Festival. Now that the film is finally getting a wider release fellow Chicagoan Chris Ware has been drafted to create a movie poster for the film and it's just as intricate and stunningly detailed as you would expect it to be. Remember when posters in movie lobbies were also pieces of actual art? Obviously Chris Ware does. more ›

Do you love local food? Do you care about where your food comes from? Buy tickets for Ingredients: The Local Food Movement Takes Root, a new documentary by Brian Kimmel. Ingredients focuses on the small ways that consumers can change the food world, presenting an encouraging message of possibility and change. Huffington Post called it an "eloquent, edible argument for sustainability and seasonality," and you can see it right here in Chicago. Plus, get some great food from Gaztro-wagon at the same time. more ›

A movie about a stuttering monarch doesn't exactly sound like a box-office smash, but "The King's Speech" has not only been garnering awards left and right, it also has demystified an issue that nearly 70 million people around the world have to deal with. The film depicts King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II, as a leader tormented by his stuttering. He manages to summon his courage and seek speech therapy to help England as they prepare to enter a second world war. more ›

There are a ton of time lapse videos out there of this week's Blizzaster, but this short meditative film by Rebecca Parrish is our favorite thus far. What it lacks in thunder snow it more than makes up for in its intimacy. more ›

How interested are you in unhappy, bored, rich people? Sofia Coppola is dead set on convincing you that it's more than you'd think. Somewhere, the exquisite new third panel of Sofia Coppola's Celebrity Ennui Triptych (with Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette), may sketch familiar subject matter but does so with such style and facility that we find ourselves not minding. more ›

Peeping Tom as a film is an equal of its cinematic sibling, Hitchcock’s Psycho (released a few months later). Instead of catapulting Powell’s career, the movie scandalized critics and audiences alike and was shown sparsely until Martin Scorcese (who introduced the film at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts just last week) and a few others campaigned for its retrieval from ignominy. It is a work of ferocious and uncompromising vision that contains within it a pre-emptive commentary on the subsequent 50 years of horror movies while being as creepy as any of them. more ›

The third and final film based on Steig Larsons' best-selling "Millennium" triology is premiering this weekend, and we're giving away three pairs of tickets and one copy of the book to some lucky Chicagoist readers. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is already out on DVD and The Girl Who Played with Fire is being released on DVD tomorrow. more ›

So this dude, Geoff Edgers, decided to take it upon himself to reunite The Kinks. While he failed to do that (sorry if we spoiled that for you) he did make a little documentary, called Do It Again, about his quest that we're hearing excellent things about. What we're trying to figure out is how he was able to get interviews with everyone from Sting to Paul Weller to Zoey Deschanal but he COULD NOT get The Kinks back together? more ›

Heeeeerrrrrrrrrre's an unexpected twist! more ›

Wesley Willis is fading into the mists of history, and most younger music fans probably have no idea who the guy even was, but anyone that lived in Chicago in the mid-'90s probably had their forehead pressed to his as he said "Rah!" Willis created art both musical and visual, andd could be found all over the place peddling his creations to anyone and everyone. more ›

Lorenzo Lamas. Deborah "Not Debbie" Gibson. A mega shark eating the Golden Gate Bridge. A giant octopus battling said shark. What more could we EVER want in a movie? Expect Rob's review soon! more ›

Left Field is a documentary about a very adult version of kick ball played primarily by folks from the old school crustier side of the Wicker Park rock and/or roll bar scene. (There are no hipsters to be found in these reels.) The debut screening is tonight at The Portage Theater, and is sure to be attended by most of the film's subjects, so expect a rowdy showing. more ›

Poet Thax Douglas has long been described as a polarizing figure in the local music scene, but after viewing the recent documentary on Douglas, Thax: The Movie, we've decided that viewpoint is skewed and incorrect. While there are a number of incredibly vocal critics who deride Douglas' presence at shows, the overriding majority of musicians and concert attendees appreciate his contributions to the community. Luminaries from Ted Leo, to Josh Caterer, to Jeff Tweedy sing the praises of Douglas' wordsmithing, and we even admit to gaining a new appreciation of his work now that we have a broader view of the poet's background. more ›

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Happy Valentine's Day, Barack! more ›

The double whammy of the Mondays and cabin fever can drive the most stout constitutions deep into their comforters. Here are some things to inspire you to layer up and head out. more ›

"You've got to be willing to get a cut in your face to get rewarded at the end of the night. If you don't want to do it, you're not going to win the Stanley Cup." -- Blackhawks coach Denis Savard after last night's 1-0 loss to the Blue Jackets. more ›

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Together, the hilariously mismatched duo [of Larry the Cable Guy and Ivana Milicevic] must grapple with angry FBI agents, quack doctors and Chicago high society in his funniest, most unpredictable adventure yet.[source]

We’re big fans of the Helvetica Typeface here at Chicagoist. It’s everywhere here on our site. But we’re not sure about an 80-minute documentary, Helvetica, celebrating the typeface and it’s proliferation in society. The film is currently being screened at the Gene Siskel Film Center, now through the 20th. more ›

Movie attendance is down 10% this year. Bad word of mouth when it comes to this year's mainstream releases perhaps? Moviemaking competitions are a great way to put our money where our mouths are, and here are some worth shooting for: more ›

Interview: The Movie Queens more ›