Results tagged “movies”

The Men Who Stare At Goats -- based on an actual government program dedicated to the results of some REALLY intense goat staring, is one of the few meetings we're anxiously awaiting. Well, a lucky reader of Chicagoist need not wait like we mere mortals! We have a pair of tickets to the screening in Chicago on Wednesday at 7 p.m. that includes access to an exclusive after-party! No word on if goats will be present at either event.

1981: Walter Cronkite retires from CBS Evening News, Lady Di weds Prince Charles, MTV goes on the air. And in a 90-seat folding-chair screening room at Chicago Filmmakers on West Hubbard, Reeling, the first Chicago Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival, takes place. 1981 also saw the first recognized cases of AIDS in five gay men. A lot has changed in 28 years. HIV is no longer the automatic death sentence it once was, and culturally LGBT people are more visible than ever before. But Reeling is still a crucial festival, a yearly opportunity to dive into the culture on its own terms rather than in sitcom-ready chunks.

On Halloween, there are those of us who like to get dressed up and go to parties. And there are those of us who like to stay home curled up with a mug of hot cider and watch scary movies. We know who we are. A new Scorsese list got us thinking about what movies we would recommend. Here are five:

Those of us who've been jonesing for a conveniently located high-end movie theater complete with tableside liquor service and extra-wide, plush seating have been dissed once again. The Trib is reporting that Muvico Entertainment, which was to have opened such an establishment as part of Block 37, actually withdrew from the project back in June. Block 37 in trouble? News to us! Oh well--back to the Brew & View we go.

CIFF is over but a rich cinematic harvest has only just begun. Feast your eyes:

Tomorrow you have one last chance to see some of the festival's most popular movies, including Mississippi Damned, Fish Tank, Gigante and (one of our favorites) Videocracy. The full schedule is here. CIFF officially ends Thursday with the Closing Night feature The Young Victoria.

A giant clutch of movies we didn't see at this year's Chicago International Film Festival were awarded prizes at a gala event Saturday evening. The Gold Hugo for Best Film went to Mississippi Damned, filmmaker Tina Mabry's harrowing portrait of a Southern town. Didn't see it. Another we didn't see: Marco Bellocchio's Vincere, which took home Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, and Best Cinematography

A Single Man, starring Colin Firth and Julianne Moore in an adaptation of a Christopher Isherwood novel, has been added to the lineup. It screens once only, next Monday at 8:30. Alas, even though it won a spot in our poll, we're not going to be able to see Precious in time to post a review before its last festival screening. But not to fret. Next month is gets a proper release, so look for our review then.

This is part of Chicagoist's continuing coverage of the 45th Chicago International Film Festival.

This is part of Chicagoist's continuing coverage of the 45th Chicago International Film Festival.

This is part of Chicagoist's continuing coverage of the 45th Chicago International Film Festival.

This is part of Chicagoist's continuing coverage of the 45th Chicago International Film Festival.

This is part of Chicagoist's continuing coverage of the 45th Chicago International Film Festival.

This is part of Chicagoist's continuing coverage of the 45th Chicago International Film Festival.

This is part of Chicagoist's continuing coverage of the 45th Chicago International Film Festival.

Tonight Uma Thurman is scheduled to walk the red carpet for the Opening Night feature, her new film Motherhood. The screening in the main auditorium is sold out so a second screen has been added. So far we've posted our thoughts on several movies and there are more on the way, so stay tuned. The festival runs through October 22.

This is part of Chicagoist's continuing coverage of the 45th Chicago International Film Festival.

This is part of Chicagoist's continuing coverage of the 45th Chicago International Film Festival.

This is part of Chicagoist's continuing coverage of the 45th Chicago International Film Festival.

This is part of Chicagoist's continuing coverage of the 45th Chicago International Film Festival.

This is part of Chicagoist's continuing coverage of the 45th Chicago International Film Festival.

Maurice Sendak first picked Spike Jonze to direct Where The Wild Things Are after seeing Being John Malkovich, a movie Jonze directed a decade ago. Needless to say, the process it’s taken to transform Sendak’s beloved childrens book into a live action feature film has been long and tiring. And that’s just for the fans. We’ve threatened to eat our parents because of it. But, the wait will soon be over, and for Chicagoist, it already is.

We have to give credit where it's due: you Chicagoist readers are certainly an eclectic bunch. You spoke with your index fingers and the votes are in. Here are the top ten movies in our first Chicago International Film Festival poll:

As you know, we are big fans of Sam Cooke so we were excited to hear that a biopic is underway. Cooke's label, ABKCO Music and Records, Inc., says it is developing a script based upon Peter Guralnick's biography of Cooke - Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke. Jody Klein, ABKCO's president, will be making announcements about the upcoming film in the next few months.

The story goes that when Talking Heads were planning the concert that would be captured on film as Stop Making Sense, frontman David Byrne asked a stage designer friend for pointers. She told him that on stage, everything needs to be bigger. He took her advice literally. Thus was born the Big Suit.

Today is the last day you can help us choose what movies to see at the Chicago International Film Festival. Chicago Overcoat and Shorts 1: Illinoi[s]emakers both seem assured of spots in the top ten, but the other finalists are still up for grabs. Only a few votes separate the remaining front-runners. So browse the schedule and then click on over. We'll list the winners on Wednesday.

The polls are open to help determine which movies we'll be seeing and writing about at this year's Chicago International Film Festival, which runs October 8-22. With about three days left to go crime drama Chicago Overcoat is definitely out ahead. But Lars von Trier's latest mindfuck, Antichrist, and Mother from South Korea aren't far behind. Also near the top, intriguingly, is a program of shorts from Iliinois filmmakers. So which ten movies will come out ahead? Browse the schedule and then click on over and vote for your favorites before Tuesday. And then vote again. It's the Chicago way.

The schedule for CIFF is now online and browseable! There are around 150 films this year, and in honor of the festival's 45th year there'll be an extra day of movies (15 instead of the usual 14.) That's a whole lot of cinema. And obviously we can't see everything. That means making some painful choices. But rather than plunge ourselves into agony, we're trying something different this year. We'd like you to tell us what to see.

We continue our chat with Kevin Smith. You can get up to speed with the first half of our interview if you haven't already read it.

Don't kid yourself. Anyone who says summer is the best time of year in Chicago is a rotten liar. Autumn is matchless. Especially if you're a movie watcher. From now through Thanksgiving (when Hollywood's Holiday/Oscar assault begins in earnest) an embarrassment of cinematic variety is yours for the taking. Your stamina and your wallet's size are your only limitations.