What a change? We woke up this morning and remembered that occasionally the sky is clear enough that you can see the sun. We have put together some events that are going on around town today so that you can't get out before the wind kicks your ass. As always, feel free to add events in the comments. more ›

It’s Friday night and you’re facing the cinephile’s dilemma: do you brave the crowds and head out to the theater to see a new release or do you just wait four days and rent it on DVD instead? In the year 2035, this may be a common scenario. But this weekend, only those interested in seeing Steven Soderbergh’s Bubble will have this problem. The Tribune ran this piece from the L.A. Times about the film’s marketing strategy. more ›

Chicagoist knows there are some adventurous types who expect they’ll get their $10 worth of entertainment by just showing up at the local multiplex, placing their faith in the Hollywood studio system and picking a movie at random. Not us. We like to research our picks ahead of time, often by looking at plot synopses online. Yet it’s still a case of caveat emptor with similarly titled films. more ›

The Gene Siskel Film Center picked a helluva time roll out some excellent retrospectives. With the temps so low, all we want to do is roll ourselves up in blankets and watch our Tivo’ed episodes of Law and Order. But The Gene is tempting us to bundle up and head downtown for some great revivals and overlooked films of 2005. First up is "Merry Marilyn," a look at the films of Marilyn Monroe. Now: you... more ›

The Chicagoist Arts and Entertainment department has been suffering from a month long movie news drought that officially ends this week. more ›

Been enjoying the Toulouse-Lautrec exhibit at the Art Institute? Wishing you could see those can-can girls come to life in vivid Technicolor but have an intense dislike of musicals based on pop songs? Then head over to The Gene Siskel Film Center for a screening of John Huston’s 1952 version of Moulin Rouge starring Jose Ferrer as Toulouse-Lautrec. Unlike the version by Baz Luhrmann that focused on the love story between Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, Huston’s version has Lautrec as its lead. more ›

As the kids start heading back to school, it’s time to close the books on the summer movie season. We’ll leave it to the New York Times to do the post-mortem on Hollywood. Apparently some movies are not very good, which may lead to decreased attendance and box office receipts. In other news, scientists have learned that water is wet and children like candy. With the days getting shorter, there are a few notable screenings... more ›

Somewhat lost in the slow news cycle of this year’s Memorial Day weekend was the death of a man some called the “Grandpap of Rap.” But a new documentary screening during this month’s Black Harvest Film Festival at The Gene should shed new light on one of Chicago’s music legends. Born in the 1920s, Oscar Brown Jr. began his career working in radio dramas before gaining fame in the arts through his work in jazz.... more ›

Chicagoist’s Arts and Entertainment department has a confession: the 4th of July kinda stresses us out. When the 4th falls on a weekend, we feel like it becomes one of those occasions—much like New Year’s Eve—where we feel we must make some grand plans so as not to be labeled a loser. Said plans must usually involve one or more of the following: more ›

Was it Vince Vaughn’s return to the Chicago area that prompted the Illinois State Assembly to renew the Film Production Services Credit Act last week? The timing seems awfully suspicious. Was there quid pro quo? Sine quo non? Semper ubi sub ubi? The people demand answers--preferably in Latin because it sounds important! Credited with bringing a resurgence of Hollywood dollars to Chicago, the FPSCA provides a 25% tax credit to production companies that film in... more ›

For anyone who like the animated sequences in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy movie better than the parts with actual people, you’ll want to head to The Gene Siskel Center tomorrow night. Chicagoist was perfectly happy swooning over Zooey Deschanel and Martin Freeman when we saw the film, but we were impressed at how the filmmakers dealt with the long expositional portions of the book that describe information from The Guide itself. The group... more ›

Chicagoist has often wondered who would play ourselves in the movie version of our life (we're hoping our life looks more like fleshbot.com than i-am-bored.com). Sure, there's temporary fame to be found on TV by eating bat dung or inviting Mary Poppins to live with you, but we're shooting for historical permanence here and that requires the big screen treatment. Several films in the city this week provide looks at the famous, the anonymous and...the... more ›

Why do you suppose the Chicago Palestine Film Festival isn’t listed on the main page of The Gene’s website? Or in the navigation bar on their calendar page? It only appears there when you click on one of the films featured in the fest. We contacted The Gene offices and the genetleman there said he had "no idea" why it wasn't there. When we pressed further he said they probably just ran out of room--a reasonable answer. Yet there's space enough on the main page to promote the European Union Film Festival which wrapped up three weeks ago and room in the navbar for the Michael Mann tribute which has been over for two weeks. more ›

Last night Chicagoist was on the phone with a producer of an upcoming short film festival and she was lamenting how difficult it is to mount a new festival since there’s already so many. Gee, we hadn’t noticed. more ›

Michael Mann’s skill for finding the noir-ish Los Angeles of In A Lonely Place and Chinatown among the fake tits and fake friends of modern-day L.A. remains his calling card. But before hitting the L.A. streets, Mann flexed his muscles on the urban landscape of Chicago with the television show Crime Story and the movie Thief. Hallmarks of Mann’s films can be found in both works: the career criminal pulling one last job; the hunter... more ›

The 8th Annual European Union Film Festival began this weekend at the Gene Siskel Film Center so expect to see more death, inappropriate sexual relationships, and circus clowns there than usual. Running through March 24th, the fest now reflects the diversity of all EU nations with entries from all 25 countries. more ›

Chicagoist was chatting it up with the clerk in our local video store last Saturday (Netflix is fine if you’re a movie junkie but sometimes you need a certain kind of fix RIGHT NOW) when a customer walked in and said he wanted a story that was similar to The Terminal. We tried to recommend Before Sunrise—Richard Linklater’s dictionary definition of a sleeper hit about two people who meet, fall in love, and talk a lot during a brief encounter on a Vienna-bound train—but after a few moments of listening to us with glazed eyes the customer turned to the clerk and said “yeah something like that only more fun.” Burn! What more could you ask for? You wanted a story of love, funny accents, and chance meetings against a backdrop of mass transit and that’s what we gave you! Go rent Wimbledon next time and see how much fun that isn’t. more ›

(Note: Most of the links for this post might take you to pages whose material may lean towards the Not Safe For Work side. You’ve been warned.) Has anyone else ever seen the Daily Show segment on Asian-American studies professor Darrell Y. Hamamoto? Seems that Dr. Hamamoto had just about enough of seeing the world of porn (isn’t that the name of a place just over the Illinois-Wisconsin border on I-94?) dominated by White folks... more ›

Bringing a movie about Mississippi blues to Chicago may seem a bit like bringing coal to Newcastle. We Chicagoans are a boastful lot so we’ll be happy to tell our Mississippi friends about our excellent blues scene (that serves both the tourists and the purists) and inform you that we’re the home of one of the premier blues labels—Alligator Records. Of course, your Mississippi friends might just as well turn around and point out that... more ›

Since the major studios use this month to roll out all their Oscar-worthy films, there are plenty of excellent flicks to keep you occupied during your holiday break. Not to be outdone, the Gene Siskel Film Center is putting the wraps on their cinematic year as two of their recent film series come to an end. more ›

Chicagoist loves this city. But you knew that right? And while we love it 24/7, we’re especially partial to the nighttime hours. Maybe it’s the way the city sounds a bit different…maybe it’s the look of the skyline as you cruise down the Drive…maybe it’s the drink specials that don’t start until after 6 PM…in any case, Chicago at night still gives us the feeling that an Algren story is going to break out at any moment. more ›

There�s a reason Blake Edwards received an honorary Oscar at the Academy Awards this year. He was a master of what former Reader critic (and current New York Times DVD columnist) Dave Kehr called the �sophisticated comedy.� Never one to follow comic conventions � he accepted that Oscar with a staged wheelchair crash � his impressive body of work includes Chicagoist favorites The Party and 10 (which he reportedly wants to remake). more ›