Let's face it: we're spoiled when it comes to movies. Not only do the best (and worst) theatrical releases play here, but we also have scads of film festivals to choose from year-round. No sooner are CIFF and the Korean Film Festival over than Reeling is upon us. Since 1981, Reeling, Chicago's gay and lesbian film festival, has been unspooling a vitally diverse cross-section of queer filmmaking. This year's schedule includes nearly 70 programs,... more ›

Back in 1988 there were some pretty cool films on the screen. Beetlejuice, Cocktail, Big, Who Framed Rodger Rabbit, Coming To America, Dangerous Liasons, and the list goes on and on. Near the top of our favorites that year were Steve Martin and Michael Caine in the movie Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. more ›

Several months ago, we interviewed Pete Schwaba about his film The Godfather of Green Bay. Unfortunately, we couldn't interview him until the night of the showing, so it was too late to pester all of you to go out and see the film. However, we found out that Godfather is returning to Chicago starting this weekend at select theaters. For those of you new to the party, Godfather is a feature-length comedy written, directed,... more ›

Mike McNamara & Mike Kwielford - MWFF Founders more ›

Pete Schwaba - Writer, Director, Actor, & Producer more ›

Next week kicks off The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Friday Night at the Movies series. Sadly, this does not mean the CSO will be projecting movies onto its back wall and serving brie and wine like some upper-crust Brew and View. Instead, they’ll perform musical scores from some well-known films. A logical starting point for this series would be the silent film era so Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights” will kick things off on October 15th. The series will continue through the winter with The Golden Age of Film Music on November 19th featuring music from Gone With The Wind and Lawrence of Arabia and A Night On The Red Carpet, an Oscar-themed show on February 25th with selections from The Godfather and Doctor Zhivago. Tickets for these events are pricey but if you’re a student you can get in for only ten bucks. more ›

Remember the ol' TGIF theme song on ABC? (Or when people actually watched ABC?) "It's Friday night and the moon is bright/ Gonna have some fun, so you how it's done... TGIF!" And while the days of pre-"I Love the '90s" Urkel and the chubby/non-coke-using Olsen twins are gone, Chicagoist still takes those silly lyrics to heart, constantly humming them come week's end. Yes, good friends, the weekend is almost here. And here are a few random tips of how to fill the next two lazy days... more ›

Acting legend Marlon Brando, known for being as much of a character offscreen as on it, died yesterday at age 80. Over his long, storied career � which helped define modern American movie acting � he worked with some of film's best directors (Elia Kazan, Bernardo Bertulucci, Francis Ford Coppola) in some of their best works (On the Waterfront, The Godfather, Last Tango in Paris). One of the sexiest men to ever wear a wifebeater � Chicagoist says this with the utmost security in our heterosexuality � he was raised in our own great state of Illinois (first Evanston, then Libertyville). From the land of Lincoln, he went on to a Minnesota military academy (from which he was expelled) and moved off to New York at study at the Actor's Studio, an institution he helped make famous. more ›