Results tagged “thelife”

The Life of Reilly, an adaptation of the late Charles Nelson Reilly’s one-man stage show, is finally screening in Chicago. After making the rounds on the film festival circuit, a limited theatrical release run began last November, hitting Austin, New York City and Washington D.C., and eliciting very positive reviews along the way. Directors Barry Poltermann and Frank Anderson championed the idea for the movie, convinced Reilly to perform his retired stage act a final time, and edited their footage of the three-hour show down to an 87 minute film.

We know that we're not the only ones in the past few weeks to see Vince dashing around town in a Santa suit. Apparently there have been sightings in Wicker Park and on Michigan Avenue among other places. Yes, wearing a Santa suit in January: that's exactly why the man is so well-paid. He's starring in Fred Claus, which has been shooting here off and on since November and is due to wrap next month....

Tonight on WGN Radio, Milt Rosenberg will be hosting John Franch, author of the new book “Robber Baron: The Life of Charles Tyson Yerkes”, and John Wasik, author of the “The Merchant of Power: Sam Insull, Thomas Edison, and the Creation of the Modern Metropolis.”

As has been pointed out elsewhere, Thanksgiving is often a time for families to get together and share some quality time. You just threw up in your mouth a little, didn’t you? Somewhere around Hour Four of your Familial Celebration of Overeating and Passive-Agressive Conversation, you’ll be looking for an out. If two hours of sitting in the dark while no one sharing your DNA says a thing sounds like heaven, then it’s off to...

There are a lot of reasons to go to see live shows. Maybe you want to keep up with what’s happening in music. Or perhaps your favorite band is in town. Or you might be a crazy-ass groupie/stalker. Whatever your reason, tonight you can feed your jones and help out a sick little kid at the same time. Tonight at Double Door, several hot-shit Chicago bands will take the stage for the first of three...

The Chicago International Film Festival has a “sneak peek” on their website of the films that will screen at the festival this October. This year’s theme is “Film Capital of the World.” Wow. We get one Batman prequel and a Vince Vaughn flick and hyperbole breaks out faster at the Chicago Film Office than a teenage girl does on the day of Prom. Opening the fest will be the new Cameron Crowe film, Elizabethtown. We’re...

Hate festivals, but want to see some of the bands anyway? A few of the bands playing Intonation Festival this weekend will also be playing at other venues around town. So click around and see if anything is of interest. First up, Four Tet will be doing an in-store at Reckless Records at 3161 N. Broadway on Friday at 5:30 pm. Free. The Go! Team will be at the Double Door on Friday night with...

While the recent Band Aid 20 single did little more than make most Americans say “Wait…Bob Geldof’s still alive?”, music is often the best way to people's hearts, minds and--most importantly: wallets. As private donations to various relief efforts in this country have topped more than $200 million, several local music venues have started efforts to assist those in need. HotHouse in the South Loop leads the pack with a pair of benefit shows. No...

If it isn’t a family tradition in your house, Chicagoist recommends heading out to see a movie on Christmas Day. Think of it: two whole hours where everyone in your family has to be quiet or face bodily removal from your immediate vicinity. That’s what we call a win-win situation. Every year, studios take advantage of the need for quiet time in the family and release a few movies on Christmas. This year The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Fat Albert, and The Aviator will all see yuletide release dates. Two of the most inessential movies of the year, Meet The Fockers and Phantom of the Opera, will get the jump on the weekend in wide release tomorrow.

Is there a bigger double-edged sword in any live music scene than the cover band and its fraternal twin, the tribute band? You could decide to form Safety Dancers: A Tribute To Men Without Hats and though you’d still have a built-in audience most clubs (at least the ones that don’t feature a “quarter draft night”) would be reluctant to book you because no matter how hard you work you’ll still be derisively referred to as “just a cover band.” With live band karaoke now the rage, most bands are finding that they have to bring a unique spin to the artists they cover in order to separate themselves from the pack.

� Chicagoist gets a sneak preview of Matt & Ben and loves it

After all of the craptacular cinema from the last few months, Chicagoist is definitely ready to get the fall (and the Oscar party) started. I mean, what do the multiplexes have to offer right now, Alien Vs. Predator? "No matter who wins, we lose." Damn right. (See McSweeney's Internet Tendency for a funny take on that epic battle.) Entertainment Weekly's Fall Movie Preview issue, that guilty pleasure among guilty pleasures, and the recent barrage of trailers for the award season's line-up, have us really excited for what's to come. In the past day, we've seen trailers for The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, I Heart Huckabee's, and Sideways all hit the web. So here is Chicagoist's Fall Movie Preview (far less glossy and pleasurable than EW, mind you) of these three hotly anticipated (by us, at least) films by three hot young directors...