Fatih Akins 2017 In The Fade (Aus dem Nichts) starts out as a painful and necessary examination of the human costs of right-wing ideology and neo-Nazi violence. Reformed drug dealer, travel agent, and translator Nuri ekerci (Numan Acar) and his son Rocco (Rafael Santana) are killed by a neo-Nazi nail bomb, leaving wife and mother […] The post Review: In ...

Theres a fine line between the whimsical dream logic of Roald Dahl and irritating, incoherent nonsense. Director John Krasinskis new kids film IF is nowhere near that line. Despite the best efforts of the extremely talented child actor Cailey Fleming, IF makes no sense, narratively, emotionally, or visually. The only fun to be had is […] The post Review: ...

After 60-plus years as a strictly British institution, the BBCs beloved long-running sci-fi series Doctor Who is finally taking the TARDIS across the pond. For the first time in the shows history, instead of airing first in the UK and then internationally, Doctor Who will drop on Fridays on Disney+ in the United States (and […] The post Review: Doctor Who ...

In its first five minutes, Back to Black all but looks directly at the audience and recites facts about Amy Winehouse (Marisa Abela) as if reading from a checklist: shes a supremely talented singer with a flair for the dramatic and an old soul who cant understand why other young people dont like jazz. The […] The post Review: Back to Black appeared first ...

By JK Anowe The post collected thesis statements appeared first on Chicago Reader.

CCPSA nominees (mostly) move forward The City Councils Police and Fire Committee on May 14 gave the nod to six of the seven candidates nominated to serve on the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA). The nominees, selected by Mayor Brandon Johnson from a list of 15 people put forward by representatives from […] The post CCPSA ...

What can be said about an icon? Apple TV+s The Big Cigar sets itself an impossible task: telling a meaningful story about one of the most compelling and provocative political figures of the 20th century, Black Panther Party cofounder Huey Newton. In 1966, Newton cofounded the party with Bobby Seale and served as its first […] The post Review: The Big ...

Kids love unicorns. Its just a fact. Theyre sparkly, cute, and always have some kind of magical rainbow vibes radiating off of them. But what about boring old brown farm ponies? Does anyone care nearly as much about themeven if theyre imbued with a superstar singing voice? Thats the question at hand in Thelma the […] The post Review: Thelma the Unicorn ...

If you’ve been looking for the 21st century’s answer to Samuel Beckett’s Endgame, your wait is over. Levi Holloway’s Turret, now in a world premiere (also directed by the playwright) with A Red Orchid Theatre, taps into the same existential dread and odd father-son dynamics present in Beckett’s 1957 masterpiece.  But Holloway (who won raves […] ...

Editors note: Coco Picard spoke withTony Lewis, Devin T. Mays, and Ellen Rothenberg about their group exhibition WORKS BY. Edited text from the comic is transcribed here to ease readability. Tony Lewis, Bethany Collins, Devin T. Mays, and Ellen Rothenberg consider labor, effort, and value in the group show WORKS BY at the Neubauer Collegium […] The post ...

Amid former president Trumps notorious hush money trial, Jordan Strafers solo exhibition at the Renaissance Society, Decadence, evokes another historical criminal trial involving a member of Americas royal family. In 1991, William Kennedy Smith, a nephew of JFK and at the time a bumptious medical student, was tried on a rape charge. The attention-grabbing ...

Youre looking at 100 percent USDA prime brisket there, friendo, smoked over post oak for 14 hours until it melts like beef butter. Just like your daddy did. And by your daddy, I mean Daddy Mike Shaker of Shaker Barbeque, the former fine-dining cook turned central Texas-style smoker. Hes like the Miles Davis of barbecue: […] The post Shaker Barbeque beefs ...

The Moviegoer is the diary of a local film buff, collecting the best of what Chicagos independent and underground film scene has to offer. In recent years, Ive watched several of Peter Weirs filmsPicnic at Hanging Rock (1975), The Last Wave (1977), and The Mosquito Coast (1986)and have rather liked them. Hes Australian, which may […] The post Maritime ...

Last weekend, chef Ratbek Sadvakasov was competing in the Top Chef Challenge at the Vegan Women Summit in Hollywood. He served vivid and carefully composed plates of Impossible Beef meatballs with golden millet, spinach, pumpkin cream, and honey, garnished with steamed broccoli and dried raspberry powder. Sadvakasov is not a vegan. Nor is his restaurant, ...

Reader Bites celebrates dishes, drinks, and atmospheres from the Chicagoland food scene. Have you had a recent food or drink experience that you cant stop thinking about? Share it with us at fooddrink@chicagoreader.com. Ive had my Green Dreams thicksomewhere between Detroit-style and Sicilian, dough pocked with all those focaccia-y bubblesbut lets be real: ...

What started as a birthday party celebration for the Gift has since become an annual tradition, featuring ten ten-minute plays by a variety of playwrights. Adding to the numerical energy, each play is also rehearsed for ten hours before being performed . . . you guessed it, ten times. In defiance of rising entertainment costs, […] The post The power of ...

Imagine a typical video game arcade. Filling the aisles, there are probably some classic games like Ms. Pac-Man or Galaga, or maybe newer ones like Mortal Kombat or Need for Speed. The thumping of bumpers and flippers from pinball machines mixes with blips and beeps from video cabinets to create ambient background noise. Maybe the […] The post Chicagos ...

More Palestinians call Cook County home than any other county in the United States. Ive often thought of the local Palestinian diaspora in the months since Israel launched its military assault on Gaza. Im a longtime advocate for Palestinian rights and sovereignty and an Israeli citizen through my father, and I oppose the genocide Israel […] The post This ...

The in-store author appearance is an awkward neither fish nor fowl contraption. It’s primarily a marketing tool dressed up as a literary event. And unlike larger lectures or panel discussions at events like the Chicago Humanities Festival or Printers Row Lit Fest, where the merchandise is kept outside in the lobby, authors for in-store appearances […] ...

At one point in Hell in a Handbags new opus, Poor People! The Parody Musical, the central protagonist, Lil Orphan Arnie (Dakota Hughes), complains, Nothing makes sense when I try to make sense of it. Audience members should keep Arnies statement in mind when they watch Poor People! In true Handbag fashion, the show begins […] The post Orphan black comedy ...

T.S. Eliot conceived of his verse play Murder in the Cathedral in 1935. It was performed at Canterbury Cathedral and in the very room where the murder that provides the inciting incident of the plotthe killing of Archbishop Thomas Beckettook place. In a nod to that original staging, City Lit Theater Companys new production (the […] The post Murder in the ...

Chicago Reader Volume 53, No. 16. May 16, 2024 The post Chicago Reader Volume 53, No. 16 appeared first on Chicago Reader.

Young Peoples Theatre of Chicago brings this musical adaptation of the childrens book classic Last Stop on Market Street back to Chicago in a vibrant production that packs soul, substance, and silliness into one hour. Cheryl L. Wests adaptation of Matt de la Peas same-titled picture book (illustrated by Christian Robinson) features a score from […] The ...

More than a decade after it broke out commercially, drill music has arguably become Chicagos biggest cultural export. This hip-hop subgenre burst into the mainstream in the early 2010s thanks to the likes of Chief Keef, King Louie, and Lil Durk, and its now influencing the sound of music as far afield as New York, […] The post Goalden Chyld transforms ...

When it comes to portrayals, on the big screen or the stage, of the Latino migrant experience, most stories focus on the journey, on the actual border experience and the abuses many migrants face or on multigenerational stories that begin inevitably at the border and end with the familys eventual assimilation to this country.  So […] The post An Educated ...