Movies, Chicago Reader

“Fall is such an enjoyable season, but short. So many options open up in the fall . . . layers, accessories, and outdoor wear. It’s brilliant to be outside in the cool crisp air, but still wa...

https://chicagoreader.com/city-life/street-view/layers-fashion-fall/

JUROR #2 in limited release in theaters The post Review: Juror #2 appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/film/movie-review/review-juror-2/

CHRISTMAS EVE IN MILLER’S POINT in wide release in theaters The post Review: Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/film/movie-review/review-christmas-eve-in-millers-point/

THE BEST CHRISTMAS PAGEANT EVER in limited release in theaters The post Review: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/film/movie-review/review-the-best-christmas-pageant-ever/

On Wednesday, like many, I was a useless, immobile, deflated bag of dread and torpor, unable to think about anything but the four-year shitstorm darkening the horizon. On Thursday, I started movi...

https://chicagoreader.com/food-drink/monday-night-foodball/dolin-out-scott-doland-morgan-weiss-emotional-support-gumbo-red-beans-rice/

On October 20, the Chicago Tribune published an opinion piece by David Mamet entitled “This is why Chicago was once the marvel of our nation.” Despite the city’s incredible accomplishments ...

https://chicagoreader.com/columns-opinion/david-mamet-trump/

The Moviegoer is the diary of a local film buff, collecting the best of what Chicago’s independent and underground film scene has to offer. It was a good week for some rewatches, one of which w...

https://chicagoreader.com/film/the-moviegoer/terror-tuesdays-music-box-of-horrors-juror-2-elaine-may/

If there’s a sport worth obsessing over, it’s basketball. What a beautiful game: shoes squeaking across shiny hardwood floors, the swish of the net when a perfect shot whips through, a contes...

https://chicagoreader.com/film/movie-feature/hoop-dreams-basketball-documentary-chicago-humanities/

ROOMS, through 11/23, dropshift dance at Gunder House The post ‘The sense memory of domestic spaces’ appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/dance/dropshift-dance-rooms/

From under his feathered scarlet bicorn, Jean-Jacques Dessalines looks northward with defiance from Lior’s Cafe. The general, who kicked the French out of what they called Saint-Domingue in 180...

https://chicagoreader.com/food-drink/food-drink-feature/liors-cafe-hatian-food-creole-cuisine/

Finding an apartment in Chicago is a difficult, stressful, time-consuming process—especially for low-income families and individuals. But, sometimes, keeping an apartment can be just as cumbers...

https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/leland-heartland-housing-uptown-sro/

This story was copublished by Inside Chicago Government and the Chicago Reader. The City of Chicago announced last week—via a meeting of its Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountab...

https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/police-study-consent-decree/

Help wanted/employment/job listings and classified listings for professional services, research, and adult services. The post Classifieds Tear sheets appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/reader/classified-advertising/classifieds-tearsheets/

By Avery Zieper The post A Guide to the Moon appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/reader-partners/poetry-foundation/guide-to-the-moon-avery-zieper/

The Reader is available free of charge at more than 1,100 Chicago area locations. Issues are dated Thursday, and distributed Wednesday morning through Thursday night of the issue date. Some locat...

https://chicagoreader.com/reader/print-distribution-map/

Chicago Reader Volume 54, No. 6. November 7, 2024 The post Chicago Reader Volume 54, Number 6 appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/issues/volume-54-6/

Laurel Halo makes diaphanous electronic music that resists tidy categorization. Since her 2012 full-length debut, Quarantine (Hyperdub), her output has wafted between ambient, jazz, and avant-gar...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/concert-preview/laurel-halo-epiphany-center/

MACBETH, through 12/15 with Invictus Theatre Company at Windy City Playhouse The post A filthy, foggy, mostly fair Macbeth appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-review/macbeth-invictus-theatre/

In 2011, Nate Amos moved to Chicago with his friend Ryan Murphy. They were the core members of Opposites, whose skewed songs weaved together sweet indie pop and imaginative experimental rock. Whe...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/grandpa-bay-this-lorelei-marcus-drake/

Soul singer Paulette McWilliams has reached amazing heights, performing with a long list of greats. You’ve almost certainly heard her voice on someone else’s huge radio hit. But do you recogn...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/the-secret-history-of-chicago-music/paulette-mcwilliams-rufus-soul-quincy-vandross/

In the empire of Middle Eastern pastry, baklava is revered as the Grand Sultana. But my personal queen is the Egyptian basbousa, the spongy, syrup-soaked semolina-coconut cake whose sweet squishi...

https://chicagoreader.com/food-drink/reader-bites/basbousa-milkshake-ragadan/

LEROY AND LUCY, through 12/15, Steppenwolf Theatre The post Music, myth, and magic appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-review/leroy-and-lucy-steppenwolf-theatre/

ADVERSES, through 12/15 at Aguijón Theater The post Mother-daughter death match appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-review/mother-daughter-death-match/

BEST KEPT SECRET: TELL EVERYONE, open run at Second City e.t.c. The post Secrets, lies, and laughs appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-review/second-city-etc-best-kept-secret-tell-everyone/

BOY GETS GIRL, through 11/24 at Skokie Theatre The post Blind date nightmare appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-review/boy-gets-girl-madkap-productions-skokie-theatre/

MERCY KILLING, through 11/17 at Open Space Arts The post Death becomes bae appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-review/mercy-killing-open-space-arts/

HERETIC in wide release in theaters The post Review: Heretic appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/film/movie-review/review-heretic/

EMILIA PÉREZ streaming on Netflix and in limited release in theaters The post Review: Emilia Pérez appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/film/movie-review/review-emilia-perez/

ELECTRONIC BODY MOVIE screening Wed 11/13 at Dark Matter Coffee Warehouse The post Review: Electronic Body Movie appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/film/movie-review/review-electronic-body-movie/

BIRD screened at the Chicago International Film Festival, in limited release in theaters The post Review: Bird appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/film/movie-review/review-bird/

DOGS, through 11/24 with Red Theater at Edge Off Broadway The post DOGS could use more beef appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-review/dogs-red-theater/

PERFECT PIE, through 11/23 with Gwydion Theatre at Greenhouse Theater Center The post Too many ingredients appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-review/perfect-pie-gwydion-theatre/

TO CUT A BARBER'S HANDS, 11/9 and 11/17, Fillet of Solo Festival at Lifeline Theatre The post Anthony Spaulding’s To Cut a Barber’s Hands tells his story of life outside of prison a...

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-preview/anthony-spaulding-to-cut-a-barbers-hands/

“20 YEARS OF WESTERN EXHIBITIONS” through 12/21 at Western Exhibitions The post The past and future of Western Exhibitions appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/the-past-and-future-of-western-exhibitions/

A new analysis from the Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts shows that criminalization of firearm possession increases incarceration and fails to reduce gun violence. The report, Punishing F...

https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/gun-possession-criminalization-violence/

When Sascha Deng and Wesley Park graduated from Northwestern in 2022, they’d already started work on the debut album by their shoegaze band, Sunshy. They finally released I Don’t Care What Co...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/gossip-wolf/sunshy-comes-next-chirp-record-fair/

What happens when a suburb that prides itself on inclusivity discovers a former Nazi in its midst?  Forty years ago in Oak Park, Illinois, this question was not hypothetical. In December 1982, n...

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/our-nazi-in-oak-park-michael-soffer/

This year, the Illinois general election ballot will ask voters to decide whether the state should impose civil penalties for candidates who interfere with an election worker’s job. This questi...

https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/election-workers-illinois-ballot/

The Reader Institute for Community Journalism (RICJ), which operates the Chicago Reader, is proud to announce the promotion of Amber Nettles to publisher effective January 1, 2025.  Solomon Lieb...

https://chicagoreader.com/reader/press-releases/meet-the-chicago-readers-new-publisher-amber-nettles/

DAHOMEY opening 11/1 at the Gene Siskel Film Center The post Review: Dahomey appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/film/movie-review/review-dahomey/

FLOW screened at the Chicago International Film Festival, wide release 12/6 The post Review: Flow appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/film/movie-review/review-flow/

Nashville singer-songwriter India Ramey makes country music with a purpose. During her childhood she had to deal with financial insecurity, familial mental illness, and a father who abused her mo...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/concert-preview/india-ramey-judson-moore/

Blood Club released a statement of purpose of sorts with their April single, “No Quiero Bailar” (“I Don’t Want to Dance”). The Chicago-based Mexican American band included the song on t...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/concert-preview/blood-club-lincoln-hall/

Dr. Gabba makes acid house for people who romanticize the days of dial-up Internet. Born in San Francisco but raised online, the DJ rose to prominence on social media platforms such as TikTok and...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/dr-gabba-sleeping-village/

The duo of Dani Dobkin and Matt Sargent owes its origin to thin walls and COVID restrictions. They’re both instructors in Bard College’s music program, and Sargent, a guitarist and composer, ...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/dani-dobkin-matt-sargent-constellation/

I heard about heavy avant-garde rock band Extra Life in the late 2000s, when Dan Friel (then of Parts & Labor) recommended their set at a small Brooklyn festival whose name I forget. What I haven...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/concert-preview/extra-life-beat-kitchen/

Twenty-three years have passed since Jan Jelinek released Loop-Finding-Jazz-Records, where the budding Berlin producer transformed samples of jazz albums into minimalist techno tracks. The album ...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/concert-preview/jan-jelinek-constellations/

Chicago native Melissa DuPrey knows a lot about crossing boundaries. As a comedian, actor, writer, producer, activist, and healer, DuPrey has built a career from the ground up that allows her to ...

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/ghost-light/melissa-duprey-i-killed-andy-breitbart-links-hall/

PERICLES. Through 12/7 at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The post Pericles marks the Royal Shakespeare Company’s return to Chicago Shakes appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-review/pericles-royal-shakespeare-company-chicago-shakespeare/

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. Through 11/17 at Music Theater Works, North Shore Center for the Performing Arts The post The plant that roared appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-review/little-shop-of-horrors-music-theater-works/

Desert Liminal, Black Ocean The third full-length by this dream-pop trio—Sarah Jane Quillin (keyboards, vocals), Mallory Linehan (violin, guitar, vocals), and Rob Logan (drums)—was born out o...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/chicago-record-report/desert-liminal-gigan-chris-greene-man-eaters-luv-moore/

Kopano is a multidisciplinary performing artist and cultural worker—singer, pianist, dancer, and DJ. They were born on the south side of Chicago, and they have family in South Africa. They’ve...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/chicagoans-of-note/kopano-tsibinki-piano-dancer-singer/

CLOUD screened at the Chicago International Film Festival, wide release TBA The post Review: Cloud appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/film/movie-review/review-cloud/

FRÉWAKA screened at the Chicago International Film Festival, streaming on Shudder in 2025 The post Review: Fréwaka appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/film/movie-review/review-frewaka/

GRAFTED screened at the Chicago International Film Festival, streaming on Shudder 1/24/25 The post Review: Grafted appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/film/movie-review/review-grafted/

HAUNT SEASON in wide release on VOD The post Review: Haunt Season appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/film/movie-review/review-haunt-season/

On October 24, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s second handpicked group of seven local leaders were sworn in as members of the Chicago Board of Education. They succeeded the mayor’s previous board, al...

https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/feature-news-politics/vote-school-board-2024-cps/

PIECE BY PIECE in wide release in theaters The post Review: Piece by Piece appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/film/movie-review/review-piece-by-piece/

WE LIVE IN TIME in wide release in theaters The post Review: We Live in Time appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/film/movie-review/review-we-live-in-time/

CONCLAVE in wide release in theaters The post Review: Conclave appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/film/movie-review/review-conclave/

ANORA in wide release in theaters The post Review: Anora appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/film/movie-review/review-anora/

The Moviegoer is the diary of a local film buff, collecting the best of what Chicago’s independent and underground film scene has to offer. As of this writing, the documentary No Other Land, wh...

https://chicagoreader.com/film/the-moviegoer/no-other-land-spin-documentary-israel-palestine/

The Reader Institute for Community Journalism (RICJ), which operates the Chicago Reader, is excited to announce the recent expansion of its leadership team. From returning to weekly publishing in...

https://chicagoreader.com/reader/press-releases/leadership-team-grows/

By Angel Page Smigielski The post summer surgery appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/reader-partners/poetry-foundation/summer-surgery/

When Ashlee Bankz arrived at the photo shoot for the cover of her new EP, Go to Hell, she made her presence felt even before she came in sight of the cameras. The south-suburban rapper had set up...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/city-of-win-music-chicago/ashlee-bankz-go-to-hell-rosemoor/

One becomes hundreds becomes thousands. And on a recent weekday, as dusk settled and autumn fell in, a group gathered in search of them: seeds.  Round, rust-colored rose mallow seeds, fluff-ende...

https://chicagoreader.com/food-drink/food-drink-feature/rogers-park-seed-library-seed-saving-native-plants/

I don’t draw many lines when it comes to sweets, but usually, the sweeter and more chocolatey, the better. It came as a surprise, then, when I first bit into Nata’s subtle guava Linzer cookie...

https://chicagoreader.com/food-drink/reader-bites/guava-linzer-cookie-nata/

UNTIL THE FLOOD>. Through 11/10 at Fleetwood-Jourdain Theatre The post A wave of insights and emotions appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-review/until-the-flood-fleetwood-jourdain-theatre/

Jonathan Rosenbaum didn’t plan on being a film critic. Born in Florence, Alabama, the incisive writer drew comics as a child before switching over to novels. He had seen plenty of movies growin...

https://chicagoreader.com/film/movie-feature/jonathan-rosenbaum-film-critic-interview/

RHINOCEROS. Through 11/24 at Theatre Y. The post Rhinoceros rampages with relevance appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-review/rhinoceros-theatre-y/

Chicago Reader Volume 54, No. 5. October 31, 2024 The post Chicago Reader Volume 54, Number 5 appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/issues/volume-54-5/

SEVEN GUITARS. Through 12/1 at City Lit Theater. The post Dreaming in blues appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-review/seven-guitars-city-lit/

Earlier this month, the University of Chicago announced that it had a groundbreaking, AI-enabled new study that analyzed presidential speech and quantified something that’s been widely observed...

https://chicagoreader.com/columns-opinion/donald-trump-speech-university-of-chicago-stephen-reicher/

It’s a mildly chilly evening when my friend Chester Sikora decides to take me through his neighborhood in Roselle to look at Halloween displays. I’m not expecting much; they’re just people�...

https://chicagoreader.com/city-life/feature-city-life/chicago-haunt-house-builders/

INTO THE WOODS. Through 12/22 at the Chopin Theatre. The post Tangled fairy tale appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-review/into-the-woods-kokandy-productions/

JUICIO A UNA ZORRA. Through 11/10 at Citlalin Art Gallery Theater. The post Whose story is it anyway? appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-review/juicio-a-una-zorra-repertorio-latino-theater-company/

The Rust Belt, the postindustrial midwest, flyover country. Are these terms—which describe the area roughly from Wisconsin to Buffalo, New York—useful anymore? Were they ever? Every four year...

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/complicating-best-of-the-rust-belt/

Around the end of August, a mushroom—a magic mushroom—flexed its gills and ejected a cloud of spores from a vegan food hall in Uptown. From there, they spread all over the city and sprouted i...

https://chicagoreader.com/food-drink/monday-night-foodball/el-hongo-magico-mushroom-vegan-mexican/

The Reader Institute for Community Journalism (RICJ), which operates the Chicago Reader, is excited to announce four recent staff hires. From returning to weekly publishing to celebrating the Bes...

https://chicagoreader.com/reader/press-releases/welcomes-four-new-hires/

Damager play rock ’n’ roll with meaty hooks and riffs as big as a cruise down I-94. If this exuberant Chicago band reminds you of Japandroids—specifically their 2012 album Celebration Rock�...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/gossip-wolf/damager-forever-someoddpilot-ariah-raydiant-splendor-awards/

“PAULA MODERSOHN-BECKER: I AM ME” through 1/12/25 at the Art Institute The post Becoming Paula Modersohn-Becker appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/paula-modersohn-becker-art-institute/

Early voting is underway in all 50 of the city’s wards. When you head to the polls, you’ll see a number of paid workers and volunteers doing everything from checking in voters to watching peo...

https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/poll-worker-election-judge/

The City of Chicago boasts 33 designated off-leash dog parks, or Dog-Friendly Areas (DFAs). These parks require owners to annually purchase a $10 vet-certified permit confirming that their dogs a...

https://chicagoreader.com/city-life/feature-city-life/unofficial-dog-parks/

In the project 60 wrd/min art critic, writer Lori Waxman explores how art writing can serve an expanded field of artists—including those incarcerated, trying to gain visas, working to establish...

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/illustrations-of-xomeless-natalia-egorova/

It seems so obvious in hindsight: Chicago is one of the best metal towns in the United States, if not the world, so why shouldn’t it host a weekend-long festival devoted to all things heavy? La...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/concert-preview/heavy-chicago-avondale-music-hall/

Noriko Sekiguchi, better known as Poison Girl Friend, is behind some of the most lustrous downtempo, trip-hop, and late-night pop music in post–economic bubble Japan. The Yokohama-born artist w...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/concert-preview/poison-girl-friend-lincoln-hall/

As a 13-year-old girl falling in love with music, I inhaled my mother’s massive Motown Records collection. Her Stevie Wonder albums became my obsession, and the multi-instrumentalist and vocali...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/concert-preview/stevie-wonder-united-center/

Swirlies formed in 1990, after Boston punk Rusty Nails (who’d later move to Chicago and make the underground horror flick Acne) tried to start a Go-Go’s cover band with guitarists and singers...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/concert-preview/swirlies-sleeping-village/

Almost a year ago, Saint Louis emo band Foxing took a joint headlining tour with the Hotelier from Worcester, Massachusetts, playing 16 dates in November and 17 more in February. Both groups perf...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/concert-preview/foxing-scream-their-way-back-to-greatness/

Bronze have been crafting hushed, cinematic tunes for two decades, and on their new self-titled LP, these soft-pop perfectionists might’ve reached their melodious apex. The group formed in 1999...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/concert-preview/bronze-constellation/

When a local musical hero passes away, the Secret History of Chicago Music considers it a duty to make sure they get the accolades they deserve. When blues-rock innovator Nick Gravenites died las...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/the-secret-history-of-chicago-music/nick-gravenites-butterfield-electric-flag-blues-rock/

Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond’s screenplay for 1959’s Some Like It Hot (directed by Wilder) was produced without approval from the Motion Picture Production Code (colloquially known as the ...

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-review/some-like-it-hot-broadway-in-chicago/

Artificial intelligence and social media are flooding our information environment with slop, misinformation, and lies, and politicians and talking heads either can’t cut through the noise or do...

https://chicagoreader.com/music/alex-chavez-sonorous-present-quetzal-flores-santos/

Halloween. Samhain. Allhallowtide. Day of the Dead. Diwali. Yizkor. Devil’s Night. What do all of these sacred autumn observances have in common?   They all fall on or around Santiago Guerrer...

https://chicagoreader.com/food-drink/monday-night-foodball/pinatta-black-moon-luna-negra-tostada-pozole-emilio-santiago-guerrero/

This story was copublished by Invisible Institute and the Chicago Reader. “I am left with my sister’s screams.” Bridgette Rouse told the Chicago City Council Public Safety Committee during ...

https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/missing-persons-police-city-council/

Whether an officer roughed you up at a protest, made an inappropriate comment when they pulled you over, or has a history of domestic violence, there are many reasons you might want to file a com...

https://chicagoreader.com/news-politics/file-police-complaint-cpd/

Where the Witches Gather The first thing I did when I moved to Chicago six years ago was find a local metaphysical store. While I have a hard time defining exactly what category my craft falls in...

https://chicagoreader.com/city-life/feature-city-life/metaphysical-shops-of-chicago/

The Factory Theater’s Inheritance -or- Brothers from the Deep explores the gaping depths of family trauma and what it means to confront what’s lurking at the very bottom.  Written by ensembl...

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-review/inheritance-or-brothers-from-the-deep-factory-theater/

By Nati The post Coral appeared first on Chicago Reader .

https://chicagoreader.com/reader-partners/poetry-foundation/coral-nati/

Just in time for the election, Refracted Theatre Company unveils Coronation, a dystopic sorta-comedy by Laura Winters about women politicians, queens, and environmental disaster. Directed by Tova...

https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-review/coronation-refracted-theatre/