• Newsletters
  • Become a member
  • NEWS
    • News & Politics
    • Investigations
    • En español
  • CITY LIFE
    • The To-Do
    • Street View
    • Community Calendar
    • Best of Chicago 2022: City Life
    • Best of Chicago 2022: Buy Local
    • Best of Chicago 2022: Sports & Recreation
  • COLUMNS & OPINION
    • Anthony Ehlers: On Prisons
    • Deanna Isaacs: On Culture
    • Ben Joravsky: On Politics
    • The Ben Joravsky Show
    • Dan Savage: Savage Love
    • Opinion
    • Podcasts
      • The Ben Joravsky Show
      • Chicago Queer & Now
  • MUSIC
    • Music Features
    • Gossip Wolf
    • Word Music Festival
    • Jazz Festival
    • Chicagoans of Note
    • The Secret History of Chicago Music
    • Music Reviews
    • Concert Previews
    • City of Win
    • Early Warnings
    • Music listings community calendar
    • The Listener
  • ARTS & CULTURE
    • Theater
    • Dance
    • Visual arts
    • Books
    • Ghost Light by Kerry Reid
    • Arts listings community calendar
    • Poetry Corner
    • Best of Chicago 2022: Arts & Culture
  • FILM
    • Features
    • Reviews
    • Small Screen
    • Best of Chicago 2022: Arts & Culture
    • Archives
  • FOOD & DRINK
    • The Food & Drink Issue 2023
    • Best of Chicago 2022: Food & Drink
    • Features
    • Reviews
    • Monday Night Foodball
    • The Drinks Issue (2021)
  • READER
    • About
    • — Reader Updates
    • — Contact
    • — Staff
    • — Careers
    • Newsletters
    • Advertise
      • Classifieds
    • Donate
      • Become a member
    • Nonprofit Guide
    • Reader 50
    • Reader events
      • Monday Night Foodball
    • Contests
    • Reader Store
    • Find a print copy
      • Distribution map and information
      • Print subscriptions
    • Archives
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
Skip to content
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS
Chicago Reader

Chicago Reader

Chicago’s alternative nonprofit newsroom

  • Newsletters
  • Become a member
Become a member
  • NEWS
    • News & Politics
    • Investigations
    • En español
  • CITY LIFE
    • The To-Do
    • Street View
    • Community Calendar
    • Best of Chicago 2022: City Life
    • Best of Chicago 2022: Buy Local
    • Best of Chicago 2022: Sports & Recreation
  • COLUMNS & OPINION
    • Anthony Ehlers: On Prisons
    • Deanna Isaacs: On Culture
    • Ben Joravsky: On Politics
    • The Ben Joravsky Show
    • Dan Savage: Savage Love
    • Opinion
    • Podcasts
      • The Ben Joravsky Show
      • Chicago Queer & Now
  • MUSIC
    • Music Features
    • Gossip Wolf
    • Word Music Festival
    • Jazz Festival
    • Chicagoans of Note
    • The Secret History of Chicago Music
    • Music Reviews
    • Concert Previews
    • City of Win
    • Early Warnings
    • Music listings community calendar
    • The Listener
  • ARTS & CULTURE
    • Theater
    • Dance
    • Visual arts
    • Books
    • Ghost Light by Kerry Reid
    • Arts listings community calendar
    • Poetry Corner
    • Best of Chicago 2022: Arts & Culture
  • FILM
    • Features
    • Reviews
    • Small Screen
    • Best of Chicago 2022: Arts & Culture
    • Archives
  • FOOD & DRINK
    • The Food & Drink Issue 2023
    • Best of Chicago 2022: Food & Drink
    • Features
    • Reviews
    • Monday Night Foodball
    • The Drinks Issue (2021)
  • READER
    • About
    • — Reader Updates
    • — Contact
    • — Staff
    • — Careers
    • Newsletters
    • Advertise
      • Classifieds
    • Donate
      • Become a member
    • Nonprofit Guide
    • Reader 50
    • Reader events
      • Monday Night Foodball
    • Contests
    • Reader Store
    • Find a print copy
      • Distribution map and information
      • Print subscriptions
    • Archives
  • >
  • Latest issue
  • UnGala Celebration
  • The People Issue
  • Contests
  • Reader Updates
  • Reader Store
  • En español
  • Advertise
Home

Author Archives: John Wilmes

a man and woman in pink dress clothes look at each other; the woman holds a bright-blue stuffed animal
Posted inFilm

Review: The Beanie Bubble

by John Wilmes July 28, 2023September 25, 2023

It is dispiriting to watch such talented people try to animate this turgid blueprint.

Mario and company race on a rainbow road
Posted inFilm

Review: The Super Mario Bros. Movie

by John Wilmes April 14, 2023April 14, 2023

Don’t try to make these guys more real, because that was never the point.

a boy stands behind another and leans intimately in, on a dark night
Posted inFilm

Review: Of an Age

by John Wilmes March 2, 2023March 7, 2023

Of An Age opens with a sequence worthy of entry into The Cinema of Stress library (think Uncut Gems or Dog Day Afternoon), but in 1999 and with a gay bildungsroman.

an animated Black teenager reaches out to an alien-looking blue shape
Posted inFilm

Strange World

by John Wilmes December 2, 2022December 2, 2022

Everyone is delightfully lost in a softly Lovecraftian Osmosis Jones labyrinth with climate change overtones and lovely faceless critters everywhere, trying to pantomime meaning to these stumbling humans.

a Black man and a white woman in a pool at night
Posted inFilm

Causeway

by John Wilmes November 10, 2022November 10, 2022

A dour, paint-by-numbers contemplation on trauma and dislocation unfolds, and we see two actors capable of tremendous expression stuck in a place that won’t allow it.

The Rock in a black superhero suit
Posted inFilm

Black Adam

by John Wilmes October 26, 2022October 25, 2022

Rarely do we feel like we are experiencing the thing itself, but rather a setup for a different, later event, which will probably not be the real thing either.

three people in Florida Gators fan gear sit at a table with the crocodile
Posted inFilm

Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile

by John Wilmes October 6, 2022October 6, 2022

Had the movie embraced its creepier glimmers, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile may have been an appropriately horrific October release. Instead, it bears only the suggestion of such a thing and never finds distinction.

a man in a blue chef's apron sits on a metal restaurant table
Posted inFilm

Thrill of recognition or contempt for inaccuracy

by John Wilmes July 18, 2022July 22, 2022

Ultimately, whether the show is any good does not depend on how well it “gets” Chicago, on a logistical or even cultural level, but on whether it is entertaining or not.

Posted inArts & Culture

In the face of Trump, Writers Resist

by John Wilmes January 26, 2017August 18, 2021

At Cole’s Bar last week, Speak Up/Warm Up hosted steadfast and resilient local authors.

Posted inArts & Culture

Legos at the Museum of Science and Industry: Kid tested and inner-child approved

by John Wilmes March 22, 2016August 18, 2021

“Brick by Brick” features re-creations of famous architectural feats.

📩 Get our free daily newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Monday through Friday. Dive into our most recent stories and exclusive insights from our editors and staff.

Processing…
Success! We'll be sending you The Daily Reader starting soon.
Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.

READER
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • RSS

Best of Chicago 2022

About the Chicago Reader
Reader Staff
Reader Careers
Freelance Information
Contact Us

Donate

Advertise

Submit/promote your event

Find the Paper
Subscribe
Shop the Reader Store
Contests/Giveaways/Promotions

Reader Classifieds

Reader Matches

Chicago Reader Nonprofit Guide

Get our free newsletters

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use

© 2023 Chicago Reader. Proudly powered by Newspack by Automattic