Requiem for a Dream ** Directed by Darren Aronofsky Written by Hubert Selby Jr. and Aronofsky With Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans, Christopher McDonald, and Louise Lasser. By Jonathan Rosenbaum Darren Aronofsky’s first feature, š (1998), had more style than substance–or perhaps it’s just that the only thing I now remember with […]
Tag: Vol. 30 No. 9
Issue of Nov. 30 – Dec. 6, 2000
Posted inNews & Politics
Rocky Boy, This is a Showdown
Animal lovers fed and nurtured the creatures of Rosehill Cemetery. Now there’s only one way to deal with the fat, friendly racoons.
Posted inArts & Culture
Z Film Festival
Presented by NeoKino.com, a Web site for independent and experimental cinema, this diverse two-hour program offers some strong films and videos, most of them by young Chicagoans but some from Europe as well. Mark Hejnar and T.M. Caldwell’s Slow Death of a Large Animal combines found footage of a circus with rocket ship and concentration […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Christmas Schooner
Now in its sixth season, Bailiwick Repertory’s sturdy, openhearted production of John Reeger and Julie Shannon’s musical celebrates the courage of sailors from northern Michigan who braved Lake Michigan’s November gales to bring Chicago its first Christmas trees in the 1880s. Rooted in the experiences of a real family, the plot draws strength from its […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Sneeze
The Sneeze, Terrapin Theatre, at Chicago Dramatists. A sadistic bully psychologically tormenting a helpless victim is an unlikely premise for comedy. The usually capable Terrapin Theatre crew seem to think so, too. And so any humor to be found in Chekhov’s favorite interpersonal dynamic–which figures in five of the eight short pieces that comprise translator-adapter […]
Posted inMusic
New Year’s Eve 2000: Music
New Year’s Eve listings are updated as frequently as new events can be confirmed–see our Web site at www.chicagoreader.com for new information. Call ahead to verify special admission packages and availability. –Laura Kopen Rock, Pop, Etc. Concerts Cheap Trick Star Plaza Theatre I-65 and U.S. 30, Merrillville, Indiana, 773-734-7266 or 312-559-1212 Concert starts at 10 […]
Posted inNews & Politics
City File
Swords into plowshares. An architectural jury commented on the reclamation of a Forest Park torpedo-factory-turned-mall for use as a 2,500-seat worship hall for the Living Word Christian Center (“Focus,” November): “This project represents a new way of looking at adaptive reuse as well as a new sense of what worship is.” How many tens of […]
Posted inMusic
Spot Check
DOUGLAS EWART & INVENTIONS 12/2 & 3, VELVET LOUNGE It’s been said that Douglas Ewart’s oeuvre could easily be mistaken for the work of a small civilization. The Jamaican-born musician and instrument inventor moved to the U.S. in 1963 and for several years honed his skills as a tailor–background that benefits his work with masks […]
Posted inArts & Culture
New French Cinema Film Festival
The fourth annual New French Cinema Film Festival, presented by Facets Multimedia Center and French Cultural Services in Chicago, runs Friday through Thursday, December 1 through 7, at Facets Multimedia Center, 1517 W. Fullerton. Unless otherwise noted, tickets are $7, $5 for Facets members. For more information call 773-281-4114. Films marked with a 4 are […]
Posted inFood & Drink
New Year’s Eve 2000: Restaurants
After the extravagance of last year’s New Year’s Eve, many restaurants are toning things down, opting for a la carte menus and reservations throughout the night in lieu of elaborate prix fixe meals with set seatings. Several will still offer live entertainment and party favors while others will close for the night. Accordingly, our listings […]
Posted inNews & Politics
The Straight Dope
Taxes were a big deal in this election season. “The other guy wants to raise them while I want to lower them,” the ads said. No matter what their convictions, nobody’s saying that taxes are at the right level, and I’d like to catch a glimpse of the politician who’s suicidally courageous enough to say […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Frank Gratkowski
FRANK GRATKOWSKI German reedist Frank Gratkowski has acknowledged Evan Parker as a key influence–but even if he hadn’t, you’d figure it out pretty fast after hearing his terrific new trio album, Quicksand (Meniscus), where his jagged runs of tightly coiled notes unspool like fishing line in the mouth of a mad shark. The pianist on […]
Posted inMusic
New Year’s Eve 2000: Special Events
Remember the run on generators and dry goods last year? It’s hard to believe that 12 months ago the threat of Y2K computer failure had many of us either working all night or staying at home with full cupboards and barred doors, expecting the worst. Sure, there were those fearless few who tempted fate and […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Calendar
Friday 12/1 – Thursday 12/7 DECEMBER By Cara Jepsen 1 FRIDAY “The real life of women, for example giving birth and bringing up children, has had no place in art, and these entertaining books for the beach endlessly con us about this fact. The everyday life of women is…not accepted as literary material. With my […]