In his early films, director Tim Burton helped drag sick humor and glam nihilism into the mainstream. But his latest effort, adapted from Daniel Wallace’s novel, is an ode to white picket fences, hot apple pie, and old-fashioned storytelling. As in Sleepy Hollow, his drastic revision of Ichabod Crane’s adventures, the story unfolds against a […]
Tag: Vol. 33 No. 20
Issue of Feb. 12 – 18, 2004
Posted inNews & Politics
More From Russia, With Love
Having been a fan of the little-known Russian filmmaker Boris Barnet since seeing a double bill of The House on Trubnaya Square and The Girl With the Hat Box at the Telluride film festival two decades ago, I am happy to be able to report that for once Jonathan Rosenbaum’s laments about what parts of […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Sirens: Straight to Video; The Claudia and Deb Show
SIRENS: STRAIGHT TO VIDEO, at Donny’s Skybox Studio, and THE CLAUDIA AND DEB SHOW, at Donny’s Skybox Studio. The Sirens’ new improv effort–inspired by audience minimonologues shot before the show–doesn’t offer much extra bang for the logistical buck. Coordinating live and taped, onstage and on-screen rhythms can’t be easy yet offers little that simpler “suggestion […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Calendar Sidebar
Last June telly viewers in the UK saw this message on their screens: “Some images in this film have been obscured by the BBC. These images were broadcast unobscured by Al-Jazeera.” What followed was an insightful, dispassionate report–part of the BBC’s “Correspondent” series–documenting three weeks in the life of the Qatar newsroom of the Arabic-language […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Big James & the Chicago Playboys
Trombonist Big James Montgomery and his Playboys’ current disk, Blues Power (Isabel), collects a handful of tracks from their 1999 debut, Funkin’ Blues, and most of 2001’s If It Wasn’t 4 Da Blues (both released on Montgomery’s own label). The juxtaposition illustrates both the blessings and the pitfalls of maturation: the earlier tracks, which range […]
Posted inNews & Politics
If You Can’t Say Something Nice
Dear editor, I was very surprised when I read Brian Nemtusak’s review of the Elephant Man Theater Company’s production of Dostoevsky Trip [Section Two, February 6]. I would hardly be one to resent Mr. Nemtusak for his opinions regarding the performance, but his review felt unfair to the production and was so mean-spirited that it […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Stereophonics
Pity the poor Stereophonics. They’re arena-headlining stars in their native Britain but get a steady stream of flak from critics, tabloids, and Thom Yorke, while in America they’re reduced to warming up theater crowds for the likes of VH1-approved coffeehouse refugee Howie Day. Despite the continued efforts of their label (the Welsh combo was the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Calendar Sidebar
Janine Wilburn’s 2002 diptych, Broken Lady, can be read as a set of before-and-after shots: On the left, the orderly structure of life before an act of sexual violence. On the right, the fragmented aftermath, a semblance of that previous life still visible through the cracks. This painting and eight other pieces make up “Survivor/Victim,” […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Daniele D’Agaro
Italian reedist Daniele D’Agaro has always gotten around: he’s dug up unpublished Don Byas tunes for a mainstream album with bop great Benny Bailey; explored the common ground between improvisation, electronics, and African folklore with his trio Lingua Franca; and teamed with church organist Mauro Costantini to perform Duke Ellington’s sacred works. But he’s never […]
Posted inNews & Politics
WXRT’s Mixed Signals
Dear Mr. Margasak, Thank you for bringing attention to WXRT’s decision to sell its ONXRT CD exclusively through the national chain Best Buy [Post No Bills, January 16]. Independent music stores are a critical part of a vibrant cultural scene, nurturing new and creative artists, and all of us who care about music should support […]
Posted inArts & Culture
In Performance: the Suicide Girls do Chicago
Siren Suicide got into stripping for the oldest reason in the book–to put herself through med school. As the mistress of ceremonies at Dante’s nightclub in Portland, Oregon, she performed retro burlesque routines alongside sword swallowers and fire dancers at a weekly event called Sinferno Sundays. “The first time I ever performed I was so […]
Posted inFilm
American Dream Team
Miracle ** (Worth seeing) Directed by Gavin O’Connor Written by Eric Guggenheim With Kurt Russell, Patricia Clarkson, Noah Emmerich, Eddie Cahill, Michael Mantenuto, and Nathan West. Two years ago Disney released a fine sports drama called The Rookie, the true story of a high school baseball coach who tried out for the majors at age […]
Posted inNews & Politics
The Urge to Re-Emerge
Nash Kato and Ed Roeser dust off their medallions and hit the road.
Posted inNews & Politics
Sign Language
Although we have just marked what would have been Martin Luther King Jr.’s 75th birthday, Will Kelley’s encounter at Stroger Hospital [“Bad Medicine,” January 16] is a sad reminder that inequities, in this case health care inequities, still endure. While the administrator on duty expressed frustration over patients having to wait days for the hospital […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Jean Thompson
As a young creative-writing teacher 25 years ago, Jean Thompson gave her students only two restrictions: no stories about young love and no it-was-all-a-dream resolutions. But when you’re older you get to break at least one of the rules. Thompson’s new novel, City Boy (Simon & Schuster), tells the story of Jack and Chloe–newly married, […]