Subtitled “Tales From a Little Red Dot,” this festival of contemporary films from Singapore continues Friday, January 28, at the University of Chicago Film Studies Center, 5811 S. Ellis, and Saturday, January 29, at the Biological Sciences Learning Center, room 115, 924 E. 57th. Saturday will be devoted to the work of director Royston Tan, […]
Tag: Vol. 34 No. 18
Issue of Jan. 27 – Feb. 2, 2005
Posted inArts & Culture
Lucky Peterson
Bluesman Lucky Peterson began his career early–his first single, “1-2-3-4,” came out in 1971, when he was six–and since then he’s exultantly leapt between styles, genres, and attitudes while retaining his attachment to the blues. On his 2003 album, Black Midnight Sun (Dreyfus), which features collaborations with Bill Laswell and P-Funk drummer Jerome “Bigfoot” Brailey, […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Cranky Critics
Honestly, what’s the matter with all the movie critics? Do they not get fed? Are they denied sleep? Why do they all seem to think that cranky and not liking anything is the best way to fulfill their jobs? Most of us didn’t go to film school–we’re regular people who like movies. This is a […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Sophie’s Masterpiece–a Spider’s Tale
Alan Donahue and Chuck Larkin’s musical adaptation of Eileen Spinelli’s picture book introduces new characters and expands on ideas this simple story barely suggests. Sophie remains an extraordinarily artistic spider, but now we see her mother encouraging her to revere beauty. And Sophie’s adventures with a sea captain, cook, and landlady are treated briskly while […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Lee Konitz
Now 77, alto saxophonist Lee Konitz is one of the last living links to the bebop era. He began his career in the 40s as a distinguished acolyte of pianist Lennie Tristano; shortly thereafter he participated in the sessions that produced Miles Davis’s album Birth of the Cool. Since then the Chicago native has led […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Thanks for the Memories
Hi, my name is Donna Ross Douglas. I was born in 1963 in Chicago, Illinois, but am now living in Brownsville, Tennessee, daughter of Johnny Ross, a member of the group Baby Huey and the Babysitters. I’m sorry to read about James Ramey’s untimely death but happy to see that the memory of Ramey and […]
Posted inMusic
Simply Perfect
Wire’s terrific little pop song “Outdoor Miner” withstands 19 very different covers.
Posted inArts & Culture
Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me
It’s a sad reflection on our times and on the triumph of terrorism that Frank McGuinness’s hostage drama of a dozen years ago seems tame. There’s no torture or beheading, just the harrowing fact-based story of three kidnapped prisoners in Beirut trying to keep from going crazy. Their survival saga still hits home, however, in […]
Posted inNews & Politics
A Family Rallies
To the editor, In his article about the plight of Ibrahim Parlak (January 14) Michael Miner has written another penetrating expose of the dangers to our civil liberties the Patriot Act presents when used by right-wing ideologues. It is appalling, and apparently not known to most Americans, that immigration-court judges report to John Ashcroft, the […]
Posted inNews & Politics
The Bean Police
The city’s charging some photographers hundreds of dollars to take pictures in Millenium Park.
Posted inNews & Politics
Comics Master
In Noah Berlatsky’s review of the Mark Newport exhibition [“Man and Supersweater,” January 21], in making reference to Mark Newport’s alterations on the cover art of Catwoman vol. 3, #27, he writes this comment: “But what I noticed before any of that was the utter shittiness of the illustrator’s draftsmanship. Mainstream comics drawing has fallen […]
Posted inNews & Politics
Hombres in Tights
The faithful gather at the Congress Theater to watch their masked heroes do battle.
Posted inArts & Culture
As Much As You Can
Beginner’s luck may account for the ups and downs of this effort from seasoned performer and first-time playwright Paul Oakley Stovall. His family drama dives headlong into identity politics–a young man brings home his boyfriend of another race–and somehow lands gracefully on the other side. Nonchalantly, with unforced humor and organic ease, Stovall sketches out […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Underneath the Lintel
This monologue by Glen Berger is an existential comedy akin to Waiting for Godot, full of clues to what is most likely a mystery without solution. As performed by the exceptional Larry Neumann Jr., Berger’s story of a librarian’s quest to determine the origin of a book returned 113 years overdue is even more moving […]