Switch to the mobile version of this page.

- Username
- View Profile
- Edit Profile
- Log Out
- Log in
- Create Account

The Chicago Reader

Articles

Loading...

Film, Movie Review Dec 20, 2019
Pedro Almodóvar strips away emotional facades in Pain and Glory

The reflection on the director’s later-in-life preoccupations is one of his best films yet.
- By Kathleen Sachs
- Tags: Movie Review, Pedro Almodóvar, Pain and Glory, John Waters, Artforum, Julieta, Runaway, Wild Strawberries, The Irishman, Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood, Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz

Arts & Culture, Pride 2019 May 30, 2019
Essential reading for Pride Month

Five memoirs that made me the pansexual freak I am today
- By KT Hawbaker
- Tags: Pride 2019, Pride Month, essential books, Fun Home, Alison Bechdel, How to Grow Up, Michelle Tea, New Visions: All About Love, bell hooks, The Rules Do Not Apply, Ariel Levy, Role Models, John Waters, queer literature, memoirs, queer memoirs

Blogs, Bleader Jun 4, 2018
Hairspray at Pritzker Pavilion and more of the best things to do in Chicago this week

The film A Quiet Place and more goings-on 6/4-6/7.
- By Steve Heisler
- Tags: Arts, Do This, Music, Film, lillie mae, szold hall, old town school of folk music, brandee younger, lyon & Healy harps, mdou moctar, tuareg, maurer hall, hairspray, john waters, pritzker pavilion, millennium park, jiri trnka, gene siskel film center, a quiet place, John Krasinski, having our say, goodman theatre, Monsieur d’Éon Is a Woman

Blogs, Bleader Nov 27, 2017
A John Waters Christmas and more of the best things to do in Chicago this week

A Room-themed pop-up at Emporium Arcade Bar and more goings-on November 27-30
- By Steve Heisler
- Tags: Arts, Do This, john waters, grizzly bear, oh hai chicago, the room, tommy wiseau, stranger things, emporium, painted ruins, sacrilege a nativity story, taneshia rice, manic mondays, frances cocktail lounge, marilee williams, thalia hall

Arts & Culture, Performing Arts Feature Sep 28, 2017
The Ages of Man, Splatter Theater, and ten more new stage shows to see

Three Thornton Wilder one-acts and the Annoyance's long-running slasher parody are among this week's best bets.
- Tags: Performing Arts Feature, The Ages of Man, Thornton Wilder, Theatre Above the Law, Tony Lawry, Building the Wall, Richard Schenkkan, Stage Left Theatre, Amy Szerlong, For One, Gunder Mansion, (Re)discover Theatre, I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, Quest Theatre Ensemble, Joe DiPietro, Jimmy Roberts, Laura Sturm, Liz Jarmer, Gavin Donnellan, Christian Aldridge, Alys Dickerson, The Legend of Georgia McBride, Northlight Theatre, Matthew Lopez, Nate Santana, Jeff Kurysz, Sean Blake, A New Brain, William Finn, Falsettos, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Theo Ubique, James Lapine, Fred Anzevino, No Exit Cafe, Chase Heinemann, Tyler Franklin, Orphée et Eurydice, Lyric Opera, Joffrey Ballet, Gluck, Dmitry Kolchak, Lyric Opera Chorus, Andrianna Chuchman, Lauren Snouffer, John Neumeier, Perfect Arrangement, Topher Payne, Pride Films and Plays, Lane Anthony Flores, Eric Lindahl, Autumn Teague, Riley Mondragon, Kelli Harrington, Derek Von Barham, Splatter Theater, Annoyance Theatre, Del Close, Martin DeMaat, Viola Spolin, slasher films, late-night shows, slasher parody, Friday the 13th, John Waters, Striking Out: A Gay Baseball Musical, Pride Films and Plays, Marco Braun, Take Me Out, The Twilight Zone, Olivia Nielsen, Adam Levin, Ryan Ford, Sylvester, Lifeline Theatre, Christina Calvit, Dorothy Milne, Andrés Enriquez, Samantha Newcomb, Alan Donahue, A Year With Frog and Toad, Chicago Children's Theatre, Robert Reale, Willie Reale, Andy Nagraj, Shawn Pfautsch, Matthew C. Yee

Blogs, Bleader Apr 28, 2017
Chicago Humanities Fest, Zombie Pub Crawl, and more things to do in Chicago this weekend

"Girl Play," the University of Chicago Artist Summit, and more happenings from April 28-30.
- By Brianna Wellen
- Tags: Arts, Do This, Garden of Eve: Forward, Venue Six10, Howard Brown Health Center, 48 Hour Improv Marathon, Crowd Theater, Chicago Humanities Fest, Marie Kondo, Sarah Smarsh, John Waters, Scott Herring, Kimberly Drew, Girl Play, Johalla Projects, Marzena Abrahamik, University of Chicago Artists Summit, Logan Center for the Arts, Chicago Zombie Pub Crawl, pH Comedy Theater, Unicorn Ball, Shapiro Ballroom, Trans Liberation Collective, CAKE, Drink and Draw Brunch, Empty Bottle, Grateful4Her, Catalyst Ranch, Nnamdi Ogbonnaya, Lincoln Hall

Arts & Culture, Lit Feature Apr 24, 2017
John Waters wants you to Make Trouble

The filmmaker shares his advice to young artists in a new book ahead of his Chicago Humanities Festival appearance.
- By Brianna Wellen
- Tags: Lit Feature, John Waters, Make Trouble, Chicago Humanities Fest, Eric Hanson, Hairspray, Pink Flamingos, Cry-Baby, Multiple Maniacs

Blogs, Bleader Nov 28, 2016
A John Waters Christmas, BrewLights, and more things to do in Chicago this week

Decoding 2016, Zadie Smith, and more happenings from November 28-December 1
- By Brianna Wellen
- Tags: Arts, Do This, ZooLights, BrewLights, Lincoln Park Zoo, Ted McClelland, Book Cellar, The Complete Deaths, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Spymonkey, Zadie Smith, DuSable Museum of African American History, A John Waters Christmas, Thalia Hall, John Waters, Rabbit Fest!, Emporium Arcade Bar, Decoding 2016, Ida Noyes Hall, Stand Up for Your Rights, Lagunitas Tap Room

Arts & Culture, Performing Arts Feature Sep 14, 2016
Ubu the King, True West, and nine more new theater reviews

Alfred Jarry's absurdist satire and a minor masterpiece by Sam Shepard are among this week's highlights.
- Tags: Performing Arts Feature, The House Theatre of Chicago, A Comedical Tragedy for Mister Punch, Kara Silverman, Echaka Agba, Jesse Mooney-Bullock, Izumi Inaba, Shade Murray, Kevin O'Donnell, Adrian Danzig, Punch and Judy, Dylan's Apartment, iO Theater, Dylan Doetsch, Mister Rogers, Natalie Carneal, Girl Jesus: Resurrected and Back to School!, Public House Theatre, Jessica Wilcox, John Waters, Edith Massey, I Do Today, Carin Silkaitis, Sarah Myers, I Know What You Sang Last Summer, Abba, Mamma Mia!, Amy Montgomery, Sara Sevigny, Jennifer Knox, Jim Corti, Paramount Theatre, The Memory Tour, Pivot Arts, Julieanne Ehre, Tanya Palmer, Scarcity, Red Twist Theatre, Lucy Thurber, Brendan Meyer, Ada Grey, Jacqueline Grandt, Cody Estle, Mark Pracht, Johnny Garcia, Smokey Joe's Cafe, Leiber and Stoller, Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Drury Lane Theatre, Keirsten Hodgens, Sam Shepard, True West, Shattered Globe Theatre, James Yost, Christina Gordon, Kevin Viol, Joseph Wiens, Ubu the King, Alfred Jarry, Rough House Theater, Mike Oleon, Grace Needlman, Trump, Pere Ubu

Blogs, Bleader Sep 4, 2015
Video
Elisabeth Moss goes bananas, plus more new reviews and notable screenings

New reviews and notable screenings in this week's issue
- By J.R. Jones
- Tags: Film, Opening, Alex Ross Perry, Joe Swanberg, Queen of Earth, Ben Sachs, Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine, Alex Gibney, Danny Boyle, Michael Fassbender, I Touched All Your Stuff, Meru, Rosenwald, Stray Dog, Debra Granik, 7 Chinese Brothers, Bob Byington (RSO (Registered Sex Offender), A Walk in the Woods, Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, Satyajit Ray, Pather Panchali, Aparajito, The World of Apu, Padre Padrone, The Night of the Shooting Stars, Federico Fellini, La Dolce Vita, John Waters, Female Trouble, Dziga Vertov, The Man With the Movie Camera, Fred Camper, John Boorman, Zardoz, Sherlock Holmes, William Gilette, Essanay Studio, Wes Craven, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Video

Blogs, Bleader May 10, 2015
John Waters's five best films

Highlights from the filmography of John Waters
- By Drew Hunt
- Tags: Weekly Top Five, Film, John Waters, Hairspray, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Logan Theatre, Serial Mom, Kathleen Turner, Pecker, Multiple Maniacs, Divine, Female Trouble, Pink Flamingos, Gus Van Sant, Baltimore

Blogs, Bleader Dec 15, 2014
Best Films of 2014, number ten: Cheap Thrills

J.R. Jones counts down his favorite films of 2014. Today at number ten: Cheap Thrills.
- By J.R. Jones
- Tags: Year in Review, Film, E.L. Katz, Cheap Thrills, George A. Romero, John Waters, Pat Healy, David Chirchirillo, Trent Haaga, Ethan Embry, David Koechner, Sarah Paxton, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, best movies of 2014

Blogs, Bleader Aug 25, 2014
Ten recent movies that I wish had been directed by Lee Daniels

Daniels's exuberance and weird integrity could have benefitted a good number of recent movies.
- By Ben Sachs
- Tags: Moviegoing, LGBT, Film, Lee Daniels, The Butler, moviegoing, John Waters, The Paperboy, Precious, Shadowboxer, Wong Kar-wai, Vivienne Westwood

Blogs, Bleader Mar 30, 2014
Weekly Top Five: The best unrealized films

Notable films that never made it to screen
- By Drew Hunt
- Tags: Weekly Top Five, Film, Alain Resnais, Stan Lee, the Monster Maker, Carl Theodor Dreyer, Jesus, historical Jesus, David Cronenberg, Pierre David, Marry Shelley, Frankenstein, The Fly, Robert Bresson, Genesis, Dino de Laurentiis, A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole, Harold Ramis, Steven Soderbergh, David Gordon Green, John Waters, John Belushi, John Goodman, Chris Farley, Will Ferrell, Jack Black, Zach Galifianakis

Blogs, Bleader Dec 6, 2013
Video
Garbo, Divine, Bettie Page, and the rest of this week's domination screenings

New reviews and notable screenings in this week's issue
- By J.R. Jones
- Tags: Opening, Film, Gene Siskel Film Center, Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy?, Michel Gondry, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Noam Chomsky, Chuck Jones, Ernst Lubitsch, Ninotchka, Antarctica: A Year on Ice, Bettie Page Reveals All, Dredd, The Ghosts in Our Machine, I Am Divine, John Waters, Out of the Furnace, Scott Cooper, Crazy Heart, Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan, University of Chicago Doc Films, Robert Siodmak, Christmas Holiday, Alfred Hitchcock, Strangers on a Train, Fritz Lang, The Woman in the Window, Troma Entertainment, Lloyd Kaufman, Return to Nuke 'Em High: Vol. 1, Admiral Theater Chicago, Film Strip, burlesque, movies, Video

Blogs, Bleader Dec 1, 2013
Reader's Agenda Sun 12/1: John Waters, Deck the Holodeck, and Pedway

What's on the Reader's Agenda for Sunday, December 1
- By Tal Rosenberg
- Tags: Do This, Arts, John Waters, A John Waters Christmas, Deck the Holodeck: A Celebration of the Best the Worst and the Blorst of Star Trek TNG, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Pedway, Caroline Davis, Matthew Golombisky, Quin Kirchner

Blogs, Bleader Jul 24, 2013
Honey Boo Boo's second season doesn't stink

John Waters and Honey Boo Boo have more in common than you think
- By Gwynedd Stuart
- Tags: Arts, Television, Small Screen, TLC, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, fart, People, Us Weekly, Alana Thompson, John Waters, Polyester, Mama June, Divine, Sugar Bear

Blogs, Bleader Apr 26, 2013
Video
Marking time with Powell and Pressburger, and other highlights from this week's film section

A summary of new releases and major revival screenings for the week of April 26 - May 2.
- By Ben Sachs
- Tags: On Video, Opening, Film, This week's movies, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, J.R. Jones, Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 5 Broken Cameras, La Playa DC, Renoir, Gene Siskel Film Center, Human Rights Watch Film Festival, Chicago Palestinian Film Festival, Lords of Salem, Oblivion, Tom Cruise, Pain & Gain, Michael Bay, Rafea: Solar Mama, The Angels' Share, Ken Loach, Tom Gunning, Ken Jacobs, Chicago Reader, Doc Films, A Nos Amours, Maurice Pialat, Charles Burnett, My Brother's Wedding, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, John Ford, Northwest Chicago Film Society, Portage Theater, Music Box Theatre, Logan Theatre, The Glass Key, Gushing Prayer: A Fifteen-Year-Old Prostitute, Japanese underground cinema, Violeta Went to Heaven, Violeta Parra, Cleo From 5 to 7, Agnes Varda, The Seven Year Itch, Billy Wilder, Palestinian documentary, Desperate Living, John Waters, Mr. Arkadin, Orson Welles, The Godfather, Heart of Glass, Werner Herzog, Film Studies Center, University of Chicago, Blancanieves, Video

Arts & Culture, Performing Arts Feature Dec 19, 2012
People Issue 2012:
Dave Cerda, the performer

"I loved camp before I knew it was camp."
- Tags: Performing Arts Feature, People Issue, People Issue 2012, Dave Cerda, The Performer, Hell In a Handbag Productions, Rudolph the Red-Hosed Reindeer, Poseidon!, Scarrie, Hammond, IN, John Waters, Female Trouble, Pink Flamingos, Parkway Theatre, Kelly Anchors, Sweetback Productions, The Birds, Tippi Hendren, Alfred Hitchcock

Blogs, Bleader Jun 7, 2012
Audio
12 O'Clock Track: ShowYouSuck, "All Rad Everything"

Mea culpa and let's all watch BioDome
- By Miles Raymer
- Tags: 12 O'Clock Track, Music, 12 O'Clock Track, ShowYouSuck, Leor Galil, Chicago, hip-hop, John Waters, Pauly Shore, Audio

Film, Artist on Artist Mar 20, 2012
Artist on Artist: Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields talks to Kelly Hogan

"What defines pop if not that it's concise?"
- Tags: Artist on Artist, Stephin Merritt, the Magnetic Fields, Love at the Bottom of the Sea, Kelly Hogan, Neko Case, Mavis Staples, pop music, tour buses, John Wayne, John Waters, Hootie the Owl, White Castle

Blogs, Bleader Feb 23, 2012
Saying good-bye to George Kuchar

A preview of two upcoming screenings devoted to George Kuchar
- By Ben Sachs
- Tags: Film, George Kuchar, Hot Spell, Weather Diaries, The Devil's Cleavage, John Waters, Conversations at the Edge, School of the Art Institute

Blogs, Bleader Jun 8, 2011
Video
Sebastian Junger, Harry Shearer, John Waters introduce screenings this weekend

This weekend brings three personal appearances by noted directors.
- By J.R. Jones
- Tags: Film, Harry Shearer, New Orleans, The Big Uneasy, Rob Reiner, This Is Spinal Tap, Derek Smalls, Sebastian Junger, Pritzker Military Library, Restrepo, Tim Hetherington, Libya, John Waters, Music Box, The Wizard of Oz, The Film That Changed My Life, Robert K. Elder, Female Trouble, movie directors, movies, Video

Blogs, Bleader Jun 2, 2010
Video
Local Burroughs doc coming to theaters, PBS

Beastie Boy Adam Yauch's Oscilloscope Laboratories will release local filmmaker Yony Leyser's documentary "William S. Burroughs: A Man Within."
- By Ed M. Koziarski
- Tags: LGBT, Lit & Lectures, Film, Music, Books, William Burroughs, William S. Burroughs, Naked Lunch, Junky, Yony Leyser, A Man Within, Allen Ginsberg, Howl, James Franco, Adam Yauch, Beastie Boys, Oscilloscope Laboratories, Queer, Steve Buscemi, Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Sonic Youth, Gus Van Sant, John Waters, James Grauerholz, Lawrence, Kansas, Kansas University, IndieWire, Slamdance, Chicago Movies and Music, Film Festival, CIMMfest, Video

Blogs, Bleader Feb 27, 2010
Video
William S. Burroughs: A Man Within

Yony Leyser's documentary "William S. Burroughs: A Man Within" and Thomas Woschitz's "Universalove" open the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival on Thursday, March 4.
- By Ed M. Koziarski
- Tags: Lit & Lectures, Film, Music, Books, William S. Burroughs, Slamdance, A Man Within, Yony Leyser, CIMMfest, Ilko Davidov, Chicago International Movies & Music Festival, Thomas Woschitz, Universalove, Naked Lunch, Junky, Thee Majesty, Penny Arcade, Andy Warhol, superstar, Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, Patti Smith, John Waters, Iggy Pop, Jello Biafra, Gus Van Sant, Iggy Pop, David Cronenberg, Amiri Baraka, Sonic Youth, Video

1 2 next »

Browse by Issue

Other Searches