Results tagged “musicbox”

Chicago Public Radio's Sound Opinions continues its occasional film series with a screening of the "rock opera" Jesus Christ Superstar at the Music Box on December 3. Hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot will be on hand to introduce the movie. Advance tickets are $9.

CIFF is over but a rich cinematic harvest has only just begun. Feast your eyes:

Don't kid yourself. Anyone who says summer is the best time of year in Chicago is a rotten liar. Autumn is matchless. Especially if you're a movie watcher. From now through Thanksgiving (when Hollywood's Holiday/Oscar assault begins in earnest) an embarrassment of cinematic variety is yours for the taking. Your stamina and your wallet's size are your only limitations.

We've mentioned the upcoming film adaptation of the famous childrens book Where The Wild Things Are before. Maybe it's because we're a little skeptical of how writer Dave Eggers and director Spike Jonze will transform a 40-something page book (that's not a whole lot of substance, though we love it dearly) into a 90-plus minute movie. Or maybe it's because we do love the book so much and we're also fans of both Eggers and Jonze and are anxious to see if they worked their magic on this.

Sure, you can watch Quentin Tarantino walk the red carpet at River East, but there are two other upcoming events that even cooler.

Every man, woman and child in the Chicago-area will probably either go see Public Enemies (and watch for our review tomorrow) or Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen at the movies this weekend, but there are a ton of cinematic alternatives available. Because, you know, there's more to America than murderous gangsters and robots. Such as:

Picture Showgirls as a chamber piece, looking like it cost about $14.99 to produce and starring a lumpy clone of Fabio. That's a close approximation of The Room. And it's coming to the Music Box this weekend.

Spring is here. So no more excuses! Movies a-plenty out there, so get off the sofa and go watch some.

Lest you think we're exclusively fixated on the Siskel these days, here's what's going on at our favorite Roman villa-themed movie theater:

• Tomorrow the Music Box begins a week-long run of the 2009 Oscar-nominated short films, with one program for Live Action and another for Animation. It's a great smorgasbord including films from all over the world. If you can't make it to the Music Box, you'll be able to watch them at home: the nominated short films will be released on iTunes on February 17. Just keep in mind what David Lynch says about that.
• Speaking of digital cinema, one of the films we loved the most at last year's CIFF gets a non-traditional release in a few weeks. Must Read After My Death, the fascinating and disturbing documentary fashioned by Morgan Dews from materials left behind by his family, opens theatrically in New York and LA on February 20 but will also be viewable in ultrahigh quality online. Via Gigantic Digital, a $2.99 "ticket" will give a viewer unlimited access. As a result of their outreach, Time Out Chicago will actually change the way they cover films. Hank Sartin explains: "After an extended discussion, we're going to run a review both online and in print. In print, we're going to include a newly designed logo indicating that this film is not in theaters but is online. We're going to take this case-by-case, but try to cover films getting non-traditional release whenever we can, online if not always in print."
• Also on February 20, the Alliance Française of Chicago presents an evening of Europe's best short films of 2008. More than 2,000 international cinema professionals voted for the winners, in a format inspired by the Césars. The lineup is a surprise, but expect some solid work that you're unlikely to see anywhere else. Tickets are $12 for members, $15 for non-members; more info here.

• Steven Soderbergh's new film Che rolls into town tomorrow with an exclusive engagement at the Landmark Century. Starring Benicio Del Toro as the revolutionary leader, it was shot digitally by Soderbergh himself, under his usual pseudonym Peter Andrews. The "roadshow" version of the film, 263 minutes long plus an intermission, will screen twice daily (1:30pm and 7:15pm). Epic! So is the film "an immersion in the frontline existence of its subject's life" or "utterly lazy"? Check back here on Monday, when I'll be duking it out with fellow Chicagoist Samantha Abernethy in a point/counterpoint post.
• If epic Westerns are more your thing (or if you want a fresh look at someone Tarantino's been ripping off all these years) then you won't want to miss the Music Box's week-long Sergio Leone series. Once Upon A Time in the West, which has one of the all-time coolest opening sequences in movie history, will be shown in a restored 35mm print. Also featured is the Clint Eastwood "Man With No Name" Trilogy: A Fistful of Dollars; For a Few Dollars More; and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. These movies were all specifically designed for widescreen and sport chill-inducing Ennio Morricone soundtracks. Solid.
• Bank of America Cinema and its programmer Mike Phillips launched its new season earlier this month, an ambitious and playful series titled "Hollywood A-Z." The first title was The Awful Truth, which was followed by The Black Book. Get the idea? This Saturday's feature is the rarely-seen comedic drama Claudia from 1943, starring Dorothy McGuire. The epic series will conclude with the June 27th screening of Zoo in Budapest. Bank of America Cinema is at 4901 W. Irving Park Rd.; screenings are every Saturday at 8pm.

First, a few words from George Bailey on our current economic crisis:

Music Box, 3733 N Southport, November 28 and November 29 at midnight, $10, available for advance purchase online or at the theater box office.

Halloween is over. Tuesday night was certainly the complete opposite of scary. But if you're still in the mood for something ghoulish White Light Cinema has got your back. This Sunday at the Music Box they're presenting a special screening of the incredibly rare meta-vampire flick Vampir-Cuadecuc. Not available on DVD, this 1970 film was directed by Spanish filmmaker Pere Portabella and stars Christopher Lee -- playing Christopher Lee playing a vampire. Sort of. It's a documentary but it isn't, and it's also creepy.

Acclaimed animator and Animation Show co-creator Don Hertzfeldt is hitting Chicago's Music Box this Friday on a current tour billed as An Evening With Don Hertzfeldt. The event will showcase some of Don's classic animations, such as Billy's Balloon and Lily and Jim, and culminate in a screening of his newest animation, I Am So Proud Of You, the follow-up to his highly-praised Everything Will Be Ok. Hertzfeldt will then be on-hand for a post-screening interview. As we await Don's arrival, we'd like to look back at his hilarious short film Rejected, which happened to garner an Academy Award nomination (2001, Best Animated Short Film). It's nothing short of brilliant and is a perfect reflection of Hertzfeldt's bizarre genius.

Happy First Day of Autumn! Fall makes us think of many things, with the most predominant being Halloween. We get easily excited about seasonal themes and events, so we made this list as much for our benefit as for yours, dear Readers. We might actually go to … all of these.

Thanks to the Sun-Times for putting together this great list of ways to save on tickets to local live theater. Harris Theater’s price reduction on tickets for the upcoming ballet is mentioned, as well as the fairly well-known daily drawing for front row seats at Wicked (we won once!) but otherwise it’s a pretty thorough list – recommending both general and theater-specific tactics to help you save money.

What more can we add to what's already been said about Showgirls, except that it meticulously catalogs every single reason why this country is so fucked up? John Waters has described it as "funny, stupid, dirty and filled with cinematic cliché; in other words, perfect … it will be great trash forever" while acclaimed filmmaker Jacques Rivette calls it "one of the great American films of the last few years ... Like every Verhoeven film, it's very unpleasant: it's about surviving in a world populated by assholes, and that's his philosophy."

Frankly we don't know anyone who saw Speed Racer, the Wachowski Brothers' computer candy summer flick. Did anyone? The would-be Tron for a new generation has been a big hurt for the filmmakers behind The Matrix: according to boxofficemojo the movie has grossed only $43 million to date despite a production budget of $120 million.

If you're looking for some breezy fun on a big-ass screen, you could do a lot worse than Kung Fu Panda, which opens tomorrow at Navy Pier's IMAX.

Since retiring from the Reader earlier this year, Jonathan Rosenbaum has been as busy as ever. He's finishing up his film lecture series at the Siskel, which includes the upcoming screenings of Play Time, his all-time favorite movie. (For a great list, check out his Alternate Top 100 Films/Movies). And his website is now up and running. It's bulging with content dating back to 1987 and also features a Publications and Events section.

"No wire hangers! Ever!"

Happy Valentine's Day, Barack!

Pack an umbrella, bring your galoshes, and dress in layers. It's been that kind of week. Here are some events to brave any extreme in weather.

Here are some things going around town to make you consider giving the weather a big ol' raspberry.

Earlier we told you about Bob Hercules'a documentary Senator Obama Goes to Africa, which had been scheduled to show at the Siskel but was canceled earlier this month. We've just received word that a new venue has been found. The Music Box will host two screenings; first on Wednesday, January 30 at 7:30 pm and again on Saturday, February 2 at 2:00 pm. Co-Producer and D.P. Keith Walker, editor Melissa Sterne and Hercules all be there to answer questions after both screenings.

For a sizable chunk of the US population, Christmas is a time for... wondering when it's going to be the 26th. Jews have the stereotypical routine of Chinese food and a movie (Chicagoist has deemed Charlie Wilson's War the family-friendly-but-still-interesting-enough-not-to-bore-dad-who-likes-foreign-films movie of the season), but what to do for the rest of the day?

We’re dusting off our roller skates and sprinkling some glitter on them. We’re going to a place where nobody dared to go. The love. The echos of long ago. You need the world to know They are in Xanadu. Tonight, one night only, it’s Sing-along Xanadu at the Music Box Theatre for the midnight movie. Start warming up your vocal cords while practicing backwards, forward, and couples.

Shake off the turkey coma from yesterday, and ignore the desire to shop today; instead, save that agitated energy and the desire to be ridiculous for tonight, and the greatest thing ever: Sing Along Grease! Maah! Amazing. The Music Box hosts sing-along versions of lots of movies, but Grease is a way better karaoke movie than, say, Wizard of Oz. The songs are easier--and there aren't any hidden numbers that no one ever remembers (like...