Results tagged “portagetheater”

Need more evidence that wintertime in these parts is enough to make Chicagoans feel homicidal? Here you go: our city has two festivals of horror movies occurring more or less simultaneously. Horrorfest III runs at Piper's Alley through Wednesday, and next weekend the Horror Society presents B-Movie Madness at the Portage Theater. The lineup boasts four horror flicks that definitely fall on the wacky, schlocky end of the spectrum.

Borders, 830 N Michigan Ave., 10/27, 7:30 p.m., $7 - $10

Ah, the Coen Brothers. They've given us many memorable tales of kidnapping, murder, and betrayal. But none has grown in cult status quite like The Big Lebowski. Since it's theatrical release (10 years ago yesterday!), and despite its subsequently tepid box office gross, the film has become a huge hit on DVD and has even inspired it's own yearly get-together, known as Lebowski Fest. The Fest gives all the Dude enthusiasts a chance to come together for a screening of the movie, costume contests, White Russians, and, yes, lots and lots of bowling, giving everyone a chance to scream "OVER THE LINE!"

This week looks to finally mark the beginning of winter around here, and while we're not huge fans of bulky sweaters, digging our out cars from under three feet of snow, and the unshakable common cold, we do love the feeling of coming out of the freeze and into our favorite cozy Chicago music venues. Ushering in wool sock weather this week are three very special rock shows:

Since its restoration in 2005 the Portage Theater has become a popular destination for music, movies (it's the home base for the Silent Film Society of Chicago) and live theater. This time of year, Portage Theater management and the folks at the Six Corners Association use the theater to screen some classic scary movies. This year's line-up casts a wide net across silent film, the classic Universal monster movies, modern horror, and a little bit...

Are you going to see Beirut at the Portage Theater tonight? You should be. The former movie house is hosting one of this beloved indie-folk band's few American tour dates, and the combination of 1920s movie palace splendor and whimsical orchestration may be enough to make your heart explode. (Think of that feeling you have when you look at a photo of a puppy and multiply it by 10.) Beirut's newest album, The Flying...

Who knew that U of C's DOC Films has been showing movies for 75 years? (Rhetorical question, as we're sure that many of you already knew that.) Well, they have. In fact they're the longest continuously running student film society in the U.S. As you can imagine, they've collected a lot of cool mementos in that time. Things like letters from Samuel Fuller and Jean Renoir, movie posters autographed by Hitchcock, and old programing calendars. And, yes, Fritz Lang's martini recipe (we're anxious to compare it Buñuel's). They're putting some of the neater stuff on display with a new exhibition which opens today and runs through August 31 at the school's Joseph Regenstein Library, 1110 E. 57th St. There's an opening reception this afternoon from 3:00 to 4:30 in the gallery.

The death of storytelling has been predicted at least since the dawn of the Industrial Age. And in 1936, philosopher Walter Benjamin declared, "the art of storytelling is reaching its end." It's nonsense, of course; even if storytelling itself has taken on some "new" forms, it's still as prevalent as ever, perhaps even more so with the rise of the blogosphere and the millions of people unfurling their own personal narratives.

Have you dreamed of being Danny Zuko or Sandy Olsson ever since you saw the movie musical as a kid? Here's your chance to make your dreams of becoming a Greaser or a Pink Lady come true.