Arts

Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is like rediscovering a mix CD from an old boyfriend or girlfriend in the back of your closet-sweet, sentimental and somehow brimming with the possibilities of love, unhampered as yet …

Over the next couple of days, author Elizabeth Royte will be taking Champaign-Urbana by storm, speaking about and signing copies of her 2005 book, Garbage Land: On the Secret Trail of Trash on two different …

The special features section of popular DVDs has become a place for a film’s creators to advance an argument for the quality of their film. The behind-the-scenes features and exclusive interviews are little more than …

The first time I walked into the Lorraine Theatre in Hoopeston, I was impressed by the huge building, the old marquee, the façade on the outside of the building…and then I walked into one of …

Once in a while, a book comes along that makes a real impression that lasts long after you put it down. Steal Stuff From Work, new from Jasper Pierce on Spineless Books, is a great …

Whether you’ve seen none or a hundred westerns, chances are the conventions of the genre are rattling around somewhere in your consciousness. Images of dusty cow-towns, duels at high noon on Main Street and marauding, …

1-thumb-400×222.jpg” width=”400” height=”222” alt=”RichardTheVisitor.jpg” class=”mt-image-left” style=”margin: 0 20px 20px 0;” /> Editor’s note: Chuck Koplinski wrote a review for The Visitor on May 30 and the link is embedded in the film’s title below. Area …

A misunderstood and misdirected sex satire; Choke is as unfunny as an STD. You may think differently if you’re one of those sex addicts who gets satisfaction in seeing flashes of 60+ year old women …

There was once a video game known as Captain America and the Avengers for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Game Systems. Playing the game as a child, I always chose the stalwart Avenger Iron …

1-thumb-400×200.jpg” width=”400” height=”200” alt=”enter-movie-ghosttown-2-mct1.jpg” class=”mt-image-left” style=”margin: 0 20px 20px 0;” /> The riskiest move where films are concerned these days is to attempt to make a movie that relies on charm or romantic ideals. Swing …

Have you ever been to a party and hovered awkwardly around a group of the party-goers, trying to engage in the conversation but feeling completely left behind, without anything resembling a frame of reference by …

Abortion has once again become a hot topic, with the upcoming election possibly changing decades of social policy on the issue. As such, the Independent Media Center is providing more fuel to the fire by …

It has often occurred to me that there existed a time as recently as my early adolescence when television shows were not regularly released in DVD box sets. I wonder how people survived in the …

Half the suspense of a Coen brothers film comes from the fact that these directors cannot be trusted in keeping their characters safe. Preparing to engage oneself in a romp with the Coens should be …

On Saturday night, The Highdive hosted two excellent Chicago bands: Pinebender and Dianogah. Both have been making music for over decade and this weekend’s show highlighted this fact — each band put on an excellent …

In a 2004 article, David Foster Wallace wrote, “Still, after all the intellection, there remain the facts of the frantically clanking lid, the pathetic clinging to the edge of the pot.” The sentence comes toward …

Some movies come from out of nowhere to surprise and delight you, as well as re-instill a degree of hope for the medium as well. Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges did that for me when I …

Bigger releases (i.e. films that you remember being in the theaters) this week include Tina Fey’s venture into movie stardom, Baby Mama, and Jackie Chan and Jet Li’s collaboration The Forbidden Kingdom. The consistently disappointing …

One of my favorite fiction writers, Haruki Murakami, recently released a memoir discussing his life in distance running called What I Talk About When I Talk About Running (Alfred A. Knopf, 175 pp., $21). Murakami …

Since 1998, the American Film Institute has been issuing lists touting a wide variety of “great” features present in homegrown movies. Not content to rest on its laurels with its 100 best American movies, the …

INT. BARCELONA RESTAURANT – NIGHT NARRATOR: Vicky sat with Cristina and Juan in a romantic Spanish restaurant drinking red wine. Juan had randomly approached and convinced both Vicky and Cristina to travel with him to …

Hamlet 2, director Andrew Fleming’s hilariously quirky and unpredictable film stars Steve Coogan as Dana Marschz — a failed actor who decides to try his luck as a high school drama teacher, “where dreams go …

All of my classes are on the south side of campus and it’s hard not to notice the gigantic concrete structure on the South Quad. Don’t be mistaken. It’s not an advertisement for vodka. It’s …

Steve Coogan’s road to fame in Hollywood has been a rocky one. But one gets the impression that such a thing doesn’t matter to him, having established himself already as one of the premiere British …

In autumn, Tuesdays are exciting as summer blockbusters, Cannes and Sundance films, and straight-to-video horror titles all find their way to DVD. But autumn is still a few weeks away and some weeks, like this …

1-thumb-200×296.jpg” width=”200” height=”296” alt=”manonwire_galleryposter1.jpg” class=”mt-image-right” style=”float: right; margin: 0 0 20px 20px;” /> There is much more than meets the eye in James Marsh’s thrilling new documentary, Man on Wire. On the surface, the film …

An interesting thing I noticed while going through this week’s DVD releases: although this last TV season was shortened by the writer’s strike, television on DVD is as expensive as it ever was. Thus you …

1-thumb-400×274.jpg” width=”400” height=”274” alt=”The Rocker.jpg” class=”mt-image-left” style=”margin: 0 20px 20px 0;” /> August has been described as wearing a “golden crown,” has been said to “rush by like desert rainfall” and “create as she slumbers.” …

Seatbelts securely fastened. Tray tables in their upright positions. Yet the turbulence of Tropic Thunder doesn’t phase. Thunder is the most refreshing, brave and entertaining comedy of the year, and it didn’t come from an …

It has been said that in politics, we get the candidates we deserve. The same could be said for movies. Nothing dictates more what you see at the multiplex than what has been successful at …

This weekend I took a trip out to the Octave Chanute Air Museum in Rantoul, Ill. The museum contains a number of extensive indoor exhibits showcasing the history of the Chanute Air Base from when …

With so much art lining the streets of downtown Champaign this Saturday for the annual Downtown Festival of the Arts, it will be easy to miss some creations, but Cindy Sampson’s art will probably grab …

SL500_AA240-thumb-200×200.jpg” width=”200” height=”200” alt=”51UIypDfIqL.SL500_AA240.jpg” class=”mt-image-right” style=”float: right; margin: 0 0 20px 20px;” /> August is looking to be as bleak a month for new DVDs as it traditionally is for theatrical releases. This coming week’s …

Tomorrow night, Illini Union Board hauls their big screen out to the Quad for the last time this summer to present the Marvel super hero flick, Iron Man. The movie explodes at 9 p.m., and …

1-thumb-400×265.jpg” width=”400” height=”265” alt=”x-files-2_21.jpg” class=”mt-image-left” style=”margin: 0 20px 20px 0;” /> It comes as no surprise that the latest, and probably final, chapter of the X-Files saga is failing at the box office. Not only …

Critically and commercially, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is turning out to be the biggest hit of the year, maybe of all time. Both the amount of box office records it has broken and its …

It’s no secret that Urbana Free Library has a great collection of films on their shelves for borrowing. But, tonight, — and this might be lesser known — the library is pulling out their projector …

Cynthia Oliver’s proverbial plate is piled high. In no particular order, she’s a mother, professor, poet (with her body and on paper), dancer, an artist, choreographer…the list seems endless and demanding — yet she always …

The Dark Knight descended on the box office this past weekend breaking records by amassing more than $155 million and doing more than its fair share to reinvigorate a decidedly mediocre offering of summer movies. …

Watching Wanted a few weeks ago, I was amused and surprised to see a bar I have passed every day on the train during my summer in Chicago featured prominently. I chuckled aloud in the …

The history of female comedic duos is a mighty short list: Ethel and Lucy, Laverne and Shirley, and now, one for the 21st century, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Reared in the school of belly …

Jason Patterson’s at it again — showing his artwork in local coffee shops. This time around, his pieces of art deck the walls at Cafe Kopi in downtown Champaign with new ones added into the …

If you didn’t read Where the Wild Things Are as a kid, then you are probably either a.) too cool to read, or b.) illiterate. Next you’ll tell me that you missed out on Dr. …

What is art? It’s a seemingly innocent question that doesn’t offer an immediate response. While few could debate the pastel enchantment of a Monet, the brooding introspection of a Hopper, or even the cultural relevance …

Elise McAuley can be found dancing her little heart out in the ballet (she’s been at it for 17 years), behind the camera or occasionally photo blogging on Things and Stuff. Write her an e-mail …

When I was 18, I brought my first real boyfriend home from Champaign for Easter weekend. I was thrilled — my parents a little less so. After I had gotten “D” settled on our pull-out …

There is more than meets the eye lurking in the back alleys of downtown Champaign. A life drawing class at the Boneyard Pottery was started years ago by Bill Baher. After Baher’s passing, Ron Karlstrom, …

Through the end of July, the Orpheum Children’s Science Museum will proudly host their first, but not last, art show. Local students have created the artwork on display and their collection represents one of the …