Lesson gets lost in muddled “Learning Curve”
By Jae-Ha Kim Chicago Sun-Times October 5, 2001 If you can sit through the end of “The Learning Curve,” you’ll have wasted two hours you are never going to get back. This movie gives the […]
Author: Jae-Ha Kim
SOFA 2001: Celebrating the joy of creativity
More than 1,500 artists from 87 galleries around the world will exhibit pieces made from ceramics, glass, metal, wood and textiles. There’ll also be a book sale, lecture series and nine special exhibits. SOFA Chicago touts wider aisles this year, making it easier for specators to navigate Navy Pier’s Festival Hall and leaves more room for the exhibitors.
Not much to sink your teeth into in ‘Vampire Hunter’
With his waist-length black hair, dark somber eyes and skintight outfit, the star of “Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust” looks more like a beautiful, moody rock star than the half man/half vampire bounty hunter he is. Never mind that he’s a cartoon character.
All the right moves
Are you a good game player? We’re not talking about chess, Monopoly or even basketball here but rather that strange, confusing pas de deux called ”dating.”
The Backstreet Boys at the Tweeter Center
For all the hammering that boy bands get, the Backstreet Boys were the perfect group to see Saturday night. Just a couple weeks after the terrorist attacks on the United States and talks of impending war, it was a relief to lose yourself in a two-hour show where all you had to worry about was not getting hit with a flying stuffed animal. The Backstreet Boys show was all about fun.
Comfort entertainment after the World Trade Center tragedy
Chicagoans want to hear Ray Charles sing “America the Beautiful.” We are reading up on the Middle East. We are renting movies that celebrate the human spirit, but some of us also are checking out “Armageddon” and “Independence Day”–films where the United States reigns victorious. In different ways, we all are sating our psyches with comfort entertainment–in whatever form we need it–to help us deal with last week’s tragedy.
Chicago children react to 9/11
It is noon Friday. Thirty-six little heads are bowed in honor of the victims of Tuesday’s tragedy. Many of them have miniature American flags perched on their desks. These children-many of whom don’t yet like members of the opposite sex in that way-cling onto each other’s hands in solidarity. They are fifth graders at Arthur Dixon Elementary School on the South Side. Bright and articulate, they are acutely aware of this week’s events. They speak as knowledgeably about the terrorists as they do about pint-sized rap star Lil Bow Wow.
Plot hard to bear in gorgeous ‘Panda’
“China: The Panda Adventure” won’t tell you anything about the giant panda that a Discovery Channel special doesn’t do better. But what the IMAX picture can do is present the magnificent beauty of China and its gorgeous giant pandas on a 6-story, 80-foot screen.
From out of ‘Nowhere’
Don’t use the “B” word around Vi3. That’s right, the Chicago-based trio doesn’t like to be lumped with boy bands. But let’s face it–if it looks like a boy band and dances like a boy band, well …
‘Creepers’ nothing to scream about
“You know the part in scary movies where somebody does something really stupid and everybody hates them for it?,” Trish says to her thrill-seeking brother, Darry, in the horror film “Jeepers Creepers.” “Well, this is it.” Right on cue, lil’ bro’ falls down a drainage pipe that leads to a deserted church basement decorated in tacky 1970s gore. There are a few hundred dead (but incredibly well-preserved) bodies here, a sutured stomach or neck part there. Nothing he can’t handle. Yet.
Destiny’s Child
But make no mistake: Though Beyonce Knowles and Kelly Rowland may have started the group, Knowles is the primary destined child. The trio knows it, too. The women recently appeared on the cover of Vibe magazine made up like vintage Supremes. Guess who got to be Diana Ross?
Piloga at the Frog Temple
Across the street from Dunkin’ Donuts and directly behind Popeyes Chicken, students faithfully gather at the Frog Temple to learn piloga from Randi Whitman. Whitman’s slim, toned body indicates that she hasn’t indulged in too many treats from either fast food joint.
Martial arts flair made in Chicago
Crouching tiger, not-so-hidden Madonna. That’s the vibe Madonna wanted for the “Sky Fits Heaven” number of her Drowned World Tour. Never mind she had never taken a kung fu, tae kwon do or karate class.
What’s a girl to do?
Lady Madonna is no stranger to Chicago. She got a good dose of the city when she filmed “A League of Their Own” here in 1991. But when she hits town this time, it’ll be her first concert tour stop as a married mother of two young’uns. Think that’ll cramp her style when she’s here next week for her two sold-out concerts? We doubt it very much.
A student’s dilemma: PC or laptop?
Pencils. Check. Paper. Check. Books. Check. Computer? Wait a minute. A computer is a handy gadget to have around the house for games and bookkeeping, but families increasingly view it as a must-have for school. In fact, computer classes are a part of kindergartner Sean Hlavin’s curriculum, say parents Debbie and Brian.
Can’t-miss meals for the picky lunch bunch – Does your kid scoff at typical lunchroom fare? Win over finicky eaters with entertaining and healthful treats
Let’s face facts. There’s a 50-50 chance that the lunch you pack for your child will actually be consumed by him. She may trade it for a Backstreet Boys poster. Or throw it out and buy a burger instead.
Aw, yuck! Kids grade lunchroom menus
By Jae-Ha KimChicago Sun-TimesAugust 22, 2001 Leave it to kids and they’d likely want cupcakes, milkshakes and pizza for lunch every day. We checked with a few pint-size and teen food critics to see how […]
Don’t buy our albums, stars urge
For years, Christina Aguilera had tried to prevent the release of “Just Be Free,” a collection of recordings Aguilera made when she was 14 and 15 years old. The diva-in-training, now 20, recently settled with Warlock Records on the condition that the album would contain a message that says in part: “I made the recordings as a possible stepping stone to a career in music, which is my ultimate passion. They were made just so that I could get my foot in the door of the music business. I did not intend that the recordings would be widely released, especially after I signed with a major record label.
Director Kevin Smith strikes back
These are fighting times for Kevin Smith, the director and star of “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” First the gay and lesbian anti-defamation organization GLAAD had a bone to pick with him. Then Tim Burton got into the act.
Real World Confidential: Griping, groping on North Avenue
You’ve got to feel a little bad for the Chicago cast of “The Real World.” The seven young ‘uns probably thought they’d get to live rent-free for the summer in a way-cool house in way-cool Wicker Park, hang with a Pumpkin or two and use the MTV soap opera-style documentary to launch their 15 minutes of fame.