Docu-drama: Controversial Cobain film is coming to Chicago
“Kurt and Courtney,” the movie banned from this year’s Sundance Film Festival that became the event’s most talked-about title, is heading to Chicago next month.
Category: Reviews
Steve Poltz at the Uncommon Ground
Sitting on a stool – but looking as if he’d be happier hopping around – Steve Poltz accompanied himself on guitar and played homespun acoustic rock songs from his week-old solo album, “One Left Shoe.” He padded his two-hour set – which is brief by Poltz standards – covering cuts by TLC’s “Waterfalls,” Prince’s “Little Red Corvette” and Jewel’s “You Were Meant for Me.” Poltz, who still is in the Rugburns, included some of his group’s material as well.
“Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia”
Marya Hornbacher learned to hate her body at an early age. She couldnt control her parents fighting or the way her male classmates leered at her maturing figure. But she could control how big her body got by refusing to help it grow. The 23-year-old author writes candidly about her lifelong battle with eating disorders in “Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia,” a fascinating memoir that details one woman’s take on anorexia and bulimia. Her conversational style makes the difficult subject matter easy to digest.
“Chairman of the Board”: Carrot Top movie rates near bottom
As Edison, Carrot Top doesn’t stretch from his prop-heavy stage act. He mugs, pouts and speaks loudly. Luckily for the Top, Jack Plotnick’s annoying portrayal of Zak, Edison’s stereotypically stupid surfer dude roomie, saves him from being the movie’s worst actor.
`Friends’ in need: They’re hits on TV – but mere blips on the big screen
Where have all the “Friends” fans gone? Sure, millions of fans tune in each week to watch the comely sextet sort out their problems in their impossibly spacious Manhattan apartments. But when it comes to the stars’ films, fans seem to prefer staying home sipping cappuccinos.
“Mother and Son” crawl toward grave
By the end of “Mother and Son,” I felt as lethargic as the half-dead mother in the title. Laboriously slow, the 73-minute movie would’ve made an effective, moving 15-minute short. Instead, the film drags on at a snail’s pace, depicting the almost Oedipal relationship between a dying mother and her caretaker son.
“Other Voices, Other Rooms”
What good is imagination, if you dont have the guts to live it? By the end of “Other Voices, Other Rooms” — a moody piece of cinema based on a novel Truman Capote wrote 50 years ago — young Joel has answered his own question.
Eviction notice: Can Amanda sleep with enough guys to save `Melrose’?
The neighborhood is changing for “Melrose Place.” Currently flailing in its sixth season, the frothy series about a group of attractive but none-too-bright tenants who live, sleep and quarrel with each other is in danger of being evicted from the Fox lineup.
African, Hollywood cinema battle in `Plot’
Halfway through the satirical film “Aristotle’s Plot,” the narrator asks, “Why are African filmmakers always asked political questions?”
“Stars on Ice”
It used to be that competitive skaters turned to ice shows after they won their medals and wanted to lay off the training. Not any more. With shows like “Stars on Ice,” which glided into town Saturday night at the Rosemont Horizon, many professional figure skaters are in the same physical condition today as when they trained for the Olympics and the World Championships. The two-hour show included something for everyone. American ice princess Kristi Yamaguchi vamped to Elvis’ “Trouble,” executing flawless jumps, while fellow Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton skated all the roles in a whimsical salute to the “Wizard of Oz.”
Cameraman is in over his head with `Whales’
With narration by Patrick Stewart and a theme score by new age musician Yanni, you’d think that “Whales” would be smooth sailing. But the Omnimax film, which opens today at the Museum of Science and Industry, is a visual drag that lasts for 40 very long minutes.
“La Femme Nikita”
The best reason to subscribe to cable television is “La Femme Nikita.” Well-written, suspenseful and sexy, the superb drama kicks off its second season Sunday on the USA Network with an engrossing episode that reveals a turning point in the title character’s life. Based on the 1991 Luc Besson film of the same name, “La Femme Nikita” focuses on a beautiful, young woman sentenced to prison for a crime she didn’t commit.
Is it `Fame L.A.’ or `Lame L.A.’?
If the tenants at “Melrose Place” decided to become entertainers, their lives would pretty much resemble the ones on “Fame L.A.” Loosely based on the 1980 film “Fame,” this syndicated series revolves around a group of young actors, singers, dancers and comics – all hoping to make names for themselves in Hollywood. The repeat airing Saturday is the second show of the series’ three-part opener, first seen in September.
Matthew Fox: TV drama’s eldest brother battles cancer
There isn’t much that hasn’t happened to the orphaned siblings on “Party of Five.” Death, infidelity, drug abuse, teen pregnancy, mental illness and alcoholism all have been dealt with responsibly on the Fox drama. On tonight’s episode, from 8 to 9 on Channel 32, the family faces another blow when eldest brother Charlie Salinger reveals that he has Hodgkin’s disease.
Deconstructed: Bush
Goldie and Bush’s Gavin Rossdale are an unlikely combination. But the trip-hop God is among a handful of artists who remix the band on Deconstructed. Phillip Steir’s ”Synapse” oozes breathy seduction, while Fabio Paris’ pulsating ”Personal Holloway” induces dancing, rather than moshing. It’s Goldie’s fussy ”Swallowed” that’s a clunker.
A frighteningly good read: Judith Rossner blurs the line between heroine, villain
Novelist Judith Rossner admits that her characters’ antics often get so violent that they frighten her out of her own house. “The violence and the plots I come up with sometimes scare me,” Rossner said.
Rolling Stones at Soldier Field
Dismiss the ruminations about this being the Rolling Stones’ “401K” tour and faggadabout the Geritol jokes. The Stones may be the grandfathers of rock ‘n’ roll, but they also are consumate professionals who can still teach the youngsters a thing or two about how to put on a good stadium show.
“The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down” by Anna Fadiman
With her first book The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Anne Fadiman poignantly documents the head-on culture clash between a family of Hmong refugees from Laos and the American physicians who treat their infant child. Each party wants whats best for the child. But neither is ready to acknowledge that whats foreign to them may be the best treatment for little Lia Lee.
Oasis made headlines this week
You’d think that having just released the fastest-selling album in British history might have mellowed Oasis’ infamously prickly leader, guitarist Noel Gallagher, just a little. But even though Be Here Now is setting records and debuted in the U.S. last week at No. 2, the elder Gallagher (brother Liam is the band’s lead singer) is as irascible as ever.
“Rats in the Ranks”: Australian town throws its `Rats’ in ring for documentary
Shot over a nine-month period in Leichhardt, Australia, the documentary “Rats in the Rank” follows the absurd antics of 12 council members maneuvering to get their mayoral candidates elected to office.