“Arabian Knight” No Adventure
“Arabian Knight” is no worse than your standard Saturday-morning cartoon fare. Unfortunately, it’s also no better.
Good and Evil Clash In `Mortal Kombat,’ which topped weekend movie sales with $23 million
The producers of “Mortal Kombat” know that the strength of their movie is based on the actors’ abilities to execute awesome roundhouse kicks, not soliloquies. So it’s not surprising that the sci-fi action-adventure, which opened Friday and totaled $23 million nationwide over the weekend, is heavy on fight scenes, low on plot.
Sublime to Ridiculous // Band Can’t Shake Controversy Over `Date Rape’
It took a three-year-old song with a questionable title to win Sublime both notoriety and heavy rotation on radio stations across the country. A more appropriate title for the Orange County, Calif., trio’s hit single “Date Rape” actually would be “Anti Date Rape,” since the rapist ends up in prison – where he becomes a victim of rape himself.
Superman, After Hours : Dean Cain Tells Celeb Hobbies
People who question whether the Man of Steel is invincible have to check out “Off Camera With Dean Cain” at 7 tonight; on WLS-Channel 7. It’s not kryptonite that foils Cain – the man in tights on ABC’s “Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman,” which airs at 7 p.m. Sundays on WLS-Channel 7 – but rather a quick soccer shootout with Andrew Shue. That’s right – the milquetoast Billy on “Melrose Place.” “Soccer is not my forte,” said Cain, laughing. “Even if it was, Andrew still probably would’ve kicked my butt.”
`Orchid’ in Bloom // Brigid Murphy Puts Illness in the Past
After a two-year battle with lymphoma – a cancer of the lymph glands – Chicago-based performance artist Brigid Murphy is enjoying her recovery. In a big way. To celebrate her health and to thank her friends and fans for their support, Murphy is bringing back her vaudevillian “Milly’s Orchid Show,” which she has staged since 1987.
`Ex’ Marks Spot For Revenge, Fun
There’s a new improv play in town called “Sue Your Ex” that just might be the cure if you’ve been dumped and want revenge. There are lots of things we can do to make ourselves feel better after a relationship sours. But remember – stalking’s illegal. “Sue Your Ex” provides an alternative. There’s nothing quite like having the support of a rapt audience as your love life is played out before you by an ensemble cast.
`Paradise’ Found: We Track Ashley Judd Down in the ‘Burbs
Ashley Judd is talking to her mother, Naomi (yes, that Naomi), on the phone when a reporter arrives for an interview at her Schiller Park hotel suite. Suffering from a sinus infection that she hasn’t been able to shake for the past week, Judd apologizes for her appearance.
From Food to Decor, It’s All in Good Taste
I had passed by Pasta Cucina many times on my way to the Three Penny Theatre. But because I was always late, I never stepped in until a friend told me that the food there was out of this world.
Coming Out Party — Mayer Makes Directorial Debut With Story of a Club Hopper
In “Party Girl,” director Daisy von Scherler Mayer introduces viewers to Mary – a gorgeous club kid who gets the designer clothes she wants, but can’t afford, by stealing them from her friends’ closets. It quickly becomes apparent that besides throwing bitchin’ “rent” parties to fund her hedonistic lifestyle, Mary has no other visible
means of income.
Carl Reiner’s Return: Comedian Revisits a Favorite Character
In 1958, comedian Carl Reiner wrote his first novel, Enter Laughing. Now, thirty-seven years later, the sequel Continue Laughing (Birch Lane Press, $19.95) arrives. That’s quite a gap, but Reiner hasn’t exactly been lying low in the intervening years.
Gin Blossoms Familiar
It’s difficult to believe it has been three years since the Gin Blossoms released their breakthrough album “New Miserable Experience” – until you attend their concert and realize you know just about every song. Nonetheless, the familiarity of the Blossoms’ music did nothing to detract from the enjoyment of their well-crafted pop-rock songs when the musicians headlined Sunday at the Taste of Chicago.
Alanis Morissette: The Bizarre Bittersweet, Brooding Bubblegum of Summer ’95: Dark Themes Cloud Pop Music
Now is the summer of our discontent. That’s the only possible conclusion you can draw if you’ve been anywhere near a radio lately. Summer used to be the season of catchy, bouncy, bubblegum music. Not this year. The airwaves of summer ’95 – suddenly, inexplicably – are clogged with hummable odes to depression, confusion, weird characters and questionable behavior.
Sung Hee Cho’s Vision: Where East Meets West
South Korean artist Sung Hee Cho got her first taste of art when she was 6. Her father bought her water-based paints and taught her to draw Asian characters on delicate rice paper. By junior high school, Cho decided her preference leaned more toward Western art and set her sights on America. Cho didn’t immigrate into the United States right away. She earned a master’s degree in fine arts from the prestigious Ewha Women’s University before relocating to America 16 years ago.
Novel Cure: Anchee Min Writes to Ease Old Pain
When Anchee Min wanted to attend the School of the Art Institute in 1984, a friend who knew English filled out her application forms, marking off “excellent” under the category for “English language skills.” When Min arrived in Chicago to begin classes, it quickly became apparent to the school’s administrators that she spoke virtually no English. She was told to come back when she had learned enough to understand classes. Six months later, Min was a student there.
Rolling With It: Midori Follows Clientele to the Suburbs
If you live in the suburbs, you know how difficult it can be to find good ethnic food without driving to Chicago. That was a complaint Bonnie Ma heard many times from friends and customers. So when the restaurateur decided to open another Midori – which specializes in Japanese cuisine – she selected northwest suburban Mount Prospect as her site.
`Fluke’ Won’t Win Best of Show, But It’s Fun to Watch
“Fluke” gives new meaning to the phrase “men are dogs.” In this new adventure film, Fluke is the canine reincarnation of a man who died in a freak auto accident. Thomas Johnson (Matthew Modine) and Jeff Newman (Eric Stoltz) are best friends and business partners. After a fight, Johnson gets into a fatal car crash.
Pooch Progress: TV’s Comet Finally Hits Big Screen
So Robert De Niro and Marisa Tomei gained weight for their movie roles. Big deal. Comet – no last name, please – easily can one-up them. The 9-year-old had his luxurious blond mane snipped and dyed murky brown, perfected a limp and convinced the casting director that he could play a 1-year-old in the new comedy “Fluke.” Oh, did we mention that Comet is a dog?
Music, Dancing Best Bets in ‘Song of Singapore’
If you like actors mingling in the audience and cajoling you to dance with them, then “Song of Singapore” is just the play for you. But if you prefer that actors remain on stage and don’t touch the ticket holders, you’ll want to skip the latest interactive play to hit Chicago. “Song of Singapore” – which opened Monday night at the Pipers Alley Entertainment Complex – isn’t nearly as obnoxious as the preternaturally successful “Tony ‘n’ Tina’s Wedding,” which still is running at Pipers Alley in a theater next door.
Japanese-American Filmmaker Kayo Hatta Seeks Universal Truths
At the beginning of “Picture Bride,” a 16-year-old girl living in Tokyo is shown a picture of a handsome Japanese man who has immigrated to Hawaii. Along with the photograph, he has sent a beautiful, poetic letter that doesn’t win her heart so much as it promises her a better life than what she has now. She sends back her picture, and the two agree to marry.
Locals Make Flicks With Few Bucks: `Chain’ a Career Link For Young Filmmaker
Illinois filmmaker Robert Hicks has a resume that reads like a movie script. The 24-year-old writer and director of “The Glass Chain” (now playing at the Elgin Fox Theatres in Elgin) got his show business start as a soprano in a Chicago Symphony Orchestra chorus when he was 10. By the time his voice changed in 1984, he had sung solos on three Grammy-winning albums.