Why I Oughta...

I spotted this poster for 'The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out The Window And Disappeared" outside the York Theatre this morning.  This is the September showing of the monthly "Art @ The York" series.   I've covered past screenings on the blog here and here . Here's the synopsis from the York's site . Based on the internationally best-selling novel by Jonas Jonasson, the unlikely story of a 100-year-old man who decides it's not too late to start over. For most people it would be the adventure of a lifetime, but Allan Karlsson's unexpected journey is not his first. For a century he's made the world uncertain, and now he is on the loose again.

Back in June, I posted about the new "Art @ The York" film series at the York Theatre in the Elmhurst City Center .  Their first film was the Bansky movie "Exit through the Gift Shop". Walking by the theatre on my way to the train this am, I noticed they're advertising the next in the film series:  Little England. It is set to show on August 12th at both 1 pm and 7 pm. From the York Theatre's site  comes this synopsis of the movie: One home, one secret, one man, two sisters. The 20 year old Orsa is madly in love with the lieutenant Spyros Maltabes. As a closed character she won't reveal her secret to anyone. Her little sister, Moscha, dynamic and full of dreams wants to leave Andros, to escape the fate of the women of the island that marry sailors that are always away or drown at the sea. For their mother, Mina, wife of a captain who prefers the Atlantic Souf than his home, love means only big trouble and pain. Leaving aside the feelings of her

On my walk to the train this morning, I spotted this poster plastered up on one of windows of a downtown business in Elmhurst advertising a screening of a Banksy film called "Exit through the Gift Shop" at the York Theatre in the Elmhurst City Centre.   On the Classic Cimemas' site, they have a page set up talking about the event .  They're planning a series of these art shows with this first one screening on Wednesday, July 8th at 1 pm and 7 pm. In response to many requests over the years for more art at the York Theatre, we are beginning special screenings on the second Wednesday of every month. Join us at the York Theatre for the Art @ York presentation of Exit Through the Gift Shop shown on Wednesday, July 8th at 1:00 & 7:00 PM. General Admission. Come early for preshow entertainment at 12:30 PM on our baby Barton Theatre organ with Dave Rhodes, Tivoli Theatre house organist.   We need your help to make this successful by emailing, blogging and telling

I couldn't walk by this movie poster at the York Theatre in Downtown Elmhurst fast enough. Nope.  Nope. Nope.

We went to see the new Cinderella movie over the weekend and standing in the lobby was this display for George Clooney's Tomorrowland.  It was practically *begging* to have the Babe go in there for a photo shoot.  There was a preview for Tomorrowland before the Frozen short and it looks pretay, pretay, pretay good.  We'll go see it. To infinity and beyond!  ( Oh wait...that's the wrong picture. )

Last week, we were fortunate to be invited to see a special screening of a movie titled "The Way" in the city at the AMC River East.  The screening was hosted by Home Run Inn Pizza (the #1 frozen pizza in Chicago!) and their marketing team put together a pretty great event.  We were not only treated to a free movie, but also ate tasty pizza! Oh, and did I mention that both Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez showed up at the screening?  And...at our tailgate in South Bend over the weekend?  All thanks to the good folks at Home Run Inn. The movie, directed and adapted by Emilio Estevez and starring his father Martin Sheen was a heartstring-puller.  Focusing on a father/son dynamic set on a pilgrimage on the Camino , the movie is a neat combination of family dynamics and history.  My one quibble with the film is that it is just a bit too sad.  I LOVE going to the movies, but I go for the escape quality that the deliver.  Being a parent - and thinking about my relationship with

They were selling this stuff in an old-time candy shop in South Haven Michigan when we wandered in.  Of course, I couldn't help myself and asked the shop owner if she had a "good" Sarsaparill a?

The new Transformers movie is shooting in Chicago this weekend and it is making big news - as evidenced by this pretty cool photo on the homepage of the Chicago Tribune and the updates streaming in via Twitter . On Thursday, I was walking back from lunch with Matt at Venice Cafe (my favorite place to lunch in the City!), I spotted a bunch of rubble in a vacant lot across from the Billy Goat in the 300 block of West Washington (lot below from Streetview). View Larger Map Back a few years, they used this same lot to stage lots of Batman equipment - including a bunch of trailers.  I was either working at FeedBurner and walking from LaSalle Street Station or at Google and walking from Union Station (when we lived in Naperville) and was always excited to the new items and movement in the lot.  This is what it looks like today:  full of faux rubble. You can see the Ford Explorer crushed under what appears to be concrete.  Maybe the Illinois Film Council is helping secure this lot for

My candy of choice is usually Mike and Ikes.  For gifts, my Mom seems to give them to me all the time.  Nat fills my stocking each Christmas with them, too.  This weekend, on our way to the Drive-in, we picked up some candy and came across these Mike and Ikes:  Italian Ice Flavor. They were pretty good.  The ice part comes in with the after-taste.  It kind of has a tingling sensation as they go down.  I don't think I'll get them again (mostly because they come in a little plastic pouch inside the typical Mike and Ike box), but I'm glad we tried them once.

Back in February, Nat and I went with some friends to a special screening on Back to the Future for the 25th Anniversary celebration in Naperville with a few stars of the movie.  All in all, it was a great night with great company and we even had a chance to spend some time with the original Jennifer Parker (Claudia Wells), Lorraine McFly Lea Thompson), Dr. Emmit Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and Principal Strickland (James Tolkan).  Thompson looked great.  Claudia Wells, on the other hand...well...I'll just say that I like Lea Thompson "better".     The theatre they screened the movie in was called the Hollywood Palms and is one of those places that serve a full menu of food while you watch the movie.  That was pretty nice having waiter service.  The only downside is that I sucked down a few beers and like 4 Diet Cokes so I had to get up anyway to head to the john 3 times! In the lobby of the theatre, they have a bar - which in this situation (we arrived early and had t

A more-full report on the 25th anniversary of Back to the Future in Naperville is forthcoming, but one of the things I learned after listening to the "original" Jennifer (Claudia Wells) was that in BTTF 2, they had to re-shoot the opening scene/closing scene from #1 because the actor playing Jennifer changed (Elisabeth Shue in #2). Some smart person on YouTube has put the scenes together.  Pretty incredible job in re-creating the scene.

25 years?!?  Back to the Future came out 25 years ago?  Apparently so. To celebrate, some high school friends and I are getting together at the  Hollywood Palms Theatre in Naperville  this Saturday to sit down with the original Jennifer Parker (Claudia Wells), Lorraine McFly (Lea Thompson), Dr. Emmit Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and Principal Strickland (James Tolkan). As my friends Matt and Steve pointed out:  There's nothing like a bunch of 30 year old dudes getting geeked up for the original Jennifer - not  Elisabeth Shue from #2 and #2 . Nat is, embarrassingly, a BIGGER BTTF fan than I am, so she's tagging along.  We've bought tickets to the 6 pm show and we'll probably get there early.  Join us, please.  We'll be able to "Save the Clocktower" on the the big screen!  The event's proceeds go to the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

Coloma Michigan, where my family has been going for over 20 years has a lot of natural beauty.  Most of it involves Paw Paw Lake.  My parents bought their place up there in the late fall of 1989 and one of our first trips was in December.  Being a lake-town, the place was quiet and there wasn't a lot to do.   But...like a beacon in the night, the Loma Theatre was open.  The neon sign wasn't working, the marquee was poorly utilized (lots of "5's" for "S's" and such) and the movies were second run at best. I forget which movie we went to (as a family) that night, but I vividly remember walking into one of the 3 cramped theatres and seeing a section of seats roped off with yellow "caution" tape.  About half way through the movie we found out why the tape was there as a portion of the ceiling collapsed in and slammed to the floor.  The place was in rough shape. Since then, I'm not certain what has happened, but the place has been transfo

Each year the Library of Congress preserves films and footage for, I guess 'posterity's sake'. They've been doing it since 1989 and to date have 'saved' 425 films. This years list includes 'Toy Story' and 'Fast Times at Ridgemont High  among others. It's an interesting mix: "Baby Face" (1933) "The Buffalo Creek Flood: An Act of Man" (1975) "The Cameraman" (1928) Commandment Keeper Church, Beaufort, S.C., May 1940 (1940) "Cool Hand Luke" (1967) "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982) "The French Connection" (1971) "Giant" (1956) "H2O" (1929) "Hands Up!" (1926) "Hoop Dreams" (1994) "House of Usher" (1960) "Imitation of Life" (1934) Jeffries-Johnson world championship fight (1910) "The Making of an American" (1920) "Miracle on 34th Street" (1947) "Mom and Dad" (1945) "The Music

Whitney Matheson wonders if serious films will kill Jack Black Will Jack Black's starring, semi-serious stint in King Kong change the comedian forever? Not to worry: This photo from Nacho Libre, director Jared Hess' follow-up to Napoleon Dynamite, shows Black looking ridiculous again, dressed in lace and covered in doves. (Sounds like a Prince video, doesn't it?) In the movie, he plays a wannabe Mexican wrestler. Black is also set to star in the oft-delayed Tenacious D movie, now set for a spring release. I'd link to the trailer, but this is a family-friendly blog ... Here's the pic she was talking about...