04 Jan 2010

In Glourious Company: Mike Schulz's 10 Most Enjoyable Movies of 2009

By Mike Schulz

Eli Roth and Brad Pitt in Inglourious BasterdsAs one calendar year ends and another begins, it feels like a good time to give thanks. And amidst the lame romantic comedies and thrill-less thrillers and unending stream of remakes, sequels, and - in the case of Rob Zombie's Halloween II - even the remake of a sequel, there was actually quite a lot that I was thankful for in the movie year of 2009.

04 Jan 2010

From the Next-Best to the Worst: 151 Other 2009 Movies

By Mike Schulz

Cloudy with a Chance of MeatballsRunners-Up to the 10 Favorites: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, District 9, Duplicity, The Hangover, The Informant!, 9 - the animated one, Paranormal Activity, The Princess & the Frog, Public Enemies, Star Trek.

Runners-Up to Those Runners-Up: The Cove, An Education, Good Hair, He's Just Not That Into You, Humpday, Julie & Julia, Michael Jackson's This is It, Taking Woodstock, Up, Zombieland.

04 Jan 2010

100 Favorite Movies, 2000-2009: Mike Schulz

By Mike Schulz

After telling friends and family members that, for 2010's first issue of the Reader, I'd be compiling a list of my 100 favorite movies from the last 10 years and ranking them in preferential order, a few of them asked me, "So how do you do that?"

03 Jan 2010

More Like a Six, at Best: "Nine" and "Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel"

By Mike Schulz

Daniel Day-Lewis and Marion Cotillard in NineNINE

Despite its mostly lackluster reviews and rather lame box-office intake, director Rob Marshall's Nine is actually pretty entertaining. But seriously, shouldn't any movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Penélope Cruz, Kate Hudson, and Sophia Loren be considerably better than "pretty entertaining"? (Collectively, these performers have amassed 18 Oscar nominations and eight statuettes, though it's doubtful that Nine will do much to increase those tallies.)

28 Dec 2009

Laid Off, Laid Out, Laid: "Up in the Air," "Sherlock Holmes," and "It's Complicated"

By Mike Schulz

George Clooney and Vera Farmiga in Up in the AirUP IN THE AIR

Heading to Chicagoland on December 23, I spent the whole of my journey driving through a torrential and laughably unseasonable rainstorm, and the trek that normally takes two-and-three-quarter hours wound up taking close to four. Consequently, I missed out on dinner with my folks, arriving in town just in time to meet them for our planned evening screening of the new George Clooney movie.

22 Dec 2009

What's Happenin' on New Year's Eve, 2009

By Mike Schulz

Euforquestra @ The Englert Theatre"Hey there, Jeff! I hope you and yours are enjoying the merriest of holiday seasons!"

"Well, you're certainly in a good mood."

"I am finished, baby! I got everything done that I needed to get done before heading to my folks' house for Christmas! I wrote my year-in-theatre articles, I'm caught up with online calendar listings, I saw Avatar, and I just sent you the What's Happenin' pages. Done!"

"Is it the same What's Happenin' format that we went with last year?

"Yup. We're providing a go-to guide for entertainment options on New Year's Eve, with a listing of area venues that'll be hosting live music, karaoke, or DJs in the hours before midnight. The bands will be listed there as well as in the paper's Live Music section, and we're including the venues' phone numbers and street and Web addresses. You know, for convenience."

21 Dec 2009

Always Be Opening: Area Theatre in 2009

By Mike Schulz

Glengarry Glen Ross' Michael Kennedy, Aaron Randolph III, Daniel DP Sheridan, Tristan Tapscott, Louis Hare, and David FurnessBefore turning my attention to the area-theatre scene, allow me a moment to address another favorite topic: me.

I seem to have caused some confusion after announcing that I'd no longer be reviewing theatre for the Reader, at least based on how many people have approached me asking variations on, "What are you going to do now?!" (Eventually, I had to go back to the Reader's online call-for-entry to make sure I didn't mistakenly announce that I was quitting or got canned.)

21 Dec 2009

Theatre Highs in 2009

By Mike Schulz

Whether you attend stage works sporadically or, like me, you saw 85 shows in the past year, anyone who enjoyed even one will understand that feeling of leaving a venue thinking, "Wow ... that was really good." I experienced that sensation numerous times this year, and while this list is hardly exhaustive, it'll hopefully give you an idea of just what you've been missing if you missed out on 2009's offerings.

21 Dec 2009

The Player Is the Thing: A Dozen Memorable Performances

By Mike Schulz

Narrowing down 2009's sensational stage portrayals into a list of 12 "favorites" is a hopeless task, really, so don't take this as any kind of last word on the subject; you'll find mention of amazing stage work all throughout my year-end coverage. Still, here's hoping you were able to catch at least a few of the following performances, which helped underline just how crazy with theatrical talent our area actually is.

21 Dec 2009

The Essentials 2009: A Dozen Names to Remember ... and a Bunch You Shouldn't Forget

By Mike Schulz

Back in 2006, when I composed my first list of a dozen theatre "Essentials" - theatrical talents whose gifts were employed in a number of area productions - I couldn't have imagined that I'd find a dozen new names to add year after year. Well, as 2009 draws to a close, we can officially add another " ... after year" to that sentence.

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