Effective Mama undone by lazy storytelling
On the basis of a 2 1/2 minute short, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy) decided to produce director Andres Muschietti’s debut feature Mama. Based on the movie of the same name, which can be seen at www.youtube.com/mamathemovie, it’s easy to see why. No doubt, he’s got the chops as he employs effective pacing,…
The new American
With eyes wide open, I traveled to the District of Columbia during inauguration weekend hoping to experience what our country has to offer. I never was patriotic or felt like I could identify with other Americans. So celebrating America was something I was hesitant to be a part of but my thoughts would later change.…
Letters to the Editor 1/31/13
GUN ISSUES I have been listening to respected responsible gun owners in recent weeks. They rightfully express strong opinions in the national debate regarding guns in society. I have no doubt about their sincere desire, with the rest of us, to have our neighborhoods be safer from mass killings. Yet many of the fears they describe…
A more mellow Arnold in Stand
What’s one to make of the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger is the best thing in his comeback film The Last Stand? Well, that the actor has learned a few things while being away for eight years and the movie simply isn’t very good. South Korean director Jee-woon Kim, helming his first stateside feature after making…
Republicans want gay marriage passed
Talk to just about any top Illinois Republican these days off the record, and they’ll freely admit that they want the state bill legalizing gay marriage passed as soon as possible. It’s not that they’re necessarily in favor of gay marriage, mind you. Many of them are publicly and privately opposed. Some of them do…
They saw him standing here
The 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ first visit to America will be commemorated in February 2014. The Liverpool lads, shortly after their single “I Want to Hold Your Hand” reached the top of the Billboard charts in the U.S., arrived on American soil on Feb. 7, 1964, and stayed until Feb. 21, playing such venues…
Inspiring information
Another great lineup and evening is on tap, along with beer, at Capital City Bar and Grill, Feb. 7, for PechaKucha Night. Illinois Times editor and publisher Fletcher Farrar will talk about his award-winning preservationist work, Laura Kay Coffey talks photography, Jan Perone of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum provides funny historic newspaper…
Vroom with a view
I’m a 34-year-old woman, dating a 27-year-old guy for three months. We have a great time together, but he’s balking at making an official commitment, meaning he doesn’t want to call us boyfriend and girlfriend. He says he feels we have long-term potential and doesn’t want to date anyone else, but needs time to be…
globalwarming poem #5
globalwarming poem #5 okay folks we can quit worryingthis human-driven climate change- catastrophic weather is going to be over in about 500 years I heard it from a major scientific mouth saw graphs photos that’s because we’ll have used up all the forests oil coal by then plus the CO2 will have sunk to the…
Braising ’round the world
Americans think of braised dishes – those delectable concoctions of long-simmered ingredients surrounded by, but not submerged in, liquids – as quintessentially American or (primarily Western) European. True, there are many such, from American Southern smothered roasts and chicken fricassees to Irish stews and boeuf bourguignon. But braising techniques are used in recipes worldwide. There…
GREENER PASTURES
Horses have a special place in American lore: Barbaro, Champion, Man o’ War, Seabiscuit, Silver, Secretariat and countless others have captured the nation’s attention and imagination. There’s something noble in their demeanor and intriguing in their power. But it’s still rare that a horse would be so loved by so many people that they practically…
February already
After this odd week of weather contortions, I’m not sure if we are thawing out, warming up or freezing in, but I can assure you, no matter the fluctuating conditions of the climate, there is a steady run of good music in the forecast. To add onto last week’s Marina V update, Nick Baker and…
Trying to enhance the image of lawyers
Having grown up in a family of lawyers, attorney John Thies of Urbana understands the need for respect and integrity in the judicial system. “The approach I learned from my father and grandfather is that judges were always held in the highest regard,” he said. His father, Richard Thies, was a former president of the…
Bluesmen bash
Blues at the Crossroads returns to Sangamon Auditorium, UIS, Feb. 2, to honor two of the greatest musicians in blues music, Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf. Both considered father of modern Chicago blues, the pair, who were also good friends, were key influences in the careers of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, John Mayall and Eric…
Applauding the playwright
Congratulate local award-winning playwright Kari Catton on her recent publishing success at a reception and reading at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. Big Dog Plays and Norman Maine Plays have published three of her works, The Sparkle Miser, The Track Home and Healin’ Home. During the reception, a staged reading of The Track Home: The Musical will be featured…
One hell of an awards show for Springfield hip-hop
Nobody can accuse the crowd at Torch Tuesday of not knowing how to party. Springfield’s most prominent showcase for regional hip-hop talent presented the second annual Torch Tuesday Awards on Jan. 22 at Bar None and it proved to be a marathon event, marked by the undeniable thrill of a creative community coming into its…
Inaugural address: progressive and presidential
Skies were overcast, and the temperature was a chilly 40 degrees in Washington on Monday when President Barack Obama took the oath of office and began his inaugural address. In this year’s address, Obama showed some FDR, jut-jawed, presidential flair. Unabashedly rooting his address in America’s solid progressive values, he issued a call for the…
Deadstring Brothers
Hailing from Detroit, Mich., these guys are more like Motor City alt/country rockers, described by many critics as producing a sound reminiscent of the Exile on Main Street period Rolling Stones. Fronted by guitarist/vocalist and studio wizard Kurt Marschke, the rest of the Brothers include fellow Detroit native and longtime drummer Travis Harrett, and real…
My memories of Musial
Stan Musial, 92, died Jan. 19. I first saw Musial play in person in 1951. I was 9 and he was 30, in his ninth full season with the St. Louis Cardinals. My mom got me interested in baseball and the Cardinals. She was a Musial fan. So was I. He had to be the…
A matter of degree
Baptists have had more success against sin in Illinois than merit-hiring advocates have had against patronage. As I noted the other day, political patronage has been a factor in hiring in State of Illinois agencies since they unloaded the wagons from Vandalia. (“The arts of the patron,” Jan. 3). At hearings of the Illinois Reform…
Still no jackpot
Video gambling was illegal in Springfield when Mayor Mike Houston took office in the spring of 2011 and vowed to fix the city’s crumbling streets, sidewalks and sewers without raising taxes. Video gambling was still illegal when Houston repeated the promise eight months after the election, saying he would deliver a plan in the spring…
Illinois tastings
The public is invited to the Winter Wine Festival at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 1-2. Friday admission includes five tasting tickets to sample Illinois wines, with specially paired culinary delights. Saturday starts with complimentary breakfast, and then proceeds to a wine lover’s workshop from 9 a.m. to noon. Topics include an introduction to…
