Sicario Barely Survives Flawed Third Act
Adept at creating a sense of oppressive dread and fascinated with characters forced to compromise their morality, director Denis Villeneuve isn’t one to shy away from films that deal with issues of ambiguity and hypocrisy where human behavior is concerned. Having made a name for himself with Incendies (2010), a familial mystery set in the…
“Martian” a Predictable but Entertaining Adventure
The buzz surrounding Ridley Scott’s The Martian is the sort one associates with Oscar-winning productions and films ultimately referred to as “classics.” As I’ve often told my son, saying something often enough doesn’t necessarily make it so. Obviously, 20th Century-Fox would have us think this film is one for the ages but in reality it…
This Saturday: The Pharmacy presents Pharm Aid
Art by Delinda Chapman The artists of The Pharmacy Gallery & Art Space will be hosting Pharm Aid this Saturday, October 3, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.. It is the nonprofit group’s second annual fundraising event with all proceeds benefiting The Pharmacy, which is in the process of applying for 501c3 status. Art by Bernie…
Give me your energetic, your trained . . . .
A new report from the Pew Research Center provides confirmation that immigration in the U.S. is not quite as simple as some political candidates would have voters believe. Among their findings: There are two great immigrant streams — the largely unskilled or underskilled that so obsesses Republican candidates like Donald Trump, and the educated professional…
The American way
More afterthoughts inspired by my Sept. 24 column on immigration, “Trumped-up charges:” One way to get rid of foreigners in our midst is to help them become Americans. Broadly speaking, that was the policy that made great the America that Trump wants to restore. Yet Illinois’ newest Congressman, Darin LaHood, voted against measures to allow undocumented…
“Scorch Trials” a Long, Slow Trek
Though dystopia fatigue may have had something to do with it, I couldn’t help but come away from The Scorch Trials, the adaptation of the second novel in the Maze Runner series, feeling weary. Sure, I knew that a sense of “Been-There, Done-That” would hang over it what with The Hunger Games and Divergent already…
Format Smothers Emotion in Cold “Everest”
Perhaps the most surprising thing about Baltasar Kormakur’s Everest is that I watched it with a sense of fascination rather than emotional engagement. This account of an ill-fated expedition in 1996 to climb the world’s highest peak isn’t short on drama and the stakes couldn’t be higher as every character contends with life-and-death situations throughout. …
Trumped-up charges
Photo by Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS Brother Trump is the savior come to rescue America, in the opinion of a majority of self-identified Republicans. On the stump he works crowds into a fever with his perorations against immigrants (how he spells “Mexicans”) who are surging across our borders without papers or prospects, taking “our” jobs…
Walker gives corporations the gold mine
Jim Hightower PHOTO BY LARRY D. MOORE Meet Scott Walker, corporate whore and lousy gambler (with taxpayer money, of course). The Wisconsin governor says he should be America’s next president because he’s a proven budget whacker who, by golly, has dressed down teachers, slashed funding for higher education, busted unions and gone after welfare recipients.…
The Museum Museum, 2515
PHOTO BY PATRICK YEAGLE Eleven thousand years ago no human beings yet lived in the central Illinois river valley. The climate was cool and glaciers from the last great ice age still covered parts of the land to the north and the east. When the first people arrived, they hunted the long-extinct elk, white-tailed deer,…
Letters to the Editor 9/24/15
PHOTO BY DAVID HINE NECCESSARY NEGOTIATIONS Since Abraham Lincoln’s time, Springfield residents have relied on local newspapers to provide information and insight about local and state matters. Because Springfield is home to state officeholders and their staffs, these newspapers had substantial influence on the debate of issues affecting all Illinoisans. The State Journal-Register (SJ-R) is…
Editor’s note 9/24/15
Three Springfield-area legislators told their audience at the Better Government Association “Idea Forum” at the Sangamo Club Tuesday they are as frustrated as anyone over the budget impasse. “It’s ridiculous that the leadership and the governor haven’t met since May,” said Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill. “We need to be here,” said Rep. Avery Bourne,…
My youth in a cocoon
In 1952, when I was entering second grade, my mother and I moved from my grandparents’ house to an old Victorian house on the corner of Douglas and Governor. Like many families in those days, we shared the house with several generations. In our case with mother’s cousin, Ruth Butler, Ruth’s two children and her…
Awareness for homeless pets
This Thursday, bring your leashed pet(s) to Southwind Park and join the Animal Protective League, along with animal welfare organizations around the world, for a Remember Me Thursday pet walk and candle lighting ceremony. Candles will be lit globally at the same time to honor the millions of pets that have lost their lives without…
Obliterating musical categorization
Music lovers will not want to miss this one-of-a-kind concert that brings two legendary musicians side by side in a stellar live performance combining blues and classical music. Join “harmonica playing mad scientist” Corky Siegel, who in 1966 guided the bluesy sounds of Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters from Big John’s Club, located on Chicago’s…
A Route 66 tradition
More than 80,000 spectators and 1,000 cool cars are expected to descend on downtown Springfield this weekend for the 14th annual Route 66 Mother Road Festival. The festival opens on Friday night with the annual Route 66 City Nights Cruise for Crimestoppers, beginning at Capital City Bar and Grill and ending downtown on historic Route…
Do I look infatuated in this?
Is there anything inherently bad about getting into a serious relationship quickly? I met this guy about a month ago. We hit it off instantly, became boyfriend and girlfriend two weeks later, and have been dropping I-love-yous. It all feels pretty great; I don’t have a history of poor relationship judgment; and I wasn’t desperate…
State prison reform plan held captive
This article is the product of a collaboration between Illinois Times and the Better Government Association. The BGA is an independent, nonpartisan and nonprofit government watchdog that specializes in investigative reporting with media partners througho Illinois’ devastated finances and well-known government dysfunction is claiming another victim – the legally mandated launch of a promising prison…
When Springfield took in Portuguese refugees
Exiled from their homeland, many Portuguese refugees made new lives for themselves in central Illinois between 1849 and 1852. “What are six hundred human beings worth? How much ought we expend to give so many wandering exiles a home and shelter from persecution?” The year was 1849, and the question was being asked in the…
One in five Illinois children live in poverty
Children take part in the federally funded summer meal program at a school in Washington, D.C. Photo by Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCT One in five Illinois children live in poverty, according to data released last week by the U.S. Census Bureau. The new numbers show both good and bad trends for Illinois, such as a decrease…
Pollution accord reached
Attorney General Lisa Madigan Attorney General Lisa Madigan has settled a pollution lawsuit against a Carlinville coal mine operator for nearly $300,000. Under terms of the settlement, Macoupin Energy, a subsidiary of Foresight Energy, will also have to take steps to reduce groundwater pollution at its mine purchased in 2009. The company will pay $100,000…
All you need is love – and a nod from the Great Beyond
Robert and Janice Bartel hope to hear from John Lennon during an upcoming séance in their basement. Photo by BRUCE RUSHTON Robert Bartel is firm on one point. He and his wife, Janice, are fans. Not fanatics. There is a difference, he says. But still, Bartel seems a bit chagrined when his wife reminds him…
Council goes up against panhandlers again
The Springfield City Council approved new panhandling restrictions Tuesday, beginning a new chapter in a saga that already saw part of the city’s existing ordinance ruled unconstitutional. An attorney for the panhandlers who got that ordinance struck down says he’ll definitely fight the city’s new restrictions. The amendment, which passed unanimously and with little discussion,…
POWER PLAY
Springfield’s municipal utility may have found a way out of the financial hole its electricity division has been stuck in for years. Springfield mayor Jim Langfelder and City Water, Light and Power chief engineer Doug Brown announced this week a plan to restructure the utility’s electricity rates, with an aim of smoothing out the peaks…
HOORAY FOR LISA MADIGAN
We confess that we were growing a bit worried. Tuesday was the deadline for Attorney General Lisa Madigan to order Gov. Bruce Rauner to turn over copies of his appointment calendar requested last spring by Illinois Times. We wanted to know why the governor walked out of a Holocaust remembrance ceremony at the Old State…
Grandma’s honesty makes it a cut above
Lily Tomlin and Julia Garner in Grandma. You have to give Elle Reid credit. She’s lived her life on her terms and has made no apologies about it. However, now that she’s pushing 70 and her much-younger girlfriend has broken up with her, Elle’s starting to realize that there’s a cost for going your own…
Starting fall music
Groove Daddies and special guests gather to celebrate 50 years of Gary Bloom singing, on Fri., Sept., 25, at the Curve Inn, 5 to 10 p.m. The sounds come gushing this weekend from all directions as we plunge into official autumn while finishing off September and the summer with a splash. From here, there and…
Brian Zilm
Here’s a record with a story to tell, not only in the songs recorded but in the recording of the songs. After Brian Zilm finished tracking his latest album in Springfield at Frequincy Recording with owner-operator Quincy Watson, the local singer-songwriter decided to call in a long shot. Zilm had made a social media connection…
URGENT POEM READ READ READ
URGENT POEM READ READ READ KIDS! KIDS! KIDS! tell your mawtell your paw tell your gramp & gramtell your teachers tell your friendsyell it out to springfield town we gotta go we gotta go where is it that we gottago? the state museum! on this daythis saturday yes saturday the 26ththe last last day of…
Olives
Grilled tuna kebabs with green olive sauce PHOTO BY PETER GLATZ I’m addicted to farmers markets. (Is there a 12-step program for that?) Season allowing, they’re high on my must-visit list wherever I travel. In Mediterranean countries the most fascinating display almost always belongs to the olive vendor. There can be as many as two…
