CHICAGO – Theatrical satires of the Star Wars Universe are like the number of TV series the universe has wrought … too many to figure out if anything is worthwhile. But “Trade Federation” (subtitled “Or Let’s Explore Globalization Through the Star Wars Prequels”), presented by Otherworld Theatre in Wrigleyville Chicago, gets it right on.
O’Shea Jackson Jr.
‘Long Shot’ Awkwardly Combines Politics & Romance
Submitted by PatrickMcD on May 4, 2019 - 7:38am Rating: 2.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – “Long Shot” is a bit of a hybrid that can’t quite decide what it wants to be. Is it a political satire, or is it another in a long line of Seth Rogen stoner comedies with a little rom com thrown in for good measure? It’s a little of both, with the shaggy dog stoner comedy the dominant form … making it a somewhat jarring and incongruous fit with the more political elements of this comedy.
Aubrey Plaza Steers the Unsettling ‘Ingrid Goes West’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 23, 2017 - 6:04pm Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Aubrey Plaza (“Parks and Recreation”) is an actor who always seems to do something memorable in her performances. In “Ingrid Goes West,” she carries an entire movie on her quirky and sometimes disturbing character… that of a bipolar stalker who can’t find balance.
N.W.A. Influences an Era in ‘Straight Outta Compton’
Submitted by PatrickMcD on August 13, 2015 - 7:28pmRating: 3.5/5.0 |
CHICAGO – Gangsta rap, like all the revolutionary and society bending genres before it, was formulated from dire frustration and a need to shake up the surroundings that encased their creators. The prime movers of gangsta was the group N.W.A., and their story is told in “Straight Outta Compton.”
