‘Arts’ Archives
Mud
Mud (2013) ***** Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions. Cast: Matthew McConaughey (Mud), Tye Sheridan (Ellis), Jacob Lofland (Neckbone), Michael Shannon (Galen), Sam Shepard (Tom Blankenship) Reese Witherspoon (Jupiter), Joe Don Baker (King), Bonnie Sturdivant (May Pearl). Running time: 130 minutes. (PG-13) Director: Jeff Nichols. Jeff Nichols (“Take Shelter”) carefully and skillfully forms the story of two boys Ellis (Tye Sheridan) and Neckbone (Jacob Lofland) and their discovery of a fugitive Mud (Matthew McConaughey) who may have murdered a man. The movie takes place in the southern backcountry of Arkansas where the boys live similar to David Gordon Green”'s movie “Undertow”(2004). Mud has an undying love for a woman, Jupiter (Reese Witherspoon),who is a cheater as well as being victimized by a bad boyfriend. He has to see her risking his capture by authorities. To avoid being seen, he sends a handwritten letter by way of Ellis and Neckbone to [...]
Cellist Hans Christian Plays Benefit for Malaria Initiative
May 11 7 PM Our Saviour”'s Church 2315 Chicago Avenue By Amy Blumenshine This extraordinary virtuoso cellist Hans Christian tours the world, playing music of his own composition featuring many stringed instruments including the nyckelharpa, sarangi, and sitara. He integrates music from a variety of cultures and traditions, with a strong East Indian flavor. By using an electronic looping device, he layers on different melodies and sounds for a very meditative effect ”“ ethereal and transcendant. The concert is free but donations will be asked for an anti-malaria initiative. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) seeks to make malaria history! Their initial focus is Uganda. In Uganda, thousands of children die each year from malaria ”“ a preventable and curable disease. The entire population is at risk of malaria, but less than 50 percent are protected by preventable measures like insect-treated bed nets and mosquito spraying. Hospitalization [...]
Tribute: Roger Ebert 1942-2013
By Howard McQuitter II Film Critic of Film Critics When I stumbled on Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert on television discussing movies I was glued to the set -- a certain inspiration for me being a movie critic. I”'d always liked movies since I was a boy in south Minneapolis. But Siskel and Ebert”'s “At the Movies”,” Sneak Previews”, etc. sent me to higher planes. Siskel died of brain cancer at age 53. Ebert had written screenplays for Meyer. Ebert”'s best known screenplay for Meyer “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls” in 1969 instantly was a cult hit. Ebert wrote for The Chicago Sun-Times for years becoming the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1975. In addition his reviews were syndicated to more than 200 newspapers in the United States and afar and wrote more than 15 books. He also became the first film critic to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Mr. Ebert ushered a new era in the 1970s, [...]
