southtownstar.suntimes.com

‘Fast & Furious 6’ best yet in the franchise

Fri, 24 May 2013 02:10:08 -0500

RICHARD ROEPER: Against all odds, the “Fast & Furious” franchise is actually picking up momentum, with “FF6” clocking in as the fastest, funniest and most outlandish chapter yet. Whether we’re seeing stunt work or special effects or a combo platter, director Justin Lin keeps raising the bar, going for intentional laughs and thrilling moments as cars pull off impossible maneuvers and humans keep flying in the air and landing with thuds. “Furious 6” couldn’t be any less plausible if it were animated, but that’s sort of the point.

Summer festivals in the Southland 2013

Fri, 24 May 2013 02:20:03 -0500

Here is a look at the summer festivals set for the Southland from May to September.

Hot Picks: Award show, BACinema screens ‘Quartet’

Thu, 23 May 2013 15:35:19 -0500

Here is a look at top events you won’t want to miss. Suggestions include the Celebration of Chicago Artists Award Show in University Park and the BACinema screening of “Quartet” in Chicago.

Review: ‘Hangover’ trilogy ends on a dark note

Thu, 23 May 2013 02:19:08 -0500

★★★ “Daring” isn’t a word you’d use very much to describe 2011’s “The Hangover Part II,” the disappointingly lazy, beat-for-beat rehash of the wild and wildly successful original “Hangover” from 2009. Yet, here we are with “The Hangover Part III,” which runs a different sort of risk by going to darker and more dangerous places than its predecessors, both artistically and emotionally. The third film dares to alienate the very audience that made “The Hangover” the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all time because, well, it isn’t exactly a comedy. Sure, there are some outrageous lines and sight gags, mostly courtesy …

Crowd Pleasers for May 24, 2013

Fri, 24 May 2013 02:18:58 -0500

Here is a look at some crowd pleasers. Events include the Smiley Tillmond Band in Back to the Delta: A Blues Showcase at the Beverly Arts Center in Chicago.

Microsoft reveals Xbox One, next-generation gaming

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:53:14 -0500

Microsoft thinks it has the one. The company revealed the Xbox One, its next-generation entertainment console Tuesday. The console was demonstrated using voice control to switch among watching live TV, listening to music and browsing the Internet, as well as simultaneously running apps.

Stingrays easy to handle in Shedd Aquarium’s new exhibit

Mon, 20 May 2013 19:54:59 -0500

“Stingray Touch,” opening to the public May 17, gives visitors a chance to feel the scratchy, silky creatures swimming by. “It’s a really cool way to see the animal,” says a Shedd expert.

Donley’s Wild West Town a return to yesteryear

Fri, 17 May 2013 02:21:55 -0500

Go West, young Chicagoans. Go West. Direct your parents to load up the family car and head on Interstate 90 past Barrington, past Elgin and through Hampshire. Go west to Union, Ill., the small-town (population: 579) home of Donley’s Wild West Town, a museum and low-key amusement park geared for ages 3-11. The attraction opens for the season on May 18. “Real small kids get swallowed up in big theme parks,” said Randy Donley, one of the four-member Donley family running the park. “They come here dressed as cowboys and cowgirls.” Donley’s Wild West Town is an easy day trip, …

‘Star Trek Into Darkness’ turns out to be quite the Enterprise

Fri, 17 May 2013 02:10:14 -0500

RICHARD ROEPER: Director J.J. Abrams is a true talent, and he’s also a pop-culture savant who has great respect for the legacy of this franchise as well as a keen understanding of the mega-importance of box-office figures. There’s no better choice to make the best, the purest AND the most accessible big-budget “Star Trek” movie possible. Yet with all the futuristic splendor and the fine performances, “Into Darkness” only occasionally soars, mostly settling for being a solid but unspectacular effort that sets the stage for the next chapter(s).

Star power — Adler tech revolutionizes sky show

Fri, 17 May 2013 02:11:04 -0500

As a pulsing nebula races toward the watchful audience, a hand shoots up to touch it. More hands follow suit, straining skywards. For the kids taking in the Adler’s newest show, “Cosmic Wonder,” outer space is just out of reach. It’s an illusion created by the latest technology: The Crab Nebula or stars in Orion seem to graze heads, when in fact they’re projected on a dome nearly 40 feet above the audience. As the image gets larger, it appears closer and flatter — “or like the objects are dropping on top of you,” said Mark SubbaRao, Adler astronomer and …

McGraw pumped for Two Lanes of Freedom Tour

Fri, 24 May 2013 18:15:14 -0500

Tim McGraw will perform at First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley Park on May 24.

Crowd Pleasers for May 17, 2013

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:22:45 -0500

Here is a look at some crowd pleasers. Events include Gaelic Park Players hosting the 20th annual Acting Irish International Theatre Festival in Oak Forest, Grande Prairie Singers' concert in Park Forest, and Suburban Youth Symphony Orchestra’s concert in Orland Park.

Elaborating on Entertainment: Beverly Theatre Guild’s 50th anniversary

Sun, 19 May 2013 11:50:32 -0500

The Beverly Theatre Guild is the oldest community theater group in Chicago and marking that milestore with “Fabulous @ Fifty.” More about the theater troupe can be found on Elaborating on Entertainment at blogs.southtownstar.com/entertainment.

New on DVD for May 17, 2013

Fri, 17 May 2013 02:10:49 -0500

Here is a look at what’s new on DVD this week. Many of these titles were released on May 14.

Angelina Jolie says she had double mastectomy to try to prevent cancer

Wed, 15 May 2013 02:18:22 -0500

LOS ANGELES — Angelina Jolie says she had a preventive double mastectomy after learning that she carried a gene that makes it extremely likely she’ll get breast cancer. Jolie authored an op-ed for Tuesday’s New York Times, in which she writes that in April she finished three months of surgical procedures to remove both breasts.