Month: January 2015

Mr. Rostan at the Movies: “Red Desert” and the Formation of Self

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Andrew Rostan was a film student before he realized that making comics was his horrible destiny, but he’s never shaken his love of cinema. Every two weeks, he’ll opine on either current pictures or important movies from the past.

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Right now, besides writing about movies for this site, I am working on my first screenplay since moving here from Los Angeles. It’s a script that I am immensely proud of but could never have imagined telling when I first set out on my path as a writer. Why that is, and why I write about the films I do on here, requires a small story.

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Remembering What’s Important in Life: Friends, Waffles, Parks and Recreation

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Parks and Recreation deserves a celebration. This heartfelt comedy about the Pawnee, Indiana, Parks Department delivered 22 minutes of pure joy in every single episode. I fell for Parks and Rec, fittingly enough, while pursuing my Masters degree in Public Affairs. The public service setting and political humor strike exactly my tone, but the genuine feeling of love and appreciation that every character has for one another makes this show universally appealing. This ensemble cast, led by Amy Poehler’s Leslie Knope, exhibits an on-screen chemistry that we will be lucky to ever see again. The show is not without tension, and it certainly isn’t without flaw, but it is undeniably fun, intelligent, and worth watching from the beginning. In an ideal world, my list would be a 138-page, tabbed binder with specific dates, jokes, and details from every episode. Practically, though, I narrowed down to five brilliant episodes. I don’t mean to argue or exclude with a “top five” list in this case. I mean this as a warm tribute to my all-time favorite show and as a jumping point for you to remember and talk about your favorite characters, moments, or episodes from Pawnee.

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the Fifth Line: Reading the Future

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There’s a sidewalk sandwich board that appeared out of nowhere near the D’Agostino’s on Addison. It offers up the services of the “Southport Psychic” for a low introductory price.

My initial thought was to wonder from whence this mysterious sign appeared. But then I thought, maybe I could use some of this psychic stuff to seem like a brilliant hockey prognosticator. Not that I want to pay anybody to say some words and make predictions for me. I could probably do this myself, right? Right.

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My first prediction is that Pierrre McGuire will know exactly where you played junior/college hockey — even if you’ve never played hockey.

I found a dusty old deck of tarot cards I didn’t know I had, so now I’m going to plumb its mystical depths to make insightful readings for each division. I can already envision my future as a highly-paid giver of predictions and hot takes… [Read more…]

J&STAC: Comic Books & Moving Pictures

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-J. Michael Bestul is a writer for the Addison Recorder. Stephanie Ruehl is an artist who works in a comic book shop. They’re married and have a lot of discussions about comic books and graphic novels. Combine all that into a biweekly feature and you get “J. & Steph Talk About Comics.”

Movies and comic books. They’re like peanut butter & chocolate — either it’s a delightful combination, or it’s a combination that results in uninspired, mass-produced dreck.

We did a little bit of hand-wringing back in our 2014 recap, worrying about the influence of box office success over comic book editorial decisions. But that’s not to say we dislike comic-related movies and TV shows. Far from it. Thus, we decided to look deep into the movie/comic book combination, beyond the well-known movie franchises. Our methodology was simple: look at the Wikipedia page(s) for films based on comic books, and write about what caught our eye. Sophisticated, we know.

We’ve also ventured into comic properties that became TV shows, since it’s a moving-picture medium perfect for adapting episodic comic books. And because this was partially inspired by the upcoming Kingsman: The Secret Service movie (based on a Mark Millar book), we’ll also take a gander at some upcoming adaptations whose books you may or may not know.

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A “Mr. Rostan at the Movies” Special: Clint Eastwood’s “American Sniper”

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Andrew Rostan was a film student before he realized that making comics was his horrible destiny, but he’s never shaken his love of cinema. Every two weeks, he’ll opine on either current pictures or important movies from the past.

It is almost impossible to write this piece without SPOILERS, especially since most people know the story already. But just in case, be warned.

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“What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World,” Reviewed

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The Decemberists celebrated the release of their new album, “What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World,” with a performance in Portland January 20, the day it came out. The city declared it “Decemberists Day,” and the mayor presented the band with a custom quilt made of squares representing local artists and businesses. This pageantry is possibly nauseating to some, but wonderful to me, because I love Portland, and I love the Decemberists.

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Thoughts from the Dugout: Let’s Play Two

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Image courtesy Getty Images

Ernie Banks passed away on Friday, January 23rd, 2015, eight days before his 84th birthday. He was a Chicago icon, a Hall of Fame shortstop who won two MVP awards while playing his entire career for the Chicago Cubs. He never made it to the postseason, but was widely regarded as “Mr. Cub”, a beloved figure in spite of his team’s mediocrity – or because of it. He was the first player in the modern era to be identified as an offensive force while playing shortstop, a position not known at the time for prolific offense.

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Hot Cocktails for the Cold Season

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The holidays are behind us, the novelty of the new year has worn off, but we in the Midwest are still left with the season’s cold weather. If this year is anything like the last, we might even get another visit from the polar vortex, which is way less exciting than its name implies.

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And far less exciting than the Snowpocalypse.

Rather than let our spirits plummet along with the temperatures, the season is a perfect time to invite friends and family over for a few hot cocktails. A lot of these are aromatic, and their recipes are often flexible enough to allow us to riff on the traditional version of the cocktails. As with last month’s look at New Year’s Eve drinks, the goal is to provide you with templates, using specific recipes as examples.

Put on a kettle of water, and let’s warm up with some tasty libations.

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One Book One Chicago: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

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One Book, One Chicago's 2014 Selection: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

One Book, One Chicago’s 2014 Selection: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay

I discovered One Book, One Chicago in the fall of 2012 when every single person I saw on public transit had their head buried in The Book Thief. I knew it couldn’t be coincidence that the whole city seemed to read the same book at the same time, but I was too new to know the secret. Luckily, a billboard popped up near my office with the One Book, One Chicago logo and The Book Thief cover art. A quick google search later, and I had a favorite Chicago Public Library program. One Book, One Chicago aims to engage the city’s readers in a public discourse on a single book supported by events, blog posts, and small group discussions to help build a culture of reading.

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