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Entertainment News: 2026 Fall Chicago Humanities Festival Northwestern Day on Oct. 4

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 18:38:54 +0000

CHICAGO – The 2026 Chicago Humanities Festival Fall Season … now through November 14th, 2026, celebrates Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, with a special Day on October 4th. For a complete schedule of events, talks and tours, click CHF Northwestern Day.

Northwestern Day at Chicago Humanities Fest, October 4, 2026
Photo credit: ChicagoHumanities.org

The Chicago Humanities Festival – which began in 1990 – has a mission statement that “connects people to the ideas that shape and define us, and promotes the lifelong exploration of what it means to be human.” The organization seeks to foster curiosity, celebrate creativity and challenges us to see ourselves and the world anew.

Eric Idle at CHF, October 4, 2026
Photo credit: Joe Arce of Starstruck Foto for HollywoodChicago.com

The Chicago Humanities Fall Season 2026 is ongoing … click ChicagoHumanities.org for complete information on the fest, which take place through November 143th. As Eric Idle once sang, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.”

By PATRICK McDONALD
Editor and Film Critic/Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Slideshow2: 2026 Riot Fest in Chicago – Mud, Music, Mayhem & THE FANS

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 17:00:04 +0000

Riot Fest FANS 1

CHICAGO – It was all about The Mud … The Rain … The Music … and a whole lot of unforgettable moments. HollywoodChicago.com photographer Jeff Doles slopped through the soaked grounds of Chicago’s Douglass Park to capture the sights, sounds, and personalities of Riot Fest 2026.

The three day festival – September 8th-10th – brought together an incredible mix of punk, rock, metal, alternative, and hip hop, creating the kind of controlled chaos that has made Riot Fest one of Chicago’s most distinctive music festivals.

The weather may not have cooperated, but that only added to the atmosphere. Mud covered shoes, soaked socks, ponchos, puddles, and rain could not slow down the performers or the thousands of fans who embraced every minute of it. And sometimes, the crowd was just as entertaining and photogenic as the bands.

From explosive performances and dramatic stage lighting to colorful characters and candid moments in the crowd, the weekend offered endless opportunities to capture the energy, attitude, and personality of Riot Fest.

A few pairs of shoes and socks may have been sacrificed along the way, but the photographs made it worth it. Three days. Countless bands. Thousands of fans. One very muddy camera bag. Welcome to Riot Fest 2026 through the lens of HollywoodChicago.com photographer Jeff “Doc” Doles.

PART TWO is THE FANS (Click Here for PART ONE… THE BANDS!)! Click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through the 2026 Riot Fest slideshow, or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. All photos © 2026 Jeff Doles.

RIOTFANS1: FANS 1
RIOTFANS2: FANS 2
RIOTFANS3: FANS 3
RIOTFANS4: FANS 4
RIOTFANS5: FANS 5
RIOTFANS6: FANS 6
RIOTFANS7: FANS 7
RIOTFANS8: FANS 8
RIOTFANS9: FANS 9
RIOTFANS10: FANS 10
RIOTFANS11: FANS 11
RIOTFANS12: FANS 12
RIOTFANS13: FANS 13
RIOTFANS14: FANS 14
RIOTFANS15: FANS 15
RIOTFANS16: FANS 16
RIOTFANS17: FANS 17
RIOTFANS18: Muddy Elmo

Riot Fest will take place in 2027 from September 17th-19th, with the next presale on October 28th. For all information regarding the event, click RiotFest.org. For more photos and coverage by HollywoodChicago.com music editor Jeff “Doc” Doles, click Jeff Doles, Music Editor.

Photography and Article by: Jeff Doles, Music Editor
Published by: Patrick McDonald, Site Editor, HollywoodChicago.com

Slideshow1: 2026 Riot Fest in Chicago – Mud, Music, Mayhem & THE BANDS

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 15:35:44 +0000

Arm’s Length 1

PART ONE is THE BANDS (Click Here for PART TWO … THE FANS!)!. Click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through the 2026 Riot Fest slideshow, or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. All photos © 2026 Jeff Doles.

RIOTBANDS1: Arm’s Length 1
RIOTBANDS2: Arm’s Length 2
RIOTBANDS3: Arm’s Length 3
RIOTBANDS4: Arm’s Length 4
RIOTBANDS5: Arm’s Length 5
RIOTBANDS6: Cardinals 1
RIOTBANDS7: Cardinals 2
RIOTBANDS8: Cardinals 3
RIOTBANDS9: Glixen 1
RIOTBANDS10: Glixen 2
RIOTBANDS11: Glixen 3
RIOTBANDS12: Glixen 4
RIOTBANDS13: Glixen 5
RIOTBANDS14: Glixen 6
RIOTBANDS15: Glixen 7
RIOTBANDS16: Holding Absence 1
RIOTBANDS17: Holding Absence 2
RIOTBANDS18: Holding Absence 3
RIOTBANDS19: Panic Shack 1
RIOTBANDS20: Panic Shack 2
RIOTBANDS21: Panic Shack 3
RIOTBANDS22: Panic Shack 4
RIOTBANDS23: Pennywise 1
RIOTBANDS24: Pennywise 2
RIOTBANDS25: Pennywise 3
RIOTBANDS26: Pennywise 4
RIOTBANDS27: Pennywise 5
RIOTBANDS28: Sincere Engineer 1
RIOTBANDS29: Sincere Engineer 2
RIOTBANDS30: Sincere Engineer 3
RIOTBANDS31: Tool 1
RIOTBANDS32: Tool 2
RIOTBANDS33: Tool 3
RIOTBANDS34: Tool 4
RIOTBANDS35: Tool 5
RIOTBANDS36: Tool 6

Photography and Article by: Jeff Doles, Music Editor
Published by: Patrick McDonald, Site Editor, HollywoodChicago.com

On-Air Film Review: Canuck Star Power in ‘You Had to Be There’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 15:00:13 +0000

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Jason Makos for WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on October 1st, 2026, reviewing the new release YOU HAD TO BE THERE, the story of GODSPELL in 1972 Toronto, and who it launched. In select theaters October 1st.

GODSPELL was a hippie musical about Jesus that did so well in New York in the early 1970s that the producers decided to launch the show in several major cities, including Toronto in 1972. The casting call went out, and among the hopefuls who were cast included boldface names like Victor Garber, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radner, Paul Schaffer and Andrea Martin. The subtltle, HOW THE TORONTO GODSPELL IGNITED THE COMEDY REVOLUTION, SPREAD LOVE AND OVERALLS, AND CREATED A COMMUNITY THAT CHANGED THE WORLD (IN A CANADIAN KIND OF WAY) sort of describes the rest of the journey, as these disparate residents of the Great White North lit the fuse to a future of comedy and stardom.

YOU HAD TO BE THERE is in select theaters October 2nd, including Chicago’s Music Box Theatre. For more screenings see local listings. Featuring interviews with Victor Garber, Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Paul Schaffer and Andrea Martin. Directed by Nick Davis. Not Rated.

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s on-air review of YOU HAD TO BE THERE

YOU HAD TO BE THERE
Photo credit: Greenwich Entertainment

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s on-air review of YOU HAD TO BE THERE

Film Review: Anne Hathaway & Dakota Johnson Clash in ‘Verity’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Fri, 02 Oct 2026 14:04:39 +0000

CHICAGO – VERITY is a manipulative, dishonest and ultimately empty thriller every bit as calculating as its title character, the best selling author of a series of trashy novels Verity Crawford (Anne Hathaway.) This film aims to be a twisty psychological potboiler, but has a gigantic Dakota Johnson shaped void in the center of it all.

Dakota Johnson is a struggling author with the name Lowen Ashleigh … seemingly dreamed up in a publishing house marketing meeting. Her seductive crime tales have earned her some good reviews but precious few sales. That changes when she gets the call to be the ghostwriter for Verity Crawford and help her finish her upcoming book. Little does she know that once she arrives she finds that Crawford is little more than a drooling vegetable, incapacitated after a car accident, and Johnson must sort through the notes and finish the book on her own.

VERITY is in theaters on October 2nd. Featuring Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson, Josh Harnett, Brady Wagner and Ismael Cruz Córdova. Screenplay adapted by Nick Antosca. Directed by Michael Sholwalter. Rated “R”

CLICK HERE for Spike Walter’s film review of VERITY

VERITY
Photo credit: Amazon MGM Studios

CLICK HERE for Spike Walter’s film review of VERITY

On-Air Film Review: Tom Cruise is Fixing a Hole in ‘Digger’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 20:50:30 +0000

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Jason Makos for WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on October 1st, 2026, reviewing the new release DIGGER, a U.S. featuring Tom Cruise as a megalomaniac oil baron. In theaters October 2nd.

Cruise is Digger Rockwell, nicknamed such because he controls oil wells all over the world. When one of his rigs causes an environmental disaster, his first instinct is to pass the blame elsewhere, with the help of U.S. President Compson (John Goodman). Rockwell’s advisors are his Director of Safety Dr. Ganesh (Riz Ahmed), his half sister Emma (Sandra Hüller) and Compson’s Vice President (Michael Stuhlbarg). It’s a helluva mess, and someone will eventually take the fall.

DIGGER is in theaters October 2nd. Featuring om Cruise, Riz Ahmed, John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg, Jesse Plemons. Screenplay by Alejandro J. Iñarritu, Alexander Dinelaris, Nicolás Giaconbone and Sabina Berman. Directed by Alejandro J. Iñarritu. Rated “R”

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s on-air review of DIGGER

DIGGER
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s on-air review of DIGGER

Audio Film Review: John Wilson Explores ‘The History of Concrete’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Wed, 30 Sep 2026 13:43:26 +0000

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio film review for the THE HISTORY OF CONCRETE, a new full length debut documentary by John Wilson, who hosted the HBO series HOW TO WITH JOHN WILSON. Currently in select theaters, see local listings.

Wilson takes us on a journey regarding the substance of concrete, ranked second for its presence in our lives after natural water … it’s obviously NUMBER ONE as a human-made substance. His interest in the subjects takes him far afield to a concrete convention, and close to home when a patch of the substance is laid down in front of his three-flat in New York City, only to be replaced because the street is historical and needs a special color. Along the way we attend with Wilson a seminar on Hallmark Christmas romance movies, the various meetings he’s taking to get funding for the doc and the strangely impressive meditations on the substance itself. Like stepping in a wet patch of concrete, is he stuck or does he leave an imprint?

THE WEIGHT is in theaters on September 10th. Featuring Ethan Hawke, Avy Berry, Julia Jones, Russell Crowe, Avi Nash, Austin Amelio and Lucas Lynggaard Tonnesen. Written by Matthew Booi and Shelby Gaines. Directed by Padriac McKinley. Rated “R”

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s Audio Film Review of THE HISTORY OF CONCRETE

THE HISTORY OF CONCRETE
Photo credit: Magnolia Pictures

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s Audio Film Review of THE HISTORY OF CONCRETE

Theater Review: Steppenwolf’s Searing & Stellar ‘Topdog/Underdog’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 19:57:45 +0000

CHICAGO – Steppenwolf Theatre has revived a classic African-American themed stage play that entered the theater canon in 2001, an essential confrontation between two brothers dealing with the past and their own inadequacies. TOPDOG/UNDERDOG is presented on the main stage until November 1st. For tickets and info, click TD/UD.

On the Steppenwolf Theatre Mainstage
Photo credit: Steppenwolf.org

Play Rating: 5.0/5.0

Lincoln (Glenn Davis) and Booth (Namir Smallwood) are black brothers living together in a rundown apartment. Absurdly, Lincoln is actually portraying Abraham Lincoln at a historically themed amusement park while brother Booth is unemployed, dreaming of proposing to his girlfriend. Lincoln took his job after he stopped conning folks with 3-Card monte, and Booth is desperate to learn how to take over this con. When Lincoln loses his job on the night of Booth’s elaborate proposal dinner, their confrontation is inevitable.

Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com audio theater review of TOPDOG/UNDERDOG …

Steppenwolf Theatre Company presents TOPDOG/UNDERDOG through November 1st, 2026, in the main theatre at 1650 North Halsted Street, Chicago. Featuring Glenn Davis and Namir Smallwood. Written by Suzan-Lori Parks. Directed by Kenny Leon. For more information about Steppenwolf Theatre Company, click Steppenwolf.org.

By PATRICK McDONALD
Editor and Film Critic/Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

On-Air Film Review: Dance Away in ‘Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Sat, 26 Sep 2026 14:37:11 +0000

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Jason Makos for WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on September 24th, 2026, reviewing the new release HA-CHAN, SHAKE YOUR BOOTY, a U.S. release with a Tokyo cast. In select theaters September 25th.

Haru (Rinko Kikuchi) has a happy life, doing competitive couples dancing with her husband Luis (Alejandro Edda), a Mexican immigrant. At one such competition, however, Luis has a massive heart attack and dies. This throws Haru into a grief spiral, in which her friends Hiromi (Japanese actress YOU) and Yuki (Yoh Yoshida) try to solve her sorrow by getting her back on the dance floor. They take her to lessons given by Fedir (Alberto Guerra), and Haru immediately gets the hots for him. After a couple of tumbles in the hay, Haru feels guilty, as if she betrayed Luis. Can she overcome her grief and her shame?

HA-CHAN, SHAKE YOUR BOOTY is in select theaters on September 25th. See local listings Featuring Rinko Kikuchi, Alejandro Edda, Yoh Yoshida, Alberto Guerra and You. Written by Josef Kubota Wladyka and Nicholas Huynh. Directed by Josef Kubota Wladyka. Rated “R”

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s on-air review of PRIMETIME

HA-CHAN, SHAKE YOUR BOOTY
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Classics

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s on-air review of PRIMETIME

Audio Film Review: Uber Dog & Brad Pitt in ‘Heart of the Beast’

adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman) — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 16:33:08 +0000

CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears with Eddie Volkman in an exclusive online link, reviewing the new film release HEART OF THE BEAST, featuring Brad Pitt as a military veteran who roughs it in Alaska with his former combat dog Odin (Uber the Dog). In theaters on September 25th.

Pitt is James, a outdoorsman who likes to rough it with his dog Odin. He has landed his small prop plane and is camping in the remote Alaskan wilderness, when he comes upon Watkins (J.K. Simmons), a rare human sighting in the wilds. Before they separate, Watkins warns James that weather is coming, so the next morning he and Odin get in the plane to get back to civilization. While flying in the storm near mountains, James suffers a heart attack and the plane crashes in a lake, reviving him, but losing Odin temporarily. When Man and Dog reunite, they must find a way out of the challenging and unforgiving territory.

HEART OF THE BEAST is in theaters on September 25th. Featuring Brad Pitt, J.K. Simmons, Anna Lambe and Uber the Dog. Written by Cameron Alexander. Directed by David Ayer. Rated “PG-13”

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s on-air review of HEART OF THE BEAST

HEART OF THE BEAST
Photo credit: Sony Pictures Classics

CLICK HERE for Patrick McDonald’s on-air review of HEART OF THE BEAST