Author: Chad

• Why I Love The Midwest

  Originally printed in the North Central Chronicle on April 3, 2009. A friend of mine grew up with the California itch. Her family was from San Francisco but she was stuck in Wisconsin for most of her life. She always complained about it and talk about wanting to be an actress and live the life…

  Apr 12, 2009

  # life, Midwest, NCC Chronicle, seasons, weather, winter

• Phoebe In Wonderland

  Being a kid today has got to be tough. Being a kid with an insatiable creative appetite and a slight case of obsessive compulsive disorder has got to be even tougher. That’s what Phoebe (played by 11-year-old Elle Fanning, Dakota’s younger sister) has to go through in Phoebe in Wonderland, the newest film from director…

  Apr 10, 2009

  # Elle Fanning, film, movies, Phoebe in Wonderland, review

• And The Oscar Goes To…

  …the most predictable Oscars ever. Every year it seems like the suspense is sucked out of the actual awards ceremony with the months of speculation and campaigning and Oscar ballots. This year, sadly, was even more predicable than previous ones because of the incessant and overrated Slumdog Millionaire cleaned house just as every one predicted…

  Feb 22, 2009

  # film, movies, Oscars

• Oh, Oscars, How Do I Loathe Thee?

  Published in the North Central Chronicle on January 30, 2009. Let me count the ways… 1. You want normal people to like you, but you fail to acknowledge what people like. In the past, you’ve been excused from this because most of the time the highest grossing film of year wasn’t worthy of awards. But…

  Jan 28, 2009

  # film, movies, NCC Chronicle, Oscars, The Dark Knight, WALL-E

• The President Of My Youth

  I remember just a few things from the Clinton ’90s: Kosovo, Elian Gonzalez, and impeachment mostly. But most of the decade flew by under my radar as I concerned myself with more important things like the world champion Green Bay Packers and what colors I wanted for my braces. It was seventh grade when I…

  Jan 24, 2009

  # America, Barack Obama, George W. Bush, history, life, politics, presidents

• Stranger Than Fiction

  Originally published in the North Central Chronicle on January 18, 2009, as part of a series called “Chad Picks Classic Flicks.” An artist may not set out to create something that changes the world, but he just might do it by mistake. Marc Forster’s 2006 film Stranger Than Fiction is a movie about fate—or “the…

  Jan 18, 2009

  # Chad Picks Classic Flicks, Emma Thompson, film, Maggie Gyllenhaal, movies, NCC Chronicle, review, Stranger Than Fiction, The Truman Show, Will Ferrell

• Slumdog Millionaire Is Bankrupt

  On his blog LookingCloser.org, Christian film critic Jeffrey Overstreet lays out his reasons why Slumdog Millionaire didn’t tickle his fancy as it has for so many other people. I was pleased to see that someone shares my sentiments, however unpopular they may be.

  Jan 15, 2009

  # film, movies, Slumdog Millionaire

• Carpe 2009: My Resolutions For The New Year

  Published in the North Central Chronicle on January 9, 2009. New Year’s Resolutions are like Airborne pills: they don’t really work, but we use them anyway because they make us feel better about the bumpy ride ahead. I’ve never taken Airborne pills, but every January I still resolve to do something different in the New…

  Jan 8, 2009

  # Barack Obama, college, life, NCC Chronicle, North Central College, politics

• Best Films of 2008

  1. WALL-E By far the boldest movie of the year. The wordless first half-hour is delectably good and a bit subversive too. The plot sags once the robots leave Earth, but it remains a beauty to behold. I was surprised at how emotionally invested I was in those cute little robots. It’s certainly a better…

  Jan 3, 2009

  # best of, film, Happy Go Lucky, In Bruges, lists, Man On Wire, movies, NCC Chronicle, review, Shotgun Stories, The Dark Knight, WALL-E

• The Best Albums Of 2008

  There was a lot of music released in 2008. I didn’t listen to most of it because I was too busy listening to the following albums to listen to much of anything else. I don’t expect to see any of these albums honored at the Grammys, but I still love them like my own hypothetical…

  Dec 31, 2008

  # Anathallo, Beach Boys, best of, Coldplay, lists, music, NCC Chronicle, Randy Newman, She & Him

• My Mouth’s Bleedin’!

  Today is the day, the only day of the year, when I watch It’s A Wonderful Life. Watching the classic Christmas movie with a bowl of popcorn and a crackling fire on Christmas Eve has become perhaps the longest tradition with my family. Another tradition, getting up at 5 a.m. on Christmas morning and waiting…

  Dec 24, 2008

  # Christmas, film, It’s A Wonderful Life, Jimmy Stewart, movies

• Firing Off A Warren Shot

  You know you’re doing something right when you piss off both sides of the political spectrum. Kudos to Obama for not being afraid to ignore the yelps of progressive hell bent on revenge post-Bush. As for Warren himself, I have no opinion. Obviously it’s nice that he chooses to promote an agenda that isn’t solely…

  Dec 18, 2008

  # America, Barack Obama, politics, religion, Rick Warren

• Lovin’ Lincoln

  I finally went on the most important pilgrimage a history buff must go on: to Springfield, IL, for the loads of Lincoln lore there. First, I went with my dad to the Old State Capitol where Lincoln worked as a state legislator. Though mostly recreated, the building smacked of authenticity. But the biggest and best…

  Dec 14, 2008

  # Abraham Lincoln, America, history, Illinois, presidents, Springfield

• Hottest. Cast. Ever.

  Yes, even Hurley. It seems a little smaller cast than years previous, but I think it’s definitely the strongest. The fifth and penultimate season of Lost premieres January 21 at 9/8 central. I can’t wait.

  Dec 7, 2008

  # Lost, television

• Happy-Go-Millionaire

  Hallelujah! It’s Oscar season! I guess seeing Rachel Getting Married was technically my first dive into this year’s plethora of Oscar bait, but tonight I dove down further by seeing Happy-Go-Lucky and Slumdog Millionaire, two small films that are getting a lot of buzz and landing on some critics’ Best of 2008 lists. Naturally, I…

  Dec 6, 2008

  # film, Happy Go Lucky, movies, Oscars, review, Slumdog Millionaire

• The Sting

  Originally published in the North Central Chronicle in October 2008 as part of a series called “Chad Picks Classic Flicks.” Welcome back to “Chad Picks Classic Flicks.” I was catching up on more recent films over the summer but I’m excited to start a new year of discovering the new in films of old. This…

  Dec 3, 2008

  # Chad Picks Classic Flicks, film, movies, NCC Chronicle, Paul Newman, review, Robert Redford, The Sting

• Canopy Glow by Anathallo

  One of my favorite albums of the year: Over the last eight years they have been making music together, Anathallo’s sound has evolved slowly and subtly. Starting in 2001 with Luminous Luminescence in the Atlas Position and continuing with A Holiday at the Sea two years later, the band had adopted an almost avant garde…

  Dec 3, 2008

  # Anathallo, Canopy Glow, music, review

• The War by Ken Burns

  I’m still working my way through it, but I’ve already come to appreciate Ken Burns’ seven-part 2007 miniseries The War. Burns explains in the making-of feature that he wanted to show the war not through historians but through average citizens, men and women and children from every corner of the country who endured the front…

  Dec 2, 2008

  # film, history, Ken Burns, movies, Norah Jones, review, television, World War II