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Chicago News and Culture by Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times
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Richard Roeper biography

Richard Roeper's column has been appearing in the Sun-Times for more than 20 years. The column has garnered numerous awards, including the National Headliner Award …Read More

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Even after debates, the pop culture shrapnel continues

After the third and final presidential debate in Del Boca Vista — sorry, Boca Raton — on Monday night, we had the traditional Gathering of the Families onstage, with lots of hugs and happy handshakes all around. Sweetest moment: President Obama leaning down to talk …

Can you smell what Brad Pitt is shoveling?

They let Brad Pitt off easy. Joining the chorus of viral spoofs, the good folks at “Saturday Night Live” took on Pitt’s begging-to-be-parodied Chanel ads in a series of devastatingly spot-on bits, with Taran Killam just crushing it as the goateed actor/philosopher. Looking like a …

‘30 for 30’ tells more of the sports story

ESPN has broadcast 49 films in the “30 for 30” series of documentaries. I’ve seen about half, and there hasn’t been a subpar viewing experience yet. Each film is a superbly crafted, in-depth look at a familiar sports story told in a way we hadn’t seen before.

  • Why does White Sox attendance keep falling? Fans weigh in

    Last week I asked White Sox fans why they believe home attendance was down yet again this year, despite a team that exceeded expectations and was in first place for much of the season. At least 60 percent of the folks I heard from mentioned the financials, but many other factors were cited. Thanks to the hundreds of fans who weighed in. Here is a sampling of responses:

  • The show biz of politics

    The candidates don’t control all of this nonsense, but my unsolicited advice for both of them for the home stretch would be to refrain from any more glittery fundraisers and tell their celebrity friends to cool it. Even as a Pop Culture Guy, I’m getting pop cultured to death in this election.

    • ‘Taken 2’ success promises endless scenarios for next film

    The first “Taken” wasn’t a particularly good film, but it benefited from a terrific marketing campaign that showcased Neeson’s Bryan on the phone with his daughter’s kidnapper. Box office analysts were stunned by the $50 million box office performance of “Taken 2,” some $12 million better than projections. Which means endless opportunities for the third installment of the franchise.

    TV offers up a journalistic jumble

    What a strange and amazing week it was for journalism and pop culture. Let’s take a look at the winners and losers — but I want to make it clear we’re all winners, lest I be accused of bullying. Crusading hero — or out-of-control hack? …

    Rowling’s ‘Vacancy’ filled with people you don’t want to meet

    Once you start reading The Casual Vacancy, J.K. Rowling’s ballyhooed first foray into “adult” literature, you’re plunged into a bleak, all-too-real world filled with death, drug addiction, grimy sexual encounters, child abuse, bullying, class wars ­— and characters you’d move away from if they sat next to you in a restaurant.

    NFL adds soundtrack for viewers at home

    C ris Collinsworth laughed. Al Michaels pretty much ignored it. It was the third quarter of the Eagles-Giants game in Philadelphia Sunday night, with the Eagles up 10-3 and the Giants in the Red Zone. A wingless, non-Pixie Eli Manning took a snap and found …

    Why TV shows are this year’s mixtapes

    Episodic TV series are the hipster bands of the 2010s. Back in the day when people still purchased music in physical packages and most of the up-and-coming acts could actually play instruments, there was a certain thrill in being among the first to discover a …

    G.I. Joe the best toy? Those are fighting words

    It has to be considered something of an upset that G.I. Joe has been named the best-loved children’s toy of the entire 20th century, according to a recent survey organized by the highly regarded Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.

    The real punk in Fox prank

    Columbia College film student Max Rice might want to consider casting himself in a future project. He was pretty convincing playing a jerk on Fox News on Monday. Rice, 20, duped “Fox & Friends” producers into believing he was a 23-year-old, unemployed, former Obama supporter …

    No shock on leaked photos

    I hold no great fascination for the comings and goings of the next generation of royals. But I am fascinated by first Prince Harry and now Kate falling into the same candid-nude trap that seems to ensnare Hollywood starlets at the rate of about one per week.

    There’s nothing appealing about restroom romance

    The great comedian Louis CK tells the harrowing and hilarious story of having to take his two little girls to the bathroom at the airport. “I can’t take them to the ladies’ room,” he says. “ ‘Go in there girls, into the public restroom of …

    Incendiary film awful on many levels

    The unfolding intrigue surrounding the anti-Islam movie making headlines around the world sounds like the blueprint for an infinitely better film than the actual movie in question. If you can even call it a movie, based on the 14-minute trailer on YouTube. You know about …

    CPS, union wage battle for public opinion, but wherein lies the truth?

    Can you believe those greedy teachers are turning down a 16 percent raise and demanding control over whether they get fired, no matter how poorly they perform? Can you believe those wealthy, out-of-touch one percenters on the school board are so callous they forced the …

    Technology is a dramatic disconnect in movies

    Technological limitations in a movie like “Argo” can open the doors to creating a Hitchcockian suspense puzzle that doesn’t depend on geeks using computers to obtain key information within seconds.

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