Surya Gupta

Director Matt Johnson (Left) and Dominic Sessa as Tony in Tony (cr: A24 via AP News) I had no faith in the Tony biopic despite being charmed by Matt Johnson's auteur-ish inclinations. But that lack of faith did not stop me from wandering into the Roosevelt AMC for a matinee the weekend before classes. Tony is everything your standard biopic is except for the fact that it isn't concerned with its subject. It has the references to coming life events, the pre-fame youthful protagonist, it even...

Sign outside United Center (my photo!) In October of 1974, a 24 year old Bruce Springsteen played Chicago for the first time. They opened for a band called the Persuasion, at The Quiet Knight off West Belmont. Springsteen told us this story during a break during Chicago show of his 'Land of Hopes and Dreams American Tour' this past Wednesday (4/29/2026) now in the United Center, stacked with tens of thousands of people. Full of protest songs and rousing speeches from the Boss himself,...

Jean Luc Godard (Left) and Francois Truffaut (Right) Everyone who has a vague idea of film history knows the French New Wave, or at least that's how I see it, the French New Wave is a gateway drug to cinephilia. Anyways I want to talk about my favs from the era, and their following careers, and a bit about their peers, a bit of everything if you will. I'm going to start with a bit of background info, the French New Wave era began with a group of young fresh directors, who often hailed from...