Recently, I had a discussion with one of my favorite Chicago-area film critics. He was telling me how he had just arrived from the Toronto Film Festival and about all the fantastic films he saw there. He was able to sit and talk with filmmakers like “Sideways”...

“Friday Night Lights” may seem like another dramatic football movie made all too often, but in actuality, it was adapted from a true story written in 1988. The story of “Lights” is anything but a “Varsity Blues”-style romp, which frames the...

You never know what to expect with the new Q and Not U album. Its first album, “No Kill No Beep Beep,” successfully utilized Fugazi-influenced guitar antics. Their second album, “Different Damage,” reflected the loss of its bass player by incorporating...

For my first - and most likely only - jacking of a trade, I felt humanitarian and hit up the Committee for the Preservation of Wildlife. What better way for a guy who avoids the outdoors at all costs and used to sleep in the car during family camping...

Behind every good movie, there is a good screenwriter. However, oftentimes, the writers of a film fall to the wayside when big-name directors and flashy stars dominate the credits. Gerald DiPego, an NIU and Northern Star alumnus with more than 30 years...

R. Kelly and Jay-Z considered performing in DeKalb, but fellow rap artists Lloyd Banks and Shawnna have made it a done deal. On Saturday, the duo will perform at the Convocation Center as part of the Homecoming Jam. Students can purchase tickets for the...

Tickets go on sale Friday for Howie Day and Nickel Creek, set to play at 7 p.m. on Oct. 29 in the Holmes Student Center’s Duke Ellington Ballroom. The Campus Activities Board is funding the show, which will open with special guest David Bekley. Tickets...

With the presidential election less than a month away, Weekender wanted to find out which celebrities you would like to see not endorse candidates, but take up a campaign of their own. , Former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic with aspirations of joining...

Welcome back to another fresh edition of Playback, yo! This week’s compilation comes from Sumiko Keay, receptionist for University Programming and Activities. DeKalb resident Keay’s most recent concert experience was Saturday at The Lord of the Rings...

From MTV to NIU, Cribs is in the house ... well, residence hall. Throughout the semester, Sweeps will delve into the dopest domiciles NIU students inhabit. This week, we visit the pretty in pink ... and purple pad of NIU students Amanda Johnson and Allison...

You are out on a date. You have had a wonderful evening. You really like this person. You would like to go out again. And then it happens. WHAM! You are now face-to-face with a little white slip of paper that says it’s time for you to fork over a dead...

Florida was just hit with more bad news: A new hurricane has formed and is scheduled to arrive at 5 p.m. Saturday. Its name is NIU. The University of Central Florida Golden Knights will play host to the NIU football team in Orlando, Florida. The hopping-mad...