Magic at the Movies

Contact the Show!

As we target Monday November 2nd for the holiday schedule release...Mike and Mike (the one and only “Voice of Christmas”) Balsamo, take a look at the holiday movie lineup coming to the painted lady herself, the historic Tivoli Theatre.

Christmas Day 1928 is the Tivoli’s birthday, so you could say the place has earned the right to take Christmas pretty seriously. And this year’s schedule gives us plenty of reasons to celebrate, with a lineup designed to bring you back again and again for some of the most beloved holiday movies ever made...including a few you’ll want to sing along with.

So, WHEN IS TOO EARLY FOR XMAS? We may have just crossed the line.

Ho Ho Holy smokes, this is one GREAT holiday schedule.

Contact the Show!

Mike and Jim dig into the secret sauce behind the Nathan Fielder / Elizabeth Holmes documentary that has quickly become one of the most fascinating cultural entries in this week’s lineup, YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING.

We were lucky enough to preview the film for a week at Lake Theatre, giving us the chance to see it before its wider Classic Cinemas release this Thursday. The verdict? Unanimous praise for a film that breaks boundaries, bends rules and repeatedly moves the line of truth in ways that are difficult to look away from.

This is a highly recommended film, and our discussion is carefully reviewed to avoid spoilers. Every once in a while, a movie comes along that shakes up convention and is just really hard to turn away from. This is one of those movies.

And somehow, ALL THREE HOURS of it fit that description.

Join us at Classic Cinemas everywhere except Paramount.

Contact the Show!

Mike is getting ready for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, all through the lens of one 1,100-seat, 98-year-old movie palace that has served Chicago’s western suburbs for nearly a century. And if you’re thinking old theatre, we’re saying, “Hell no!” This bobby dazzler has undergone a decades-long, painstaking facelift, and it shines as brightly today as it did on opening day.

In this episode of Magic at the Movies, Mike unveils three bespoke calendars for the historic Tivoli Theatre, and the titles are a treat all their own. Get ready for chills with Psycho and John Carpenter’s Halloween, a trip back to the future, a dive into the worlds of Clayface and The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, a James Bond series, the shadowy allure of Double Indemnity, and a bevy of Christmas classics to round out the year.

From seasonal scares to cinematic treasures and holiday traditions, the Tivoli proves that a great movie palace doesn’t just preserve the past. It keeps making new memories, one screening at a time.

Speaking of calendars, pick yours up at the Tivoli concessions counter. We’re going old school: hang it on your fridge!

Contact the Show!

With Digger causing a recent kerfuffle in the critics’ room, Mike Schindler looks back at his career as a film projectionist and programmer to revisit movies that stumbled at the box office when they debuted, only to find redemption years later as cult classics.

One of those films? The Tarantino-Rodriguez joint Grindhouse, which is getting an upcoming screening at Classic. And Mike has a suggestion: get there early and see Digger first.

That’s right, he’s already making the case for Digger to join the ranks of films that audiences eventually learn to love. A Digger + Grindhouse double feature would only be a six-hour commitment.

No big deal, right?

Contact the Show!

As October moves onto this week’s calendar, Mike Schindler touts the early access screenings of Verity and talks up Tom Cruise’s performance in Digger... but what Mike REALLY wants to talk about is his beloved White Sox pennant sprint and how it gets him thinking about the BEST baseball movies ever made.

Which films make his list? Will you agree, or will you think his off-the-pole homer was really a foul ball? Only you can decide.

Join us with Mr. October himself... Mike Schindler.

Contact the Show!

Mike takes a trip into the MARVELous universe of MARVEL for a deep dive into AVENGERS: ENDGAME ENCORE. He explores Infinity Vision and what it takes to meet the standards for those theatres, including the fact that all of our XQ and GDX auditoriums have met, and in most cases exceeded, the requirements.

Mike has also taken another look at the film, which might be his sixth screening by now, and digs into all the ingredients that make ENDGAME such a great movie. But he also looks at what ENDGAME does beyond its own story, serving as the perfect off-ramp from one era of the MCU and the runway toward the end-of-year's most anticipated sequel, DOOMSDAY.

And to round out the full Marvel picture, Mike has organized the Marvel movies into a Top 10, complete with his rationale for each selection. See if you agree!

Contact the Show!

Mike is back, and this week he phones a friend: his old projectionist pal Max. The two get together to talk about the upcoming Resident Evil, the latest big-screen trip into the world of video games.

With Zach Cregger, the filmmaker behind Barbarian and Weapons, at the helm, Mike and Max are feeling some serious tremors in the horror-verse. Could this be the Resident Evil movie that finally shatters expectations and reinvents the franchise? And if it does, could it open the door for a whole new generation of stalled-out, stale video-game IP to get the big-screen treatment it deserves?

Join Mike and Max as they figure out what's playing this week, what you should see, and what you might want to avoid.

Contact the Show!

Mike was at a loss for a podcast topic this week, so he did what any cinephile would do: texted his movie-loving friend group and asked them what he should talk about. What followed was less of a plan and more of a cinematic road trip with several unexpected detours.

Mike covers the movies opening this week, including HOPE, PRACTICAL MAGIC 2 and THE OASIS documentary, before somehow finding the back roads to the first time he saw STAR TREK, the time he took a friend visiting from Texas to five movie theatres instead of Chicago landmarks, and a breathless round of promotion for podcasts that aren't even Magic at the Movies.

There was his plan. Sort of. Mike had fun. You will too.

Contact the Show!

Mike sits down to talk about his love affair with late-summer cinema, that wonderful stretch when the biggest blockbusters take a breather before the holiday season arrives, giving moviegoers a chance to discover, rediscover and fall in love with movies that have already had their moment in the spotlight.

For theatres, it’s an opportunity to bring repertory titles back to the big screen, and Classic Cinemas is happy to take advantage of it.

Naturally, Mike spends some time talking about the bigger picture... before getting wonderfully sidetracked by a weekend-long 60th anniversary celebration of his beloved Star Trek series, La La Land, the 40th anniversary of the 1986 animated Transformers movie, Avengers: Endgame, and plenty more.

Because sometimes the best time to fall in love with an old movie is when everyone else is waiting for the next new one.

Contact the Show!

It seems the crew is taking a well-earned summer break, so we’re using the opportunity to revisit two episodes from 2024 that take a deep dive into our Premium Large Format presentation brand, XQ (or GDX at our Kendall location).

First, Mike sits down with CEO Chris Johnson for a fascinating conversation about what makes XQ different. Then, we revisit a conversation with our now retired, Lead Booth Technician, Alan Gilbertson, who offers a behind-the-scenes look at the technology, craftsmanship, and attention to detail that go into delivering a truly exceptional moviegoing experience.

If you love movies and appreciate quality presentation, this is well worth a relisten. Two conversations, three knowledgeable voices, and a whole lot of insight into what happens between the projector and the screen.

Enjoy this look back at some terrific material from Mike, Chris, and Alan.