15 Jun 2026

A Loaf of Bread, Some Jugs of Wine, and Wow: “Les Misérables,” at the Timber Lake Playhouse through June 28

By Mike Schulz

There's no point in burying the lede on this: The Timber Lake Playhouse's Les Misérables is the most visually powerful, thunderously well-performed area production I've seen since my first published stage review debuted in 2005, and even since I first arrived in the Quad Cities for college in 1986.

15 Jun 2026

Stand Up, They're Rockin' the 'Boat: “Guys & Dolls,” at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre through June 21

By Mike Schulz

This past Thursday, after a full week of unseasonably hot, muggy weather, we were finally treated to an evening that was cool and breezy. I'm prone to credit the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre's Guys & Dolls for the atmospheric shift, because as season-opening presentations go, this one was as cool and breezy as they come.

08 Jun 2026

He-Man Nature: “Masters of the Universe,” “Power Ballad,” “Scary Movie,” and “Fallen Angels”

By Mike Schulz

Even in a sword-and-sorcery saga with considerable sci-fi elements, just how seriously are we supposed to take a movie whose protagonist goes by the moniker “He-Man”? Perhaps anticipating this question, the team behind the new Masters of the Universe has a locked-and-loaded reply: “Not seriously at all.” And when I say “not at all,” I mean Not. At. All.

01 Jun 2026

I Am Curious (About the Yellow): “Backrooms,” “Pressure,” and “The Breadwinner”

By Mike Schulz

I'm not sure what it says about the future of horror movies – if it says anything at all – that the year's strongest, scariest creep-out to date is directed by someone not quite old enough to drink.

25 May 2026

Force Mineur: “Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu,” “I Love Boosters,” and “Passenger”

By Mike Schulz

Over the course of two-hours-plus, “cute” will only get you so far. But it's astounding how far it gets us in Star Wars: The Mandalorian & Grogu, which might've been an easy franchise low point if not for the diminutive cuddlebug of the title.

16 May 2026

The Monkey's Pawn: “Obsession,” “Is God Is,” “In the Grey,” and “Marty, Life Is Short”

By Mike Schulz

There are so many smart, promising ideas floating around in the comedic horror of Obsession that it almost doesn't matter that few of them feel properly explored, and that writer/director/editor Curry Barker doesn't seem to have entirely figured out either his principal characters or his film's overall tone.

11 May 2026

Flocking Awesome: “The Sheep Detectives,” “Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard & Soft: The Tour Live in 3D,” and “Mortal Kombat II”

By Mike Schulz

The Sheep Detectives is kind of like Babe meets Paddington meets The Wild Robot meets Agatha Christie … which means, unexpectedly yet delightfully, it's also kind of perfect.

04 May 2026

Don't Let the Dior Hit You on the Way Out: “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” “Hokum,” “Deep Water,” and “Animal Farm”

By Mike Schulz

Meryl Streep as imperious fashion editor Miranda Priestly, Anne Hathaway as plucky journalist-turned-personal-assistant Andy Sachs, Stanley Tucci as acerbic Runway mainstay Nigel Kipling, Emily Blunt as snippy ladder-climber Emily Charlton … . Who wouldn't want to watch these people, as these people, one more time?

29 Apr 2026

“For the Love of Peter,” May 8 and 9

By Mike Schulz

As part of the Playcrafters Barn Theatre's third-annual Pride Celebration, the Moline venue will host the debut of local actor/playwright Don Faust's comedy For the Love of Peter, an original one-act being presented on May 8 and 9.

27 Apr 2026

Beating It: “Michael,” “I Swear,” and “Over Your Dead Body”

By Mike Schulz

There's a line, or rather a lyric, that fully encapsulates what Michael is about, and it's found in Jackson's 1983 smash “Billie Jean”: “And be careful of what you do / 'Cause the lie becomes the truth.”

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