Review: By Over-Simplifying the Narrative, Bombshell Misses Its Mark
In the throes of the 2016 presidential campaign, as a nation geared up to elect a sexual predator, women in entertainment began speaking up and out against the bad actors […]
Lisa Trifone is Managing Editor and a Film Critic at Third Coast Review. A Rotten Tomatoes approved critic, she is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. Find more of Lisa's work at SomebodysMiracle.com
Review: American Dharma Doesn’t Offer Any New Insight into Steve Bannon’s Dangerous Political Influence
It’s true for all of us, to one degree or another, that we exist in a sort of information bubble when it comes to news, politics, current events and more. […]
Review: A Master Filmmaker Gives One Last Masterclass in Varda by Agnès
A few years ago, I designed for myself a sort of one-woman film festival: the films of Agnès Varda. Then in her mid-80s, the prolific French New Wave filmmaker was […]
Review: In The Aeronauts, Thrills and Scientific Discovery Taken to New Heights
Those with a fear of heights may want to brace themselves for The Aeronauts, the story of a scientist and a balloonist who ascend in a hot air balloon over 1860s […]
Review: Much the Same, Goodman’s A Christmas Carol Remains a Treat, If Ready for Change
Now in its 42nd year (a bit of a miracle, no?), Goodman Theatre’s A Christmas Carol remains a steadfastly satisfying holiday tradition, even as this latest edition sees little change year […]
Review: It’s a Wonderful Life As a Radio Play Remains a Holiday Must-See
Like putting up a tree and lights or baking sweet holiday treats, the holiday season in Chicago wouldn’t be the holiday season without American Blues Theater’s It’s a Wonderful Life: Live […]
Review: A Deeply Personal Exploration of Childhood Traumas in Shia LaBeouf’s Honey Boy
The premise is, admittedly, a bit strange: actor Shia LaBeouf wrote a screenplay based on his own experiences as a child actor (and later, in rehab) exploring his dysfunctional relationship […]
Review: In Waves, Family Drama, Heartbreak and Ultimately, Hope
A whirling, spinning roller coaster of emotion and drama, Waves, the third feature film from writer/director Trey Edward Shults (Krisha, It Comes at Night), is so fraught with heartbreak it may […]
Review: Marriage Story Weathers the Storm of Life-Changing Circumstances
There are major life events all of us are familiar with, whether or not we’ve experienced them for ourselves. A wedding or the birth of a child. The death of […]
Review: Charming Feast of the Seven Fishes Isn’t Quite a Classic
If you’re making an independent film, the chances of it also being a Christmas movie are probably fairly slim. Filmmaking is hard enough as it is; only the truly bold […]
Review: In The Kingmaker, Politics, Glamour, Corruption and the Woman at the Center of It All
Filmmaker Lauren Greenfield is used to working with subjects of a certain scale. Her 2012 documentary Queen of Versailles chronicles the building of what would be the country’s largest residential […]
Review: Stuffed Breathes Life into the Art and Science of Taxidermy
I sometimes wonder if, at some point down the road, we’ll run out of subjects on which to make documentaries. Surely, somewhere along the line, we’ll have made a film […]