Review: Disney Makes a Wish in New Family Musical That Fails to Shine
There is a lot that doesn’t work in Disney Animation’s latest original effort, Wish, but the main culprit is a plot that never clicks into place. The stakes never really […]
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: Colman Domingo Commands the Screen as Rustin, a Key Organizer of the March on Washington
I first encountered the bold, scene-stealing energy that is Colman Domingo in 2009, when I stumbled across Spike Lee’s filmed adaptation of Passing Strange, the stage musical about a young […]
Review: Filmmaker Todd Haynes Plumbs the Depths of Complicated Women in May December
Todd Haynes is a filmmaker’s filmmaker, an artist who makes not just movies, but cinema. From award-winning period pieces (Carol, Far From Heaven) to acclaimed documentaries (The Velvet Underground, Six […]
Review: Beetlejuice Exhausts More Than It Entertains, and Audiences Don’t Seem to Mind
Like movie theater blockbusters and best-selling fiction franchises, Broadway has its own version of the audience vs. critic debate, where the biggest commercial successes are often the ones least likely […]
Review: Sofia Coppola Beautifully, Gently Recounts Life with a Superstar in Priscilla
Sofia Coppola is a filmmaker who, from the moment she arrived on the scene with 1999’s moody and melancholy The Virgin Suicides, announced herself with a style, perspective and narrative […]
Review: Anatomy of a Fall Is a Gripping Procedural That Will Challenge, Engross Audiences
The opening scenes of Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall are disconcerting and quietly upsetting, a glimpse into a dysfunctional domestic setting that immediately gives audiences a taste of the […]
Dispatch: First Full Screening Days at 59th Chicago Int’l Film Festival Offer Chicago-Made Family Dramas, Powerful Docs on Legacy, and a Swimmer’s Record-Making Journey
In its first two full days of screenings, the 59th Chicago International Film Festival presents a strong variety of films, from locally made family dramas to harrowing, insightful documentaries about […]
Preview: 59th Chicago Int’l Film Festival Opens with Chicago-Centric Films, Offers Twelve Days of Screenings, Events and Education
Chicago is home to so many film festivals, there’s an association for them. From niche, weekend events that pop up throughout the year to stalwarts like Reeling (the long-running LGBTQ-centered […]
Review: Aiming for a Smart, Contemporary Rom-Com, She Came to Me Comes Up Disappointingly Lacking
Some years ago, at the height of their respective careers, Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence starred in a movie called Serena. It’s likely you’ve never seen it, or if you […]
Review: Fair Play Creates a Tense, Compelling Environment for a Female-Driven Relationship Thriller
British actress Phoebe Dynevor is best known for her work in the first season of Bridgerton, Netflix’s period-piece soap opera about a wealthy family and their romantic entrapments. The actor […]
Review: John Carney Makes Beautiful Music (Again) with Flora and Son
Filmmaker John Carney has a niche. Since breaking out with 2007’s bittersweet, music-driven Once (an adaptation of which went on to become a massive Tony-winning success on Broadway), the Irishman […]
Review: Over the Course of One Not Great Day, Debut Indie Mutt Offers Serviceable Story and Performances
For all the talk in the arts about who should be telling / performing which stories, a film like Mutt epitomizes how important it is that those living a certain […]