Review: The Kid Feels Like a Familiar, Special Western
The tendency of most modern Westerns is to go about as dark as you can, but few in recent memory go quite as morose as The Kid, the sophomore effort from […]
Steve Prokopy is chief film critic for the Chicago-based arts outlet Third Coast Review. For nearly 20 years, he was the Chicago editor for Ain’t It Cool News, where he contributed film reviews and filmmaker/actor interviews under the name “Capone.” Currently, he’s a frequent contributor at /Film (SlashFilm.com) and Backstory Magazine. He is also the public relations director for Chicago's independently owned Music Box Theatre, and holds the position of Vice President for the Chicago Film Critics Association. In addition, he is a programmer for the Chicago Critics Film Festival, which has been one of the city's most anticipated festivals since 2013.
Review: As An Endurance Test, Climax May Not Be Worth the Payoff
For a filmmaker who has made a career out of emphasizing fever-dream-like visuals, Gaspar Noé (Irreversible, Enter the Void, Love) may have topped himself with his latest, Climax. This film […]
Review: Captain Marvel Origin Story Hits New, Welcome Notes in the Marvel Universe
There’s a moment in the midst of Marvel Studio’s latest superhero spectacular Captain Marvel in which Brie Larson’s space warrior character Vers (her name at that point in the story; […]
22nd European Union Film Festival Presents 60 Films at Siskel Film Center
From March 8 through April 4, the Gene Siskel Film Center brings the creative diversity and excitement of Europe to Chicago, with the 22nd Annual Chicago European Union Film Festival. […]
Review: Icon Isabelle Huppert Deserves Better Than Greta
There’s a moment early in Greta, the latest from director Neil Jordan’s (The Crying Game, The End of the Affair, Interview with the Vampire), where the title character (played by one of […]
Review: Timely Immigration Drama Saint Judy is Worth Seeking Out
This timely and unexpectedly good-hearted biopic tells the story of Judy Wood (the always reliable Michelle Monaghan), an attorney who moved to California with her young son Alex (Gabriel Bateman), […]
Review: A Provocative, Prolific Photographer’s Life Is Focus of Mapplethorpe
Documentary filmmaker Ondi Timoner has long been one of my favorite observers of life, in that she doesn’t just point a camera at her subjects—like comedian/activist Russell Brand (Brand: A […]
Review: As Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Directorial Debut, The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind is an Inspiration
In a time when science is considered opinion and a token in political games, it’s heartwarming to get a film that celebrates ingenuity inspired by a love of science and […]
Review: Restored Footage and Intimacy Bring Apollo 11 Mission To Life
One of the unquestionable documentary highlights of this year’s Sundance Film Festival was director Todd Douglas Miller’s (Dinosaur 13) latest, Apollo 11, a narration-free account of the NASA mission that […]
Review: The Hidden World Another Impressive Installment in the Dragon Franchise
Despite the fact that they take four years or more to make, the How To Train Your Dragon movies are some of the most consistent, visually impressive and outright engaging […]
Review: The Unexpectedly Heartfelt Fighting With My Family
I know very little about the sports-entertainment practice of the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment), outside of the movie stars it sometimes gives rise to, such as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson […]
Review: Mourning, Belief and Unlikely Buddies in To Dust
A strange and haunting work, To Dust is the feature debut from Shawn Snyder, a veteran sound mixer who has made many shorts over the years. His latest film begins as a […]