Review: DC’s Big, Bold Aquaman Isn’t a Masterpiece; It Is a Feast for the Eyes
Here’s the thing about the latest film based on a DC Comics superhero: it’s actually a lot of fun. Aquaman is not great—it’s barely even good—but it’s a great deal […]
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: Building on a Legacy, Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns Is Sure to Delight
I’ll be the first to admit, I never really understood the mystique of the Mary Poppins character. Or perhaps to put it more precisely, I certainly got what she represented […]
Review: Mortal Engines Is A Long Way from Launching the Next Great Franchise
There’s no telling why the screenwriters of The Lord of the Rings trilogy—Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Peter Jackson—thought that the Mortal Engines four-book series (written by Philip Reeve) was […]
Review: Kore-eda’s Shoplifters Is a Masterful, Elegant Story of the Families We Choose
From one of the current masters of Japanese cinema, Hirokazu Kore-eda (Nobody Knows; Like Father, Like Son; Our Little Sister; After the Storm), Shoplifters tells the story of a group of petty criminals […]
Review: Clint Eastwood’s The Mule May Not Be PC; It’s Also Not Half Bad
If Clint Eastwood’s own recent personal history wasn’t so steeped in botched political messages, I don’t think his films (with the obvious exception of American Sniper) would be so overly […]
Review: Once Upon a Deadpool Tones Down The Snark and Violence…A Little
I’m sure many of you rolled your eyes so far back in your head they almost got stuck there the first time you heard that the makers of Deadpool 2 […]
Review: Two Strong Performances Carry a Shaky Mary Queen of Scots
There is little doubt in this most recently telling of the life and death of Mary Stuart (here portrayed by Saoirse Ronan), the ambitious Queen of Scotland, eager to build […]
Review: Comic Book Worlds Collide in Creative, Ambitious and Totally Wonderful Into the Spider-Verse
This animated take on the adventures of Spider-Man is so visually and creatively daring, one can’t help but wish that all superhero movies took an equally ambitious path to the […]
Review: Chef Flynn Documents Child (Now Teen) Prodigy in His Own Kitchen
I’m guessing that a number of you who follow cooking culture and prominent chefs may have caught wind of young Flynn McGarry, a so-called child prodigy from Los Angeles who […]
Review: People’s Republic of Desire Shows Chinese Youth Obsessed With Online Celebrity
Certainly one of the stranger subjects for a documentary can be found in the latest work from director Hao Wu, People’s Republic of Desire, which attempts to make sense of […]
Review: Cuarón’s Roma Is an Extraordinary, Emotional Series of Remembrances
It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes as a film critic—or simply as an audience member—you exit a film so extraordinary and emotionally stirring that words nearly fail you. Writer/director/cinematographer/co-editor Alfonso […]
Interview: Actor Jon Heder on Working with New Filmmakers, Shooting in Chicago
This interview continues our coverage of this week’s Chicago premiere screenings of When Jeff Tried to Save the World, from first-time feature director and Chicago native Kendall Goldberg. The film […]