Review: Steve McQueen’s Chicago-set Widows Is a Complex, Layered Ensemble Work
Widows is about a great many things, only one of which is a group of women, all of whom have lost their husbands during the commission of a joint robbery […]
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: Second Installment of Harry Potter Prequel Fantastic Beasts Isn’t Very Magical
There are times watching Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald that feel like directing rush hour traffic at a four-way stoplight that is green on every side. With dozens of […]
Review: Filmmaker Matthew Heineman on Making A Private War, Casting Rosamund Pike and An Emotional Set
Although it’s not director Matthew Heineman’s first time chronicling people in war-torn regions of the world, A Private War does mark his narrative feature debut (his earlier credits include the […]
Interview: Joel Edgerton and Garrard Conley on Adapting and Casting Boy Erased To Reach the Biggest Audience Possible
Following his critically acclaimed directorial debut The Gift, writer/director/star Joel Edgerton was searching for a story that was far removed from his own experience when he was given a copy […]
Review: Blues Icon Paul Butterfield Gets His Due in Documentary Horn from the Heart
One musician featured in the documentary Horn from the Heart: The Paul Butterfield Story jokingly bemoans the fact that it almost isn’t fair that Butterfield was such a talented blues […]
Review: Part Horror, Part War Movie, Overlord Is a Twisted Affair
I love when a film mixes genres. Even if the blending isn’t wholly successful, it’s always a blast to watch how a filmmaker attempts to make them come together by […]
Review: A Holiday Classic Gets Animated to Great Effect in Illumination’s The Grinch
My biggest issue with the 2000 Ron Howard-directed How the Grinch Stole Christmas was that, because so many of the effects were practical, much of the film is shot in […]
Interview: Elizabeth Chomko and Robert Forster on Coming of Age and Coming Back to Chicago for What They Had
What They Had is about a lot of things, most of which are related to a family’s inability to talk about medical care, but also bigger-picture drama like the inability […]
Review: The Edge Is Missing from Lisbeth Salander’s Latest Adventure, The Girl in the Spider’s Web
For the record, the “official” subtitle of The Girl in the Spider’s Web, this latest tale of militant hacker and all-around Swedish badass Lisbeth Salander, is “A New Dragon Tattoo […]
Interview: Jimmy Chin and Alex Honnold on the Risks, Planning and Emotional Investment of Climbing in Free Solo
One of the many success stories in the field of documentary films released in 2018 is the mountain-climbing thrill ride Free Solo. For those fortunate enough to see 2015’s Meru, […]
Interview: Veteran Music Video Director Joseph Khan Talks Weaponizing Words and Creating a World in Bodied
As someone who grew up always trying to note the names of directors of my favorite music videos, the name Joseph Kahn has been a big part of my history […]
Interview: Filmmaker Gabe Polsky Explores What Makes Athletes Exceptional in In Search of Greatness
Filmmaker Gabe Polsky is someone who crosses my path every few years, and I’m always excited to see him and what ideas for future projects he’s got cooking. Raised in […]