Review: Nobody 2 Waters Down the Brutal Fun, Novel Concept of the Original
A part of the success of the 2021 film Nobody likely had something to do with the novelty that it’s the story of a seemingly ordinary man fighting like a […]
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: Strange Harvest Fakes a Convincing True-Crime Doc—Until It Doesn’t
Told in the framework of a somewhat convincing faux true-crime documentary, writer-director Stuart Ortiz’s (Grave Encounters), Strange Harvest tells the story of a pair of detectives—Joe Kirby (Peter Zizzo) and […]
Review: Descendent Is a Mind-Bending Thriller That Frustrates as Much as It Intrigues
Written and directed by actor-turned-director Peter Cilella (marking his feature debut behind the camera), Descendent is one of those suspense films that deliberately blurs the line between the lead character’s […]
Review: Weapons Turns Small-Town Horror Into a Gruesome, Genre-Bending Mystery
In 2022, for reasons that are still a mystery to some, writer/director Zach Cregger’s twisty, bizarre Barbarian became something of a hit among even non-horror enthusiasts, perhaps because it leaned […]
Review: The Pick-Up Pairs Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson in a Clunky Caper
Director Tim Story is the king of two-film franchises. He helmed such series as the original Fantastic Four films, the Think Like A Man twofer, and the Ride Along movies, […]
Review: Architecton Finds Poetry in Concrete, Stone, and a World in Transition
A few years ago, filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky made the beautifully photographed and extraordinary Gunda, a documentary about the lives of farm animals that has stuck with me since I first […]
Review: Together Turns Co-Dependency Into Creepy, Cronenberg-Style Romance
Both an intense love story and a horror-tinged cautionary tale about relationships that are based on co-dependency, Together, the feature debut from Australian writer/director Michael Shanks, concerns a young couple, […]
Review: The Bad Guys 2 Brings Big Voice Talent to a So-So Story
In this sequel to the moderately popular 2022 original, The Bad Guys 2 follows the crew of animated animal villains (former villains, actually) down their new path of being Good […]
Preview: Chicago’s Home-Grown Horror Convention, Flashback Weekend Chicago, Features Tributes, Film Series and Chances to Meet Your Favorites
North America’s longest-running horror-themed gathering, Flashback Weekend Chicago Horror Convention, celebrates its 24th year August 1-3 at the Hyatt Regency O’Hare Chicago in Rosemont. The schedule includes a celebrity guest line-up […]
Review: Pete Davidson Continues to Try On New Characters, Acting Styles in Effective Thriller The Home
When did Pete Davidson become the type of actor you could slot into just about any role? Actually, pretty much from the beginning of his movie career. Unlike another former […]
Review: Michael Winterbottom’s Shoshana Skillfully Chronicles Political Turmoil and Unexpected Romance
In this “inspired by real events” work from prolific British director Michael Winterbottom (The Trip films, A Mighty Heart) comes a tight-wire act of a film set in the pivotal […]
Review: The Fantastic Four: First Steps Balances a Retro Look and Feel with a Fresh Take on Stan Lee’s Classic Foursome
In so many superhero films’ attempts to feel grounded and emotional, they forget that their source material is comic books—colorful and inventive but rooted in the human condition. They can […]