Film Review: The New It is Damn Genius
Whoever came up with the idea to produce a new version of Stephen King’s It (the first for the big screen) 27 years after the original television miniseries is 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.
Film Review: After Love, Stunning Acting, Minimalist Approach
A film so authentic in its portrayal of the slow, painful dissolution of a marriage, France’s After Love takes a fly-on-the-wall approach at observing the emotionally destructive dance taking place […]
Film Review: Temple, an Homage to Japanese Horror Films
Veteran cinematographer-turned-first-time-director Michael Barrett (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) and in-demand screenwriter Simon Barrett (You’re Next, The Guest, Blair Witch) combine scary forces with Temple, a U.S.-Japanese co-production that pays homage […]
Film Review: Goon: Last of the Enforcers Retreads Familiar Ice
Some sequels are a natural extension of what has come before. Others are an exercise in assembling nearly all of the cast from the previous film and finding ways to […]
Film Review: Close Encounters of the Third Kind (4K reissue), Director’s Cut, Still Great After All These Years
The film that is opening in the most theaters this week is actually a 40-year-old masterpiece from writer-director Steven Spielberg. I’m not going to spend a lot of time talking […]
Film Review: Sit Up and Take Notice of Indie Thriller Valley of Bones
A little gem of a suspense thriller is being given a limited release this week from director/co-writer Dan Glaser. Although the story is much different than the currently in release […]
Film Review: I Do…Until I Don’t…and Maybe You Shouldn’t, Either
I’m still not entirely sure why writer-director-actor Lake Bell (who last helmed the appealing In A World…) chose the making of a documentary about marriage as the framework for her […]
Film Review: Lakeith Stanfield Stands out in Flawed but Effective Crown Heights
When 18-year-old Colin Warner was arrested for murder in 1980, I’m guessing he believed the truth—and a lack of credible witnesses—would set him free. But the type of shoddy defense […]
Film Review: Terminator 2: Judgment Day 3D Is a Ride Worth Retaking
This is not so much a review as a reminder that James Cameron’s 1991 Terminator 2: Judgment Day is still one of the most perfectly paced and high-energy action films […]
Film Review: Witness the Animated Charm of 1800s Paris in Leap!
This French production from co-directors Éric Summer and Éric Warin (the latter of whom was in the art department on The Triplets of Belleville) has been dubbed in English and […]
Watch a 35mm Screening of L.A. Confidential at Music Box’s Noir Film Festival
What has become one of my favorite repertory film festivals in Chicago begins tonight, Aug. 25 to Thursday, Aug. 31 “Noir City: Chicago—The Big Knockover” returns to the Music Box […]
Film Review: Jon Hamm Breathes Life into the Captivating Marjorie Prime
The ideas that feed into director Michael Almereyda’s screen adaptation of the much-celebrated, Jordan Harrison-written play Marjorie Prime are quite extraordinary, even if the execution of the movie is flawed […]