2023 in Review: Best Narrative Films of the Year
It’s the last Friday of a pretty great year for film, so it’s time to reveal my Best of the Year list. As always, I was able to squeeze in […]
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.
2023 in Review: Best Documentary Films of the Year
As I am prone to do every year, I separate documentaries into their own Best of the Year list, not because I feel they should be judged any differently than […]
Review: George Clooney Plumbs Nostalgia for The Boys in the Boat, a Gauzy Retelling of a Historic Moment
George Clooney the filmmaker seems nostalgic for a time period he never actually lived in—with works like Good Night, and Good Luck; Leatherheads; The Monuments Men; and now his latest, […]
Review: Stunning Locations and Beautiful People Aside, Anyone But You Is a Rom-Com Without Much of Either
The characters in the new romantic-comedy Anyone But You spend a great deal of time walking away from each other when their feelings get hurt rather than sticking around and […]
Review: Despite Vibrant Visuals, Animated Duck Tale Migration Isn’t Much to Quack About
From Illumination, the animation studio that brought us the Despicable Me, Minions, and The Secret Life of Pets franchises, comes a slightly more accomplished tale of conquering your feelings and […]
Review: In Rebel Moon Part One: A Child of Fire, Zack Snyder Goes Inter-Galactic, with Plenty of Slo-Mo and Special Effects
If I’m understanding the stories behind the creation of the latest opus from filmmaker Zack Snyder, it was conceived as a possible Star Wars movie. For whatever reason, that didn’t […]
Review: Jason Momoa Returns to the Water for Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, a Fitting if Chaotic Sequel
Considering the original Aquaman is the highest-grossing DC film of all time, it’s hard to understand why a sequel took five years since that film’s release to arrive. But a […]
Review: A Wrestling Family Faces Tough Battles Inside the Ring and Out in The Iron Claw
You may question why a film set in the world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s is something you should care about. I would counter by telling you that […]
Review: Michael Mann Drives Ferrari, Offering Thrilling Race Scenes and Compelling Family Drama
When you go deep into the woods on a public figure, you better be damn sure that their life outside of whatever it was that made them famous is a […]
Review: Young People Thrive—and Crumble—Under Pressure in Competition Doc Pianoforte
Taking a page from the Spellbound playbook, Polish-born director Jakub Piatek (Prime Time) follows a handful of young contestants in the world-famous International Chopin Piano Competition, held every five years […]
Review: Immediate Family Chronicles the Legendary Musicians Backing Some of the 1970s’ Best-Known Tracks
It’s rare that documentaries get sequels, but director Denny Tedesco follows up his remarkable 2008 music doc The Wrecking Crew!—about a sizable group of L.A.-based studio musicians who played on […]
Review: Conspiracy Theories, Trust Issues Abound in Leave the World Behind, Starring Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke and Mahersahala Ali
I’m guessing that the societal subtext of author Rumaan Alam’s National Book Award-nominated novel Leave the World Behind is a bit more subtle and sinister than the current adaptation by […]