Review: Much-Delayed Morbius Misses the Chance to Launch a Truly Compelling Comic Book Anti-Hero
At this point, I think it’s fair to say that any comic book character that has even the most remote stink of Spider-Man on them is fair game for 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: The Automat Serves Up Morsels of History, Memories of Bygone America
File this one under the category: Documentaries I Didn’t Know I Needed Until I Watched It. From first-time filmmaker Lisa Hurwitz, The Automat tells the all-but-lost history of the Horn […]
Review: Chris Pine Gets Intense as a Mercenary Trying to Solve a Mystery in The Contractor
Taking a crack at a bare-bones action-thriller B-movie, Chris Pine (Star Trek, Wonder Woman) plays Special Forces Sgt. James Harper in The Contractor. He finds himself in trouble with the […]
Review: Nostalgia, Ambition and Outer Space Loom Large in Richard Linklater’s Endearing Apollo 10½
Using the same animation style (and lead animator Tommy Pallotta) he used in Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly, writer/director Richard Linklater brings us the more personal tale of his […]
Review: Overstuffed and Unfunny, The Bubble Fails to Make a Pandemic Production Entertaining
Apparently writer/director Judd Apatow and co-writer Pam Brady (Hot Rod, Hamlet 2, Team America) see the health-related restrictions put on film and television productions during the pandemic as creating both […]
Review: A Visual Feast, Everything Everywhere All At Once Is Confounding, Compelling and One of the Year’s Best
There are times when a film might attempt to pack too much movie into a single work, and I can easily see people having that issue with the latest from […]
Review: Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum Can’t Save a Half-Baked, Poorly Scripted The Lost City
In a setup and general vibe that reminded me of films like Romancing the Stone, The Lost City tells the story of frustrated romance novelist Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock), who […]
Review: 7 Days Charmingly Brings Two People Together During the Pandemic’s Early Days of Keeping Us Apart
An early candidate for the most adorable film of the year, the festival favorite 7 Days recently won the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature for director Roshan Sethi, […]
Review: Harrowing Rescue Story Infinite Storm Offers Brutal but Authentic Character Study
On the heels of what was effectively a one-woman show in the school shooting drama The Desperate Hour, star Naomi Watts returns with another film clearly shot during the pandemic […]
Interview: Chicago Native Graham Moore on the Precision of The Outfit, the Art of the Reveal and Setting the Film in 1950s Chicago
When last we met Chicago native Graham Moore, he was picking up an Oscar for his first produced screenplay, 2014’s The Imitation Game. If memory serves, at the time, he […]
Review: As a Movie You’ll Love to Hate, Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas Deliver in Deep Water
This one is bonkers. Top to bottom bonkers. More importantly, the return to movie-making by director Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction, 9 1/2 Weeks, Jacob’s Ladder), Deep Water) finds ways to […]
Review: Starring Oscar-Winner Mark Rylance, The Outfit Is a Tightly Wound, Delightfully Intriguing Thriller
Pulling together a pair of Oscar winners—actor Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) and writer Graham Moore (The Imitation Game)—The Outfit is a tightly wound, delightfully intriguing thriller that also happens […]