2021: Best Documentary Films of the Year
As is tradition around these parts, I separate documentaries into their own Best of the Year list, not because I feel they should be judged any differently than narrative films, […]
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: Dark, Hazy and Filled with Drama, The Tragedy of Macbeth Is a Unique, Impressive Take on Classic Material
Like Orson Welles did nearly 75 years earlier, director Joel Coen (working without brother Ethan) has taken Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, stripped it down to essentials—minimalist set design, shot […]
Review: Often Delightful, Sometimes Heartbreaking, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza Is One of the Year’s Best
I was too young in the early to mid-1970s to have any real appreciation or nostalgia for the era today; and I grew up on the east coast, nowhere near […]
Review: Jumping Back in Time a Century, a Bawdy, Unsophisticated The King’s Man Sets Up the Future of the Franchise
To be clear, this 100-years-earlier prequel to director Matthew Vaughn’s original 2014 Kingsman: The Secret Service (as well as its abysmal 2017 sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle) does not portray […]
Review: In Resurrecting The Matrix, the Fourth Installment Feels Stale and Sadly Familiar
It’s astonishing that there are those criticizing how Spider-Man: No Way Home bends multiple Spider-Man universes in on themselves, but they don’t seem to have any issues with the latest […]
Review: In Guillermo del Toro’s Noir Drama Nightmare Alley, Strong Performances Match a Bold Aesthetic
I’ve had enough conversations with director Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water) over the years to know two things about him: 1) he has the soul of […]
Review: A Powerful Performance from Mahershala Ali Is at the Center of Sci-Fi Swan Song
The thrill of watching Mahershala Ali in any role has only grown over the last couple of years, so the prospect of getting two of him in one movie is […]
Review: Spider-Man: No Way Home Is Just Nostalgic and New Enough to be a Great Addition to the Superhero’s Canon
In my comic book reading patterns, Spider-Man was always my guy. Not because of his cool powers or even the similarities in our ages when I was reading his adventures. […]
Review: Italian Auteur Paolo Sorrentino Goes Autobiographical for a Small but Mighty The Hand of God
Feeling like his most autobiographical outing to date, Academy Award-winning writer/director Paolo Sorrentino (Il Divo, The Great Beauty) brings us The Hand of God, the story of Fabietto Schisa (Filippo […]
Review: Sandra Bullock Goes Against Type in Gritty, Mostly Successful The Unforgivable
In a case of “so close you can sometimes see the better movie,” The Unforgivable tells the story of Ruth Slater (Sandra Bullock), who is released from prison after serving […]
Review: Fictional National Champions Asks Important Questions About a Real-Life Sports Debate
Not a bad week for J.K. Simmons. In addition to showing up as actor William Frawley (Fred, from “I Love Lucy”) in Being the Ricardos, he takes on an even […]
Review: Aaron Sorkin Goes Into the Writers Room, and Personal Lives of Lucy and Desi, in Being the Ricardos
Take a minute and think about the people in charge of a television show watched and adored by millions every week. They bring laughter and joy into people’s homes with […]