Review: In Run, a Mother/Daughter Bond With Nowhere to Go
I genuinely wish I liked this one more. There have been plenty of films and television outings documenting the very real phenomenon of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. It’s a mental […]
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: Without the Charm of the Original, The Christmas Chronicles 2 Resorts to Stale Seasonal Conventions
Full confession: I’m not a fan of most Christmas movies, whether they’re the kind Hallmark/Lifetime churn out at this time of year or if they actually make it through the […]
Review: Understanding the Woman Who Tries To Understand Murderers in Alex Gibney’s Crazy, Not Insane
Releasing his second documentary in as many months (following the co-helmed Totally Under Control, the timely look at how the U.S. government handled the response to the COVID-19 outbreak during […]
Review: LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special Indulges Fans in its Time-Hopping, Festive Storyline
It’s not as strong or funny as the two LEGO movies and it only runs about 40 minutes, but for some reason The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special is exactly […]
Interview: The Climb Filmmakers, Stars on Using Their Own Names, Building Off Their Short Film, and Inspiration from French Cinema
At its core, the long-delayed art-house comedy The Climb (which had its world premiere at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Coup de Coeur prize) is about […]
Review: Only Margot Robbie Completists Need Invest in Forgettable Depression-Era Dreamland
Obviously, when Margot Robbie’s name gets attached to anything, I’ll take notice. But the strange little 2019 holdover Dreamland was a work I knew nothing about until a couple of […]
Review: Disappointing Ammonite Keeps Leads Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan from Digging Very Deep
I spent most of my time watching writer/director Francis Lee’s (God’s Own Country) new film Ammonite in awe of its lead character, Mary Anning (Kate Winslet). She’s a reserved but well-respected, […]
Review: Single-Note Come Away Treats Classic Children’s Stories as Fodder for Derivative Dreck
For as much vitriol is being shot this week at the emotional dishonesty of a film like Hillbilly Elegy, I find that crime far more on display in a work […]
Review: Mank Delves into the Process, Memories and Later Years of a Classic Hollywood Screenwriter
The first thing you should do before seeing David Fincher’s Mank is re-watch (or watch for the first time, you cinema philistine) 1941’s Citizen Kane and maybe even do a little […]
Review: Freaky Reinvents the Body-Swap Comedy with a Bloody, Dark and Wicked Take
Sometimes with movies, being given what you want is preferable to being given what you need. I remain a great admirer of the Happy Death Day movies because they delivered […]
Review: Werner Herzog’s Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds Inspires with Big Questions, Grand Visuals
Whenever Werner Herzog directs and narrates a documentary that involves vast landscapes and/or ancient religions, sign me up. Co-helmed with Clive Oppenheimer, Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds involves the pair […]
Review: A Conservative’s Memoir Clashes with a Liberal’s Filmmaking in Confused, Superficially Emotional Hillbilly Elegy
I’m not here to judge the best-selling memoir of J.D. Vance or his conservative politics the way others seem to do in their reviews of the film adaptation of Hillbilly […]