Review: Stuffed Breathes Life into the Art and Science of Taxidermy
I sometimes wonder if, at some point down the road, we’ll run out of subjects on which to make documentaries. Surely, somewhere along the line, we’ll have made a film […]
Review: Real-Life Scandal Drives Gripping, Devastating By the Grace of God
If the idea of yet another film about the devastatingly rampant child sex abuse scandals plaguing the Catholic church sounds about as enticing as a root canal, consider the fact […]
Review: Last Christmas Wraps a Predictable Romcom Up in Festive Ribbons and Bows
I don’t expect much out of my holiday movies. A bit of cheer, a bit of romance, maybe a nice little cry (happy tears!) just before the credits roll. In […]
Review: Playing With Fire Never Sparks Much of Anything at All
Less than a week before seeing this oppressively PG-rated kids’ movie, I was fortunate enough to catch actor John Leguizamo performing his latest one-man show in Chicago, in which he […]
Review: Decades Later, Doctor Sleep—a Sequel to The Shining—Delivers a Tense Psychic Thriller
A huge portion of this film cannot and should not be discussed in any review, but I’m guessing it will be, and in large quantities. I’m also guessing that different […]
Review: Martin Scorsese Mines Familiar Mafia Ground for a New Gem in The Irishman
Part reunion, part continuation, and part something new and unexpected from arguably the greatest American filmmaker working today, Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman is a sprawling, decades-spanning, true-life tale of organized […]
Interview: Ed Skrein and Luke Kleintank on the Weight—and Honor—of Portraying War Heroes in Midway
Just in time for Veteran’s Day next week is Midway, the latest action-heavy historical work from director Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, White House Down), which begins […]
Review: Despite a Strong Performance, Harriet Isn’t The Biopic Tubman Deserves
Cynthia Erivo is best known for her Tony-winning stage performances; I still queue up this performance (watch until the end) when I’m in need of a bit of inspiration—I can’t […]
Review: Latest Action-Packed Terminator Installment Could Be the Start of Something Interesting
In what was designed to be a direct sequel to James Cameron’s marvelous one-two punch of The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Terminator: Dark Fate brings Cameron back into […]
Review: Strong Cast and Scenic Setting, Yet Frankie Underwhelms
Writer/director Ira Sachs has made some of the more consistently thoughtful and emotionally nuanced films in recent years (Married Life, Keep the Lights On, Love Is Strange, Little Men), which […]
Review: More Is Just More in Overlong, Predictable Motherless Brooklyn
I like film noir and I tend to like the chances that Edward Norton takes in many of the roles he plays, so imagine my excitement hearing that he was […]
Dispatch: Chicago Film Festival Awards and Wrap-Up
And just like that, another year of the Chicago International Film Festival is behind us. Marking its 55th edition, the festival concluded over the weekend with a few more special […]