I remember a certain point in my life a couple of months ago, not long after seeing the big-screen debut of Wonder Woman, when I had the thought “How lucky […]

Let’s just cut to the chase: Lady Bird, written and directed by Greta Gerwig (and marking her first time behind the camera), is a perfectly pitched coming-of-age comedy that accomplishes […]

For both uber-film nerds and casual fans of director Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 ground-breaking Psycho, the documentary 78/52 is a compact film studies program that examines the power of camerawork, editing, […]

(This review originally ran as part of my Chicago International Film Festival coverage.) One of the more disappointing, high-profile works of fall movie season is the latest from Richard Linklater […]

As weird as it is having this sequel released on the heels of Bad Moms Christmas, where both films feature their lead characters during the holiday season, the fact that they […]

Chicago’s own Kartemquin Films is known in the documentary film world for 50 years of thoughtful, thought-provoking filmmaking. Beyond that narrow niche, the non-profit filmmaking outfit has risen to wider […]

When I lived in Indianapolis, the Colts were at the height of their success. With Peyton Manning on the field and Tony Dungy calling the shots, I got swept up […]

Opting to cover the years in which late president Lyndon B. Johnson was most closely affiliated with John F. Kennedy, this Rob Reiner-directed biopic is actually a quick and fairly […]

Rather than tell the story of a handful of refugees in a single location on the planet (and there are many to choose from), artist/activist Ai Weiwei (himself the subject […]

Following up his 2015 sexual exploratoration story Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party, Chicago-based writer-director Stephen Cone brings us Princess Cyd. It’s another version of the coming-of-age tale, this time from the […]

Set in the wake of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council (more commonly referred to as Vatican II), the debut feature from writer-director Maggie Betts, Novitiate is a powerful look at the […]

The temperatures have finally dropped in Chicago, meaning November is as good a time as any to bundle up, brave the elements and camp out in a cinema somewhere. Whether […]