Full of compelling ideas but falling short in their execution is writer/director Kobi Libii’s debut work, The American Society of Magical Negroes, which begins promisingly with the idea that the […]
I’m not exactly sure when or if this sweet little documentary will open in Chicago, so I’m reviewing it in the hopes that some of you will take notice and […]
There are few actors as consistent and reliable as Michael Keaton, so it’s almost inconceivable that in his early 70s, the man has only directed two movies: this week’s Knox […]
A great deal of the latest work from Mark Wahlberg feels manufactured, despite the fact that it’s based on a true story, this time of a pro adventure racer who […]
Poor Frida Kahlo. Much like that other Latin American revolutionary icon, Ernesto Che Guevara, she never imagined that—to a paraphrase Puerto Rico rock group Fiel a La vega’s song “Canciones en la […]
Glitter & Doom is a musical romance between two young artists, one a sparkly circus performer (Alex Diaz as Glitter) and the other a melancholy singer/songwriter (Alan Cammish as Doom) […]
Although the film means well as something of an inspirational, David-versus-Goliath tale set in Texas oil country, Accidental Texan can’t quite get past the reality that its young lead character […]
The charming, quirky and mostly very funny Problemista comes courtesy of former Saturday Night Live writer Julio Torres, who wrote, directed, and stars in this story of Alejandro, an aspiring […]
When is a fairy tale not a fairy tale? Well, according to the makers of Damsel, this story of a dutiful young woman who agrees to marry a handsome prince […]
Closing out the Gene Siskel Film Center’s Belgium-centric Chicago European Union Film Festival is the latest work from writer/director/actor Dany Boon. He plays 50-year-old Tridan, an open-hearted man who grew […]
While my memory tells me that I moderately enjoyed the previous three installments of the Kung Fu Panda franchise, I couldn’t tell you a blessed thing about their plots. I […]
Director Peter Farrelly (he and brother Bobby created Dumb and Dumber, There’s Something About Mary, and Kingpin, among others) returns to comedy after leaving the partnership and devoting his time […]