Review: 3100: Run and Become Intrigues More Than It Inspires
It’s easy to be impressed by someone who completes, or even runs, a traditional marathon. Now try to imagine running one that is 3,100 miles long and takes more than […]
Preview: 24th Annual Black Harvest Film Festival
On Saturday, August 4, downtown’s Gene Siskel Film Center launches the 24th Annual Black Harvest Film Festival, “a month-long celebration of the stories, dreams, history, and legacy of African Americans […]
Screens Monthly: August 2018
Finally August. Summer is winding down and we’re one month closer to the best time of year: Fall Movie Season. As we await the awards bait and end-of-year blockbusters, there’s […]
Review: An Immigration Story from a Different Perspective in En el Séptimo Día
En el Séptimo Día (On the Seventh Day) is set in the summer of 2016, and in a way, this timing—recent as it may be—is a small grace as we spend […]
Review: Dark Money Delves into the Scary Reality of Money in Politics
It seems like it has been a while since a really effective documentary has struck fear in me for the future of our country on an issue that, on the […]
Review: Restored Print of Wickedly Fun The Murderer Lives at Number 21 Comes to Chicago
In 1942, after a few years of working together with directing partner Karl Hartl, Henri-Georges Clouzot (Wages of Fear, Diabolique) broke out with his first solo effort with the old-school […]
Review: Despite Strong Cast, The House Of Tomorrow Stands on Shaky Foundation
Sometimes it’s just fun to watch a bevy of worthy actors take on a simple, so-so screenplay just to see what they can do with it. Based on a novel […]
Review: Love, Cecil Chronicles Hollywood Success and a Search for Identity
Documentary filmmaker Lisa Immordino Vreeland has made two films—Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel, about the legendary fashion editor of Harpers Bazaar who also happens to be her grandmother-in-law; […]
Screens Monthly: July 2018
July has just begun and Chicago is already a couple heatwaves deep into this summer. If you’re jonesing for better A/C than your third-floor walk-up can muster, knock out a […]
Review: Even with Rough Edges, Beauty and the Dogs Is Raw and Timely
I can’t honestly say that I’ve ever seen a film from Tunisia, but Beauty and the Dogs, the latest from up-and-coming director Kaouther Ben Hania (Le challat de tunis) is […]
What to Watch on Netflix and DVD: April 2018
Netflix’s slate of April releases contains a fair number of acknowledged classics, including Se7en, Scarface, and Life is Beautiful. If you’ve seen all those films already, however, here are some […]
Screens Monthly: April
By April, it can be harder and harder to justify time spent in a movie theater. The days are finally getting longer and Spring is in full swing. In true […]