Review: Being Frank Gives a Misunderstood, Under-Appreciated Genius His Due
Although the feature film Frank was only loosely based on a damaged musician who still managed to function with his band enough to make freaky, trippy music, the real life Frank […]
Review: Sweet, Intimate The Joneses A Vital Chronicle of Trans Life
Filmed over five years by director Moby Longinotto, The Joneses is a very different but no less vital take on transgender men and women living in America. While many of the recent […]
Review: Parenting Drama Weightless Lacks Any Heft At All
The aptly titled Weightless is all about an aimless man named Joel (Alessandro Nivola) who meets and must parent his emotionally damaged, 10-year-old son Will (newcomer Eli Haley), who has […]
Review: The Dark Marks a Lyrical, Moving Horror Debut for First-Time Filmmaker
This one took me completely by surprise, and I primarily watched it because I was starving for a horror movie in a particularly dry season. Marking the directorial debut of […]
Review: Rodents of Unusual Size Is Part Cautionary Tale, Part Folksy Yarn
Welcome to a nature documentary that may test the limits for even the most devoted animal lover. It may not be exactly accurate to call Rodents of Unusual Size a […]
Review: Keeping Loneliness at Bay in Anything
In his second feature, Anything, actor-turned-director Timothy McNeil shows that he has the ability to tell a fairly simple story with complexity and grace. Although not a great film by […]
Interview: Octavia Spencer and John Hawkes Talk Westerns and Making Small Town Crime
One of the most intriguing and captivating films to premiere at the SXSW Film Festival last year was a little crime drama called Small Town Crime, from the writing-directing brothers […]
Film Review: Rose Marie’s Iconic Comedy Career Chronicled in Wait for Your Laugh
By what I think is complete coincidence, Facets Cinémathèque is opening the documentary Wait for Your Laugh just two weeks after the passing of its subject, the legendary comic talent […]
Film Review: Strong Performances Make a Tragic Una Worthwhile
There may not be a worse time for this film to be released, echoing as it does the seemingly daily news stories about improper, abusive behavior by men in positions of power, […]
Film Review: Human Spirit Shines Bright in Intimate, Profound For Ahkeem
This review was written by guest author Matthew Nerber. When we first meet Daje, the subject of Jeremy S. Levine and Landon Van Soest’s heartbreakingly sincere documentary For Ahkeem, she […]
Your Chicago Curated Weekend: 12/15 – 12/18
We’re midway through the month and winter has finally arrived. There’s a fair amount of snow on the ground and it’s regularly well below freezing. While I’m sure huddling up […]
Summer of Silence at Facets and Music Box
Silence will be golden this summer as movie lovers around the city will have various opportunities to appreciate the history of silent films. Facets Cinémathèque will launch a new monthly […]