Last year, I had a bit of an adventure as an extra on a movie set. And not just any movie set, either. I ended up as an extra in a bar […]
Review: Searching for Ingmar Bergman Delights in Discovering an Icon of Auteur Cinema
Lisa Trifone
Review: La Divina Tells Her Own Story in Maria By Callas
I’ve attended more opera in the last year than I have in all my years of attending theater (and that’s a lot of years!). I’ve been able to see several productions at […]
Review: Duo in Green Book Make It a Film for Everyone This Holiday Season
Bolstered by two knock-out performances, Green Book may just be the crowd pleaser of the holiday season. Directed by Peter Farrelly (yes, of the Farrelly Brothers and their gross-out comedies of the 1990s […]
Review: Hal is Filmmaker Hal Ashby’s Work and Life From Those Who Knew Him
Cinematic blindspots, those gaps in our film viewing history that mean we have to sheepishly admit to having not seen a certain classic or a hot new release, are a reality. Especially […]
Screens Monthly: Niche Film Festivals and Early Awards Contenders in Chicago Cinemas in November
Yes, we’re a week into November and you’re just now getting a Screens Monthly post with what to see in the cinema over the next few weeks. It’s already been one heck […]
Review: As Director, Paul Dano Makes Heartbreak Achingly Captivating in Wildlife
Sometimes, when an actor says he or she is actually interested in directing, there’s a collective eye-roll from those within earshot. It’s like a singer saying “But what I really want to do […]
Review: Run, Don’t Walk, to See E. Faye Butler in Porchlight Music Theatre’s Gypsy
There’s this gem of a theater in Chicago’s Gold Coast neighborhood, and it’s keeping a little secret: the best musical theater productions in the city. Broadway touring companies aside, Porchlight Music Theatre […]
Review: Maria Callas Comes to Life in Timeline’s Impressive Master Class
It’s not likely (though perhaps possible) that director Nick Bowling and music director Doug Peck knew when they selected Terrence McNally’s Master Class for Bowling’s 30th production at Timeline Theatre Company that Magnolia […]
Review: Chicagoan Elizabeth Chomko’s What They Had Is So Polished It Shines
What They Had is a wonderful film. There’s no use burying the lede on Chicagoan Elizabeth Chomko’s writing and directing debut. The script won the Academy’s Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting in 2015, […]
Review: Entertaining Studio 54 Is a Dance Party And Then Some
One imagines that Studio 54, the new documentary by Matt Tyrnauer about the infamous ’70s nightclub, played very well to NYC audiences when it opened there earlier this month. Chances are, the theater was […]
Review: Carell and Chalamet Star in a Heartbreaking, Hopeful Beautiful Boy
You’ll watch most of Beautiful Boy with a lump in your throat. The story of a father and son (Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet) navigating the younger man’s battle with addiction, the […]
Dispatch: The Chicago International Film Festival Saves Some of the Best for Last
We’ve made it this far, film fans. There are just a few days left of the 54th Chicago International Film Festival, and believe it or not, there’s still plenty of films enjoying […]
