Review: House Music and Friendship at the Center of Pulsating Beats
If you check out Beats this weekend, the latest from Scottish filmmaker Brian Welsh (from a play by Kieran Hurley, who co-wrote the script), it will help greatly if you’re […]
Lisa Trifone is Managing Editor and a Film Critic at Third Coast Review. A Rotten Tomatoes approved critic, she is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. Find more of Lisa's work at SomebodysMiracle.com
Review: A Girl Discovers Her Voice in Moving, Thoughtful House of Hummingbird
The American film landscape isn’t lacking for coming of age films, particularly those of the female teenage experience. Bora Kim’s lyrical debut feature film House of Hummingbird explores similar themes […]
Review: A Nature Photographer Swims with Polar Bears in Picture of His Life
There is a wildlife photography enthusiast out there somewhere who will find Picture of His Life—a slight new documentary probably better off as an episode in some nature-centric television series—worth their […]
Review: A Teacher’s Timeless Influence on Generations of Actors in Creating a Character: The Moni Yakim Legacy
When I first moved to New York City a few years ago, I splurged on a tiny studio apartment in Manhattan, 160 square feet (not counting the bathroom and closet) […]
Review: Miss Juneteenth Soars as a Tale of Finding Oneself, Finding a Way Forward
If the first two thirds of Miss Juneteenth, the beautifully realized debut feature film from writer/director Channing Godfrey Peoples, feel a bit quiet and underdeveloped, please do yourself the favor of […]
Review: Words, Family and Grief at the Center of Charming Sometimes Always Never
On the shortlist of actors who I’ll watch in pretty much anything, Bill Nighy is near the top. Effortlessly charming and dryly funny, he consistently brings a warmth and wit […]
Review: Centered by a Riveting Performance, Shirley Plays Like an Experiment in Human Interactions
Elisabeth Moss is the rare actress who has made remarkable work in both television (“Mad Men,” “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Top of the Lake”) and film (Her Smell, Us, The Invisible […]
Review: Unflinching, Necessary On the Record Centers Stories that Demand to be Heard
It’s been a daunting week. While the country limps through a grim Coronavirus milestone, there’s news of another incident of white police killing a black man and a racist confrontation […]
Review: Lucky Grandma is a Heist Film with Heart
Back in the “before” times (before pandemics, before lockdowns, before movies were limited to what we can stream from home), a film like Lucky Grandma relied on the buzz generated around […]
Review: An Unlikely Friendship Unfolds in Carefully Crafted The Painter and The Thief
As film premises go, the one for The Painter and the Thief is a doozy: an artist seeks out and befriends the man who stole her paintings. If it weren’t a […]
Review: Alice Proves a Promising if Over-Polished Debut Feature Film
Writer/director Josephine Mackerras makes her feature film debut with Alice, the story of a woman who discovers her husband’s obsession with a high-end escort service only to be drawn into the […]
Review: Slight Fourteen Considers Friendship Over the Years
Something about Fourteen, a drama about the unique connection between close friends over time, feels downright retro. It’s not a period piece, but it’s as if it was made in another […]